Kohler Courage Starter Diagnosis

d13series1 · Sep 17, 2019

2014 Courage 2 cylinder. Runs great, got the leaking valve cover sealed up (hint - make a real gasket for it).

Start, mow, stop to move the drain spout. Turn key, starter whirrs, no motor action. Turn of, try again, catches and off we go. Stop in a bit to get gas. Turn key, starter whirrs, no motor spin. Move motor over by hand, repeat, same result. 12V to starter when engaged, so not battery. Since I can hear start spin, I'm thinking bendix (assuming it has one), or starter pinion stripped (is it keyed onto shaft?) or all the teeth missing, which I view as least likely since it worked then suddenly didn't. Other option would be stripped flywheel which also seems unlikely. No weird noises before, has worked fine up till now.

Any thoughts before I rip into it?

T.R.K. · Sep 17, 2019

The starter bendix IS slipping. One side is covered in rubber so there is usually good friction and yet it can slip when the engine fires.

but what causes it?

1. starter with a bad bendix. It doesn't get rained on, does it? I've seen a lot of these give trouble right after they are washed.

Or: 2: The valves are out of adjustment. (But you checked that when you fixed the leaky valve covers, right?)

These engine take a lot of torque to spin over. I was told by the district rep. that this engine has no compression release. On engines
with compression release the valve adjustment is even more critical. The valves must be in spec. for the compression release to work
properly.

There is also a starter with a 9 tooth bendix to replace the starters with the 10 tooth bendix to get a little more torque to the flywheel.

d13series1 · Sep 17, 2019

Mine does not have the disc. 320-980-3. Ring gear looks fine. Pinion shows wear from contacting about 1/ 8? up from the bottom. Pinion spins freely on the shaft, no contact with shaft spirals which would give the spin no drive condition. Time for a new one.

Texasmark1 · Sep 20, 2019

Not that hard to pop the shroud and eyeball the bendix operation from the top. On your Courage, check all the bolts holding the top (side of engine block)
to the main engine block for correct torque. Mine vibrated itself to death, knocked half a dozen of them loose and finally cracked the main casting where
they meet (2-3" crack) after the same valve cover-head bolt vibrating loose problem you have. Junked it and got a new BS V twin off Ebay for about $600
with free shipping and away I went. Commands were good.....Courage, 20 hp on a single cylinder with that shoddy alum block, not so. This is the same
Husq. that I mentioned above that is my preferred spring time mower.

d13series1 · Sep 25, 2019

Found a genuine -8 starter on line for under $80 delivered, fixed her right up. The helix driven washer is frozen to the shaft on the old one.

Mule Meat · Sep 25, 2019

(quoted from post at 16:30:53 09/17/19) [b:8fe25edbe5]Mine does not have the disc[/b:8fe25edbe5]. 320-980-3. Ring gear looks fine. Pinion shows wear from contacting about 1/ 8? up from the bottom. Pinion spins freely on the shaft, no contact with shaft spirals which would give the spin no drive condition. Time for a new one.

Maybe you need to watch this short video on the helix thrust disc. This guy can tell what to check and how to repair it quicker and easier than I can explain it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_GcOUY3FJaY

Kohler Courage Starter Diagnosis

d13series1

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T.R.K.

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d13series1

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Texasmark1

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d13series1

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Mule Meat

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