# Kohler 5E with bad news



## Florida-Lis (Mar 5, 2014)

B.O.A.T. break out another thousand!!! 

So here the deal I have a Kohler 5E generator. 
I thought the motor locked up... Come to find out I had water in the cylinders. anti freeze or a least it smelt like it

Oil still checks good not milky. 
I'm taking a shot in the dark here.

1. bad head gaskets
2. busted valves/ heads.
3. any other ideas you fine people come up with.

Now I spent the whole night looking for a rebuild kit with no luck.
Looking for a reputable shop and parts place to order from.


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## sealark (Sep 27, 2007)

Exhaust manifold is the first place if water cooled. Heat exchanger. 

Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk


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## Downtime2 (Sep 27, 2007)

Intercooler tube let go?


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## Florida-Lis (Mar 5, 2014)

sealark said:


> Exhaust manifold is the first place if water cooled. Heat exchanger.
> 
> Sent from my SCH-I605 using Tapatalk


Yes it is water cooled... I guess with a closed system. The raw water runs through an intercooler I think. I just got the manual last night.

Definitely not familiar with this genny just bought the boat a few weeks ago. 

Thanks and I'll take a look at the heat exchanger.


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## Florida-Lis (Mar 5, 2014)

Downtime2 said:


> Intercooler tube let go?


Don't know... Just freaked out when I seen water/anti freeze in the cylinders.


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## Florida-Lis (Mar 5, 2014)

Well the Kohler is on the deck. Just a few short hours 20 breaks and no lunch.
Now I need 10 guys to get it off the boat. <----- last resort going to go to a buddys shop and pull it out with a fork lift.

On a different note I really need to post some pics of my boat... Im a newbie too PFF!

******Still needing for a reputable shop and parts place to order from.******


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## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

Odds are you are going to find you have a bad exhaust riser.


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## TheCaptKen (Mar 14, 2011)

Exhaust riser doesn't touch water from the closed system. Either blown head gasket or crack internally.


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## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

That's an easy check, pressure test the FWC system at the cap. Kohler 5 and 7 E series had a design flaw with the exhaust riser. The original risers tended to clog and water backed up through the exhaust system where the aluminum on the exhaust manifold and the exhaust riser O ring sealing surfaces corroded from heat and salt water. There was a recall to correct this problem but I have seen a few that slipped through the cracks. OP thought it smelled like FWC but never stated if he checked the fluid levels. It's possible but highly unlikely to have a cracked head/blown head gasket and not have emulsified oil.


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## Florida-Lis (Mar 5, 2014)

Genny is out of the boat sitting in the garage. Started breaking it down.
I can definitely tell you there's very little corrosion on/in the heat exchanger.
Its a b#### 2 tear down... I'm lucky no major rust besides the base plate. 
I plan on fabing up an aluminum one. I should know for sure what failed tonight.


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## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

Were you low on fresh water coolant? The first thing you should do is pressure test your fresh water cooling system and the second thing would be a compression check on your cylinders. If both of those are good then tearing the engine down is something you might not want to do until you isolate the source of water in your cylinders. It can only come from two places, the fresh water cooling system or the salt water cooling system.


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## Florida-Lis (Mar 5, 2014)

Just bought the boat a few weeks ago. Giving everything a once over before the season starts. Turned it over nothing ... A little shot of starter fluid to get it going. I ran for a few seconds. Grabbed a spray bottle and put gas in it & pumped it in the carb it ran. Fuel pump checked good carb is junk. Well I ran it one more time to check the impeller ran about ten to 15 seconds and clunk. That's when I found water in the cylinder.

Kim, it was a tiny bit low on coolant. Your right I should have pressure tested it first.

After break down I did find coolant in the exhaust. Nothing bent or cracked as far as the eye can see.

My plan is to rebuild the top end and I will get the heat exchanger pressure tested.
rebuild carb and go.


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## Jesfgse (Mar 23, 2014)

if water cooled. Heat exchanger.


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## Florida-Lis (Mar 5, 2014)

Update : Just got the exhaust manifold & heat exchanger back both hold good pressure. 20psi on each had them dunked and cleaned out.

Ordering all new gaskets in the morning.


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## Florida-Lis (Mar 5, 2014)

Kohler is back from the dead!!!:thumbup: Just want to thank everyone for their inputs. Just need do a little carb adjustment & fab up a base plate.

The genny hydro locked. Guessing the previous owner ran it hot... No impeller left when I broke it down. Diagnosis blown head gasket.

Again thanks for all your help.


Jason


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