Just picked up a 2001 314-8

[CRE1992 135]

Yesterday I woke up early do to a phone call, and couldn't go back to sleep. So I decided to scan craigslist. I saw what looked to be a clean 314-8 with 315 hours amd wheel weights for a good price. I called the guy and he said there was another guy coming to look at it, but who ever showed up with the cash first would take it home. So I jumped up, threw on my clothes and ran out the door! So it was an hour away... I finally get there, guy selling it was no where to be found. Great, but a nice woman came out of the barn and showed me the tractor. I then noticed a pick up truck that was there before me. So I reached into my truck to get my jumper, and I then saw two guys walking down the mud trail near the mower. One about 5'4 another one who seemed to be 6'8" tall ! Then the tall man said Charles? and I responded, and it was none other than another fellow redsquare member.. It was Cole's Dad . He had beat me to the wheel horse ! I was like great he already bought it , but he decided to pass on it because he did not have time for another project thank god! It was the first time I have met him, though I have previously talked to him on the phone because he has helped me with my wheel horse problems in the past. Hes a good guy, and if you ever need any analogies, hes the man to see . So we pushed it up into my truck and I bought it and took it home!

It runs good, and it is pretty powerful, the clutch pedal was sticking from sitting, so I had to reach down to pull it up, and gave it a yank without thinking, the next thing I know is that I am looking up at the clouds! Nearly flipped over!

Now the bad, it needs a neutral safety switch (I jumped it). It also has a problem with the solenoid, it will start when you jump the solenoid, but when you turn the key nothing... (I don't know how to test this one, it has 4 wires on it. One from the battery, one to the starter, a small orange one, and a small brown one) And it has gas in the crankcase, I think its the fuel pump but not sure. It has a kohler command engine.

Please It would definitely be appreciated!

-Charles

[AMC RULES 36,945]

:thumbs2: Jeeze, are these things drying up or what? I didn't realize it would all but turn into fisticuffs to purchase a tractor these days. Good thing you left when you did, probably beat out ten more people right behind you.

[mr.pipes 4]

I called the guy and he said there was another guy coming to look at it, but who ever showed up with the cash first would take it home

IMO that is a lousy thing for the seller to do. I'm sure he didn't say to Cole's dad "You better hurry cause if someone else calls I will sell it to them if they beat you here."

If the seller already got at least two calls that morning about the tractor he knows he is going to be able to sell it. Unless he needs the money right away for a crack fix I don't see why he would do that.

Glad it worked out well and no feelings were hurt. Hopefully nobody called before Cole's dad and was going to see it that afternoon.

[118lfd 8]

Nice!! As far as the solenoid goes the small wires are the ground and one is the power from the key. Think of it like a remote switch. When power goes from the key switch to the solenoid on the orange wire then through the solenoid and to ground through the brown wire. It connects the battery positive to the starter. If you take a test light and put it on the small orange wire and turn the key to start it should light. If not the problem is in the key circut. If it lights up the solenoid is likely bad.

[Forest Road 594]

It was a pretty odd scene yesterday. When I pulled up the PO told me someone else was on the way. And immediately I called him out on it. He just put it plainly, " Do you have any idea how many people tell me they're on the way?" And I've had that happen myself. So like it or not I saw his point. Regardless it put a bad taste in my mouth. Then I see this kid show up w/ a pick up I've seen in a photo somewhere and I just started laughing. And you've heard the rest.

Good luck with it Charles. That neutral safety set up on the newer WH has cost many an owner a few bucks. They also tend to break off the mount behind the shifter. Keep an eye on it. Or just leave it jumped out.

Now hit the books!

[BOWTIE 226]

HELLO THERE, I HAD THE SAME DEAL ALSO HAPPEN TO ME. I WAS THE SELLER ON A GRAVLEY TRACTOR. TWO BUYERS CALLED ONE IN KENTUCKY AND ONE IN CLEVELAND,OHIO. MY ANSWER WAS FIRST COME FIRST SERVE. ITOLD BOTHOF THEM TO CALL FIRST BEFORE LEAVING. THE FIRST GUY BOUGHT IT AND THE SECOND GUY CALLED BEFORE DRIVING 2 HOURS. I WAS DOGGED ONCE ON A GUY WHO WHO SAID HE WAS ON HIS WAY AND NEVER SHOWED UP. I TURNED DOWN OTHER BUYERS. IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.

