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14hp kohler hard to turn over

9K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  RedOctobyr 
#1 ·
A friend of mine is having trouble with his riding mower. He got it about 6 months ago, was running and starting fine. Last week he goe's to start it after letting it sit for a month. Didn't want to turn over so he pulls the plug, it turned over but was stiff. After cranking it a while with no spark plug it loosened up a bit. He put the plug back in and got it running. Now it starts and runs fine when warm but when its cold, it has a hard time turning over. Any thoughts about what may be the problem? The battery is good. Starter appears to be ok. I think the model of the engine is a K321. Any ideas as to what the problem might be?
 
#3 ·
I don't know about the plug and points, but I know the oil is fresh and the battery is good(starts all his other riders no problem) Should be turning over easy seeing how most of the older kohlers had a ACR
 
#4 ·
My K321 has an ACR, but beats me on how to trouble shoot it, as mine is working I will follow this thred for future reference.
 

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#8 ·
If youve done all the tune up stuff , check the valve clearance. The arc run off the cam and if the clearance is to large it wont open the valve enough. If you think yopu have a issue you can pull the head and watch or measure the opening .. check the book. if you have points make sure they are good shape ..
 
#11 ·
You could also try jumping it directly to the starter, I presume. That might help you rule out some wiring issues.

If it turns over slowly even with the plug removed, that would make me suspect either a problem with the starter, or some sort of parasitic drag, like RED-85-Z51 mentioned. For that matter, with the plug removed, how does it rotate if you try to turn the engine by hand?
 
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