Kohler with no timing hole

Sprint 6

Well-known Member
I recently bought a non-running Cub Cadet 147 with a K321. I cleaned the carb and filed the points and it took right off. My problem is, I went to time it with a light like I do all my Kohlers, but this one has no timing hole in the shroud. Anybody seen one like this? Is there any other way to time it with a light? Maybe this is peculiar to the 147 since it is has the odd frame?
 
Going just a little to the right. You better pick up a real set of Kohler points and not after market. I did just what you did with my Gravely 10 and the points took a crap right when I needed the snow blower. Points have a micro finish of Platnum on them. Now this is true of GOOD points or so I have been told. When you file or sand them you removed the finish. So you will need to clean them again and again till you get sick of it. The only thing I use is a piece of card board like a match book with some carb cleaner sprayed on it. Did your points have white fuzzys or green fuzzys on them? That mean they are already junk. The Gravely has the magneto inside of the flywheel. When it is working correctly with "new for real Kohler points" it pops off in one rovolution! When the points were crummy you could crank all day and ZIPPPPP. Don't cheap out on your new toy. Jeffcat
 
My Kohler engines have the hole on the frt. (carb.) side of engine. I think some had the hole on the rear in the flywheel bearing plate facing the pto side of engine.
 
Don't waste your time, there's no need. If you set the points at .020 when they are open as far as they go, you have set the timing.
 
I painted a mark on the screen and shroud on most of our stuff at the golf course, can't remember what I lined up to before painting the mark. I might of done it when I had the head off. This was 30 years ago and we were running leaded gasoline, it was crap gas. If you didn't pull the head off every 200 hours and clean out the hard carbon deposits it would eventually build up enough to break a ring and mess up the piston. If you ran it long enough after the ring broke you'd put a pretty nasty groove in the cylinder wall, can you say "Overbore".
 
It makes a difference. Rebuilt the K341 on my closed side Ford LGT165 and could not keep it from running hot and pinging. Two sets of points, second set was Kohler, new condensor, carb adjustments, and all the checking an re-checking it still would have to be shut down half way through the yard to cool. Ended up bringing my timing light home from work and adjusted the points with it running using the flywheels mark. It now pulls like a train through high grass and will mow the whole yard in one shot without a shut down. The timing was surprisingly far off when set at .020. Your experience may vary.
 
As gab said some of the K series had a timing hole on rear of bearing plate,look for a hole/hole plug in area between starter & block or on front of eng to right of carb,timing marks will be on rear edge of flywheel,I have a K301 like this.
 
I'm not doubting you at all, but a stock engine SHOULD run well at .020. A couple of places that cater to pullers sell a kit to put Chevy small block points on K-series engines for the adjustable dwell. What was your final gap setting?
 
I did not think to check the gap when I was done, suppose I should have. My engine is. 020 over, so maybe that is making it need the timing exact.
 
I have a 212 that was recently rebuilt and runs well but not quite right. Part of the problem is the Walbro carburetor that I can't get enough fuel through, but part of it may be timing. Did you drill a hole through the shroud for the timing?
 
I did not drill a hole in my K341 on my Ford, it had one there with a plug in it as most Kohlers do. This K321 is the only one I have seen without. The K301 in my 104 Cub has one also.
 
If you don't have a timing hole in flywheel cover or anywhere on bearing plate a possible reason for this might be eng left factory with solid state ign in which case on the later K series timing hole on flywheel cover/bearing plate was eliminated as timing was fixed on solid state system,on the early K series when factory was changeing over from points to solid state timing hole was in flywheel cover/bearing plate.

Over the yrs previous owner(s) may have installed a conversion kit on eng to convert to point ign if they had a problem with solid state system & to get around high cost of kohler solid state coil/trigger module,check ign sw,if sw appears to be newer than rest of elect parts on tractor then a conversion may have been done do to fact a magneto ign sw was required for solid state ign & a battery ign sw was needed for point type ign.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top