Kawasaki FX751V 27hp motor

[S&S_Work_Saws]

Anyone ever owned a one of these engines? I recently acquired one in a trading deal with a bunch of other Briggs motors. The Kawasaki had a valve guide move and was taken out of use and replaced under warranty years ago and has since been sitting in the back of a dry shop. I got the thing fixed but I just put a Briggs 24hp Platinum xrd motor on my zero turn last year in this thread...

Thread 'John deere Z225 motor swap'

May 11, 2024

Good afternoon gents
So I've got a deere Z225 Zero turn mower. Fairly low hours at around 400ish. It's a decent little 48" mower. The original 18hp briggs single cylinder is in my opinion a little bit underpowered if you mow anything very thick at all.
My solution is to attempt a motor swap. I have acquired an almost new Briggs and Stratton 24hp platinum w/XRD twin cylinder motor. I believe I can get it to work on my mower chassis.
Does anyone have any wiring diagrams on how to just do the basic wiring on this engine so I can bench test it and check everything out before I tear my mower...

• S&S_Work_Saws
• Replies: 7
• Forum: Mowers and More

Is this Kawasaki 27hp motor going to be a huge upgrade over the Briggs 24hp? Or should I just sell the Kawasaki motor and stick with the Briggs? I don't have any experience with Kawasaki small engines.

 

[OnlyStihl]

I think the Kawasaki engines are considered better than the Briggs. B&S have decompression starting engine failures that are to common to simply ignore. As far as the Valve guide issue, I had to deal with that once. Problem was the engine was caked in hardened crude and would cause overheating. I reset the guide, cleaned the engine and everything was fine after that.

 

[GMB74]

Kawasaki engines are considered a Premium engine, better than Briggs by far.
As OnlyStihl says, valve guides moving is due to overheating. Generally a mouse nest or an oil leak causing a buildup of greasy grass chaff blocking the cooling air flow. Your valve seals are mashed and pushrods are probably bent too. In my (JD) dealership days it was common on commercial lawn mowing accounts who didn't take good care of their equipment. As long as it wasn't severely baked, we installed a new head or heads, pushrods and gaskets and they were fine. I always thought we could reset the guide and be OK, but management wouldn't let us try.

 

[OnlyStihl]

Kawasaki engines are considered a Premium engine, better than Briggs by far.
As OnlyStihl says, valve guides moving is due to overheating. Generally a mouse nest or an oil leak causing a buildup of greasy grass chaff blocking the cooling air flow. Your valve seals are mashed and pushrods are probably bent too. In my (JD) dealership days it was common on commercial lawn mowing accounts who didn't take good care of their equipment. As long as it wasn't severely baked, we installed a new head or heads, pushrods and gaskets and they were fine. I always thought we could reset the guide and be OK, but management wouldn't let us try.

I had the guide pushed out, scored, red-loctited and pushed back into place. I didn't have a press so had a local guy do it. Said it was much harder to push back in then it came out. That was enough for me to trust that the problem was solved.

 

[S&S_Work_Saws]

I just bought a replacement head assembly, new valve seals, and pushrods for this one. Heat being the main factor doesn't surprise me. The oil cooler on this thing was even caked full of crap.

 

[OnlyStihl]

I just bought a replacement head assembly, new valve seals, and pushrods for this one. Heat being the main factor doesn't surprise me. The oil cooler on this thing was even caked full of crap.

I power wash my engines with no adverse effects. Only concern is possible electrical connection problems, but again no problems. Just don't use the washer's full power, and don't use the really aggressive spray attachment. Keeping the engine clean is important, as down the road problems could be unrepairable and/or very costly.

 

[S&S_Work_Saws]

I power wash my engines with no adverse effects. Only concern is possible electrical connection problems, but again no problems. Just don't use the washer's full power, and don't use the really aggressive spray attachment. Keeping the engine clean is important, as down the road problems could be unrepairable and/or very costly.

I definitely am not afraid of pressure washing my equipment. My mower originally had a little 17.5hp single cylinder Briggs motors on it. When that started getting weak I stuck a 24hp Briggs V twin on it. This is a picture of when I did the motor swap. This is typically how I try to keep my equipment.
I hope I have the physical space on my mower to install that Kawasaki 27hp. I should have probably just sold the mower long ago but it was handed down to me after a death in the family. Kind of feel like it's my duty and responsibility to maintain it now until I can pass it on.

 

[OnlyStihl]

I definitely am not afraid of pressure washing my equipment. My mower originally had a little 17.5hp single cylinder Briggs motors on it. When that started getting weak I stuck a 24hp Briggs V twin on it. This is a picture of when I did the motor swap. This is typically how I try to keep my equipment.
I hope I have the physical space on my mower to install that Kawasaki 27hp. I should have probably just sold the mower long ago but it was handed down to me after a death in the family. Kind of feel like it's my duty and responsibility to maintain it now until I can pass it on.
View attachment 451849

It should fit the frame. Will the hood close properly over the engine is usually the question. But with a zero-turn you should be good.

 

[Shane¹]

I would keep the Briggs I have had better luck with them and it is already on the mower and working. I would just sell the kawi and pocket the money. That is just my opinion

 

[ErnieG]

Id probably run that B&S till dead then swap out .

Ernie