John Deere 212 / Kohler K301 AQS 12 Hp Engine

I just bought a John Deere 212 riding mower with the side shaft Kohler 12 hp K301 AQS engine with an extra deck ( minus a bearing
assembly . blade , but with both belts ) all complete for $50.00 non running , but I heard it running last year . Bottom screw was missing
on points cover and there was a cobweb mess on the contact parts of points . Another mower mechanic friend of mine who knows more about
points system as hes older than me ( 72 ) set the points closer and filed them and we got it running run for a few and then quit and
wouldn't start back . I fount that the little ground arm on spark plug was bent up until it was barely touching the tip of plug . Put in
new plug and some new gas with old and it hit a second or two and quit again and wouldn't start . Checked firing with neon tester , no
spark . 12 vdc on hot wire on coil on the side of engine . I also put in a new battery . The wiring has been butchered some as in it has a
off / on toggle switch that you have to push up to one for it to start and down to kill . It also has a push button start switch and
another toggle switch on top of dash for the lights . Push up for lights to come on and down for off . Lights are seperate from the other
off / on switch ! The guy that I got it from said that was the way he got it . Guy also said that he mowed with it for two years until it
stared missing / cutting out at full throttle ( don't know if it only did it while cold or hot or both ) He took it to another small
engine shop who said that the engine was wore out . It has been sitting since the last time he got it out and started it to show me about a
year ago . And it sat for some time before that . The points and condenser are both shiny like they are brand new even though the mower was
sitting under a three sided shed with the hood off and the engine facing out . Any ideas on how to check / diagonose the firing problem ?
Points was before I started working on small engines ! lights pretty much work now and the guy that I got it fro also said that the guy he
got it from had just put in a new heavy duty clutch on mower ( not deck ) ! What are your thoughts ? Did I do good for $50.00 / Mower looks
pretty good . Not sure of year of mfg , but serial number is on plate on the dash under the steering column along with model number ! Any
thoughts on this or comments ? Anything that I should check or be aware of ? Thanks for any and all help !


Whizkid

What is the point gap setting , min and max , for this engine ? Does anyone have a wiring diagram for this mower / engine ? As mentioned above the points and condenser look shiny like almost new . The coil on the outside of engine looks old ( not sure of the parts under the flywheel ) Coil looks old and could be the original one. I saw one pic where it is located on battery box but mine in bolted on side of the engine . Not sure of original location so accordind to location of mine and the one in pic then mine might have been moved ! Spare deck has like new blades on the two remaining assemblies .

Thanks,
Whizkid

Complete service manuals for this engine can be downloaded from Kohler's website. Contains Everything you want and need to know, and how to do everything you'll ever need to do to the engine.

Weekend Freedom Machines website has everything you need including troubleshooting tips.
Point gap standard is .020 set when the points are fully open.
Good used wiring harnesses show up on the auction site from time to time.
The correct ignition switch is not very expensive at an auto parts store.
There is no such thing a a heavy duty PTO for those.
Buy belts from a John Deere dealer. Those will fit belts do not work properly because the correct belts are a unique width.
Year of manufacture can be looked on using the serial number on the WFMachines.com website.

What do you mean, Did I do good for $50?. Its worth much more than that as parts.

Do you have a test light? One of the first things to check if you have ignition problems with those engines is to find out are you losing power to the + side of the coil.

Another thing that seems to be common now that most of those are getting around 40 years old is the wire to the points. I have seen two or three that the wire gets an intermittent ground/short where the wire goes under the sheet metal clip on or near the cam cover. (I may never have seen the first one, but I was working on it one night in my shop and I saw one tiny spark at that clamp.)

You might also invest in an in-line spark tester to go between the sparkplug and the wire. Also check the spark plug wire where it goes near anything it can ground against.