My Kohler K321 14HP rebuild thread

[Eugen]

Moving on. It's good to have access to an experienced engine rebuilder. Mike pointed something out to me that I was not aware of. He asked me if the tappets were worn out. I don't think the manual mentions this. So here are the tappets.

Though some wear/shine can be seen, it doesn't seem to me like it's worn out as an indent on the face of the valve lifter. I'm inclined to leave the faces as they are. The alternative would be to get the bolt out and put it in the lathe/drill press and try to flatten the face with sandpaper?

If you guys have experience with this I'd like to hear your thoughts.

[Eugen]

Dropped off the crankshaft for grinding. What a shop!

[Spike188]

Eugene,

That is good to know. Portave Tool and Die is one of my rush suppliers at 61 Advanced Rd. When working in Etobicoke area knowing where trusted machine shops can be found is a plus.

Spike

[Eugen]

f you tell him in advance he can do it on the spot while you wait! Nice guy, family business.

[DavidBarkey]

wow , that is some serious grinding machines .
Dave

[Eugen]

Got the crankshaft back on Friday. Gave him the rod so it was ground not to measurement but to fit the rod perfectly. I didn't measure it yet though I'm curious.

[myerslawnandgarden]

I don't remember ever replacing a tappet in a Kohler single, they are extremely hard and rarely show any wear. I do however pay attention to the adjusting nut that contacts the valve stem as they are not hardened and will show wear at the contact point making it impossible to get an accurate reading with a thickness gauge when setting the valve lash. This can be easily corrected with a file or a sheet of abrasive on a surface plate.

Bob

[Eugen]

I don't remember ever replacing a tappet in a Kohler single, they are extremely hard and rarely show any wear. I do however pay attention to the adjusting nut that contacts the valve stem as they are not hardened and will show wear at the contact point making it impossible to get an accurate reading with a thickness gauge when setting the valve lash. This can be easily corrected with a file or a sheet of abrasive on a surface plate.

Bob

Yes Bob, Mike of enginebore.com who did the cylinder did point this out to me. I have a small lathe but can't figure out a way to hold the screw or the tappet because of the larger bottom edge. So I grinded a little of the surface on a diamond abrasive plate doing my best to keep it flat and at right angle with the length of the tappet.

[Eugen]

Finally found some motivation to continue. Got the bearings washed in brake cleaner and re-lubed.

Looks like Case was sourcing parts from all over. One blocked had an skf from Italy on one side and an unmarked bearing on the other. The other block had this bearing from Poland. The skf is c3. I wonder if that is the called for spec for this application.


Also cleaned this plate which was badly covered in grime.

Getting closer to reassembly.

[ssmewing]

I just had to re-do an overhaul done by someone else. It was for a 222, so K301.

It had been bored to .020 over I found. That part was done correctly and was round with the proper sizing. The crank journal on the other hand was not right. It was not round and was undersized for the rod. It sounded the same as a paint can ball rattle. When the machinist measured the journal it was under by as little as .003 and as much as .007.

He reground the crank and we used a .0020 under rod that was done the same as your guy, perfectly sized to the rod.

Actually, you should be wary of any shop that will machine your engine without the actual parts being available for them to go off of.