Sears ST/16 with a Predator (now Kohler)engine
- Thread starter KennyP
- Start date
One of those minor changes that turns into an engineering nightmare.
Don
Yep! Can't get the battery/fuel tank tray out as it has the clutch pulley welded into it.
they had a couple different clutch pulley setups on those thru the years whetehr they had a single or a twin engine, the "Roper" Ropers (not built to be sold as a Sears) ran Briggs C.I. engines, as did the 1 year only ('72 ish) SS 16 which was a derated 320000 derated from 16 to 15HP. That Briggs should go right on there.
More research before I unbolt the Briggs.
I'll see what I can find. This Kohler is heavy, I imagine the Briggs will be too.
Kenny the Kohler will work.
A cast iron Briggs was offered in 71 and 72 in the Suburbans and they are the same foot and taller and a little wider.
The Kohler swap has been many times.
If you Google "Kohler engine swap into a Sears Suburban" or go to the Sears Facebook groups you can take a look at how others have done it.
I need to get more coffee in me this morning and I have to run in a few minutes but don't give up on the Kohler just yet.
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If I can figure out a fuel tank elsewhere, I may be able to build a different battery tray that is shorter. I won't go to Facebook!
Which models of those had the gas tank under the seat?
They started with the SS16 in 73 by 75 all Suburban models had the tank under the seat.
Kenny I will do some searching later tonight when I'm at home.
Looking at your setup,you probably don't want to do this,but if you switched to starter generator the starter will go under the battery tray/gas tank tray and you engine can come a good ways back.
The OH series Tecumseh in those had a gear starter on them by the time Sears went to baby $#1t colored paint. Earlier ones had starter generator. I've had both versions over the years.
That's true. I'm guessing the starter just sits higher in the Kohler.
Kohler offered a low mount bendix starter too but but they are harder to come by and the blower housing tin has the starter bendix cover in a lower spot. So you would need a low mount starter and low mount starter blower housing tin.
I think that the biggest pulley you can put on a Tecumseh is a 7. Bigger and it hits the frame.
The crank height is the same on the Kohler as on the cast iron Briggs that was offered in 71 and 72.
On the Briggs powered tractors the top of the front frame sets one inch lower than the Tecumseh powered tractor frames.
Then Roper used a 1 inch spacer under the grill to raise the hood and grill back up to the correct height.
The foot print of the cast iron Briggs is the same as your Kohler. Roper did use a "ear" that stuck off the frame for the last motor mount bolt that stuck over the edge of the frame.
I have a 68 Suburban with a OH160 in it which in theory is too tall for these early Suburban hood setups.
I have a 1 inch spacer between the hood and grill to raise the grill,hood and brace bar to give the taller overhead valve OH160 more clearance.