Kohler K341 carb parts help

[William]

I'm working on a Gravely two wheel tractor with a Kohler K341-71334 engine. Changing out the attachment on the machine and started it up and the engine suddenly raced to wide open. Shut it down pretty quick. Pulled the air cleaner and could see the throttle plate sitting in the back of the carb off it's shaft. Pulled the carb off and the plate was off sure enough. It actually broke the little heads off of the two screws. Never seen this before. I have looked up parts on Kohler's website and they show the whole carb but no kits. I see sten's kits online for the throttle shaft but they are for smaller K series motors. Would one of them work on mine? I really only need the two screws.

[bgsengine]

Depends - do you have the old Carter carburetor? (probably) or the newer Walbro WHG Carburetor?

I do not believe the throttle shaft kits from stens fit the Carters - but there are a few enterprising people on ebay (machine shops) that build replacement throttle shaft kits from scratch for those Carter carburetors (IMO they were the BEST carbs to be had back then) if you can get the threads of the screws out of the throttle shaft and it isnt worn too badly you may be able to locate screws from Walbro WHG , Briggs, Tecumseh, Etc. - just have to get the right size thread.

[William]

I don't see Walbro stamped on the carb body so it probably is the carter. They list the screw size in the service manual so that helps. As for wear, there is some slop in the throttle shaft. I guess I'll have to look into a bushing set. I'll ask the dumb question. The screw heads were not in the intake port. Guess that means they are in the combustion chamber. So I need to pull the head?

[HondaG100]

If you have the thread pitch and screw size just go to your local hardware store and get the right one. Unless they are rattling around in your muffler now I think the head should come off.

[bgsengine]

I don't see Walbro stamped on the carb body so it probably is the carter. They list the screw size in the service manual so that helps. As for wear, there is some slop in the throttle shaft. I guess I'll have to look into a bushing set. I'll ask the dumb question. The screw heads were not in the intake port. Guess that means they are in the combustion chamber. So I need to pull the head?

if they have not done anything yet and you do not find them falling out of the intake port the engine has already "ate" them and if you pull the head you will probably find them embedded in the top of the piston - won't hurt much to leave them sit there although they CAN cause hot spots and cause running problems (pre-ignition) so if you want the machine to be "perfect" I'd pull the head and dig out the screws and smooth down the piston top - If they come loose from where they sit, they could also cause a valve to hang open -

but I have seen those Kohlers run for years and years with carb screws still jammed in the piston (or the head) with no problems. The screws coming out was a fairly common issue on the carter models where the engines did not have counter-balance gears (you can tell the carter carb apart from a Walbro because the Carters have a main high speed needle that threads down through top of carburetor and into the main jet - the needle becomes the fuel feed tube - it sits right in the middle of the venturi. Carb kits are still available (Kohler 25-757-01 if I recall) and they were very easy to "Dial in" just right when it came to adjusting them. )