My Kohler K321 14HP rebuild thread

Troubleshooting, rebuilding, repairing Kohler engines.
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Gordy United States of America
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Re: My Kohler K321 14HP rebuild thread

Post by Gordy »

That hole at the top of the governor arm needs attention. With a hole that oversized you will probably have hunting/surging issues. One fix involves removing the arm and welding the hole shut, then drill it to the proper size. Another option would be to drill a small hole near the one at the top of the arm and hook a lite duty spring in it, then the other end of the spring hooked on the pivot at the other end of the linkage. B&S and others use the spring to take slop out of their linkages.

:cheers:
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Eugen Canada
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Re: My Kohler K321 14HP rebuild thread

Post by Eugen »

Yeah @Gordy , I will definitely do that. Didn't seem to affect running but it's an easy fix so why not. Thank you buddy! :cheers:
Case 224, 444, 644, 680E
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DavidBarkey Canada
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Re: My Kohler K321 14HP rebuild thread

Post by DavidBarkey »

Eugen wrote: Wed Dec 22, 2021 6:45 pm I went to the back of the tent today set on pulling out the carb with the weird angle on the governor link. Hm.. this is what I found :



7B129E54-B63B-4B3F-85BE-82FCF6A17E77.jpeg



Maybe it was skewed when I first assembled it, I don't know, but it sure looks fine now :43:


Very strange! :violin:

When engine off carb is WOT. (wide open throttle ). At idle the throttle plate is closed by the governor . If the rod are combo are adjusted too short the will be an exaggerated angle created as the arm tip move forward and down . Has Nothing to do with the carb being Chinese . Somewhere there should be a starting length for the arm be for setting the governor arm . Besides that the linkage is wrong for that arm , as shown in you diagram .

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Re: My Kohler K321 14HP rebuild thread

Post by Eugen »

I'd like to offer an update on the fate of this engine. It was installed in the 224 tractor that it came with originally, and after rebuilding it and using it for a short time, it just sat unused until about a month ago, when I saw @propane1 and @RoamingGnome using their 200 series tractors and that reminded me I got one. My 224 showed signs of attempts by the previous owner to refresh it, like some new parts and brush painting. In particular the deck it came with was turning very nicely, most likely due to new bearings. All in all it got me thinking this is a good candidate for mower duty, so about a month ago I pulled it from the back, gave it a battery and tried to start it. It ran and I started mowing but stopped after about 15 minutes or so, needing more and more gas it seemed. It would run some more with more and more choke, and then at some point it stopped and wouldn't start, even with starter fluid. I could feel a lot of heat coming from it, more than normal. It was getting plenty of gas from the pump, I checked. This totally baffled me, as the engine was running so nice before sitting there for a year or so.

At that point I knew the head must come off, and when that happened, one could see clear signs of a warped head. Bummer! My theory is that somehow the carb got loose and more and more air would get it, running the engine hot. Flattened the head, torqued the bolts, installed a new (China) carb and made sure it was bolted well to the block. Allowed it to go through a few heat cycles and torqued the head again yesterday. The proceeded to mow the grass on the outside fence. The engine runs so smooth again, and it feels so powerful. The PTO clutch needs adjustment as it's coupling the mower all the time, but other than that I got a really nice 224 mower at the moment. Oh yeah, and I need to find an air filter assembly for it. :109:

6FAB7F3F-BA17-4391-B650-9857B9779ACE.jpeg



https://vimeo.com/834456366


Case 224, 444, 644, 680E
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Re: My Kohler K321 14HP rebuild thread

Post by propane1 »

Nice Eugen. To bad about the trouble, but you got er fixed.
My 224 has the same steering wheel. Must be factory !
And I see two loader tractors and I have none. :45:

Noel :D
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Re: My Kohler K321 14HP rebuild thread

Post by Eugen »

propane1 wrote: Thu Jun 08, 2023 12:09 pm Nice Eugen. To bad about the trouble, but you got er fixed.
My 224 has the same steering wheel. Must be factory !
And I see two loader tractors and I have none. :45:

Noel :D
That steering wheel! It's all bent too... try and find original steering wheel for our Case tractors! People buy a whole tractor only to get a steering wheel around here! :headbash:

hehe, the red one goes for sale soon, you can have it! :D send your cruise ship here, the port is only a mile away from me. :cheers:
Case 224, 444, 644, 680E
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Re: My Kohler K321 14HP rebuild thread

Post by propane1 »

Eugen wrote: Thu Jun 08, 2023 12:18 pm
propane1 wrote: Thu Jun 08, 2023 12:09 pm Nice Eugen. To bad about the trouble, but you got er fixed.
My 224 has the same steering wheel. Must be factory !
And I see two loader tractors and I have none. :45:

Noel :D
That steering wheel! It's all bent too... try and find original steering wheel for our Case tractors! People buy a whole tractor only to get a steering wheel around here! :headbash:

hehe, the red one goes for sale soon, you can have it! :D send your cruise ship here, the port is only a mile away from me. :cheers:

Hehehe. Sure would be handy to have that loader tractor. No cruise ships in today :45:

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Re: My Kohler K321 14HP rebuild thread

Post by Eugen »

By the way, when I first saw the warped head I first reached and grabbed the head off of a seized k321 that came with a parts 444. The head seemed in good shape and I was trying to avoid the labour involved in making the other head flat. So I grabbed that head and cleaned it well, rubbed it a little on sand paper on a sheet of glass to make it really flat, and painted it.

That's when I saw this:
Top
Top
Bottom
Bottom

Went back and laboured the old head which is now in and the engine is good.

But I'm wondering if any of you guys have successfully fixed a cracked aluminum head somehow.
Case 224, 444, 644, 680E
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Re: My Kohler K321 14HP rebuild thread

Post by propane1 »

Never tried fixing one. They will blow a hole right there all the way thru the aluminum. I’ll find the one I have and post a picture. On another site that I’m on a fella posted about that problem a number of years ago. Showed a picture of his head with the hole in it. Exactly like the one I have. Never did figure out the cause. :106:

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Re: My Kohler K321 14HP rebuild thread

Post by Harry »

I TIG welded one for a millwright I worked with at GM. I can’t remember what make of engine it was from. I ground into the head from the inside them made a weld with aluminum filler. He had a machinist mill it and that’s the last I heard about it. :peace: Harry
1973 444, 1974 644, 1976 446, 1977 646, 1986 226
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