When he pointed at the casting mark on the cylinder saying thats where the case splits I laughed so hard. Dudes have no idea what going on in that motor.

Compression won't "leak off"..There's a check valve in all compression gauges..Only a cylinder leakdown/differential pressure tester will tell you if the cylinder is leaking. Try reading the instructions that came with the compression gauge.

I've been working on mowers all my life. I rebuilt my minibike when I was 3. Hey, but at least you have some guys there with some knowledge. The best way to learn, is to do it.

what a great video. these are things I always wanted to know about my 19hp kaw. if I had of seen this a few years ago I probably wouldn't have trashed my 10 hp Briggs on my leaf blower when it seized up on me. you have helped a lot of people thanks bro.

Carburetor linkage issue resolved today. After looking at your video over and over from beginning before you removed the plate on front that holds throttle cable and choke cable I noticed that the plate was raised higher on the one side than the other, so positioned mine in that same way and Bingo problem solved. Thanks for sharing your video.

That's awesome. It's nice to have some knowledgeable team members.

Nice video (and work) you guys. Finally getting rain here in northern California.....but the grass is growing a couple of inches a day. Just now got over a pretty tough cold, and felt good enough yesterday to try cutting some. 15 minutes into a 2 day job I get a whole bunch of blue smoke....and a sinking feeling. There goes my chance to stay ahead of the growth. God bless KZfaq. Looks like a blown head gasket. Only 13 phone calls and 100 miles later and I have the gasket. Tearing down the engine and I quickly find the Kawasaki 4 stroke V twin is a little different. THANK YOU for a video on the Kawasaki......and I was able to get the Service Manual online, like you did. I appreciate the cyber help!

Great video, I have to break apart a 24 hp K soon and this will come in handy!

Great video. Going to fix my Kawasaki 590v engine myself. I've been inspired.

Wow! Valuable employees my friend...Beyond changing oil and filters and belts, im up a creek! Awesome video, thanks for sharing

The big problem is look at the cylinder head the exhaust valve is hung open . That's why the push rod came off .

Excellent video guys thank you very much for that in teaching

I would have guessed moved valve guide from overheating due to dirt on the cooling fins and not bad rings. The rings would have worn equally. I think engine overheated, guide moved, held valve open, and then piston fouled. I don’t think it’s a bad ring case. Kawasaki’s are great but notorious for guide problems if you let the engine overheat due to dirt.

Just bought a 36" walk behind with a Kawasaki, really neat to see how the engine works.

Great Video Guys!

Also if the rocker has come off of the intake valve when the piston come down it will create a vacuum and pull the oil past the rings because it cannot pull vacuum through intake valve therefore using oil through the rings, had you re installed the push rod and checked the movement as to what caused the push rod to fall out you wouldn’t have to check rings and the engine would seat the rings when running properly!

That looks intimidating, I tried to do some work on a cbr I had once I ended up having to get it towed with a box of parts to the dealer. Way to step up and take on the challenge the more you can do in house the more money saved. I hope it all works out for you guys in the end.

My dealer is exactly the reason I replaced heads my self. I took it in to diagnose the the reason why it was dying on me off and on occasionally. When I took it in it was dying on me at time. I ask them to have mechanic to come out to see mower while it was failing and mechanic made comment that it was probably caves and the would look at valves the next day. Instead of checking compression some guy spent day eating and drinking coffee letting engine run to see engine fail like day I brought it in. I went in that day and told them that is why I had mechanic come out to see it fail when I dropped it off. When I went in I saw that one of hydro pumps leaking from the top cover and told them that thing was not leaking when I took it in. Anyway they finally pulled valve cover and showed me that the valve guide, which oil seal sets on was pushed all the way through the other side, so was advised to replace both heads. The mower was eight years old, so decided to buy new mower and take old mower and replace heads myself and replace hydro seals also. Since this was first time like your self of attempting this work. Every bolt on that mower sump pan was less than hand tight, I ended up replacing every seal and gasket on motor. Me biggest fear was that I would still have leaks in engine and hydro pump, but did not have any leaks. Now I have been meticulously taking off and adjusting the L shaped arm that sets on governor. I try to do all my work to avoid having someone else do work. Can you ask the people what they did to correct you problem and get back to me?

I have this same engine tore apart at the moment, Actually the same exmark..The engine I'm working on I took it completely off the body to disassemble , It turned out to be a broken valve which destroyed the head when it compressed at high speed against the piston which knocked a hole in that also and bent 2 valve stems..I'm going to order a new head,valves,piston,Yamabond ,clean it up and throw it back together and hope for the best..My damage is obvious from catastrophic failure..The reason for all this was low oil..So always keep an eye on oil levels,Not all have a low pressure warning light.,Or sometimes they don't even work at all and you don't know it..Good vid guys wish I could have been there to help out!

Hang in there Brian. You got this covered. Good job.

I would be freaking out if it was happening to me. Holly crap! Those boys seem that they know their stuff. Hope you get your mower running again.