I ALSO HAVE 1999 314-8 TRACTOR WITH ALL THE SAFETY SWITCHES. THEY ARE A PAIN IN THE ASS WHEN TRYING TO TEST SOMETHING. I ELIMINATED SOME OF THEM. IF YOU NEED HELP WITH TEST PROCEDURES I MIGHT BE ABLE TO HELP YOU. GOOD LUCK

BOWTIE IN CENTRAL,OHIO

[CRE1992 135]

Thanks guys, I appreciate it. Because there is gas in the crankcase it is an indicator of a leaky fuel pump, carb float, or worn rings/cylinder... I am thinking it is the fuel pump as there is some seepage around it. But I want to do a leak-down test on the engine since it has a ACR or automated compression release, so a compression test is useless. Does anyone have any recommendations brand wise for a leak down tester? I mean I could use a little compressor I have with a pressure regulator and the hose from my compression tester. But I want to be thorough I plan on keeping this one for plowing.

As for working on the tractor, it will have to wait until Thursday night or Friday, unless I can get my uncle to take a look at it tomorrow. Hopefully he can, and I can order the parts so they will be there for Friday.

[jpmcleod 4]

I have had the same both ways. As the seller, the buyer never shows up as promised. As the buyer, it is gone before you can get there.

If I am selling, I try to give the person who appears to be honestly interest in buying, some time line to get here. After that the next buyer gets it. It is a shame some have ruined it for all.

I know I have been told by the seller he would hold it until I could get there and it was gone when I got there. Bummer!!

Glad this one worked out and both are still friends. That's what it is all about.

[CRE1992 135]

I just ordered a fuel pump, and new gear shift boot. As for the solenoid, I am thinking it is an electrical connection somewhere. But as for the clutch pedal coming up real slow.... Any ideas? Worn return spring? lack of lube? dampener?

-Charles

[BOWTIE 226]

HELLO, THE SLOW RETURN OF THE CLUTCH PEDAL. I REMOVED THE DAMPENER AND REPLACED IT WITH THE OLDER DESIGN TYPE SPRING. THE TWO WHOLES ARE THERE FOR THE SPRING. A $6.00 SPRING COMPARED TO A $50 DAMPENER. THE SPRING WORKS GREAT.

BOWTIE IN OHIO

[CRE1992 135]

HELLO, THE SLOW RETURN OF THE CLUTCH PEDAL. I REMOVED THE DAMPENER AND REPLACED IT WITH THE OLDER DESIGN TYPE SPRING. THE TWO WHOLES ARE THERE FOR THE SPRING. A $6.00 SPRING COMPARED TO A $50 DAMPENER. THE SPRING WORKS GREAT.

BOWTIE IN OHIO

Do you have the part number for the spring? Or if not where did you get it?

Thanks,

Charles

[smoreau 658]

I went to the local hardware for springs on several tractors. They have a lot to chose from, and I have found them there allot cheeper the from the dealer.

[truckin88 104]

HELLO, THE SLOW RETURN OF THE CLUTCH PEDAL. I REMOVED THE DAMPENER AND REPLACED IT WITH THE OLDER DESIGN TYPE SPRING. THE TWO WHOLES ARE THERE FOR THE SPRING. A $6.00 SPRING COMPARED TO A $50 DAMPENER.

[CRE1992 135]

I just checked one of my local toro dealers, and they have one in stock that they are saving for me to pick up this weekend . So should I take the dampener off and add this, or should I add it and leave the dampener on? Now if anyone has pictures as to how this hooks up I would greatly appreciate this!

For future reference it cost $6, and the part # is 108035

Thanks,

Charles

[BOWTIE 226]

HELLO, I REMOVED THE DAMPENER COMPLETELY. YOU WILL NEED TO GET USE TO THE SPRING. AFTER A FEW HOURS YOU WON'T THINK ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I STILL HAVE MY DAMPENER AND IT IS STILL GOOD I'M JUST USE TO THE THE SCHOOL STUFF. GOOD LUCK

BOWTIE IN COLUMBUS

[CRE1992 135]

Thanks Bowtie,

I think I will remove the dampener then also, getting use to the clutch shouldn't be a problem, I have very good clutch control from driving my old Massey 50, as well as a manual car. I'll definitely give it a shot though

-Charles

[SAM58 30]

CRE1992,

Great find, I would suggest that you pull the cowl off the engine, my 314-8 is a 1998 model (Really Clean on the outside) and my starter was acting funny like the solenoid was sticking.

You have discribed the same things that was wrong with mine.

The sticky clutch pedal is the gas shock that Toro used, just add one of the old clutch springs and it's fixed, the shock is roughly 80.00 buck.

