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u/Holiday-Sky9422

r/smallengines r/johndeere r/RunningCirclejerk
Image 1 — Exhaust valve failure - why?
Image 2 — Exhaust valve failure - why?
▲ 7 r/smallengines

Exhaust valve failure - why?

I was mowing yesterday and had a sudden drop in power. 0 compression in #1 cylinder. I got it apart and found that the exhaust valve had failed. I want to chalk it up to fatigue but thought it might be smart to get some other opinions.

Engine is a Kohler m18 with about 1000 hours on it. I just honed the cylinders and replaced the rings. The engine has been run about 3 hours since that work was completed. I touched up the valves and made sure they were in spec at that time as well.

u/Holiday-Sky9422 — 11 days ago
▲ 2 r/johndeere+1 crossposts

Just bought 445. I have a few questions

Hi folks.

I just picked up a John Deere 445 yesterday. The serial number tag fell off but most of the components with dates show it to be from late 1996. It has the 54" deck and 370 hours on the clock.

My valve/rocker covers are definitely leaking oil. They are still the plastic covers. Should I just assume that the covers are no longer good and replace them with aluminum or is there a reasonable likelihood that the plastic covers are OK and the gasket just failed?

After cut some grass with it today and found that it has a decent coolant leak when it warms up. The leak is rip near the thermostat. I believe it is coming from the seal highlighted in the photo below which is between the front cover plate and the engine block. I know that these engines came with a plastic cam gear and I can't imagine that this one has been fixed. The general consensus is that they fail at around 1000hrs. Should I replace it while I have it apart? I believe it's pretty much right there but it may be years away from failure.

Since it looks like I'm going to opening up this engine a bit, is there anything else I should do while I'm in there? Would you recommend replacing the water pump?

Thanks, all.

https://preview.redd.it/a9ir2ty9n70h1.jpg?width=1576&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2b2414c5d4191555d7123aafeaa4f7273b8f0f50

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u/Holiday-Sky9422 — 5 months ago