John Deere Kohler engine locked up

[wally6934]

A friend called and said his John Deere lawn mower would not turn over.
Model 210
Kohler engine K241AQS, single cylinder

Last year he put it away it ran fine. This year when he tried to start it the starter just groaned. He looked under it for obstructions to the engine pulley and belt system. He checked the oil and gas tank, all seemed ok.

After some head scratching he took a cover off of the engine and put a piece of wood on the flywheel and hit it with a hammer. The engine did not turn at all.

Finally he took out the spark plug and poured some motor oil in and let it sit overnight. The next day all the oil had drained into the crankcase, but he still could not turn the flywheel.

This is where he is at now. He said it did not get wet over the winter.

Does anyone have any ideas.

 

[redhat]

Maybe make sure the starter isn't locked up.

 

[expat]

Is there an Engine Brake?

 

[old1]

If the flywheel cover/blower housing is off, stick a bar/large screwdriver in the cast iron flywheel fins and try rocking it back and forth. If that won't break it loose, probably pull the head and see what can be seen.

 

[440Magnum]

Remove the starter and see if it turns. Pull the flywheel and see if the alternator stator has corroded and is binding on the flywheel.

If it ran when put away and didn't get wet, its *something* external to the engine causing the problem.

 

[redhat]

We have about 4 K241's in late 60's to mid 70's JD 110, 112s.

They're good runners so it's got to be something external. They just don't seize up w/o some type of moisture/water ingestion.

 

[Fleetmon]

I agree something else may be going on.

I posted last year about my Farmall stater gone....starter made one big "thunk" when I tried to start it and the engine was seized tight. Once I removed the starter I found a huge mouse nest in the flywheel housing and mama-mouse was stuck between the bendix and the flywheel teeth....removed her and her partially developed babies (they popped out from the "damage") and the starter worked fine once reinstalled.

 

[wally6934]

Good advice on removing the starter. My friend will try this over the next few days. I will let you know what happened.

 

[threeputtpar]

This may be a Capt. Obvious post, but did you or your friend pull the starter rope to see if it turns over? I'm not even sure if larger engines on riding mower come with pull starters.

Otherwise, I concur with the other advice to pull the fan shroud and see if there are any foreign obstructions.

Fleetmon - eeeeeww about what happened to mama mouse.

 

[wally6934]

Update on locked up John Deere engine.

This reads like a soap opera. My friend who was working on the lawn tractor decided to let it sit for another friend who usually works on it. The other friend who usually cuts the grass with it said that it locks up all the time he just never told my friend about it.

To "fix" it he puts the tractor in gear and rocks it back and forth. This breaks what ever is binding free and he lets it go until next time and then repeats the procedure.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: wally6934
Update on locked up John Deere engine.

This reads like a soap opera. My friend who was working on the lawn tractor decided to let it sit for another friend who usually works on it. The other friend who usually cuts the grass with it said that it locks up all the time he just never told my friend about it.

To "fix" it he puts the tractor in gear and rocks it back and forth. This breaks what ever is binding free and he lets it go until next time and then repeats the procedure.



HUH?

 

[cronk]

I wonder if it could be the tranny locking up and not allowing the engine to turn. My 112's have the same tranny, they are known for the shift detent balls/springs braking and the tranny getting locked up between 2 gears.
It's a $30 fix, but requires splitting the tranny.

I wonder if he took the drive belt off if the engine would turn over.

 

[wally6934]

cronk, thanks for the reply. I am not getting any answers from my friend. Since he can rock it and it starts he considers it fixed.

 

[Rick in PA]

Does the engine have a compression release for starting? A buddy at work picked up a lawnmower cheap, it had been giving the previous owner fits starting (with symptoms like described above). The only problem was the compression release had fallen out of adjustment. They're finicky buggers. Once the compression release was readjusted it starts and runs fine.

 

[Rand]

my mid-70's 212 will start in gear... the brakes need adjusted so I just park it in 2nd gear so it doesn't roll.

A few times I've forgotten to put it in neutral and it will spin right up in gear.

it sounds like a possible ACR issue.