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Work Horse GT1848. Before: After: Special thanks to Tom Smith, Kelly Hollister, Glen Pettit and Terry at Midwest Custom Graphics.

520H with 44" two stage blower if it get's real bad a kubota L3400 with bucket loader Brian

Most of my experience is with gear drive tractors, but do/have owned a couple hystats (non-wheel horse, so far...) so I will throw my 2 cents in. From a technical standpoint, a hydro is typically less efficient than a gear drive, so in an apples-to-apples comparison, the gear drive will put more power to the ground. That said, alot of the time traction is the limiting factor on these tractors, not power, so you may not be able to tell the difference. From a practical standpoint, each has applications where they will work well. I push mow around things first, so when I get on the riding mower I don't have to stop or slow down much. The green tractor I primarily use for mowing is a manual with a variable speed control (sort of like a CVT) and I do use that control to fine tune ground speed in a few spots. I have also used my Lawn Ranger with a plain 4-speed and it has worked just fine, although there are a few bumpy spots I go a little faster over on the Ranger than I would on the Deere, rather than stopping to shift gears. I have also used a manual for plowing a garden/field and it works fine for that. I have only used the 4 speed, but suspect an 8 speed would really be nice for plowing. I have a 40' driveway and used a manual one winter for plowing snow. It was alot of shifting going forward and back, and lots of speed adjustment; needing more speed for pushing piles and less speed for more precise work. Between the manual blade lift and manual shifting, it kept me busy, and I was concerned about wear and tear on the transmission. Last winter I got a hystat with hydraulic lift and that was much more enjoyable for pushing snow. If I had a longer driveway though, a manual might work just fine. When my kids drive a tractor around the yard, they like the hystat better. One lever to control speed and stop, instead of a foot pedal they can barely reach (not that I am ever too far away that I can't help). The biggest negatives I have found with hystats is when I am not actually using them. Hystats are more complicated to work on that a manual. Although it isn't exactly easy to rebuild a manual trans, it can be done. Hystats have parts you can replace, but most are not something you would want to or can rebuild. Some hystats can be tricky (or impossible) to adjust so they don't creep, i.e. move when you don't want them to, especially as the tractors get older and the linkages get worn. My biggest gripe about the hystats though, is they are hard to push/move. It may seem silly, but like alot of us on here, I have as many tractors as my storage space will allow. That means jockeying stuff around to get to the tractor or implement I want to use. My gear drive tractors I can just put in neutral and push. The hystat ones you have to drive, or release the system to push, in which case they still have a fair amount of rolling resistance. I think both types of transmissions have their place. The best solution is to have one (or more) of each so you always have the right tractor for the job! Dave

Finally! Took the video and could not get it to download to Photobucket. Kept trying and it would get 3/4 thru and fail. Resorted to youtube. I may have to get something besides an I-phone. Really narrow picture on YT but the video itself was good. So now for my post # 3000, Ezra's Ride

Here is the 857...with my daughter at the reigns. and my 702...with me at the reigns. I can't wait for it to start snowing this year...

Video is done and I'm editing right now….trying to get it down from 20+ minutes… I never messed with iMovie before so here goes nothing…lol Edited: Heres the link… Its down to 13 minutes and honestly didn't real get around the whole 'hood. It would have taken 30 or more…lol…. I have learned thats it better to take movies in landscape ode instead of portrait….darn noobies…I might do another one the right way..but this one is pretty special because it has my lil guy cruising on the Charger with me…That made it the best movie yet!!

Like what was said above, I have found that "SEA FOAM" mixed in with the gas, works as a great stabilizer. Leave the tank full and run out the carb after shutting off the gas pet cock. I am in northern Illinois, so I run them until the end of November and get them going again in March, so they are only sitting about 3 months. Two of the four horses I have are used during the winter months...that is the best thing to do. Use them...I have found that they love the snow...if you do not get snow...run them around the block and take some videos.

it starts with this, and ends with another 12x20 addition, 220 service, and plumbing! Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

Got the case blasted this morning. Thats as far as I can go until I get new bearings which will probably be a few weeks. Here's a pic.

