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njdpo

310-8 and tire replacement / different sizes

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njdpo

Hi all,

I have recently picked up a 310-8 (don’t know what year it is at the moment – dont have the S/N handy). I bought the machine for the mower deck and plow blade (for my commando 800) which were in excellent condition. The tractor itself has been neglected and sadly its overall condition is less than well maintained.

After playing with the 10HP Kohler, which was probably heat seized (fins all clogged up), the block now runs nice and strong (good compression, no smoke, very smooth running) – gotta love that liquid wrench…

The trans seems to be in good condition too, all speeds engage and high/low is working without any issues or strange noises. So - I’ve decided to spend a bit of time to get the machine back into service. Use it for firewood and attach the snow blower on it for the winter and see how she treats me...

At the moment I’m looking at a rear flat tire on the machine. The tire (22 x 7.50-12) is severely cracked, putting a tube in it is not an option as it would pop out the side wall. I’m talking with a friend who might have a good used spare for me and expect to hear back from him in a day or so…

I also have the option of getting a decent pair of 23 x 8.50-12 tires already on the rims…

Yeah... I know I can get the tire new, but considering that the new tire ($80) is shy of half of what I paid for the machine, I will find a used rubber for it – and save the money for the other stuff I need to make the machine whole again... ( battery, broken clutch pedal, etc).

The machine just needs a little TLC - thats all...

Questions:

  1. Does anybody see any issues with using the larger tires (23 x 8.50) on my 310-8? It looks like I have a good amount of clearance between the rear fender pan and the tires.
  2. Being that the 23 inch tire would raise the 310-8 by ½ inch – I guess I could adjust the linkages - if I were to hang the mower deck back on the machine – right?
  3. I can’t imagine the slightly larger tires to make the machine speed any faster / reduce torque significantly – correct?
  4. Would the 3spd/hi-low gear box have different gear ratios for a machine with the larger 23 x 8.50 tires – as compared to the 310-8 with 22 x 7.50-12 tires?

I'd say I'd post some pics for the gang - but were not talking about a fine looking machine here...

Thanks for your time

- Dave

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Doorvip

I have a 310-8 with the 23x8.5-12. I think I have the factory size and maybe the owner of your machine was trying to save money and went with a smaller size.

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Duff

Hi, Dave,

Switching up to 23's shouldn't cause you any problems at all unless the mower deck is a 37" SD unit. That was why they put 22's on the 310's and 312's to give enough clearance for that specific deck. As far as tranny ratios, again, no problem. They used pretty much the same tranny across the line either in a 1" or 1-1/8" axle configuration. The effect on torque and available power will be negligible. I may have a spare clutch pedal kicking around for the price of shipping - let me know.

Duff :thumbs:

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njdpo

Hi guys,

im glad I asked about the tires... .the 310-8 had come with a 36 inch rear discharge mower deck.

I originally bought the machine for the deck and the plow blade.

I assumed that the motor was wasted, as the tractor looked neglected - but thought there was a chance I could get it running.

Heres the deal...

My home is currently is being landscaped and up until the landscaping job was started - I *needed* a small 36 RD deck.

My little Commando 800 (and the 36RD deck) was ideal for the very uneven property and the half acre I was dealing with.

I love that little 800 dearly...

But I'm easily looking at an acre+ now - and I think I'm gonna need to run a larger side discharge deck under the 310-8 next year.

Hearing that their might be tire clearance issues - has me pausing on the good deal I can get on the 23 x 8.50s ...

I'll wait for the first guy to get back with me on the 22 x 7.50s first ( fingers crossed ).

I have the 310 at a friends house - I cant wait to get it back to my place and start tinkering with it ...

the hood is beat up pretty bad and the rear fender pan is rusty - but I'm OK with something that can sit out in the rain.

Heck once she proves herself, I might beat the tins back into shape and throw some fresh red on her...

Looking forward to putting that 8 spd trans in front of the trailer loaded with firewood...

Ive only had the Commando and its 3 spd which never let me down, but there were moments where I wished I had a low range...

Thanks guys

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Duff

Don't let the deck scare you off from the 23's if you can get them at a good price. You'll still be able to use a 42" deck (SD or RD) with 23's, and you could even use a 37" SD if you were very careful turning with the deck in the "high" or "transport" position. Now that I think about it, the 37" SD deck supposedly only hangs up on 8" front wheels, so if you stick with the stock 6" tires you should be able to run a 37" deck with 23's on the rear and adjust the hanger for the height difference. Others with more experience - am I right?

Duff :thumbs:

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Sparky

Others with more experience - am I right?

Your absolutely right Duff. No doubt your a maroon stripe guy!

Mike...........

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Doorvip

My 310-8 has a 37 SD with bagger with 23x8.50/12

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njdpo

This is great info !

