Smoking Kohler CV20

[Anonymous Poster]

Any experience with this engine and smoking out the exhaust.

What was cause?

Is this common with these engines?

Charlie criecke@charleston.net

 

[Redfisher]

What color is the smoke?
Black = running rich(adjust carb to lean it out)
<font color=blue>blue</font color=blue> = burning oil(could be the rings are gone)

Anyways if you give a little more info someone will help you.

Have a good one/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[CSAW]

I had a Kohler 20 hp opposed cylinder engine on a wheel horse garden tractor. On mine the cylinders were worn so bad that with the head off you could see the rings past the piston. I measured it and it was way way over allowable specs. The over sized pistons were ridiculously over priced. The best I remember the parts I needed to rebuild it were more than a new engine. I just kept putting oil in it. It wasn't worthy of a new engine.

Like the other poster said that is blue or white smoke. Black smoke would be gas.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

CSAW, you say opposed engine so I will take that it was
not a"V" engine.

More details: If I park the tractor so that the right side is lower
that the left when I start it up later I get no smoke.

If the left side is lower than the right when it starts it blows a
fair sized puff of smoke. Blue/white oil smoke.

I don't detect any smoke when it is running at full throttle
and the tractor is moving.

Next time I stop and pull throttle down to idle I get a small
puff and then another when it reaches the idle stop.

If I go back up to full open sometimes a small puff off the
idle stop and when it hits the full open stop.

Engine starts right up,has plenty of power. No complaint
except the smoke.

Ideas. Charlie criecke@charleston.net

 

[CSAW]

Mine was not a V engine the cylinders were 180 degrees from each other. One piston pointing straight out the left the other out the right. It was a horizontal shaft engine.

Is yours a V type or like mine? Is it over head valve or flat head? Horizontal or vertical shaft.(trying to figure if there is any oil in the head)

<font color=blue>If the left side is lower than the right when it starts it blows a
fair sized puff of smoke. Blue/white oil smoke.
<font color=black>

You could pull the spark plugs to confirm which cylinder has the problem. Probably the left. If it is an overhead valve engine it may not be the left because of the way the oil lays in the heads.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

CSAW, it's a "V" with overhead valves.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

CSAW, it's a "V" with overhead valves.

Intake valve is on top,exhaust valve on the bottom.

Has vert. shaft which means the cyl. are lying on the side.

Only the intake valve guide has a seal, none on the exh.

I fig. the intake is always sucking up and oil would go into
the comb. chamber and exh. is blowing down so it blows
oil into the crankcase and does not need a seal.

If it were an oil ring wouldn't it blow smoke all the time when
it is running?

Is valve seal failure a common thing assuming that's it?

The compression in both cyl are close together and better
than the 160 PSI Kohler calls normal.

A leak down test is suppose to tell you more than a comp.
test but I don't have the equip. to do it. Have you had
any exp. with it?

Anything else you can think of I will like to hear it. I just put
new plugs in so I was waiting awhile to build up some time
on them so I could detect any difference if there is any.

The diff when the tractor is leaning one way and then the other is a puzzle. I am not talking about much of a lean.

Thanks, Charlie criecke@charleston.net

 

[Redfisher]

Hello criecke, Here is a address for the best small engine Forum that i know. Just post there and they will help you out,Good bunch of guys.(Just cut copy and paste this address

http://bbs.cartserver.com/bbs/a/5624/index.cgi

 

[John_Mc]

<font color=blue>The diff when the tractor is leaning one way and then the other is a puzzle. I am not talking about much of a lean.</font color=blue>

Any chance this could have something to do with the carb float? leaning one way might let more gas into the bowl? Float getting water-logged (or "gas-logged") and rides differently with a lean to one side or the other?

 

[CSAW]

Charlie

Is it possible that the engine is over filled with oil. Is the left cylinder lower than the right? Possibly wrong dip stick?

An oil seal on intake only is highly feasable, many engines are that way.

The oil return in that head could be clogged. But it sounds like you have already have had the valve cover off. You probably would have figured that out.

If the exhaust valve guide is loose maybe when the engine is not running it leaks a little oil into the exhaust since it is on the bottom causing it to smoke when you start it. If the drain is slow this would aggravate this.

Smoking on start up is generally considered a valve stem seal problem. (in cars)

Good Luck

 

[Anonymous Poster]

CSAW, thanks for latest info.

I have not had the valve cover off yet,going there next.

Can't tell how the oil drains back to the crankcase from
the Service Manual,have e-mail into Kohler to find out.

Left side cyl is lower than the right side cyl.

Will let you know how it goes along. Charlie

 

[Boone]

Talking to my nieghbor about his Scotts with a Kohler engine. I think it is a 20hp. Two and half years old and dropped the crankshaft out. Deere stood behind it and had a service bulletin out on it, but he found that out on his own and fought all the way to get a fresh engine.
Boone

 

[Anonymous Poster]

On many OHV engines, a blown head gasket will cause
a severe smoking problem.

 

[smthng2do]

Kohler had a problem with their head gaskets and their head bolts. Go to your local dealer, and they have a kit available that should take care of your problem. Pull the heads and make sure it hasn't caused any gouging in the cylinders first.

 

[criecke]

Fisher, I have spec 160psi on both cyl.

Would you think that would rule out the gsk problem.


Charlie criecke@charleston.net

 

[criecke]

Final report. Blown headgasket on # ! cyc.

Thanks for all the suggestions. Charlie

 

[jwhite]

Wow, great thread! I have a CV25 with similar problems. Blue smoke on start, blue smoke during acceleration uphill, blue smoke when I back out of the hydro petal for a couple seconds and re-apply. If it was a car engine, I would be thinking valve seals or guides. I bought the manual and was just starting to diagnose. My compression check is also OK. Power is great as well. Only three grasscutting seasons on motor (150 hours). Spark plug gets oil fouled on the passenger side cylinder. I will pull the valve cover and head and check stuff out.

Thanks for the info!