25 HP Kohler gets TOO MUCH gas

John Orr

John Orr

Member
So I'm working yesterday and all of a sudden, the engine starts to "bog down" with the trigger open. Release the trigger and it ran fine. Eventually, it died, but I was able to restart. It then would run and seemingly choke to death, but the chock didn't move. Gets plenty of gas - appears to choke on it when governor kicks in, spark to both cylinders, normal rpms (when running smoothly), recent plugs, air filter and oil/filter change, no water in fuel. Local shop took carburetor off and all appears normal.

Any thoughts on what to look for?
 
How old is the engine? A leak down test will show wear in the cylinder or valves. Could just need a valve job?
 
I have a 20hp Honda that is doing something similar, runs for 2-5 minutes then dies (seizes up) and after a few minutes of cooling down, it will start again.

I was told that it is the bearings and nobody here rebuilds engines, would be a minimum of 10 shop hours work not including parts.

I would take it to a shop, could be like what Russ said, no way of knowing until the shop guru takes a look at it.
 
Christopher said:
I was told that it is the bearings and nobody here rebuilds engines, would be a minimum of 10 shop hours work not including parts.
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No way. If a rod is going to seize, it stays seized. Can you turn the engine by hand after it shuts down? You've got something else going on there.
 
When the engine stops, they said that they can't turn the engine over until it cools down so that is why they mention that it might be the bearings. Now you mention it, maybe the timing is off somehow?
 
I had the exact same problem with my kholer 25 when I was working in higher altitudes. I rejetted it and I havent had a problem since.
 
John Orr said:
So I'm working yesterday and all of a sudden, the engine starts to "bog down" with the trigger open. Release the trigger and it ran fine. Eventually, it died, but I was able to restart. It then would run and seemingly choke to death, but the chock didn't move. Gets plenty of gas - appears to choke on it when governor kicks in, spark to both cylinders, normal rpms (when running smoothly), recent plugs, air filter and oil/filter change, no water in fuel. Local shop took carburetor off and all appears normal.

Any thoughts on what to look for?
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John, I picked up some bad fuel a few times and had the same problems. It ran fine after the tank emptied out and I refueled along with some Lucas gas teatment.

Kemp
 
Now that I remember John, I was having a similar problem with my Briggs&Stratton Vanguard 21hp engine earlier this year. When bypassing it would run ok but when I pull the gun trigger it would bog down very bad and almost die but ran terrible.

I called the Hotsy dealer and he gave me some ideas to try out. Turns out that after 5 years I had never changed the sparkplugs. Oops. I changed them out and it is running like a champ.

I will be taking my hot water skids to the mechanic this week to see if they can figure out what is causing the Honda 20hp engine to die, hopefully it does not need a new engine.
 
Update: Local PW dealer actually tried a new carb - didn't fix the problem. Eventually, he wound-up replacing the wiring harness - something about a bad diode (?). Ran fine for 2 hours. Next day, ran 30 min and did it again. Later the same day, ran again without problem for 2 hours. Ran again for 5 hours yesterday with no problems. Hmmm.
 
sounds rough, The same thing happened to me while I was in VA that weekend. I took it to Tidewater and they said it was the carb. My exhaust was to close to my intake causing it to bog down after 10 or 15 min. of run time. New air filter oil change and carb clean up. It has run fine since then. Thanks again John for the help while I was in your neck of the woods. My door is always open!
 
I'll throw in a guess - unloader is bogging down the pump, if you have a gauge on the head you would see pressure go way high. #2 - that cutoff switch/solenoid backfire preventer is a good suspect - you should hear it click when you turn the key, a pretty healthy click. the wire comes off the key panel and goes over to the carb and I've had one get loose before.
 
Ron, you could have a giveaway, first one to figure out whats wrong with Johns engine...
 
Final (?) Update: Well, its been a few days, and many hours, and all seems to fine. Shop says probably in the (key) switch. If its anything different, I will post. Thanks fore the suggestions, I did pass them all to the shop. (Yes, he wanted to charge extra for "helping". LOL)
 
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