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Late post from the weekend storm, but wheelhorse 414 w/ bervac got it done. central jersey, 11" snow with ice cap. 24" drifts against the garage. fun day cleaning the snow. the mailman loves the tractor, bogs down a little when going into the deep wet road plowed pile but as you can see from the picture it makes it happen. IMG_2654.mov

After the walloping we got Sunday into Monday I used Mongo to clean up. Mostly it did great but it started running rich. I think the snow was so fluffy it was getting in the air cleaner. Wanted to use it the next day to clean up the plow berms at the end of the driveway and the bendix wouldn't engage. Took the cover off and there was a nice chunk of ice in the tin. Cleaned that out and still no engagement. I ended up using a propane torch on the end of the starter for maybe 10 to 15 seconds. That was all it took.

It's been a few months since I put a new starter on the K-181 for the reborn B-80. I purchased the rebuild kit for the old one but have yet to find one with the correct bushing on the gear end. The brush end was correct. This morning I just decided to clean it up, lube the bushings and put it back together. It's just going to be sitting on the shelf as a spare. I cleaned up the important stuff, put new brushed in and reassembled it. Leave it to an old electrician to use a 4" sq cover to whip up a hold the brushes down while you put the end cap back on tool. It worked great. Tested and It's good to go.

I would say that's a great reason to rebuild that engine. Do it right, and it will last another 40 years. I would spend the money to have the bore reworked, and the valve seats. Also check the crank pin as per the manual. OEM pistons, rods, and rings are hard to find, but there are decent aftermarket ones available. If you download the Kohler manual you can handle the rest of it. Me personally, I would also delete the balance gears. It'll thump a bit more, but you won't have to worry about them destroying that K341...

But wait, there's more! The crankshaft journal may need to be ground - if not at the max limit now. Doing so requires a new rod to match.... Important note - If going the full rebuild route, the machine shop needs the new parts in hand before any boring or grinding can be done. This allows them to machine to the proper clearances...

Solid advice. The old saying "The more you look, the more you find" comes to mind. The source of the oil consumption is not limited to the rings - the clearance between the valves & their guides may now be excessive - if so best to replace both. Do this first - when you pull the head off, look for the "STD" marking on top of the piston. IF it already says ".030", you will most likely be looking for a different rebuildable engine... If it says ".010" you can still go to .030 over - IF that is enough to clean up the entire bore after reboring. Accurate measurements are required to determine this... You say you want this to be a worker - .010 over may be your best bet.

Most of us use those tires on the front of pulling tractors especially the tri rib ones. I would recommend a good set of snowblower tires in the front.

Some K341 engines unofficially can be bored much more. That'd obviously be up to the rebuilder to determine. Not something I'd do without proper scanning equipment.

Try this it will turn over every time For years.

Most chargers came with a full sized battery and clamp type connectors. This is a 22NF battery in Charger battery pan.

Don't tempt me! Haha I do plan on either building or getting a loader some day, but not yet.

Vredestein.

For turf duty, my C-195 had severe understeer with the old, dried out, original turf savers. I swapped them out for for some 5 rib tires from Miller Tire. Can't remember the brand right now, but it started with a V. Haven't driven this tractor in the snow yet, so I can't comment on how well they would work. They are an improvement on turf, though. Others have installed a length of #35 roller chain around the center of the tread on their front tires to improve snow performance. The chain is a tight fit with the tire deflated, then when air is added, the tire expands inside the chain and hold it on. Said to be very effective.

Yes. I have two of them. Model YTZ14S. One on a K181 and another on a Vanguard 14. Used one on the Bronco with a K321 for a while too. I think they have as good or better cranking power than typical L&G batteries. Can't speak for longevity because I've only had them for 2 years but so far so good. Very nice when space is tight, but if using a standard WH battery box you'll need a block behind it. I prefer that anyway so that it doesn't get close to the drive belt.

