[bjmontague]

Hi all, I recently joined the forum as a result of seeing another contributor who had problems with a Kohler CV15 motor in his LT 150. My mower I bought new in 2005 from memory and it has done less than 20 ( twenty ) hrs from new. To date the local dealer has fitted it with 4 head gaskets and 3 heads as well as a new short motor.... and guess what it is back in the shop as we speak. The local dealer is doing his best to support the product but John Deere claims that it keeps blowing the gasket from stale fuel, BTW the last tank of fuel was put in by the dealer and had stabiliser put in the fuel supplied by them, the motor did less than 2 hours and blew the gasket again cutting the lawn ( the fuel was less than 6 months old ). I have spent more time delivering the mower to the dealer than I have cutting the lawn. The local dealer has been great, but the way things are going, JD head office had better pull their fingers out or the only green in my paddocks will be the crops under the centre pivot......
So my question is.. Can stale fuel cause all these problems or is this the standard response you get from JD ?
Can you suggest another reason for head gasket / head problems ?
If you have had a similar experience with JD or the CV15 Kohler please post a response.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Cementhead]

bjmontague I have worked on small engines most of my life and the majority of problem's with small gas powered engines other than poor maintenance is bad gas but I never heard of stale gas ruining head gaskets. The major cause of head gasket failure is from overheating caused by buildup of chaff in the shields,mouse nest's,engine running too lean. Other causes warped head,loose head bolt's,uneven surface on the top of the block and probably a few other's that I can't think of at this moment. Any good small engine man should be able to figure out why this engine keep's blowing head gasket's pretty quick. BILL

 

[Engine_Tech]

20 hours in six years?

 

[bjmontague]

Hi Bill and Engine_Tech, thanks for your replies.

Yes it has definitely done less than 20 hours ( it had an hour meter fitted as an option )and the rubber injection moulding hairs are still on the tyres....I have been doing some areas with a push type mower and have had to let the rest of the lawn go thats why I am not happy, the previous mower I retired, a Bolens we bought in 1983, starting having engine problems, so I decided to replace it. I would have gone with a Bolens again except they became way too expensive with the Aussie Paso/ US dollar exchange rate.

Bill, I thought the same, that the stale fuel thing sounded a load of rubbish, I think it is a design fault or something similar as I haven't been able to use it long enough to get grass build up anywhere on the mower, the deck still has most of its paint on the top and I think there may be some on the underside of the deck. I wonder about the lean fuel issue, as when they told they were going to put a whole new engine in I understand JD head office told them to put a short motor in and use all the ancillary bits like carby starter etc. I know the head has been warped on at least two occasions and that is why a new head was put on.Perhaps the carby is causing all the problems ? I must have ten other stationary engines ( mainly Honda )and I have never had one fail this early or this often and never the same thing over and over again. I have one honda engine which pumps water 24/7 for 4 weeks per year and it is still going tens years down the track..... thats approx 6000hours, if I could have got a Honda in this mower I would have. These mowers aren't cheap here in Australia, I was told by the salesman that these mowers use JD commercial parts and thats why it cost me $4700-00........ the dealer is 140km (100miles) from me I think I have done 2500km or more in travel to getting it fixed I think after all this time and never fixing the same problem they should give me a whole new mower.... I think this is what is call a "Lemon" in the US.

Thanks for your replies guys

 

[Cementhead]

bj what a shame with the time and money you spent on gas traveling back and forth to the dealer it probably would have paid for a complete replacement engine. That may be your next option or I would look for a more qualified small engine guy closer to home let us know how you make out you are a far more patient man than I. Good luck! BILL

 

[bjmontague]

Hi All, I'm back again with more news of the John Deere LT150 saga.
Well the dealer / John Deere warrantee repaired the mower they put a new short block and a new carby on. They tested it and said it didn't sound right so they replaced the muffler with one from an old machine and said that the motor ran better and gave the machine back to me. I ran it for about 1/2 hr to 1hr and it did run better than before, so they sent out a mechanic and replaced the muffler with a new one..... guess what ran it for 10 minutes max and it blew the head gasket again. I have now told them to replace the whole mower but they say they can't as the mower is so old and had this drama been closer to the purchase date they would have....it makes me sick to think that they are the ones "fixing it " and that is why it has taken so long. Anyway they are offering to replace the motor with a complete new one, but as the Kohler cv15s isn't available anymore via JD they are offering me another motor from a Sabre series a Kohler 17.5HS as it is the only motor they say will fit without major modifications. I had asked for a 19.5 Briggs, but they tell me the pulley shaft might be different and the muffler may not fit in the same position, electrics etc and it would be too much hassle to fit. Now they are saying they will give me the motor to fit as the dealership I bought it from has changed ownership and JD has a deal with their dealers on who picks up repairs and the new owners are not willing to work on this machine.

My question is a Briggs too hard to fit and have any of you guys done this before in an LT150 Automatic 2005 model or am I better to go with the Kohler 17.5HS ?

Is the Kohler 17.5HS a better motor than the CV15S or is there a better Kohler say the CV492 series. I have read that this motor may fit or is there another motor in the 20 hp range that will fit ?
My reason for asking is I also purchased a mulching set of blades when I got the mower.... they are still in the box as I doubt the cv15 would run those as it has never run with a regular set of blades.

My patience is warring thin with JD and my grass...well I have to replant the whole area again and level it as I have been doing the majority of it with a TPL slasher on my tractor.

Thanks again for all your help and whilst I'm not into mowers like you guys I do appreciate the news letters and tech tips

 

[Engine_Tech]

No Briggs was ever standard in that series, so it's a no go. Lot's more to installing an engine than just bolting whatever up. Crankshafts, mufflers, wiring, etc must match.

Be happy they are offering you a 17.5 Kohler. Yes, good engine and equivalent to the CV15. Let the dealer do what they are offering and get this taken care of.

 

[bjmontague]

Hi Engine Tech, thanks for your speedy reply, I appreciate your advice on the motor and have told JD to go ahead with supplying me with one.I'll let you know how it goes swapping the engine over and take a few pics so that you can post for other users re-powering an LT150
Thanks again

 

[Mark / Ohio]

...My reason for asking is I also purchased a mulching set of blades when I got the mower.... they are still in the box as I doubt the cv15 would run those as it has never run with a regular set of blades...

I'm at 300 hrs. with mine and have run the JD mulch kit and blades since the first couple of hours with no problem. :dunno: Sounds like you might have just had the misfortune as the old saying goes of buying one made early on a Monday or late on a Friday. Hopefully this time they will finally get it sorted out for you.