KRAIG - I apologize, You're beginning to sound like ME in your dislike of the Onan engines. I agree completely on the Onan governor being a bad design. Works fine when first started and engine cold, but hot summer days, mowing longer than normal grass the engine gets hot, that plastic 10 finger wheel expands and slips on the hub of the cam gear, plastic expands three to five times as much as iron depending on type of plastic, so engine won't respond to increases in load, engine just slows down, but move the throttle to wide open and it speeds up.
And who thought putting ignition points actually INSIDE the crankcase of the engine was a good thing, I've removed points assemblies that looked like they had been dropped in a can of heavy gear oil like 90 weight. Last set of new points & condensor I bought was well over $100. The condensor is the usual imported junk even if you buy from Cummins, engine runs O-K about 40 hours and starts cutting out, sputtering. Not sure why I bought the $106 vacuum operated fuel pump but my Onan mysteriously died one day, wouldn't restart, new fuel pump fixed it. I never had the intake manifold problem where the thin steel top that's glued to the die casting comes loose and one cylinder nearest the leak runs lean till it stops firing. I have heard that the stellite exhaust valve seats can over-heat, expand, and fall out of the block with disastrous results.
I joined Weekend Freedom Machines forum strictly to see what problems Deere owners were having with their Onan's. IH Cub Cadet 982 was the only Onan IH used. Super Garden tractors afterwards all got Kohler's I think. Small Engine WAREHOUSE borrowed a picture of MY 982 sitting in MY yard on their website years ago but wouldn't make me a deal on a new Briggs or Honda or Kawasaki engine. Wouldn't take much to get me to replace that Onan with something else.