Maybe this one from Home Depot will fit, they call it a U1: https://www.homedepot.com/p/MIGHTY-MAX-BATTERY-ML35-12-12-Volt-35AH-U1-Deep-Cycle-AGM-Solar-Battery-Replaces-33Ah-34Ah-36Ah-ML35-1274/321507826?MERCH=REC-_-brand_based_collection-_-308970494-_-1-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a-_-n/a

Should we start looking for you??? Pullstart has one that is a basket ... nevermind

Who the heck dem boys?!?!? You need to broaden your horizons and get up there then... I meant the stuff they use in the lower 48!

@WHX?? Since I have never operated equipment in Alaska or Canada I am not sure if they use different oils? Perhaps I should put a call into Parker Schnable or Tony Beets? 😂

These tires are from SUNF think they were technically a golf cart tire but weight ratings are comparable to and lawn and garden tire. A lot cheaper than the Carlisle same style tread. I use this tractor for everything and have been impressed how well they hook up. I moldboard plow the garden with this tractor and she really bites. Was impressed with pushing snow also. Just 50 pounds of weight on each tire. Like to get them loaded with rim guard

As usual Eric wasn’t very clear about how he feels about chains . In my opinion two link chains on turfs will out perform Ags or the All-Trails. The All Trails are a good all around tire that are a great choice if youre against using tire chains. My recommendation is to get the All-Trails AND get 2 link chains that you can install if the going is too difficult for the All-Trails.

Thanks for the "mention" Bill. I saw this thread earlier but couldn't take the time to answer. @Alrashid2 See how I separated the lines above? I drive equipment for a living. We live on a mountainside like you. I have A LOT of experience and training in this subject. Like it or not - you're asking for resolution on two VERY different tasks. For mud or most sand NUTHIN beats good AG tires. Period. For snow - hands down best case scenario is a turf tire with chains. WEIGHT is your friend. Fluid filled tires are HIGHLY recommended. More weight is more friction is more traction. My recommendation to you is get turf tires AND 2 LINK CHAINS. Trina uses those year round on her 867. Definitely the way to go. On any garden tractor with one wheel drive there are NO tires that will be satisfactory for use on snow covered hills without chains. Get the chains. ⛓️ Get the chains. ⛓️ Get the chains. ⛓️ Get the chains. ⛓️ Get the chains. ⛓️ Get the chains. ⛓️ Get the chains. ⛓️

The wide ones are on my snow-plow machine, with 75#’s pounds of cast weight on each. They work great and I don’t run chains on my paved drive. I do keep the air pressure low, keeps the tire more squishy and pliable. The narrow set are on a tractor that mainly sees mowing duty. They are great for that and DO NOT tear up my lawn. I have used this machine occasionally to haul firewood from the woods in “mud season” and they are better than turfs, but can get mud packed and then they are like racing slicks. The sticky mud does not eject well from the depths of the tread. These pics are the wide ones on my plow tractor.

I’m partial to this tread (yes, these are my tractors). Brand: Carlisle All Trails The ones on the right are 23 x 8.0x12’s and would fit your current wheels and clear your fenders just fine.

What type of cable ends do you have? A good strong standard issue U1 battery will work fine.

And as a side note... additional cross links can be added later. The set on the 854 I made using an old pair of ice grip chains for the side links and all new cross links & connectors. Tough on the hands using the chain pliers though.

Thanks! Trying to secure some prior to second phase of this storm rolling in. These are in stock at my local Tractor Supply. But I see your point.

Most likely...but... Not enough crosslinks. Should get the full complement type.

All of that. Weight on or inside the wheels is the best spot.

