Walker mower kohler engine burning or using lots of oil. Try this first!

[@NoPeoblem389X]

Well done most operators/owners don’t know to do that kind of maintenance so I appreciate you sharing your experiences with this particular mower. I have been a industrial mechanic for over 40 years and I like the message of what to and not to do like don’t wash a hot engine l. One of the better videos I’ve seen well done keep up the great work. With Respect. RR

[@Ryan-sl2oe]

Thank you for watching!

[@ronbaker8774]

Absolutely best advice on air cooled engines overheating. Found a mouse nest, from setting over winter, on top of one head and was very well packed in with residue grass and other things. When I started it up this spring, it ran well but soon overheated in about ten minutes of mowing. Removed the shroud (per your suggestion) and soon learned that washing was only way to remove all of the packed in debris.

[@paulthompson1654]

Kohlers did have clean out plugs in the fan cover . Gives u good access to heads . A long end shop air blower 24 inch and have A 90 DEGREE BEND in the end . Dont forget the factory cooler mounts where the oil filter goes . Every 500--600 hrs prefer remove flywheel , this area gets packed with dirt around the windings that charge the battery . Every 500 hrs remove starter completely strip , separate armature shaft from throw out gear Clean out and relube with graphite grease a very small amount on sleeve bushing ends and throw out splines . Normal grease attracts dust . Polaris have a tube as well as spares shops . Oils temps are best watched as frequent 235--250f are seen when running hot from my 42 GHS and 52SD in 90f and above ambient weather . I fitted 10 inch fan and 11 x 8 x 1.5 cooler dropped temps 190-200f . This eliminated blown head gasket / blown intake gasket / leaky valve covers . The increase oil capacity kept oil cleaner between service The Pcv system you upgrade to brass mesh instead of horse hair which degrades and does not stop oil sucked into carb . use an old auto breather cut it open to access . The pcv hoses were natural rubber which degrades Kohler had orange high temp rubber replacements . If these tear they allow dust inside your motor . The Briggs Vangard 18 hp has none of the issues

[@trentwheeler6161]

Thanks for the video! I'm working on a CH18s 62509 Kohler command.

[@Ryan-sl2oe]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching and good luck with that kohler.

[@garylaxson]

Good video. Hopefully that's all I need. I ran mine for a short time with too much oil. Could that have caused the issue?

[@Ryan-sl2oe]

Running an engine with too much oil can almost be as bad as running it without oil. How heavy were you running it? Was it super full? If you ran enough oil to get into the combustion chamber, you could have permanently damaged the engine.

[@roystonlowe8260]

How do you get in there

[@toached]

Great video sir..I was wondering how many hours are on those hydros and/or final drives for them to be going out? and how do you know they are going out? Also How often should the oil be changed in them? thanks

[@Ryan-sl2oe]

Thanks for the comment and questions. First off, this particular walker has Eaton hydros, which are one of the things walker does right. They are very good. Keep in mind that Walker doesn't make any way to adjust hydros on these mowers. The only adjustment is in the handles and its pretty minor (this is another walker failure in my opinion). This mower won't track properly, despite adjusting the handles. It has also lost a lot of speed over the years. If you pull your fill plug on the top and see any metal on the magnet, its a good sign that the gears are worn. If your oil hasn't been changed regularly in the hydros, that plug can be a nightmare to get out. I have had to weld a rod to the plug and crank it out. Its a bummer. If your mower won't track straight or if you have a weird feel in the steering as you operate, there's a fair chance one or both hydros are worn out. If the oil smells burnt or if the machine is constantly using oil, that's another sign of being worn out. Regarding hours, the manual should tell you an oil change interval. Walker does make service PDFs available online, which is nice. This particular machine has over 5000 hours and the drives weren't serviced EVER prior to my employment with this company. If they had been, these Eaton drives are pretty bulletproof. This mower is on its 3rd engine and it still has the original drives. Be sure to use a full synthetic oil and keep up on service. The Eatons will last longer than the machine (in most cases), despite the engines going after about 2000 hours. Walker has an INSANE number of grease zerks on these machines and they are a pain in the ass. Dont forget to grease the zerk on the primary shaft coming out of the hydros. Its hard to see, but its between the wheel and the frame on the axle. Keeping this one greased regularly really helps the life of the hydros and keeps undo stress off of them. On a side note, be sure to service the PTO gear box as well. It may have the same service interval as the hydros (i cant remember off hand). Be sure to check oil level regularly in these (front dipstick) because those gear boxes are notorious for blowing the seal on the pto shaft and they aren't cheap to replace. If you ever pull your gearbox (you can wiggle it out without removing the engine, its a pain) be sure to check the feet on the gearbox. The box is cast and when casted, it has 4 small feet in the casting. They are little "L" shaped pieces that ride on the frame. If any of them are broken, get a new gearbox. If the feet aren't perfect, it will mess up the alignment and it will ruin your pto seals in no time. Once again, use full synthetic 80-90 on the gearbox. One more tip... be sure to take a picture of the serial plates of all your machines. They wear out over time and it can be a nightmare to get parts if you arent exactly sure of your serial and model number. Walker makes changes regularly to their mowers and you want to be sure of which parts you need. This shop has 3 "T series" mowers and every one of them is different when it comes to parts. Hit me up if you have more questions. Good luck!!!

[@SouthernLandscaping]

No way you were burning oil or overheating because you had debris on the heads. Not possible. Seriously we run 10-12 walkers and other mowers with these engines. This has never happened.

[@BlondeWick]

Can't speak to Walker's powered by Kohler. But personally I won't even consider anything running a kohler made in the last 10+ years. Every single one I've had experience with is trash, even brand new tbh. Underpowered and so on... 👎👎

[@HammerlaneRookie]

I hav same mower and engine. The round crank seal on exhaust side of motor keeps pushing out. I just replaced it... how much pressure is suppose to come out the oil fill tube when open and engine running cause way more pressure coming out there then out of the little breather that runs to the intake. Here is a little video of the pressure from oil fill tube. kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmm8ZZyCot56fMk

[@HammerlaneRookie]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmm8ZZyCot56fMk here's a little video of how much pressure from the oil fill tube

[@Ryan-sl2oe]

There should be a valve on the breather. Did you remove the valve?

[@HammerlaneRookie]

@@Ryan-sl2oe no. Do I need to?

[@Ryan-sl2oe]

@@HammerlaneRookie I watched your video and it looks like the valve is missing. Usually it's a black, plastic piece. If it fell off or was removed when the mower was used, I'd be concerned about what got in there. If it still has a valve and it just looks different than what I'm used to, it could be clogged and may need changed. It's hard to diagnose if I'm not looking right at it. There seems to be a lot of crank case pressure, but I'd start with the valve or lack of one as the first step.

[@HammerlaneRookie]

@@Ryan-sl2oe ok. Where is the valve supposed to be