Hey Guys, I am currently working on rebuilding an 8 speed I had as a spare. It has 1 1/8" axles with the 8 pinion diff. This is the first 8 speed I have done, I have only done 4 speeds so far, haven't had the guts to try a rj trans yet. I opened up the trans and it looked great inside! It is in great shape! The gears are super nice and there is not much rust if any inside! I soaked everything in mineral spirits and everything cleaned up great. The bearings are all pretty nice. One of the needle bearings came apart after being soaked so I might just replace all the needle bearings in the case to be safe. The needle bearings in the gears will stay, they are good enough. I still have to sandblast the case. I sometimes glass bead the inside but this one is good enough, I just will blast the outside. So I just need to blast the case. Probably order some bearings, and then see if I can put it back together. I will just put a coat of primer on it and put it away. I have no use for it but wanted to see the inside of one. I got this trans off a tractor that was very cheap, and with the money I made off of selling whats left I can probably cover the cost of everything I used to rebuild this tranny. Here are pictures after everything has been cleaned up.

Thanks so much for the veteran edition lawn ranger decals terry! My Dad surprised me with them tonight, I was so happy. He told me we are going to restore my tractor in the spring because we can't have new decals on an old rusty tractor. I plan on keeping this tractor forever so we must do this! Thank you again!

Well, after the members here helped me out so much with the rebuilding of my B-80 transmission, I thought I'd start another little project. Well, this one might be a bit more than "little." I bought this RJ off ebay and was able to pick it up locally. Let's see here, it has one broken spindle, a chopped hood, two rotten front wheels, frozen/broken steering, frozen front axle pivot, some sort of homemade abomination of a plow, a cut and stretched frame, wrong motor, no gas tank, etc etc. The good news is that I like it, and the transmission is just fine! I have a 4hp Tecumseh I'll put in it for the time being, and I welded up the front spindle today. Hopefully I can get it moving under its own power in a few nights, but I'm really concerned about the front wheels. Are they particularly tough to find, or do the same ones fit many models? Here's a few pictures of my little gem: Hey, at least this little guy makes my rusty D200 look like a real gem! Thanks for looking! -Dan

I'll take another picture then. That one does look poor. If I post it later tonight could one of u gents take a look?

Pull at Washington Co fair. Starts with my son's girl friend on my C165 on far track Got a little dusty in the afternoon, 287 hooks down from last year but still a fun day

After the storm, the clear up.

500 in a year! Let me guess, you were vaccinated with a phonograph needle when you were little!

If you leave your tank and lines full... If there's any chance that mice or other rodents will get to your fuel system over the winter, I'd recommend closing your shutoff valve. Given half a chance, they'll try to chew through your fuel lines, and if your valve is open you could end up with a tank full of expensive gasoline drained all over the floor. I usually also cram one of those small wedge-shaped boxes of mouse poison under the cooling fins on the engine, or you could put one in the battery area if you take yours out for the winter. I almost always see activity the next time I check. Just be careful, make sure pets and kids can't get to it.

Thanks AmandaRae. I must say its awesome to see a young woman so interested in this.

Dan, I'm glad everything worked. Happy to help. Never worry about how the horses look. My trusty B-100 worker is the worst looking horse in the fleet, but it's always been dependable.

I don't know how to add pictures to an existing thread but I have the charger 12 with a blade unless it gets bad. If its bad I have a 1940 Ford 9N with a back blade that I pull it out of the driveway with.

Yessir! Thanks to the help of everyone here, but especially you and Steve, I now have a fully operational B80! I finished putting it all back together late last night. I still have a few minor issues to fiddle with (like a surging motor/governor), and I still need a hood latch and ornament, but it's alive! Now today I went and picked up a basket case RJ 58, as if I needed another project... Thanks again to everyone for your help and advice. You all make this an amazing place for us Wheel Horse nuts! Dan

