There's multiple threads on these forums about this problem.
valve seat likely got loose and then......

Your OTHER problem is likely a clogged vent in the gas cap or an ignition coil that's failing when hot.
Sounds like a good time to clean the cooling fins.

Thanks for the reply

I have looked thru many threads and as you say, there is a wealth of them on this subject. I just did not find any about a missing push rod

I just now removed the head on the left side (as you sit on the mower) and it indeed has a valve that will not close all the way.

It doesn't appear to have hit the piston but it was getting dark and starting to rain so I closed it up for the night

I will pull the other head, go thru the valves and guides and also replace both coils to see if that will fix my stall problem.

the only head scratcher I have now is why the lifter stuck in the up position. I would hate to break it open further if I didn't have to. The lifter that was stuck up was the one without a push rod. Maybe the rpm's pushed the lifter hard with no resistance and it traveled further than normal. I hope so anyway.

I have already sunk some money with new tires, new belts, new blades a deck bearing and the fuel items mentioned earlier so hopefully when I get it back together, it will last a couple more years

Yes, the push rod can find its way into the sump. Is maybe what happens is that the exhaust valve won't push down as the guide has started to work loose and holding the valve from closing?

Overheating is probably the main reason valve seats come loose.
Again- Probably a good time to clean the cooling fins.
I wouldn't invest in anything electrical until you get the mechanical parts fixed.

"Well yesterday, I was mowing...put the hood on again for giggles and grins....and it quit again. I have mowed for a month or better without the hood so I thought I would give it another try.....anyway, I removed the hood and off I went.

Isn't THAT telling you something about possibly overheating?

You do have a point, I knew the heat was an issue but to be honest, I forgot about the possibility of it getting too hot and affecting the valves/heads. I kept thinking electrical.

I know better than that but I just wasn't thinking.
I will be cleaning the heads and do a valve job. Once it is all sealed up again, I have a pressure washer that i will use to clean up the rest of it.

Thanks for the feedback

Since you are going to have at least one of the heads off, removing the tins isn't that big of a deal.
No sense driving high pressure water into the coil, stator etc.

phantondaz - you want REAL probs, just go ahead with that power washer idea. Worst tool you can use on a tractor... as they are not designed built to withstand the elements - at all.
Remove the sheet metal, use some elbow grease and compressed air instead.

Did you get this fixed?

So far so good
I removed the heads, removed the valves and cleaned them up
All were straight and floated freely in the guides

reassembled, two new push rods, new head gaskets, new valve cover and intake & exhaust gaskets.

I then took my blow gun and used compressed air to clean out everything on the exterior of the motor instead of using water

Started right up and seems to be running better. I can mow with the hood on it now.

the only corner i cut was I did not disassemble the sump to find the missing push rod.

Hopefully it has fallen to the bottom and will never be a problem.

I am looking at mid level garden tractors from Cub and Hrsqvana, I might look at a Deere but will not be purchasing from a big box store. I will be purchasing from a dealer

I will let you know if it blows :)

"the only corner i cut was I did not disassemble the sump to find the missing push rod." That could be interesting. Found an intake push rod wound up nicely once down under...

Gentlemen, I am a newbie to this forum. I came here with what I thought was an unheard of problem. Obviously I was mistaken. I too have the problem of a missing pushrod. It is a given that I will have to pull the head on that cyl to affect a repair of the valve or guide. The big question is how to remove the pushrod with out tearing down the whole engine. Is this possible? There are two types of push rods, the intake is alum, the exhaust is steel. In my case the missing one is the steel one. The engine runs on one cyl. with no obvious noise. I can't imagine repairing this engine without removing the errant pushrod. I can imagine that steel pushrod moving around in the engine and winding up in a place that would destroy the engine completely. So again I ask "can it be removed with out a complete tear down?" If so, how?
I have to admit this is really a strange situation.
Thanks for listening to my dilemma and I hope y'all have some ideas.
Rog

You don't have to do a "complete" tear down, but the sump has to come off.

"I am looking at mid level garden tractors from Cub and Hrsqvana, I might look at a Deere but will not be purchasing from a big box store. I will be purchasing from a dealer"

I guess you could pay them to clean the cooling fins?

What damage could result from leaving the push rod in the sump. Its a tube of soft metal for crying out loud?

Lead bullets are soft metal too!

I wouldn't think it be likely, but there wouldn't be any harm in trying a telescopic magnet to retrieve the rod through the galley. It would have to be bent just right I think to snake it out the oil drain hole. The real important thing here to know is why the rod dislodged in the first place. If a loose rocker was evident, great. If not- look real close at the valve guides- comparing each in distance that they protrude from the head. On occasion the guide will walk out - preventing the valve from opening all the way and off the rod can come. Would the rod lay nice in the bottom for all eternity? Who knows. The OP can keep us posted on this. Otherwise for $29.95, just pick up a can of push rod dissolving oil additive and let nature take its course.... Green label for the aluminum rods, red for steel.

Tom, please send me a red can and a green can.
Do you accept Misercard?

