Kawasaki Problem

[HacMan91]

Any of you guys having problems with you kaw motors. Ive got a exmark 52" with 23 Kaw. Its been running kind of bad, blowing some black smoke and sputtering. Gas is clean and no water in the fuel. My dealer says the air filter is dirty causing the motor to run rich which blackens up the spark plugs. I keep great maintenance on my mowers especially filters. I put a new filter and plugs in today, runs like new. My dealer says as dry as its been down here I need to change prefilters every 3 or 4 days because the Kaw is a high performance engine and is more sensitive. He said he's seen several in with the same problem. The filter I changed today looked pretty good. Ive seen alot of threads on problems with Kohlers. Ive had 3 mowers with Kohlers and never had a problem like this, theyre not this temperamental.:confused:

[ohiolawnguy]

I've never had a problem with either of our two 23 HP kawasaki's.(both on 61" ZTR's)

[C4chris70]

I had problems with a 17hp Kaw that also kept blowing black smoke. Dealer also said it was dirty air filter in the beginning. Turned out to be bad coils. Three sets of bad coils to be exact. Kawasaki has apparantly had an ongoing problem with coils. You may want to check that route. Good luck.

[Dennis E.]

I was told by the mechanic at Lesco to check the foam pre-f almost daily when it's real dry. I had some major problems a year or so back. They replaced the carb.
I have several back-ups(foam) that I keep in my tool-box,all oiled up and ready to use. These big Kaw's are moody.:D
Also carry several fuel filters and some extra plugs,just in case.

(C4...Just had a coil on mine replaced.Was running on one cylinder. Sounded like one of the old JD tractors!)

[Barkleymut]

Just had the 17 HP Kawi on my WB replaced (thank God under warranty). The top bearing went on it. It still ran ok but was leaking a good bit of oil.

[65hoss]

I change the pre filter on my 23 kawi almost daily. They do get very dirty. Exmark factory rep told me to do this.

[MikeLT1Z28]

would these coils sometimes cause the mower to flood and backfire really really loud (like a black powder rifle) and not start?

[C4chris70]

Mike,

The coils would absolutely cause this because when the coils fail the fuel is not completly burned therefore causing the backfire. Very weak coils would also cause either hard starts or no starts at all.

[MikeLT1Z28]

hmmm, well the idle is very choppy when it did start. anything over half throttle and it is fine. i parked it the other day (thank GOD my exmark wasn't in front of it, it's a 48" WB hydro) and it hasn't started since. gonna shoot some carb cleaner and starting fluid in it tomorrow just to make sure. if not i guess i'll check for a good spark to see if maybe it is the coil. 14hp single cyl. kawi.

thanks for the info.

[PetalsandPines]

I have a 12.5 HP that is 4 years old that was running choppy and losing power, found out that there is some sort of ring seal over the valves that wasn't sitting properly and was causing blowback into the carb. Apparently this ring is not replacable!

[mowerman90]

The Kawi's DO like their air! Change pre-filters daily to prevent problems and change filters about every 100 hours. Save money by buying aftermarket brand filters instead of the $20 per filter that Kawi wants.

[HLC]

[/QUOTE] I have several back-ups(foam) that I keep in my tool-box,all oiled up and ready to use.

My dad and I just purchased two Hustler Z's mine with the 25 Kaw
and his with the 23. He got his about a week before I got mine. When we were looking his over I noticed the foam pre-cleaner was NOT oiled. So I oiled it and put it back in. I asked my buddy who is a Hustler rep about it and he said NOT to oil the Kaw precleaners:eek: . I checked the ownwers manual and it confirmed what he told me.

With that said, I have not been oiling mine......but it really bothers me. I keep two spares and change them daily on average.....more often if it's dusty. Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

HacMan91, where are you in bama?

[wxmn6]

My JD 18HP Kawasaki manual said that when cleaning or changing foam pre-cleaner that you should oil it first then put it back on.

Alot of guys here on Lawnsite said that they do oil the foam pre-cleaner on their Kaws'. I dont think it really matter which brand you are running with Kawasaki, the foam pre-cleaner should still be oiled.

I don't know why your Hustler manual said not to do that. Maybe they overlooked the info.? Check with them again before you do that.

[UGA]

my prefilter. What kind of oil do you use?

[HLC]

Okay, I just got my owner's manual out and it is the Kawasaki manual (not just the Hustler manual) that says not to oil the foam element.

[Dennis E.]

Says the following:

Foam element:
1.Clean and wash every 25 hours.

2.Wash the element in detergent and water,and dry it thoroughly.

3.Saturate the element with FRESH engine oil and squeeze it to remove excess oil.

KAWASAKI Owners manual.
For FH601V,FH641V,FH680V
4 stroke air-cooled V- twin gasoline engine.