I've been very impressed with Kawasaki engines mine is starting to give me a few problems now but I've put the mower thru total hell

Marathon Watching 6/26/22 Thanks for showing others how to do this!

Your ring were not bad..the exhaust valve was stuck open which is why you had no compression. No need to tear down engine in this case. Push rod fell out when the cam lobe went down and the spring didn't reseat the valve

Have the same mower, just checking to see how the rebuild is holding up, mine is just now starting to use a little oil.

enjoyed this very much. Learned alot in the process. Thanks for the Video!

You are brave a would have never attempted that. Those are some great guys you got working for you. You could build a nice business with that crew.

Man I would love to have some helpers that knew that much. Keep those guys as long as you can.

Good luck hope it works out for you in the end handy the two lads know about small engines,been in this situation my self when a machine you rely on breaks down,i have also borrowed machines but don't like doing it worry about breaking a friends machine,anyway all the best...

The exhaust valve is hung up in there. Probably seized to the guide. That head at least needs rebuilt. That is the reason the push rod fell out. That should have never happened if things were right. It would have had spring pressure on it. Chances are the rings are fine. But when the exhaust valve hung open and you kept running the motor the fuel was not all being burnt and thinned the oil down. Then the oil just pushed past the rings. JMO

Guy's I need part 2 of this, I'm in the middle of my tear down, hadn't planned on messing with the timing. But now it looks like I'll be doing just that, finding oil seeping past the cylinder. So your vid would help...

I would've put the pushrod back in and adjusted the valves would've likely solved the compression problem

good video. own a lawn business too. i have a kawasaki FX730 off my ferris im working on. except i did opposite. mine locked up. torn whole engine down to find nothing broke inside or nothing wrong. after watching your video i am now wondering if something got jacked up under the fly wheel. its tough being a lawn guy. i work on my own equipment as well. its videos like yours that help our lawn guy community out. Thank you.

Great video! How'd you get the crank pulley off? Did you use a pulley puller or did it just come off?

You guys are smart I would be at the mower shop

got balls to get that far into a motor. I would have never done that. Nice work. hope it works out. great vid

I haven't read all the comments yet, so I don't know if this has been mentioned - but it wasn't the cylinder holding steady pressure. It was the gauge. The gauge will peak and hold, by virtue of a check valve. You could remove the tester from the engine, and it will still read 90# (or whatever). The only way to check pressure drop accurately is with a leak-down tester.

"im gonna go ahead and say this sides low" lmao that was gold. loved the vid, educational waiting for pt 2. looks likeya gonna have to give zac more time on the exmark now lol.

hey guys I saw all the dirt on top of your motor it made it overheat and made the exhaust valve get stuck if you look again at the head you'll see the exhaust stuck open

Hello nice video How did it work out is engine still in service ? Did you ever get a quote on repair work before you started.

You also should have checked and adjusted the valve guides before putting the valve covers back on. There are KZfaq videos on how to do that. Just make sure you have the appropriate gap. It should run much smoother after that.

Excellent diagnosis except that compression tester has a valve in it. You cannot tell if rings are leaking with a compression tester

TOP NOTCH MECHANICS

Just question,why didn't you make it easier for yourselves and wash it down first?

How did you break the flywheel from the shaft, because I know it didn't just left off.

I got a 20 hp Kawasaki engine on my 2010 52 gravely pro walk with 390 hours, its starting to leak a little oil about 1/2 quart in 2 weeks, im afraid its gonna need some work soon, cant tell were it leaking from but its on both sides, hope it will wait til late fall.

I have an EXMARK mower exactly like this one. I had to replace both heads and got everything back together and am having carburetor issues. You indicated that you also were having issues. I think its a linkage problem. How did you correct your problem?

Good luck guys I love your mower!!!!

There is no such thing as 90 and holding, the. Schroeder valve in the compression gauge is what holds the pressure as soon as you quit cranking cylander drops to zero!

I know this is off topic but I found out and started to use fram oil filters instead of the Kawasaki. saves money and time I get them from Walmart. Fram PH4967 Extra Guard

I'd have just used a breaker bar at the 5:39 / 5:54 point. There's really very little substitute for the right tool and the right technique. Also, you DO know that every so often you need to remove the top end external items and clean all that grunge out of the fins and from under the flywheel don't you? Especially on commercially used equipment. This grunge traps heat, distorts the aluminum block and causes several problems, two of which you found. You also have to remove the heads every 200 hours or so and remove the carbon build up on the piston, valves and combustion chamber. Proper maintenance would have saved you several days of down time.

G'day I know that this was a long drawn out process, but it's the only way to learn so good on ya. If I could offer some advice which no doubt you know, invest in some good tools and anti seize for bolts ect Regards John Kinnane Tasmania Australia

oil gets in the chamber around the rings or valve guides!

How about the compression release , makes it hard to preform a compression test.

