Kohler Courage puffs smoke

[GrandLakeGAR]

My new Craftsman/Kohler did the same thing last year the first time I went down a steep slope. I thought the engine had blown. What I found was that the frame sits with a fwd tilt and when the oil reads full on the dip stick at the rear of the engine it is actually about 1/2 Qt too much. Going down hill caused it to suck oil into the carb. I leveled the frame with a jack to get the oil level correct on the dip stick, . That worked out to about half way between the full and low marks when it is sitting normally. It never smoked again. Your ZTR may have the same issue except for engine location. Good Luck.

 

[Gulfcoastdude]

Yes, that was it! It was a little overfilled from the factory.

 

[Dave5264]

Intersting, I bought a Cub, 52" deck 26hp Kholer courage just this past April.

Same smoke issue when going down hill.

Dealer called Cub head office and they claim many of these had the incorrect or inadequate Crank Case Ventilation. They have sent a replacement part but this requres my engine case to be split to replace it....which im not keen on.

Dealer will do it all under warranty of course.

 

[RandyT]

Just completed a breather repair last week on a bad boy mower for that same problem. $2.10 parts 3 hours labor plus oil and filter. there is also a new dipstick that is supposed to be coming with a lower full mark to suppliment the new breather repair kit.

 

[chrito]

April 2011 I bought a Craftsman 4000 riding mower with Kohler 26 hp twin engine. From the first few hours use it has sent out huge plumes of white smoke from the front rightside of engine (as if sitting in the seat). This is oil burning, as the oil level is noticeably low after a couple of these truely spectaculaly large billows of thick white smoke emerge. The smoke bombs happen when the engine is under a moderately heavy load, cutters down, tractor sloping downhill. A mechanic looked at the engine and decided it could only spew smoke if it had been overfilled. He is useless and should find a new profession. The oil level drops to below the dip stick, so unless the manufacturer made the dip stick in a way to fool the owner it cannot be that the smoke is burning excess oil as there is no excess, in fact there is not enough oil in the crankcase to safely operate the engine. I hate this Kohler engine and would never recommend anyone buying anything with a Kohler in it.
This machine is junk and an embrassment to all small engine manufacturers.

 

[chrito]

This is a followup on Jul 30th posting re smoking Kohler. Some people seem to suggest the proper action is to put in less oil. That seems dangerous and unwarranted. Why would the Manufacturer setup the engine to be overfilled. Would it not be safer to drain the engine completely (even jack it up yo get level), then refill with the exact amount of oil Kohler says belongs in the engine and see where that falls on the imfamously stupid dip stick design they use?
chrito

 

[RandyT]

A standard kohler engine wether a single or twin command calls for 2 quarts of oil. The same principle was adapted for the courage engine but the breather is designed differently which causes the oil to pool in the breather when the engine leans left. It was determined that the drainback hole didn't line up with the cover properly so they fixed that but were still having intermittent problems so they determines that the engine oil was too close to the breather causing oil to get back in the breather, then how the oil level was checked then changed from leaving dipstick on top of threads to screw cap down to check. the new dipstick reflects the onging change to this design of engine. Most engines will operate for a time with no oil showing on dipstick but still get picked up by the oil pump and still lube properly. the dipstick change amount to about 3 or 4 ounces of oil down from 2 quarts.

 

[chrito]

Thanks RandyT for info on smoking Kohler. The question is should a "repair" or fix-it kit be installed or just runengine at oil level below the recommended levvel. I could drain the oil completely and add 1 qt 28 oz (about 4 oz less than the 2 qts specified). Any nthoughts?
chrito

 

[RandyT]

If it is still under warranty I would get the fix kit done. I think the dipstick difference is the new full mark is about where the old add mark was, but don't quote me because I haven't seen the new dipstick yet.

 

[Oldawg]

I worked on a friend's Cub Cadet with this same engine a while back, and I found references online stating these had some of the heads not torqued properly at the factory, causing a leaking head gasket. Apparently combustion pressure was going into the crankcase faster than the breather could relieve it, causing oil to be forced into the intake passage. The air cleaner and housing were getting loaded up with oil. Smoking and fouling spark plug on right cylinder. A new head gasket fixed it.