Getting ready to do a rebuild of my old jd314. She's blowing smoke like a train, and using oil like that's it's job. I've got the service manuals, but books don't help noobs. This will be my first teardown and rebuild. Who's got tips, tricks, things to look at with this model, etc? Kohler parts or stens? This thing is far too tough to give up up on now Let's hear it....I'll provide the cadaver and pics....talk me thru it!
These are great engines, but wait until you get to re-timing those balance shafts in the bottom end. Te-he! Tear it down and see where you are at. You really have no idea on what you need for parts until you know how much the cylinder bore has worn and if/how much machine work it's gonna need.
Went to grab the tractor this weekend (it's the camper tractor) and it died on me while cutting the grass there. New coil off the parts machine, and the thing runs better than it ever has! It ran so good, I decided to let it ride until it gets hot and the grass quits growing there.
I'm working on a K532 out of a John Deere 400, this is my first time doing something this significant so take my advice with a grain of salt. With parts I would look at aftermarket unless you really want it all to be Kohler. The 532 uses the same pistons as the 301 and Kohler OEM parts are spendy, the general consensus I got from reading people's reports online was the aftermarket stuff tended to be ok. I bored the K532 .020 over using a Lisle hone on the drill press, time will tell how well this worked but using the bore gauge I got it looks to be within .0005" so good enough based on the specs in the service manual. I spent way more on tools for this project then I should have but the way I look at it is we have a lot of old machines around that will likely need help at one point or another so if I can get the tools for about the same money as paying someone to do the work I'll lean towards getting the tools. Of course when you pay someone to do the work it should be done right by someone with experience, I'm rolling the dice on that a little. I don't know about the 314 but with the 400 the John Deere service manual covers everything including the engine, it's pretty similar to the kohler manual but has some additional details that might be helpful. If you don't have a copy I'd recommend trying to locate one. I was able to get a PDF of the 400 manual for a few bucks, I think the 314 is a little more common it might even be available free somewhere but I don't know.
For a one time job, would definitely farm out the machine work on the cylinder. Valves and ring gap are easy enough to DIY but ensuring the bore is correctly sized and parallel is crucial to the longevity of the rebuilt engine. wfournier, you went .020" over with a hone?! Either that engine was worn most of the way there or you are a far more patient man than I.
