beware of the Ebay purchase

About a year and a half ago i purchased a Kohler K91 off Ebay. The seller said he got the engine from a closed down Wheelhorse dealer, it was suppost to be NOS but had been run for a few hours. Like new condition. I thought great the rings will probably be seated. When I got the motor it was awash in fresh red paint. The seals, and gaskets were all painted as to hide something. The ebay photos did not really show the extent of the painting. Well after a year or so of running the engine it never stopped smoking and only got worse. I decided to take it apart, here's what I found. the top and middle rings were in upside down and the ring gap was way to large. the head was warped and the head bolts were of different lengths , some were with washers and some without. needless to say the head gasket leaked. The points were well used had been filed lop sided so there was only a small contact point. The valves had lots of carbon deposits indicating lots of hours. Here's what I did. replaced the rings honed the cylinder (it was still in standard specs) I had another head and head bolts. new seals and head gasket, replaced the points and plug, cleaned the carbon from the valves. Started it up and am now putting some under load time to seat the rings. The moral of the story is know your seller if possible, I thought I did.

I've been burned through Craig's list too. Great pictures and they say everything is fine. You drive hours to pick it up and you find all sorts of obvious issues. Its hard to walk away when you put in 4 hours+ of driving.

I just picked up a 520xi that was advertised as in very good condition and 800 hours. Pictures looked great. I bought it, dragged it home, and started mowing. Once it warmed up, the smoking began. The seller had to have known (he is a WH collector), but never said a word. Now I have work to do, probably oil control rings. That thing is going through about 1/2 qt. of oil an hour. Funny that it was fine when I test drove it. But the deck was off, so I couldn't push it hard. At least this xi is worth the investment.

That said, I have met some wonderful people that were just as honest and pleasant as could be. And I got exactly what I expected. I guess we just gotta be careful.

I'm off to look at xi two stage blower this afternoon.

Kurt

Well, I bought a two stage blower for my xi. Its in really nice shape. Didn't get stung this time.

I'm still not sure about the guy that sold be the bad xi engine. I guess I'm just too forgiving (its in my PA Dutch nature). But one thing for sure. I will not buy from him again. I did get a good price, so if it costs me a couple of hundred to sort this out, I'm OK. But at this point I'm thinking of a new engine. The tractor is worth it.

Ugh!

Quick update, I decided to put in a new 22.5 HP Kohler V-Twin Command Pro. It arrived today. Looks to be a bolt in. Now I'm off to figure out the wiring.

Fun!

A couple of pics for you Nappy.

As I brought it home

New engine in place and almost ready to go.

I got it running over the weekend. It sure is sweet. Even mowed for a couple of hours. But I neglected to get a video. I'll get one shortly and post it.

Kurt