Just like I have left the grenade gears out of every Kohler I have been inside of before now, I also have never replaced crank bearings on one during a rebuild either. I was looking around on Feebay again, and found a set (again a well known name brand) of the crank bearings at a price I figure too cheap "not" to/ while I'm in there. My old ones out of that engine, feel fine when I spin them, but this engine is also 52 years old now.
I have 2 of them bearings coming for $30.... I have 10x that just in machine work on this motor, which seems like a whole lot more than the last few "like" engines I have done... I have the reciept on either the last one or next to last, have to look for it to compare.... the last couple were also each a couple years prior to each other..... I know that about 10 years ago I did an M12 and after buying all NOS parts I had $500 into that one when done.... $500 into a cast iron K series when all said and done does seem a common theme.... this one's gonna wind up a little more than that.
I have tried plain "white box" connecting rods in this one and the last one I did also for teh first time. .... a K321 that has been done a couple years now and do far never fired. Redid the original engine on another of my machines, that I stuck "something else" on just to get it mobile while I redid the original engine. and that "someting else" is still doing the job. That 321 took a 20-under rod, also a first for me.
This engine is from my Cub 129.... small base plate, so I had to rebuild "this" engine for that machine, wish that wide base 321 would fit a Cub.