Since My two mowers with Kohlers blew their engines within an hour of each other, I decided I will never own another Kohler if I can help it. I bought a Honda on E-bay thinking it would be a snap to install it on my Great Dane. Today I stopped by a couple of dealers and they said it might be next to impossible. Has anyone ever done this. If we can send a man to the moon, I can surely put a Honda engine on a Great Dane.
If the crankshaft on the honda is the same as the Kohler you should be able to do it. However you might need to drill holes in your frame for the Honda to bolt up & you will definately have to do some re-wiring to make the Honda work. I would ask the dealer for electrical diagrams for both engines and go from there. You may lose your safety switches if the wiring is complex but I think you should be able to wire in the kill lead & rectifier/regulator leads to make the engine work. Whats the models of the Kohler your replacing & the Honda you want to use? With that information maybe someone will have a more definate answer.
I'm replacing a 22 hp Kohler with a 24 hp Honda. The mechanical part I can handle just fine. I'm only worried about the electrical.
I did put the engine on. It actually bolted right on and wired right up. Other than a new blade drive pulley and a new clutch it was a piece of cake.
Royalslover, What style of Great Dane did you put the Honda Engine on? I have a 1999 Surfer that I want to repower. I noticed the Hondas have a shorter shaft (3.19 vs. 4") and was wondering if that created any problems? It also looks like the Honda has an 1 1/8" shaft vs. the original 1". What pulley and clutch did you use?
I bought my GD in 2000 but it may be a year or two older. It is the old style surfer. I actually bought a clutch at a Honda dealer for $250. I didn't mount it right and it was ruined in about a month. I bought one at another place for $69 and it's worked great ever since. I did have to do a little modification to make it fit. The pulley was just the same as the other but it had a 1 1/8" bore. I don't remember any problems with the shaft being shorter. If you decide to do this let me know and I will see if this place has any cheap clutches.
Sorry to hear about your bad lucck with the Kohler engines. I have a 20 hp Kohler on an older Graet Dane Surfer. No problems. It came with a blown Kohler 18hp. I changed it out with no problems. Had to do some simple wire swapping, but 3 years later it is still running great. If you just reference yourself using the schematic from the machine along with the schematic from the engine, you will be fine. That worked for me.
wbreed, What model do you have? I've got a 1999 Surfer w/ 22 hp Kohler with no id tags that needs to be replaced. Please contact me I'm kinda in a tough situation since company has been sold and records are incomplete. Thanks