Bill K, Thanks for the quick response. I guess I had not thought of splitting the engine case as just removing the oil pan. That's more work than I wanted to get into for myself. If that's what has to be done, I'll probably let the friendly small engine repair shop do it. I do however, like tomplums' idea of the magnet. I don't have much faith in it, but I like it. On the other hand, I really like his Red Label idea. Do you think he'll accept my PenPal account for payment? It's attached to my government stimulus account.. rrrrrr Oh, yes I do know that the head will need work on the guide, the exhaust valve is much lower than the intake. So there is certainly a problem there. THANKS Guys, I'll let you know what else I find out.. Rog

Why YES I CAN take that Veesa.... I would sure try the magnet. I have, failed- but tried. The correct repair is to replace the head- $100ish. Some try to correct the guide install, but I haven't. If pulleys and clutches come off the crank, it isn't really difficult to reseal the sump. Clean up can be tedious. Our rod dissolver stuff reminds me of Black Label beer I drank as a kid. ...

Thanks Tom. Hey, I used to date Mabel, just for the Black Label.. I think you're right about the head, $C. for new 1/2 for used. The rest of the mower is still pretty good so it should be worth the investment. I just might put my engineering cap on and see if I can come up with a way to keep from loosing any more push rods. It would be a lot less expensive if ya didn't have to go mining for the lost one. Oh yea, I'll get that order out for the red label, black label, whatever, soon. Count on it. RRRR Rog

some years back, i got an advertising picture of "Uncle Jackson Kohler" and hung it in my living room!
My mother came to visit, saw the picture, and when i told her who it was---she threw a "seven"!
I never knew that he invented the Kohler engines! Fancy that! RJ

Gentlemen, I want to first thank you for the information you have given me,
I would like to now tell you what I have since learned. I have talked to at least five repair shops. ALL of them have told me to forget the idea of repairing the engine, without even looking at it. They site the following information. (1) the head will assuredly need to be replaced due to the guide repair needed. Even if the piston has received no damage. (2) The engine will need to be split to remove the existing lost push rod. (gaskets and much labor) (3) The probability of saving the drive pulleys is at best minimal, meaning replacement. They have all sited $300. min labor plus parts which would make the repair a minimum $475. to $550. No one has given me a warm fuzzy feeling that this would give me a unit that I could not be back next week with the same problem on the other cyl unless I spend another $150 to replace side two. That gets me up to what it would cost to replace the whole danged engine with another Intek that could do the same thing in another 2 to 300 hrs. Obviously I am in a quandary . Do I look for a good used Kohler or just part out this mower and buy another. One local repair man said he had a good Briggs 18hp opposed twin he would install for $275 compete. Should I be tempted? Rog

Discovered a missing push rod in my 26HP B&S 2008 John Deere LA175 this morning. Doesn't look good from what I read.

"wouldn't be any harm in trying a telescopic magnet to retrieve the rod through the galley. It would have to be bent just right I think to snake it out the oil drain hole."

This happens fairly regularly with these engines. Never tried bending magnetic tool for one thing you only have about 5/16" hole to work thru and I have never found that small a magnetic pickup tool and magnets are virtually impossible to cut down. I got a bright idea and ordered some special small powerful magnets. Problem is the camshaft. It is close inside the drain hole and the magnet wants to "find" it. Haven't tried it on an actual case but will when the opportunity comes along. The magnet needs to go thru the small hole then drop down where it is going to find the camshaft gear. Then if by chance it does find the push rod, the magnet needs to be strong enough to grasp and hold onto the push rod until it slides along until it finds the end where it can then pull the push rod out the 5/16" hole.

Walt Conner

Some times it will break the cam... If you just replace the push rod it will just happen again... What happened was the valve guide on that push rod slid down or up in the head... You need to buy the new head that has the valve guide machined as part of the head... I have welded a little spot on each side of the guide to stop it from moving up or down... Some people have pined them but that is much harder to do... If you look at the valve guide you will see it have moved... The one I spot welded has lasted 5 year so far... It now that hard to fix but you will need to remove the engine and the bottom of the engine to get the push rod out... Also the head so you can replace it or weld or pin the valve guides... You will need a push rod and Head gasket... The bottom gasket may be okay to reuse it... Good Luck... Let us know what you do... We need to keep this tread going to help others...

Note that it IS possible to place a spot of weld on the bottom of the valve guide without removing the head using MIG. I have never seen a guide move except up. Also, this model of engine is susceptible to sump gasket leaks so reusing old gasket is problematic at best. I have one such case now.

I have instructions for 3 valve guide fixes IF you would like them. All have been used and been successful. Address below, put in proper format and remind me what you want.

Walt Conner

wconner5 at frontier dot com

The two that pushed the valve guide down... The push rod was bent at the top and still in the valve guide... Yes to spot weld the guide on inside of the head "I" have to removed the head... That is why I said you need head gasket... I let the customer say what they wanted to pay for... I have fixed many of these engines for people... Most wanted them fix to sale and get something better... The one that wanted them fix to keep using them paid for the spot weld fix and all new gaskets... The ones wanting it fixed to get rid of just paid for the push rod fix... I just ruffed up the valve guide and put loctite red and knocked the valve guide back down in place adjusted the valves and they sold it... Some I fished the push rod out, some I could not get it out... If they wanted me to open it up and remove the push rod I did but that cost a lot more... Some used them till the summer mowing season was over then sold them... some are still using them... The right fix is new redesigned head push rods and gaskets... Split the engine, new oil and filter adjust valves... I have replaced engines on some that is what the customer wanted... I fixed the first one for my father in law... Then I put an ad Craigs List and it went from there... Now I working on every thing in my spare time...

"Yes to spot weld the guide on inside of the head you have to removed the head..."

As I said before, you DO NOT have to remove the head to spot weld the bottom of the valve guide. I can put you in touch with an individual who has done many and does them custom for repair shops.

Walt Conner