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This tractor has been on craiglist awhile, decided to check into it. PO said it would not run, only if gas poured into cylinder. Brought it home, checked fuel line, carb was dry. changed fuel pump and put a filter on it. Started right up purrs like a kitten. Felt like it was my lucky day. I have a pretty small yard had to try out today, bagged all grass and leaves in about 15 minutes. Have a cab and single stage blower, waiting on snow. Tom

Well i got the snowmobile all power wash and cleanup. It runs great and everything works on it. So i decided to built a display rack for it in my barn. Im going to shelf it for now and wait in till the snow comes.

Make enough for the rest of us too.

Kind of matches the other round hoods down below

Papaglide, I agree with the #4 ranking. I also agree that Northwestern could take on any of the sec teams not the just bottom feeders. I think that the Wildcats are off to a great season, so they lost one but they will be back. Pat Fitzgerald is No slouch. They came in pumped and I assume they will remain that way. Ok then, in case any one has any ideas of me changing my picks from Iowa to take a team they are playing. That's NOT going to happen. If you have a team that is your favorite, and I've always stood beside the Hawkeyes No matter what. Win, lose or tie they will always be my team. As always, Go Hawkeyes!!!!!

If you can fill up that seat you don't need wheel weights.

Not sure if this should be posted in this section, or in the "Other Brands" section. Feel free to move this if need be Karl. There has been quite a few people that have fitted these engines to Wheel Horses, and there is quite a bit of info on how to do the swap. However I haven't seen too many pictures of the inner workings of one. From the reviews I've seen, most people have no problems with them, but a few have had problems straight away. I have read that there is more than 50 different companies in China building these engines, and some are Yanmar clones, and some are clones of Yanmar clones . A friend of mine came across a guy who was selling some 10hp clone diesel engines cheap. The catch was that they were generator motors with the tapered crankshaft. You can buy a new straight (1") crankshaft for $80, so I decided to take the plunge. If this motor ever runs again, it will probably be in this guise: Got a little suspicious when I saw this sticker: Will probably need Chucks (SOI) help to figure out the electronics on this. There was carbon in the exhaust port, and traces of oil on the dipstick, so it obviously had been run at the factory. So after dropping it on the chassis to see if it would fit I started the process of swapping the cranks. Flywheel off, and cheap nasty looking stator revealed: Other side engine cover off and the internals are revealed: Whatever oil was in the crankcase has turned to a thick sticky treacle goop in the bottom of the crankcase. No evidence of any metal particles either in the crankcase or on the oil filter screen. A closer look at the "treacle": However this is what the PTO side main bearing looked like: Deep scores, obviously caused by particles of something passing through the bearing. The big end bearings look better - that is to say not scored up, but ugly wear marks nonetheless: The ball bearings on the other end of the crank, both ends of the balance shaft and on the cam feel awful. I haven't washed them up yet to see if they have crap in them, or whether it is just the treacle gumming them up. Severe galling on the follower that drives the fuel pump off the cam (sorry for the bad pic): And this surprise when I lifted off the valve cover: You can see the exhaust rocker missed its little socket completely. Yes this pushrod is now bent. That's about as far as I have gone with the teardown so far, at this stage I might as well pull the piston and reassemble the thing from scratch. Havent looked at the oil pump yet, I'm suspecting its not too good.

Hi Redsquare! my name is Eric. I am 17 and I am from Ct. At my high school we have to do a project called a "capstone". For the project the student must do a project on anything they want as long as they learn something from it. For my project I chose to restore a Wheel Horse 857. I chose this project because I grew up on a wheel horse 1257 and I wanted to get another one and restore it. Unfortunately I couldn't find a 1257 but I did find an 857 so I decided to buy that for restoration. I paid $400 for the tractor, an Rm367 rear discharge mower, a bucket of extra belts (new in the package), rear wheel weights,and chains. It was a wonderful find. Especially because the machine was stored inside since the day it was new. I bought the machine in deep river Connecticut (running and driving) from the original owner. She even had all of the original paperwork. As soon as mi brought it home, my mother named her. Little red riding hood is the name she picked out. It sounds silly but it is actually pretty appropriate considering the machine's characteristics.... Here she is after the initial cleaning.

