George wrote:

I have an old (1970?) Kohler K141, which is not doing real well.
There's an auction coming up which lists a number of small engines (none
Kohler) in that hp range.

Are these engines sometimes/ever interchangeable? If there's a
reasonable possibility, I'd look into more details; but, if every mfr
and model is unique, I'd rather not waste my time.

Thanks,
George

For a lot of applications there is quite a bit of interchangability. The
main variable is the output shaft size and type, there are a number of
variations there from straight shafts with key ways to tapered shafts to
threaded, etc. Outside of that for a given HP engines from different
manufacturers pretty well match on form factor and mounting points in
most cases. The closer parts of the item the engine goes in come to the
engine the more potential there is for interference with parts of a
different model engine. Best you can do is take the relevant
measurements and go measure possible replacements to see what will fit.

Pete C.