Kohler 341 (16 hp) blew...

[mwood]

Well, I was mowing along great today and suddenly, black smoke and fire pour out of the muffler on the John Deere 216. No compression at all so I pull the head. Turns out, my exhaust valve is bent due to a small screw embedded in the head?!?

I have no idea how the screw got there as it's been over 40 hours on the clock since I last pulled the head. I'm stumped. There are 1450 hours on the engine with no rebuild, so I guess this isn't too unexpected.

My question -- Is it worth fixing? I know these are great engines and can be rebuilt, but it looks like I'll have to do a full rebuild including a new head as the screw is embedded in there to the point where I can't pull it out.

Also, assuming I were to fix it, how much is this going to run me?

Looks like I'll be switching my search for a loader / brush hog CUT and instead looking for a good mower... I get the feeling that even if I were to fix it, I'd probably be looking for a new mower anyway as this one is ~25 years old and pretty tired...

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

[Volfandt]

My guess is the screw is either from the throttle or choke plate.

If it were me, I'd dig the screw out being as careful as I can to minimize damage and clean up all that carbon.
Then pull the bent valve. It's possible the guide is still good and if so I'd get a new valve put it all back together and run it 'till if fails again

Good luck

 

[mwood]

That's encouraging. How can I tell if the guide is still good?

 

[Fordlords]

Wow- never seen that happen! I'd follow Volfandt's advice on this one, it probably just needs to be repaired with a new valve to get it going again- those engines are loose toleranced and very forgiving. A full rebuild with overbore and new valvetrain commonly runs between $500-700 for one of those engines, but they are worth sticking some money in to when it's needed. They are also still available brand new (leftovers, it's not made anymore), but you would have to take out a mortgage to get one You can probably check the valve guide by just removing the intake valve and feeling its movement through the exhaust guide, I believe both valves have the same stem diameter.

I would have loved to have seen the black smoke and fire pouring out LOL (Just kidding!)

-Fordlords-

 

[bontai_Joe]

Is it worth fixing???? In my opinion, absolutely. You can't replace it with anything new for the same money it will take to fix it.

 

[BTDT]

Don't forget to check the carb/plates for missing screws. Same thing happened to FIL's mower engine. His just went to running wide open. Throttle had no effect. He took it to mower repair shop, they wanted to sell him a new engine for $600. He told them no thanks. Brought it home, and my brother and I checked it out. Screws had come out of throttle plate. One was missing (we never did find it), the other was just a piece of brass rattling in the muffler. Replaced the screws, cranked and ran for about another 5 years.

Edit:this was on an MTD with a Briggs engine.

 

[digger2]

From the looks of your pictures i also reccomend just installing a new valve,
digging the screw out,and firing it up again,as long as it did'nt score the cylinder wall.
This is the same engine my '73 Ford LGT 165 has.Its a great engine,but like another has said,only leftovers are availible,if any.
That little divit that the screw leaves in your head wont hurt anything,but you might want to smooth it out a little with a Dremel tool,
or eqivelent.While your at it ,fresh rings prob. would'nt be too much more trouble.If you did put new rings in it would give you a chance to check for
a possible cracked piston from that screw being ingested in that engine.
Pistons prob. fine,but it could happen.
Anyway,it is worth fixing........digger2

 

[DieselPower]

I would fix it. The head can most likely be saved. Looks like all you really need is a new valve, a head gasket and probably a new throttle plate screw. As mentioned already check the valve guide for binding.