Kohler Courage Engines

[Propwash]

Any opinions on the Kohler Courage series? Some have told me to stay away from them, but I thought I'd ask the collective.

[bgsengine]

Depends - the horizontal shaft ones have held up quite well, (Some of them are actually just chinese honda clones, like some of the low end Briggs and the "new" Tecumseh/LCT) but their vertical shaft "Bucket" engines (So called because their crankcase/cylinder assembly is basically an aluminum bucket with a lid on top) have had a number of cracking and metal fatigue issues (weight of the cylinder combined with bolts getting loose = cracked crankcase)

[Blueflame6]

bgsengine has said it all, I have come across three of these Kohler vertical engines with oil leaks. All had cracked blocks, backed off lid bolts worn from rubbing on the flywheel. I did not repair any of them.

[Propwash]

That is very helpful. Thank you both. It would be very disappointing to see such a failure (cracked and leaking crankcase) on a relatively new engine. Just should not happen. I bought a Honda GXV620 20 HP twin cylinder overhead cam. Looks like an amazing engine from what I have read.

Best wishes,

Tom

[smallen]

I bought a Honda GXV620 20 HP twin cylinder overhead cam

marked OHV or OHC

[Propwash]

Sorry, overhead valve GXV620.

[smallen]

I thought maybe your were friends with Shinji Oketani and he gave you a prototype of a new OHC v-twin

[38racing]

A friend has one of those courage verticals on a toro zero turn. Can the tightness/torque on that closure plate's bolts be easily checked? Looking at the service manual I expect that the flywheel has to come off.

[Mek-a-nik]

I saw one that the cylinder moved in and out about a 1/2" as the piston went up and down. Yikes!

I just repaired a popped-out exhaust valve seat on another. It had overheated because the thing was covered in crud. The owner told me that when it was new, it had a warranty repair done for an oil leak. Apparently, they never cleaned off the oil, and, well, there you go.

I think you're right, 38, on the flywheel removal, but it's been a while since I had one apart.

[Luffydog]

Total junk in my opinion they should pull the courage off the market and redesign. I have seen 3 with cracked blocks and one with the crank busted all the way through the block Kohler rep wants to do a short and I told him I need a new rep. He didn't like that to much but he knows I'll be up front and straight. Just my two cents Kohler doesn't have a real good engine out that will hold up for an extended amount of time. They rank in the lines of a cub cadet to me they r made for each other. Not a Kohler or a cub fan here.