You guys can do what you want,I'm following my manual. And what I was told by a mechanic.

[HLC]

Straight out of my (kawasaki) manual, "Caution Do not oil paper or foam element."

My manual covers the same engines with the addition of the FH721V, 4-stroke air cooled ............

I'm not disagreeing with anyone here. Just curious why it says not to oil. Anyone know if there has been some modifications or something. My mower is only about two weeks old so I'm pretty sure this is the lastest from Kaw.

[Dennis E.]

Mine is a Kaw. manual with a part no. of 99920-2145-01
Kawasaki Heavy Industries,LTD.
Consumer Products & Machinery Group.

Air cleaner Service- pg.27
It does add in a "Caution" box:

Do not wash paper element.
Do not oil paper element.
Do not use pressurized air to clean paper element.


The other info. on the page is what I posted above in regards to the foam. I was told by the mechanic that the leftover oil in the foam,after you squeeze out the excess,is what traps the smaller dust particles. Prevents entry into the carb.
Makes sense to me.

[HLC]

I am looking at my book. Looks like you have the first edition. Mine's the eighth edition. (p/n 99920-2145-08). Inside the cover on page 1 it says Eighth Editon Dec 2000.

On page 29 under
Air cleaner Service

FOAM element
Clean the foam element (A) every 25 hours.
*Wash the element in detergent and water, and dry it thoroughly.

The next heading is for the PAPER element.

After the paper element there is a note stating"Operating in a dusty condition may require more frequent maintenance than above."

Below that note there is a box with the word CAUTION. Inside that box it says:

Do not wash PAPER element.
Do not OIL paper or FOAM element
Do not use pressurized air to clean PAPER-element.

Dennis I am not disagreeing with you. I, too, think it makes more sense to oil the pre-cleaner. I simply posted this because there has obviously been some problems for Kaw to change this requirement. The way my Hustler rep explained it to me was that the Kaws are more finicky and the oil was causing problems. Someone with problems with their Kaw may want to explore this. I also noticed that the Kaw precleaner on mine is thicker than what I have been seeing and seems to be a "finer" foam than the ones I have my Kohler.

[Dennis E.]

HLC...No arguments from me!

You have brought something up which makes me wonder about the carb problems I had last year.
By oiling the foam I wonder if it is pulling the junk from oiling the foam filter down into the carb at WOT? I check my carb when I clean the foam and knock any crud in the paper filter out and there always seems to be a film in the bottom of the carb. I try and keep it cleaned out with cleaner but could this be a source of carb problems?
Also IMO the paper would not last as long,correct? If they suck that much air at WOT the residue from the foam is going to get pulled into the paper filter. Shorter life I would think.

I'll hold off on oiling the foam for awhile and see how the paper holds up. I have plenty of foam wraps to use.
Never too old to learn I guess.:D ;)

[HLC]

I guess if we start dusting motors Kaw may issue another owner manual with a warning "BE SURE TO OIL YOUR FOAM." Mine is only a couple weeks old. I'll do what they say and let them put a new short block on if it goes.

[Dennis E.]

See my last post?
I'm going to go "dry" for a bit and see if the carb stays clean inside. You made me think quite a bit about oiling the foam.
We'll see how it looks in about a month or so. Easy to throw on a clean foam wrap when it needs it. I have a lot of good wraps in my tool-box as spares.
:D ;)

[HLC]

Dennis,
I saw it. Let us all know if you see a difference. I have nothing to compare it to since mine came dry and I haven't oiled it.....Joe

[Mark]

2002 Kaw-Clean the foam element every 25hrs, Wash the element in detergent and water,and dry it thoughly. Saturate the element with fresh engine oil and squeeze it to remove excess oil. Ive always dome this with any engine Foam enement only makes sense that the oil would help stop the dust, i check mine if conditions warrant, ive cleaned mine 3 times so far at 66hrs, id hate to think about installing new foam everyday thats silly unless your mowing dirt. Marks Mowing Service

[wriken]

Originally posted by C4chris70
I had problems with a 17hp Kaw that also kept blowing black smoke. Dealer also said it was dirty air filter in the beginning. Turned out to be bad coils. Three sets of bad coils to be exact. Kawasaki has apparantly had an ongoing problem with coils. You may want to check that route. Good luck.

I have a 23 hp Kaw and its doing the same thing, Would both coils go bad at once? or is it maybe just one bad?

[Albemarle Lawn]

The carb is not adjustable, but there is a screw that affects idle air that adjusts throttle plate to governor ratio.

Try it- it has a phillips head, I think you get at it from the bottom.

Ken

[Cutter1]

The double barrel carb always blows smoke when you hit the gas. They supposedly all do that. Mine ran like that, just like the others said and it need a new ignition coil.