Those engines can easily go 2000 hours with good maintenance. On the flip side a new Kohler Confidante can be purchased for around $1200 with a three year warranty.

$900 for new seals seems high unless they are also rebuilding the governor.

 

Wow 2000 hours. That's good to know. The mechanic at my Scag dealer said maybe 1000. Quoted me $2200 to $2300 for a new Kohler installed.

$900 sounded high to me too. I also thought a total resealing of the engine didn't make much sense rather than to do what it takes to find the source of the leak and just fix that. He did put dye in the oil and said he thought it was the pan gasket. It didn't take me long to rule that out but it did take me a while to figure out how to trace it to the upper crank seal. I'm mechanically inclined but don't have a lot of experience with small engine work.

Just got Sunday delivery from Amazon so I'm installing the new crank seal right now.

 

Keep us posted

 

You might be getting too much pressure in the engine, there is a valve reed, I believe on top that may need to be looked at????? (maybe)

 

Alright, I've run it for 45 minutes now at full speed and shut down. Mowed part of our 2 acre yard even though it didn't need it yet. No sign of a leak and I think I would have seen it run down the side of the engine by now. The oil leak path ran down the block between the cooling fins just to the rear of the oil filter. I even put a cotton swap up as far as I could and get no oil. I think I've got the leak fixed! I also don't think after running it that long that it's necessary to remove the flywheel again to inspect. Pretty confident at this point. (And happy.)

Took awhile. It actually went to the shop twice for this. First time they said they couldn't get it to leak and they brought it back no charge. Since it still leaked, they came and got it again and that's when they told me the $900 total re-seal or new engine story. Again, they brought it back with no charge. Then it took me a good while to chase it down. I kept thinking it was the oil filter or the oil drain valve right below. It took removing the flywheel with a thorough cleaning in that area before I could run it again and then follow the trail to the seal.



I had already thought of that possibility and would have researched that next. However, you think it would have pushed oil out in the lower seal too. No leak down there. Don't have to do that now it looks like.

 

Sounds like you may have gotten this sorted? Hope so.

Fwiw:
Kawasaki sells that FH engine still, but only a few/yr are allowed since they are considered a dirty engine per the EPA. Best time to buy is in January due to the new fiscal year. Should be under $1500 and a simpler install than a Kohler conversion (I would think). Call Jackssmallengines.com for info and have the model # handy = which is two letters followed by two numbers found on the engine placard.
Good luck!

 

Thanks. Good info. I wondered what complications there might be converting to a Kohler. I'll remember this info but hopefully I'll get several more years out of my original engine.

And btw, thanks to everyone that has posted here!

 

Congrats!!!

 

That is really good that it stopped. Good job!! I have read that some kawi's did have a problem with leakage, could be just a weak seal.

 

Thanks!
I did some searching and found some say a place that's prone to leak is the gasket on the cover on the breather box. I pulled the cover but it didn't look like it was leaking. I pulled the filter out of the box and washed it with soap and water but it really wasn't hardly dirty. I re-sealed the lid with RTV.
This is what led me to pull the flywheel though which turned out to be a good thing that led to the fix. There was so much black oily dirt on the stator, you couldn't even recognize what it was.

 

I have the same mower that has 770 hours on it, I also have a oil leak and was thinking it was the head gasket, checked compression, and both sides were good. I guess my next place to look is the top crank seal, Can you tell me how you went about getting the fly wheel off?

 

Got it, didn't take 1 minute, very simple.

 

They come off pretty easy using the tap method.
Before I tap on the crank bolt, I do put a spacer under the bolt and tighten it onto the crank.

Btw my photo hosting service is down right now so the photos I posted to this thread are not showing. They say they are working to fix the problem.

 

The box behind the stator is what he is talking about. The filter in there gets bathed by oil. As I said earlier in this thread, I figured that was where I was going to find my leak. But it was fine. After cleaning up, reassembling and running the engine I could then see the leak was coming from the crank seal.

 

Thanks!!

 

Hi Roger1, Good job on finding and fixing that leak. The top crank seal is a known leak problem in that engine. With proper maintenance (frequent oil & filter changes and valve adjustments) that engine should last 2000 hours.

 

Breather gasket, I learned something today, Thanks everyone.

 

I'd probably replace the seal at the while you have it apart.

I took my breather cover off to inspect. It did not leak but I broke the gasket taking the cover off. I just used RTV and no gasket afterwards. Been running strong all summer with no leaks.

 

Any tips on how to replace the upper oil seal? My FH has around 1400 hrs. I'm familiar with how to get to the upper oil seal, but what is the easiest / safest way to remove and reinstall it?

Thanks!

 

Removal
Drill a hole and put in screw:

Installation
Cut a piece of PVC pipe and get a big washer:

 

I have one with 2600 hours and counting. Has a bad starter so havent been using it, but Im 100 percent sure that a new starter and she would crank right up after sitting for well over a year.

 

Hey Slowleak1, would you mind sharing what kind of regular maintenance you have done to this engine, and any other repairs you have had to perform?

 

fwiw I've got the fh580v on my wright 32" stander and it's still going some 16 years later. Not a single problem.

 

Oil seals have a metal body. On a vertical engine like the Kawasaki FH, do I need to worry about the metal shavings when drilling the starter hole for the screw?

Thanks

 

It would be a good idea not to drill all the way through.