Ok, per the kohler K series manual, as well as the magnum manual, they suggest a 500 hr interval to decarbon. The M12 has 534 hrs, and the M14 has 255 hrs. As you can see even at 255 hrs there is a significant carbon ridge that will be eating up the piston in the not so distant future. Good news is at least both of these engines have the style D mahle pistons. That was the real reason I pulled the heads. The suspense was killing me. M12 Before: M12 After: M14 Before: M14 After:

Dat der seat is whats known as a sparkin seat.

Looks great. Oh, I am going out to my garage and check if my Wheel Horse sign is missing. It is hanging on your wall. Marvin

I almost never see tractors in my part of the country, let alone a snowmobile! Its only snowed down here once in the last 100yrs. Very nice! Matt

Looking Good!

Nice display.

WOW! Nice storage area and that snowmobile looks great.

I got the Wheel Horse worker that I've been waiting forever to find. She's a Keeper. 1985 417-8 with 555 hours. I picked it up from the original owner.

Indiana, Nebraska, Wisconsin,< PENN STATE!!> Upset special: Northwestern. I wouldn't be surprised if the Badgers go down in a squeaker. Steve, you influenced me to pick based on emotion!!!!

May just be a later model......of .....this?......

You know we are going to want action shots of it as you blast thru the frozen tundra! Nice job storing it! Mike........

If Ohio St. goes undefeated (and they should now) and there is only 1 other undefeated team, they will play in the National Championship Game. That means they will have to win the Big Ten Championship game. I think it will be against either Michigan or Northwestern...that means they will have to play one of them twice...but on a neutral field.

Yeah those TA's were a problem early on, we rebuilt ours soon after we got it. But when they worked they were great, Dad's farm is a mixture of about every type of soil known to man and when you hit a hard clay area you just pulled back on the TA and keep going. Once you were through throw it forward and away you go. Nothing like a 30% speed drop without having to hit the clutch and try to shift that big notchy tranny. Of coarse this was a 1960's design before Hydro's and power shifts took over.

I didn't even know they were doing a remake of Carrie! Thanks Jim!

Looks like it's in really great shape. Nice rack. I see another over in the background. Metal racking should hold up nicely! What do you use for getting tractors up and down?

Looks great up on the "top shelf" .

In less than 2 weeks you have become one of us!!!

A kerosene flush sounds in order. Fill the tranny with kerosene to the level the gear oil should be at. In first gear, run the tractor around a short area doing a figure eight or two then shut it off and do a complete last drip drain before adding your new gear oil.

Picked this 753 up at a local estate auction was in the family for many years possibly since it was new, brought it home cleaned it up, put new fuel line,plug and battery in it and fired right up after sitting for many years.

Wwwaaayyyy cool!!!

That's DANG funny!!!!!!!!!!!!

I disagree, OSU IS a #4. I think that OSU vs Alabama would be a GREAT GAME. The Buckeyes would have a good chance of winning that contest. I am sick and tired of the media machine espousing how the SEC is the BEST conference in the country. Northwestern is a GOOD team and Pat Fitzgerald is a good coach and has built a good program. The Buckeyes beat a very good team by 10. I would take Northwestern against any of the 6 bottom feeders in the SEC.

I've had my B80 about 7 years now and the poor thing has had every spare Kohler that was lying around at the time in it. Everything from the 8 hp it came with to a 16 hp Kohler. Its mowed, pushed snow and blown snow. I changed the oil in the gearbox (4 speed, 1" axles) and put a shifter boot on it the day I got it and haven't touched it since.

The 1 big IH we had was a 1206. The TA was out of it so it just ran an 3pt. mounted auger that had a feed end that was like a single stage snowblower and it fed into the main 12" auger that went out over the front of the tractor. It was 35 feet long. You backed it into the pile in our shed or corn bunkers and the trucks either pulled in sideways (if there was room) or backed under it. It was raised or lowered in the front via a hydraulic cylinder that was mounted on the auger frame. The auger ran between the seat and the left rear wheel. So, the fender was removed and the wheel moved out as far as it would go. That was a comical setup. But, strangely enough? It worked quite well. When we got big grain bins. It was sold to a local elevator and they still have it and use it every year. Oh yeah, the TA is still out of it.

I don't think you will have any problem.

There are some really fine tractors here. I thought I'd add to the fun. Here are my pics:

One inch pipe thread, holes are 1/8".