I used a spring from a Raider 12.

The starter problem if I was to guess has grass & dirt inside of the bendicts. (It would just click and not crank over)

Mine did the same thing and I removed the starter & engine cowl cleaned them out, Lubricated the bendicts... problem fixed.

There was a lot of crap there for a newer machine.

:thumbs2:

[CRE1992 135]

Does the spring that you are talking about go on the same side as the dampener, or the left side that the pedal is on under the rear fender? Because it does have a spring next to the left rear wheel.

-Charles

[64s 83]

Charles, The spring goes on the left side - you don't need to remove the dampener. I've been running a spring with the dampener still there for years now.

What did you pay for the tractor-if you don't mind telling me??

George

[SAM58 30]

Does the spring that you are talking about go on the same side as the dampener, or the left side that the pedal is on under the rear fender? Because it does have a spring next to the left rear wheel.

-Charles

Spring will go on the left side, if it has one already it might be too weak.

one end hooks to the clutch linkage, the other end hooks to a hole in the left transmission housing on top of the axle.

[truckin88 104]

Does the spring that you are talking about go on the same side as the dampener, or the left side that the pedal is on under the rear fender? Because it does have a spring next to the left rear wheel.

-Charles

Left side, the sping goes to the a hole in the transaxle and a hole that is on a metal plate that is part of the clutch movement assembly. You do not need to remove the dampner (it is a PITA) and not worth it.

[tunahead72 2,337]

Does the spring that you are talking about go on the same side as the dampener, or the left side that the pedal is on under the rear fender? Because it does have a spring next to the left rear wheel.

Looks like SAM58 and truckin88 beat me to this, great minds and all that....

So, you already have a spring on the left/clutch side of the tractor, running between the clutch rod arm and a triangular gusset (?) that's part of the transmission case, just above the left rear axle?

If that spring is old and worn, or just not strong enough, putting a new #108035 on should solve your problem.

If not, you might want to try lubricating the shaft that the pedal assembly rides on. You can try spraying some WD-40 or PB Blaster between the pedal and all the various washers and the collar that hold it all together, there may also be a small hole in the shaft part of the pedal as well. If that doesn't work, you can remove the whole pedal assembly from the shaft, clean the shaft and the inside of the pedal "tube" with some emery cloth, and then coat both of those surfaces with a little bit of grease (I haven't done this in quite a while myself, can't remember if you'll have to remove the footrest or anything else to remove the pedal).

[CRE1992 135]

Thanks guys!

I found the electrical problem !

After putting the orange wire on the top stud, since it was off and buried under the battery tray, I put it back on and though the solenoid was dead <_<. But then I remembered I did not jump out the seat safety switch. So I plopped down on the seat, turned the key and she roared to life. I did not want to keep her running long as I need to replace the fuel pump because it is leaking into the oil. I should be able to pick up all of the parts tomorrow (new battery, fuel pump, fuel hose, fuel filter, clutch spring, spark plug, oil filter, and oil).

-Charles

[emsfire138 4]

Charles,

I've got a 1998 314-8. I got rid of both the seat switch (replaced the seat) and the neutral switch (the magnet is a pain - as is the extension spring that they added to the primary shifter).

I'm pretty sure you have a similar two-post solenoid set-up to mine - with one being the safety interlock circuit (which provides the +12v DC "trigger"...thinking that would be the orange in your case) and the other being the kill circuit (which - with all switches in the proper position - provides the ground to the solenoid. I believe that would be the brown wire (kill circuit) on that one.

Likely a relay on each side of the solenoid - one for each circuit (at least there is on the 1998).

Something to keep in mind.

As to the clutch...I always swap to the extension spring and remove the "gas spring" on the right side. Depending on exactly how the gas spring fails, it can "hang up", then release with a fair amount of force. I ended up pulling some pretty significant wheelies with mine as a result.

No problems since removing it.

Great machine otherwise!

Scott in IL

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[CRE1992 135]

I worked on the 314-8 today, I replaced the fuel pump (the snap ring was a pain in my a$$), and took apart the carb to only realize it was rebuilt before I got it. Hopefully this fixes the gas in the crankcase problem now. I plan on replacing the clutch spring tomorrow. I drained the oil and added new oil and ran it without changing the filter because I don't want to waste a new filter if it isn't working. So I drained the oil after running it for 10 minutes, it is still black, but it is quite a bit clearer and thicker (probably from what was in the filter already). So hopefully when I change the filter it will be fine

-Charles