The tread on the Terra Track tires is more aggressive than the turf savers on your tractor, but they are a compromise between soft surface and hard surface traction. The Versa Turf tires are more aggressive than the Terra Tracks, adding features of the V bar ag tread to a turf tire. I'd expect both of them to still work out for plowing your driveway, and they should help with the off road traction. I'd guess that the Versa Tracks would be a bit better off road, though it have never seen any comparisons on that subject. In general, narrow tires will work better for plowing on pavement, as they will tend to dig through the snow and find the pavement. Wide tires won't tend to do that, but they will reduce the tendency for the tractor to dig into the dirt/mud off road. @ebinmaine is a fan of weight, ag tires, and chain for operation in his hilly wooded area. Adding weight helps traction both on and off road. I'd recommend that you try that first. Add wheel weights or fill the tires and see how much that helps. Adding weight to the tires also has the advantage of increasing traction, but not increasing the load on the axle bearings. I'd really like to get a set of Versa Tracks for my C-195. Unfortunately, they are not available in the proper size.

Lower PSI (1-3psi) is better. Otherwise you'll overpower the carb float and flood the crankcase. Very dangerous and also can destroy the engine.

That would leave a 1/4" of snow right there plus any more that gets pushed underneath through that space from the auger. Finish up with a plow tractor. What's the issue with letting the scraper scrape it?

It your tires are still good and holding air I would go with wheel weights and chains, I just pulled a set of tires like you have from 87 and 2100 hours and they were shot. Off of my mower tractor. My plow tractor has old tires but chains and weights and it is unstoppable on 2 very steep asphalt drives I do out of 4 all together. If you get chains get the double link.

Well a little bit of thawing seemed to really help. Wet concrete grips better than frozen. So got a couple driveways done. Then my friend and I got a Wheel Horse Man Date in as we plowed the parking lot for small school. Mine is the 416-8 and his is the 417-A. We were plowing after dark for a few hours. First time I needed the headlights for work. Was glad I had them though. Parking lot lights were out. But we got it cleared off pretty good.

Same here and I run the scraper on dead flat on blacktop. The auger carries snow around back to the front and throws it underneath instead of out the chute. Worse when it hits a uneven spot. Center of the auger is getting beat up and should be manicured. I bet installing rubber paddles would help

I got blow back yesterday first blower use in several years. Mine has wheels so I lowered her a notch made it a bit better but still blow back.. I have gravel and uneven ground so I don't want to set it any lower . Just go back with a plow to tidy up.

I use 32 and not really noticing sluggishness. It was out all night at 2 degrees, I warmed it up just the engine above idle, and it ran okay. Whines a little at the start, but I am in no hurry. ATF I think is just a tad thicker. I went premium tractor hydraulic fluid. It is a 10W-30 weight with all the right vitamins for the hydro.

Can you lower the scraper edge a bit?? I see the exact same thing with mine. I move the vast majority of it with one tractor with the blower, then final cleanup with the plow tractor.

Welcome back looking forward to your "come back tour".

Got between 8 and 10" Did most of it with the 953 but it had already started to compact itself so the Village and State boys leftovers were a challenge. Got out the Ariens and was hitting the top of the trees but it only made it about 10 ft and it stopped blowing. I had to adjust the auger belt all the way out. Got new belts ordered. I think they are original 1990 vintage. Pushed all the piles back with Elvis. The hydraulic system did not like this cold weather!

I woke up this morning to the sound of my neighbor firing up his Kubota. All the driveways were packed tight with 3-4 feet of snow from PENNDOTS plowing. He used the Kubota with the FEL to remove the packed snow so I could get in with the 520H to plow the driveways. We just finished all seven driveways. We had about 10 inches of snow then several hours of sleet creating one of the heaviest snows I had to plow.

Here in northern Indiana we probably got 3-4 inches but I get drifting bad on my place so got drifts up to about 16 inches I have a snowblower but I just don't use it because it's always windy whenever I have snow to clear. So right now using this back blade.

I always marvel whenever you post a pic of that set up. Very impressive.

+9F with a stiff 15MPH East wind that is drifting the fine snow. Just on the leading edge of the storm now. As it moves Northeast the wind will shift from the North and pile up some snow. About 3"s down now.

Well done Bill. You're right but mine came in with 1/2" studs. They were two inch thick. I do keep the information handy in my notes if you want it.