Kohler Carburetor Help

[raptor826]

does anyone know who can rebuild this vs buying the replacement model which is about $250?
Kohler CARBURETOR 5205318 from a kohler series II 17hp

 

[bindian]

does anyone know who can rebuild this vs buying the replacement model which is about $250?
Kohler CARBURETOR 5205318 from a kohler series II 17hp

Look in your yellow pages for a Kohler certified or authorized repair center. They can rebuild it for you.
hugs, Brandi

 

[Midniteoyl]

Any small engine repair place..

 

[bindian]

Any small engine repair place..

Yes, usually they would work. But a lot of shops down here in the summer are so busy they only work on brands of equipment they sale.
hugs, Brandi

 

[mrmikey]

There's not a heck of a lot to them, why not just buy the kit kohler kt-17 carburetor | eBay and do it yourself.....Mike

 

[Dave M7040]

Why do you think it needs rebuilding? Often the problem is dirt in the jets at the very top of the carburetor.... visible after the air filter is removed.
If it has been sitting unused for a year or more then a complete cleaning is in order.
Buy a spray can of carb cleaner at any place which sells parts to repair cars and trucks. Hose down the brass jets visible at the top of the carb and also using the thin plastic tube which comes with the spray can, spray into the jets themselves. Wear some type of eye protection as some cleaner may spray up from the carb. For emission reasons, the crankcase of the engine is vented into the carb to burn up any oil vapors from the hot engine. When the engine gets a little tired there is an excessive amount of oily mist going into the carb which attracts dirt. The jets at the top of the carb are to allow air into fuel passages. When dirt obstructs the entry of air you get rough running and poor idling.
You dont even have to take the carb off to try this fix and you cannot do any harm.
Dave M7040

 

[sox3]

I agree with M7040. Have to ask why it needs rebuilding? what are the problems with the engine? As for rebuilding,they are pretty basic and straight forward. Lay everything out as you disassemble it, clean all ports and jets, reassemble it. always use new gaskets and no sealers or silicone.

 

[bindian]

Sometimes rebuilding it yourself fails because of a hidden passage does not get unblocked. A dealer with an ultrasonic cleaner can take care of that. I rebuilt a carb on my Dad's log splitter with a Kohler engine on it. No help. I talked to the dealer about a new carb. and he said let us try cleaning it in our cleaner. $38 dollars later, the engine started on the second pull.
Can cleaners just can't compete with the carb. immersed in an ultrasonic cleaner.
hugs, Brandi

 

[sox3]

Gotta say in 25 years of working on small engines I have rebuilt a lot of carbs and never used an ultrasonic cleaner.
Just tag wire and small can of carb cleaner available at auto parts store to soak it in, then use spray cleaner to finish it with. I bet an Ultrasonic would do a good job with the cleaner / solvent but we never needed one.

 

[Dave M7040]

If you have never used an ultrasonic cleaner you owe it to yourself to try one.
Many repair shops in my area refuse to work on weed trimmers or leaf blowers if they did not sell them because their carbs are often a big headache to get the engine starting properly. Once they started using the ultrasonic cleaner they were astounded by how successful the carb cleaning was and resumed the trimmer and blower repairs.
The old carbs on Briggs and Techumseh side valve engines had a few big passages and lots of adjustments to make up for dirt. They were simple to clean! The new carbs, designed with emissions in mind, have lots of small passages and little or no adjustments. Kohler has been using Japanese carbs on at least some engines which are more delicate and benefit from the ultrasonic bath.
Dave M7040

 

[sox3]

The only problem with the small trimmer carbs is its not cost effective to remove, tear down, clean, rebuild and
re-install, run and adjust. We found it faster and cheaper (for the customer) to just replace them. When your shop rate is $70 an hour and a carb lists for 35 or so. The newer carbs on the kohler and kaw engines i can understand as they are more expensive. But I never turned away anyone if they didn't buy it from us.

 

[Dave M7040]

I dont want to show you any disrespect. You are in the business, I am an automotive engineer who likes to work on engines. We have similar interests we just look at them from different perspectives. Sometimes it is urgency and parts delays which will mandate a cleaning of a carb when a new one would be a more economical solution. Sometimes a carb for an older engine is not available.
While not directly on topic I would add that in smaller Canadian communities, large retailers like Home Depot and Walmart set prices small local businesses cannot match. The customer, being a little short sighted, buys on price and then expects the small business who sells the same brand to do warranty and after warranty service which they refuse to do. The large retailers in Canada have made no provision for parts or service.

I have a friend who is restoring a Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle. The carbs have been sitting for decades. I have a local small engine repair business who, for $15, will soak a carb in their ultrasonic bath. As I have done, my friend disassembled his Vincent carbs and took them to this shop. My only point being that there are perhaps other ways to get the benefits of a ultrasonic cleaner without owning one.
Dave M7040

 

[2458n]

Lowes, Home, Menards, and others have done the same here. If you want service you had not better buy from the big box stores.

 

[sox3]

QuoteWhile not directly on topic I would add that in smaller Canadian communities, large retailers like Home Depot and Walmart set prices small local businesses cannot match. The customer, being a little short sighted, buys on price and then expects the small business who sells the same brand to do warranty and after warranty service which they refuse to do. The large retailers in Canada have made no provision for parts or service.)


We built our business on residential customers and working on box store stuff. All those customers are potential sales for the equipment we sell. When we take a box store unit in for repairs we would get a $20 deposit. If under warranty, it would be refunded. If not it goes to the repair. In most cases the units are not under warranty and when the unit was not worth repair we would allow the customer to put that deposit toward the purchase of equipment from us. We upgraded a lot of people to Echo units. Also did the same for the Mowers too.
this worked out pretty well over the years.