OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Repairs and Maintenance Questions on Engines Questions on Other Engines Kohler K101

Hey guys Iv recently picked up an old atco 20’’ club cylinder mower which I got for free as the engine was seized after running with no oil. Iv opened the crankcase to find the Conrod in about 15 pieces, but no other damage. The problem Iv got now is sourcing the correct spares as there is little to no information available for this little beauty. It appears the Kohler K101 was a purpose built engine for these atcos only. I could of course bolt a new engine onto the mower but would love to get it back to it’s original former glory. This is my first post so when I work out how to send pics I will do that. Any help would be much appreciated cheers

It’s fairly unlikely that the conrod is the only casualty if it’s been run with no oil.

You could be extremely lucky. However, I’d be checking everything, piston, bore, big end, gudgeon pin, mains for scoring and wear along with the valve gear before embarking on what could be an expensive exercise.

I’m not familiar with the mower you’re referring to but purpose-built motors from major manufacturers tend to be “parts-bin specials”. That is they often build them up from their existing range. So you may find that there is a lot of commonality with other models which will let you get hold of parts.

Another, possibly more cost-effective, option is to locate the same (or similar) mower with a good engine but other damage and make one “good” mower out of two. There are plenty of people on here who do this sort of thing. It’s often the only way to retain the originality of the equipment if that’s what you’re interested in.

It can require a little patience but if you take broken mowers that would otherwise be going to scrap and make a good serviceable one then that’s got to be a good outcome any way you look at it.

Spec plate

Thanks ironbark for your reply. Only thing else I can see that has been affected is a little scoring on the journal on the crankshaft but nothing major. Piston/rings/bore and bearings all ok which does seem weird, as if the conrod was the weakest link. The closest relative to my engine I could find is the model K91 which is also 4hp but presents many differences from reading the manual. I did manage to find an exploded view of the engine and will try to post but part numbers are undiscoverable. I fear finding another model the same as mine nearby will be as hard as finding any information on it.

I’m not an authority on these things but my recollection is that they were an english machine. There was a bit of an English vintage mower “scene” a few years ago but I can’t say whether that’s continued or was just a passing phase. Somewhere floating around I have a couple of print magazines that someone gave me so there was decent momentum behind it.

In any case if you don’t find what you’re after initially you may find that there’s expertise to be found on your particular machine through British interest groups. They, usually, have good stores of information.