I may just jump on those 23s if the single 22 falls through.

But now you guys have me wondering about fronts !

Heres the deal - the area in my back yard is VERY rough - lots of rock / uneven surfaces / roots etc. ( this is the area where I sometimes pull wood from ).

Ive often thought that a larger front tire (like the ones on my Ingersoll) would be great - just to get over the rough spots easier (without getting the wheel jerked out of my hand).

Ive noticed that:

  • the Commando 800 has a single bolt holding the front tires on,
  • the 310-8 has its fronts held on with a cotter pin.
  • The 310s wheels have bearings in them and the Commando's are bushed.

Are these wheels - swappable between models (axle dimensions same)?

Are the 8 inch rims easily found (seems like ive seen them on some older models) ?

Any drawbacks to the larger fronts - I guess one of them being they limit the deck sizes ...

Are these wheels by chance similar to the 8inch wheel barrow wheels ?

I like the way those taller rims look on a tractor... hmmmm...

The clutch is out and the gears are turning now ... I need to ask...

With the 310-8 operable now - snow removal with a WH snow blower on the front is a very real probability. (the snow blower is a bit too much for the Commando 800)

With snow removal in mind - wouldnt I want a thin tire on the back so that I get down to the pavement - instead of floating on the top with those 22/23 fatties ?

I have chains but before I make a move - what are you guys out there using for snow... the assumption is that Turf Savers are not the optimal tire for snow removal - so what is ?

Is thinner better ?

Thanks - Dave

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njdpo

Ok - I just saw this posting - so most of the answers about snow removal are had there - but please feel free to comment on the 8in front wheels ...

- Dave

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qd-16

I switched my 310 over to the 8in. front tires and I like it much better.. The smaller 6in. tires just didn't look right in my opinion.

As long as you don't have the 37" deck then this can be done. In addition to the larger rims and tires you will need the shorter spindles to make the

conversion. I used parts from an old 856 for mine.

2-15-10029.jpg

2-15-10028.jpg

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Irv

I have 23s on the back of my 312 and 8" on the front with no problems with a 37" deck.

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njdpo

Hey guys,

  • what are the tire sizes on those 8 inch'rs ... Id like to know if they raise the front nose of the tractor ( by what measurement ) 1 inch ?
  • Do the rims have bearings in them - or bushed ?
  • Would those rims work on my Commando ?

much thanks - Dave

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qd-16

Tires are 16 x 6.5 x 8....Don't remember if rims are bearing or bushed.......yes, did raise front of mower a little so it seems........don't know if rims will work on your commando, my "commando 8" has 6 inch front rims.

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can whlvr

i switched both of my 300 series to 8 inch fronts,as stated it just seems to look better,i have the 22,s on my dedicated plow machine and they do bite very well,but i also have lots of machines with the 23,s and they work good too,so its a coin toss and what ever tires you can get

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njdpo

Well I picked up a 22x7.50 this afternoon (nice condition and free), so the 23's are on hold for a while ...

I will keep my eyes open for those 8 inch rim/tires - they sound nice and I would agree they probably look better on the machine ...

As it is now I need to get the 310-8 home and start to work it into shape - and if the 8 inch rims show up - even better .

The guy who is holding the machine was mentioning a few other things that need fixing - but I'll focus on getting it in a safely operational.

Im looking forward to getting the plow blade on it and pushing around the wood chips that were left on the property by the conractor.

As per usual - Thanks again.

- Dave

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njdpo

So I get the rear tire/rim home last night, a little dry rotted overall in nice condition - still has a lot of tread on it.

The tire itself is the 22x7.50x12 size I need - says sears on it - came off of one of those older well built sears models.

The person who gave me the tire tells me the rim will actually fit on the wheel horse as their all the same.

Sears had some pretty nice looking models back then (hes got a collection of them)

Anyway the tire seems to be holding air and just for giggles I pulled it out of the truck and put it up against the rear wheel of my Commando 800.

I never knew (or cared about) the size of the rim/tires on the Commando as the raised letters (on the tire) stating that information was scuffed and worn off the tires...

So I was a bit surprised to see that the 22x7.50 were quite a bit taller than what I have on the Commando.

After stepping back to see my imaginary creation - I see that the Commando would be sitting on a up a bit in the rear ... instead of that "Low Rider" look from the 1950's Merc my buddy has down the road... :)

That commando would look a lot better'er with some bigger rubbers on the rear ...

Do you guys think I could run those 22s on a commando and still use my 36 Rear Discharge deck - being that I have the shorter frame ?

-Dave

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jay in nc

this is my commando 800 with big boy shoes. 8-850 on front , 23-9.50-12 sears script carliles on the rear. am going to put this same size tires on the 310-8 . just change the hubs on the commando to make the switch Jay

post-4393-0-55530800-1347819300_thumb.jp

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njdpo

Hi Jay - thanks for the reply.