Great video! I love to tinker with my mowers even if they don't need it. Lol. Also, if u have a minute what was your oppinion on the Wright stander. I was considering picking one up that needs some work as a project.

You guys are awesome, jack of all trades I see Way to go !!!

Or the oil gallery through the head leaks past head gasket and fills up cylinder especially when parked for a while

A compression tester doesn’t bleed down it holds till u bleed it off 😂😂

just got a mower off a guy and i just had to do the same thing. everything cost me in mower and parts $300. for a 52" deck and mower cant beat it.

Does the piston cylinder not have to be machined ? Just wondering.

not sure but it looked like the exhaust valve was open without the rocker arm installed

I set a stihl trimmer down to talk to a homeowner, picked it up and it wouldn't start after 20 pulls... Equipment trouble is a pain in the cheeks. I'm still tinkering with the thing. Bought an ignition module and after working it in for days I'm thinking it's the spark advance that's built into the module. Long story short, good luck TopNotch

Howd you git the flywheel off?

the heavy breathing is real lol:D

Those kawasaki engines stored in a garage are perfect place for mouse to build nest on top of piston. Sounds funny but mechanic said it has happened several times

I think happyscrappy47 knows what he is talking about, dont think you needed rings. Hope you got it running.

90 and holding ? It’s a compression gauge. It’s suppose to hold the air u til u release the Schrader valve

Mechanic tip, always have a deadblow or rubber mallet. It makes taking/breaking shit appart way easier.

I think your exhaust valve may be stuck open causing the no compression condition.

Guy keeps on calling it a motor. It's an engine. Motors are electric.

Please do yourself a favour,when you rebuild it make sure you(1)drop the valves out and re-cut(lap them in)it might take an extra 2 hours.....but i assure you it will be worth it in the long run eg missing(cause burnt valves)(2)you have done the hard work of,pulling it down,new rings and gaskets(so i would suggest de-glazing the bores)so the rings will bed properly........MOST important,everything needs to be spotlessly clean,degreaser,water,air compressor before you reassemble,,,,,,otherwise everything you have done will be for nothing and NEW oil on the bearing caps.I say this because i am in the same game as you.

I think the valve guides . one of the pushrods are bent. Valve lash. Did you readjust the valve lash after every season. If you did not that's why that's why the Rocker come loose and that it's probably all the problem is.

Why didn't you put the pushrods back in and adjust valves on both sides and recheck compression. Change oil 50 hours, a just valves every 250 hours.

You guy's should leave that engine alone.... Taking the head off and finding a valve still open HAS to tell you something. Your problems aren't where you're headed..............

any news yet about your motor? i have a few pics of the wright stander and other mowers we use now..did you find out why the push rod was loose?

Maybe out of gas

You looked real worried as more was taken apart, dont worry they will do a fine job getting it back together , lucky to have them, do you know how many hours is on that mower? have the pumps ever been replaced? that stater was really dirty try to keep an air cooled engine clean so it does not get so hot...hurry and get back to mowing and truck talk.. Thanks again for sharing your videos...maybe to a total engine rebuild while its apart?

That valve was stuck open. That's why there was zero compression. Rings were definitely bad too.

How do you know the rings are bad

Oil leaking bad from the crankcase breather plate, did u replace that gasket, you should have to stop that oil leaking all over the engine. Just fyi

I hope you run premium! That could be causing build up as well.

I would've shot that bad boy right up to the dealer and bought a bigger badder motor. It's only another write off :) Pretty cool video watching you guys get that motor off and apart. Probably saved a lot of money too.

Does zach and hunter work on engines on the side?

why is finding part 2 so hard for me?

Rodney Carrington’s brother…..Am I right? Lol

How many hours do you have on the xmark

does Zach and Hunter still working for you

Once you have done it you will realize its not that hard to do and have a greater understanding of how it works.

Mower medic one have you seen this video

Hahaha I just noticed your exhaust valve is stuck open and that’s why you have no Compression, and the fuel is washing the cylinder and creating thin oil And pushing it back past the rings, should have just done a valve job on that head and put it back together and run it for a few weeks and see if it clears up! Way more work then needed!

Not a ring problem those rings are fine

Only one way to learn buddy tear into it and get it fixed. Way to stay positive about it and not blow a gasket you'll get it up and going again having a mower down is a bad feeling just think of the money your saving dealers labor rates are ridiculous.

Good luck worst feeling in the world to have a machine down time is money.

I'll never understand why people dont clean a engine before teardown. Your chances of contamination are much bigger. Pressure wash the darn thing. Drain the oil!! Look at that mess on the bench!.

The dealer around here would just sell you a new motor.

I would to that for only $150 and get that done in 2days

is no way that that engine Comes apart right there if you would've just took the engine off flipped it upside down took the bottom bolts out of the bottom casing of the engine you would've been able to see right down in there the guy knew a little but not enough to be doing that job

it was just a blown head gasket due to oil over fill..

Dude fix that hole in the ceiling !

I thought inside an engine there was a hamster with a wheel.