Breaking in new Kohler 23

[Stonewall]

Got a new 2001 Kohler 23 (with Donaldson air filter) on order for my Scag Turf Tiger. The old 25 barely lasted 1360 hours with one complete rebuild, new intake manifold, new valves. And that with oil changes every 50 hours and a new filter every 100 hours. All to find out that the main bearing had worn out the block causing the flywheel to hit the ignition module, resulting in loss of power. I've read the posts on Amsoil bypass filters, but haven't seen anyone with an Amsoil bypass on a 23. There used to be an oil that Snapper promoted (I think) that would double the manufacturer's engine warranty if used exclusively. Anybody tried that? What's your best advice for breaking in this engine?

[GrassMaster]

Hello:

I'm curious how often did you clean the air filter?

Also when changing the oil how dirty was it?

We probably did not change our air filters that often but we cleaned them even if they had just a little bit of dirt on them.

The oil we did not go by hours, if the oil looked almost dirty we changed it. It was probably less than 50 hours.

One thing I know for sure is lots of times dirt gets into the Engine when removing the air filter. It's happened to us quite a few times. It got to the point everytime we went to put on the filter I would check with flashlight first.

I've read that dirt ingestion is common when cleaning the air filter.

The only reason I'm asking is that's not many hours on a Kohlar engine & a rebuild too? Did the folks that worked on it give you anykind of reason why the engine failed prematurely?

My stepfather had Snapper ZTR with 14hp Kohlar Command & at 800 hours it was smoking & rod knocking. Well when I went to check it I noticed a astronomical amouunt of dirt in the throat of the carb & filter was dirty. I put all back together. Then I asked him to clean the filter & I watched him. Bam he was letting dirt fall down in the carb.

At that time he was 72 years old & couldn't see very well. He now uses a flashlight on his new Shortblocked Engine!

One more thing I own a Outdoor Equipment Dealership & when I first took over almost 10 years ago. The #1 problem we had was engines that were rebuilt by the Techs for the previous 2 years before I took over. I learned the hard way when I had my Lawn Service Business that rebuilding an engine was a complete waste of money & you lucky if you got half as many hours as the new engine got before first overhaul.

We now refuse to rebuild & we loose a few customers over it. But we have no repeats on Short Blocked Engines at all & the customer is always very happy with the results!

If I had it to do over again I would have used Synthetic oil in all my larger Engines.

[Stonewall]

Grassmaster,

I used a remote air filter, similar to a Donaldson, but it did not bold directly on the carb. I rarely had to clean the round air/foam filter that sat on the carb. This was the only remote filter my mechanic or I knew of at the time. It did a good job, but not as well as the Donaldson.

The oil was not dirty at all. I would have used synthetic oil, but my mechanic (quite a good one and on Scag's dealer board) said it would have a hard time keeping the hydraulic lifters primed.

The reasons given as a possibility for premature failure were bad Kohler design or overheating that allowed the main bearing to wear the block giving it too much slack.

[Oldtimer]

Everyone has their own opinion about engine and oil and what they can get away with and what works for them but this will work every time.

1. Change the oil and filter after the first 5 hours.

2. Change the oil and filter every 50 hours.

3. Keep the engine and the rest of the mower clean.

4. Keep the blades sharp (sharpen daily or twice daily)

4. Use Kohler Command oil (10w30) and Kohler oil filters.

5. Check the gauge on the air filter and believe it.

6. Use gas with no alcohol (Amoco 87 or 89) no high test.
If you aren't sure about how to check for alcohol in the
fuel then e-mail me and I will tell you how.

7. start the engine at idle & only use the choke when cold.

8. Follow the engine maintenance guide.

[Stonewall]

My new 23 Kohler runs like a champ. Sometimes you don't realize how worn out your old engine is until you put a new one on. My mechanic put the oil cooler from my old 25 on the new one and had to raise my Peco bagger up 3" to compensate for the Donaldson filter.

I think I'm gonna buy an Amsoil dual-stage oil filter and go with their new Series 2000 0W-30 synthetic oil and get oil analysis done to see about lengthening my oil change intervals.

[rja]

I was thinking about using the Amsoil remote oil filter system (I think that this is what you are talking about) on a 1999 suburban suv. I spoke with the Chevy service tech and he said that this system might reduce the oil pressure and cause problems for the engine. I think that the engine was designed to handle set amount of oil volume and would be too small/weak for this system. I think I will just use the Amsoil filter instead.

[awm]

Irecently aquired a kohler enginne with 800
hrs on it . I went to mobil 1 synthetic
Am i wrong in doing that . thanks TM

[Eric ELM]

If you want to get an Amsoil bypass filter system for a 23 HP Kohler, Dixie Chopper uses them on their 23 HP motors. Go to a DC dealer and get one and look at how they are hooked up while your there.

[rja]

Are you talking about the remote filter system which attaches to the where the old oil filter fits on the engine, or are you discussing the second filter line that is somehow hooked into the base of the engine and is seperate from the oringinal oil filter?

[Eric ELM]

The Dixie Chopper system has a regular oil filter plus an Amsoil bypass filter. You change the regular one often, the Amsoil filter about once a year. The Ams filter will filter out dirt down to 1 micron in size.

[Stonewall]

awm,

I dont know that you're wrong in going with Mobil 1. Lots of folks here have and are pleased with it. My research showed that Amsoil was the best available, especially when combined with their bypass filter, so I'm gonna give it a try.

Eric,

There aren't any Dixie Chopper dealers around here, but I'm gonna get my mechanic to set it up for me. I want to see if the Amsoil lowers my operating temperature, but I dont have a temp. gauge on my Scag. Maybe I could get one of those infared temp. guns for $100 and find out. It seems I remember that you commented one time about the operatin temp. lowering on your DC. Do you have a temp. gauge?

[Eric ELM]

I have one on my new diesel. What I was talking about was when I got it broke in, I added Tufoil and the temperature droped 10 degrees. I knew the air cooled motors seemed to run cooler after putting in Tufoil, but didn't know how much. When I put it in the diesel, I knew for sure it helped. I've run Tufoil for the past 12 years and had great luck. The Amsoil filter just filters out dirt that is 25 times smaller than what goes though a regular oil filter. This is what helps keep a motor going longer.