Just bought a Mud Buddy long tail with the liquid cooled Kawasaki 27hp and I'm planning on throwing a 27hp Kohler I have on there instead.

Does anyone have experience with these Kawasaki motors or any opinions/things is hould look out for on both motors?

Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated.

Other than the weight difference of the liquid cooled, why would you want to swap a Liquid Kawasaki for a Kohler?

In the Small Engine world, Kawasaki is by far the better of the 2.... Years ago, people wanted Kohler over the other offerings because they had roller bearings rather than bushings on the crankshaft - but with demise of the K series and then the Magnum engine, to the Overhead valve, EPA friendly Command or Command Pro (well their first offering Overhead valve was a Triad engine that was a failure, and was discontinued shortly), they reverted to a build just like all the others. From my experience, I would have to say a Kohler Command is not much better than a Briggs and Stratton engine today.

Other than "tune up parts", the major parts are going to be a little more expensive on the Kawasaki than the Kohler, and maybe a little more "slower" to get, but the longevity of the Kawasaki will more than make up for it.....

Thanks for the help!

It's just I got a good deal on the Kohler and it was just rebuilt. The Kawasaki needs a few parts and has roughly 320 hours on it already.

But you would recommend just selling the Kohler and sticking with the Kawasaki?

If you decide to do the swap and scrap the Kawasaki let me know. I just picked up the same motor over the weekend. I need a fuel pump and the kill switch assembly, I would buy the parts from you

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I've actually got mine in the shop getting it tuned up and went over. I need the kill switch assembly and throttle cables.

Do you think even with the high hours this motor is still the best choice?

320 hours is not what I would call "high hours".

I'll take that as a yes.. It's still the better choice.

Average life expectancy of an air cooled, commercial grade small engine is reported to be around 2000 hours (providing proper maintenance) - the addition of a high capacity, dual stage air filter is reported to increase the life another 1000 hours.

The liquid cooled motor is supposed to have an even higher life expectancy than the air cooled.....

But, you have it on a Mud Motor - I haven't found too much dirt and dust on the water, and you are not going to run the motor 8 hours a day, 7 days a week at maximum speed.

Keep the maintenance up and it will last you a LONG time yet...