1968 commando 8

Chris...excellent pictures...thanks. Your snow blade looks great... Here are the pictures that I have at the moment. As you can see, this attachment is in really rough shape. I ended up just using a wire wheel on my 4" grinder (went through 1 of them), I wiped it down with Mineral Spirits and then sprayed on Rust-Oleum red primer (used 1 can)...then I brush painted with a good 2" brush using Rust-Oleum Regal Red thinned with Mineral spirits (1 cup paint to 1/4" cup spirits).. The paint covered great and flowed better then I expected. One issue I had...the temperature outside dropped as soon as I was ready to paint. I ended up painting in the 40 degree "F" zone. Being a snow blade, and the fact that I am running out of nice weather, I went for it. I like the brush method for this application...it looks real good for what I had to work with...I got great coverage with no waste and over spray...and for about $9 for a quart of paint...a very economical out come. I could wet sand this in the spring, and give it a couple of more coats, and have a much better looking result. I did do electrolysis on the springs...they came out real good. Primed... Painted...but still wet. Have to let it dry (2 days) and put it back together. I'll put pictures of it together in a couple of days. Thank You all for sharing your pictures and knowledge.

This is the plow I brushed. A little wax, and the snow rolls like a wave. Here's the 551 I brushed the frame on, and sprayed the tins. The spray came out a bit glossier, but I went straight from the can with the brushing and would try lightly thinning next time, or flo-through.

I agree Will. I finished up the stain today and put a first coat of Ben Moore Bone White on the windows. I hope to have the edge metal back from fabrication tomorrow and get it installed this weekend. Here are a few pics of the color combo...

Just thought you might be interested in what a non-abused, well maintained 38 year old Uni-Drive transmission should look like inside. This transmission has been sitting outside of my shop for at lease two years. When I got the B-80, I drained the oil and plugged the hole where the shifter goes. So what you will see in the next picture is exactly how I found the transmission when I opened it up last night. I honestly can say that I cannot find a single bit of metal or any evidence of water ever having gotten into this one. The previous owner must have taken meticulous care of his horse, and never rode it hard or put it away wet. Dan - this is where your differential came from.

Really, other than the axles and pinions, everything looked great inside! Here's a couple shots after cleaning:

Well, after much pulling, hammering, and torching, I got the last hub off and the transmission opened up. Not pretty... I'll let the pictures speak for themselves here. Apparently in a desperate attempt, the previous owner decided to pump a bunch of what appears to be lithium grease into the transaxle... I'm not sure why. Surprisingly, other than the differential, everything looks fine. The diff, however, is another story. The gears on the inside ends of the axles are wiped out, and the pinion gears, well, here's what's left of them: Ugh. On a lighter note, I contacted Bob last night and he dug a VERY nice differential assembly out of a B80 that he's providing to me for a very reasonable price. So hopefully by next week some time I'll have this thing back together. I'm not in any huge hurry, and in the meanwhile I'll finish cleaning everything else off and checking all the bearings, etc. I looked into it for about two hours last night, though, and everything looks surprisingly good. We shall see! -Dan

Before you drop the trans, put the rear end on blocks, put in a gear and turn the input shaft in a counter clock-wise direction. One or both of the tires should turn. Check the input pulley, shaft and key way. Put trans into neutral and spin one of the tires...the other tire should move in the opposite direction. You should also be able to hold one tire from turning and be able to turn the other one...try this on both tires. Check to make sure the hubs are tight and keyed on the axles. Your differential is OK if the above is true. Now put into a gear and try to turn both tires at the same time. They may turn, but it will be hard to do...they may also not turn. This is a good sign. Next, put back into neutral and pull out your shifter. If you look down the hole, you should see 2 shift forks lined up forming a square. Try moving one of them from one side to the other with a large screwdriver. It should feel like you are actually sliding a gear on a shaft. If so...the fork shafts are OK. There is not much else it could be...let us know what you find.

My neighbor has been a big help with it. It is much easier when you have a helping hand.

So far i have taken the hood off of the machine and i have taken the drive belt cover off and the fenders/ seat. I have also taken off the rear wheel for painting along with some other small parts such as the food pads. The hood is primed but i had to take dents out of the grill so i had to re prime the areas where you see red... I painted one of the wheels using rustoleum gloss ivory in a rattlecan. heres a before And after

Sorry about that here are some better pics. .

Interesting...it also shows that both the straight (seen on the 603) AND angled footrests were available in 61.