Regarding : just change the hubs on the commando to make the switch...

Not being entirely sure about what you were walking about (change the hubs) I took a look at a unidrive repair manual.

And I see the axles coming out from the unidrive with keyways...

So I guess these rims / hub combos are not universal across the unidrive lineup then?

... bummer ...

Do axle diameters factor into purchase of the correct hubs too ?

(in other words - would the hubs from a 310-8 fit onto my Commando's 3 speed unidrive axles ? )

All it takes is money... :(

That combo looks like a great setup for my fire wood fetching machine... (short wheel base, tight turning capabilities for the trails in my back yard, and great clearance for the rocky terrain...)

Jay - have you had any problems hanging a mower deck from the machine ? I'd like to be able to keep the 36 RD operational for my young son to mow the lawn for me - I think the 310-8 is gonna be too big for him.

- Thx Dave

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jay in nc

ok when i said to change the hubs to make the switch it is because the center hole is larger on the 12 in. rims than the 10 in. rims. the bolt pattern is the same, you can bolt the 12 in wheels to the commando 800 to try the mower deck, BUT all the weight & torque of the tractor will be supported by just the 5 lug bolts. you will need the support of the correct hubs. kelly or j-dog or some other venders will have 1 in hubs reasonable. my commando 800 is one of my favorite work tractors it turns quickly, goes faster sips gas & is great pulling the lawn sweeper. the front wheels on my commando are off a large 20 hp yardman gardentractor & they are bushed not bearing equiped.I will take pictures this weekend with a yardstick agenst the rear fender of the 310-8 wearing 22x7.50-12 rear tires then 23x8.50-12 rear tires then 23x9.50-12 rear tires all with 12p.s.i. so that every one can see the difference between the sizes. good luck with your tractors Jay

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jay in nc

as promised i tried 4 sets of tifes on the 310 -8 today. i also put a yardstick in the center of the fenderpan & measured the height . the tires were carlisle 22 x 7.50 -12 these were on the tractor when purchaced post-4393-0-85100200-1348271447_thumb.jp carlisle 23 x 8.50 -12 post-4393-0-43419300-1348271651_thumb.jp carlisle 23 x 9.50 -12 post-4393-0-19158000-1348272314_thumb.jp & last but not least a sat of 6 x 12 goodyear trator lugs off of my rj-59 , they look funny but i left them on it to see if theypost-4393-0-47699900-1348272791_thumb.jp made a difference on the side ditch bank and last the stack of tires biggest on the bottom, smallest on top.post-4393-0-93581700-1348273120_thumb.jp i also did not try the 23 x 10.50 - 12 tires because i don't think they will clear the guage wheels on the 42 in. sd deck but here are pictures of them on my 518post-4393-0-74240100-1348273388_thumb.jp 518 on the left 12-32 on the right. hope this clears up some things or raises more questions L.O.L. Jay

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njdpo

Wow - that must a been one heck of an afternoon - swapping tire out ... thanks for that..

Jay - regarding ( my commando 800 is one of my favorite work tractors it turns quickly, goes faster )

Last week I was working on the 310-8 and testing out the trans.

While I did not get a lot of seat time on the machine - I noticed that machine seemed ... slow...

possibly slower than the Commando with its 3 speed.

Your post has me wondering - is the little 4 speed a faster tranny than the 8 speed ?

Not that its a big deal - but im just wondering what I should expect....

Hopefully - tomorrow I'll be bringing the machine home .

Thx - Dave ...

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jay in nc

one of the reasons i tried the different size tires on the 310-8 IS ground speed. i normaly only mow with hydro tractors the exception being my raider 12 that i use in the goat pasture. the 310 seems to go too fast in 3rd gear to give a nice cut, but drives too slow in 2nd . i figgured the 23 - 9.50 12 would speed it up enough to mow in second gear. but there isn't much difference. i dont mow with the commando 800 but there was a big jump in speed going from the 10in. tires to the 23 x 9.50-12 set. my back tractor shed is 250 yards or more from the main shop & it's the fastest horse in the stable. so that gets a lot of cart pulling duty. i just got new blades for the1968 commando 8 & will be giving that a chance ,but with a 36in cut it won't be mowing much. i'll try some 4-3 speed tractors back to back with some 6-8 speed tractors & let everyone know the seat of the pants differences. Jay

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sorekiwi

All the 3/4 speed transmissions have the same ratio's in the box, and these are also the same as the High range ratio's in the 6/8 speeds.

So any speed differences between tractors will be a difference in rpm, pulley sizes, or tire size.

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Terry Riege

I have 23-10.5 12 on my 310-8 the only problem is tire chains 

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Lee1977

25x900x12 but you have to raise the fender.

 

SAM_0453.jpg

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