Oil Capacity for Kohler K321

[dsmith41]

My little 1980 tractor has a K321 engine and I have seen conflicting info about its oil capacity. I have seen 1.5 qts. and I have seen 2 qts. I was wondering how much you guys run in your engines like this, assuming someone else here has a K321.

I just did an oil change and put in 2 qts. which looks a little high on the dipstick but 1.5 qts. looked a little low. Even though it looks a bit over filled on the dipstick, I'm not at risk of damaging the engine am I? It's not that full, right?

 

[HM12460]

Depends on the application (spec. number) It does vary. Best to consult the owners manual for the tractor. Why not just run the oil level at the full mark and don't worry about it. Over filling a splash lubed Kohler is not a good idea as it may cause the oil to foam up which leads to reduced lubrication for the reciprocating assembly. What brand/viscosity of oil are you using? The K-321 is a very common, popular, and well built small engine.

 

[greggn]

The Kohlers had 3 different oil pans.

 

[LargeCarManX2]

I put in 1.5 qts and run for a few minutes. Then I let it set for a tad, and add up to full line. I am running Amsoil 0w40 in it now. I had been running Amsoil 10w30 with two to three season oil change intervals.

 

[dsmith41]

Problem is I struggle to see exactly where the oil level is on the dipstick when it's brand new fresh oil. For some reason it's hard for me to tell on this specific engine. Current fill is Pennzoil Conventional with only a little over an hour on it.

 

[JR]

My k321as holds just over two quarts, i fill to the upper two holes. I run whatever oil is laying around. Run fifty hours max, these cast iron beasts run hot. At work we run a camand pro 27hp powered hydraulic stump grinder, 450hrs still breaking in, the Boss mandates sae30wt. A well maintand kohler will run day in day out under heavy hard loads for thousands of hours none stop.

Ken

 

[Rand]

There are different oil pans.

usually as mentioned its 1.5 to 2qts aprox.

My "new" John Deere 212 had about 60-63oz of the nastiest thin unlubricating water drained out.

I put in almost exactly half gallon of 15w40 and it was perfect.

Ran it for another hour. It was still thin when it was that hot but at least the oil didnt feel like gritty water on my fingertips.

Its had very heavy use and smokes abit uphill under heavy load but not terrible... just keeps the mosquitos away

This tractor has the k301AQS engine.

I forget what the AQS means but one of them refers to a short sump??