I'll bet it is comfortable. It is made from a soft wood you know!

We also had an Oliver 2255 4x4 that thing was a pulling beast. That was before we went with the Cases My uncle stuck his 1486 IH while chopping. My mother pulled him, the chopper and a 12 ton tandem wagon loaded out And he wasn't even in gear. Ours was the earlier version with the Cat 3208 but the kitty got stoked out to 370 pto hp Sadly the overdrive didn't survive the hired hands quick shifts

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. .

Only if you wanna get yanked all over the yard...

If we are talking vintage then a Fordson Major or Dexta with a county 4wd conversion. If we are talking newer then a Muir Hill 131 or a County 1184TW. I like big wheels

For me? An 8630 JD. That was the machine for me. We always had 2wd or front assist tractors from 3010's to 4640's with 2- 5020's in there too. All green and yellow til one day the dealer shows up with a 2470 on the trailer and takes my favorite 4320 away. I hated that tractor. Until the first time I used it for chopping corn silage. It was a wet fall and it made chopping alot easier. Two years later it was traded for a new 4640 fwa. Excellent trade in my opinion because I never really did like the Case. My uncle used to pimp me out to all the neighbors when they needed help and the one I was loaned out to the most had an 8630. It took me awhile to get used to that articulated tractor, but once I got the hang of it? I fell in love. That animal could pull a continent. It was quiet, strong and just plain cool. To this day I want one. I don't know what I would use it for. But, I might find a reason some day.

I did see that and didn't know what it was for, and didnt come home with it :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead: And the price everything sold for was $2,250 I went to $2,000.....even with a few beers in me

That must be one of those Holy Horses, seeing it comes with its own Church pew! Matt

Next thing you know it will be sporting a tufted leather seat. Better for parking on back roads. Marvin

Room for two! Must be on of them "Datin Tractors"

I would add a few more comments. When I bought my 314-8 new, I was always wrestling with a low battery and almost got caught in the far corner of the yard with a tractor that wouldn't start. I was running it at 1/2 and 3/4 throttle. My FiL also had the same problem with his 520-H, it drove him crazy and unlike the Kohler on my 520-H, he did not have a manual rope starter - so if his tractor died far from the garage, it was a problem! An old dealer straightened me out on that and said the following: 1. Run the tractor full throttle - always. 2. Use the gears (or hydro) to control the ground speed 3. If you run at full throttle, you'll never have to worry about your battery. 4. The engine running at 3600 rpms is good for cooling as cooling is not necessarily linear with the heat load generated by the engine. The only way to ensure the engine is running cool and be sure of it - is run full throttle. 5. Max lube internal to the engine is at 3600 rpms - speaking of Kohler splash lube engines. 6. When you are using the tractor, like mowing grass, and you are tooling around at 3600 rpms, you hit a tall patch of grass, when the engine lugs down, it is likely to go down to around 3200 rpms. This is the max torque of the engine. So when you hit a load, running the engine at full rpms/3600 rpms, it set's-up your tractor for when you need power and torque the most. If you are running lower rpms, you've already fallen off the peak torque curve when you need it the most. The only time I run my tractors less than full rpms is if I'm driving across some gravel and/or a dusty patch of ground when mowing or loading the tractor on the trailer/truck or going in the shed. Thanks, Bill

Wheelhorse/Toro and most manufacturers will stress that the recommended way to run your small engine equipment and especially your tractor is to run it at full throttle. This results in the recommended cooling and lubrication of the engine, the correct implement speeds off your PTO and the proper RPM's for the transmission. (Especially hydros). Not running at or very near full throttle simulates lugging or drag on your engine, transmission and implements. Picture this....................it's a hot day and high humdity so you mow your grass with the throttle half way open. Without your engine running wide open, you are not achieving the horsepower the motor is rated at. You are turning a mower deck that is not rotating at the RPM it was designed to run at and thus is not cutting the grass efficiently. The transmission is dragging since it too isn't turning the RPM's it's rated at causing an effect not unlike being driven uphill or under a heavier load and the biggest thing is you are not providing the cooling air passing through the engine's cowling to disipate the heat the engine is creating. Over time, this will kill the engine more so than if you just run the motor at full throttle when you are doing any kind of work with it and that includes simple moving from point A to point B.