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Browsing through CL last week I run across an ad for a "Hydro Wheel horse"I got a vague pic on my phone and it looks wretched.I venture out into the ice packed high country hills of Dimmock township PA and find a C160 auto frozen in a shed.Been there a year and ain't been started.The relief valve on the ol girl would budge and I had 50 yards of straight up hill icy driveway to conquer.I gave up!lol.He put a charge on the battery,I found my way back to his backwoods estate and this ol girl fired right up and drove herself on the truck.Came with a vgc rear discharge 43" deck but then he told me he abandoned a rototiller and snowblower at his last house!grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr I am goin through this sweetie and giving it some love cause this is the first sundstrand with the parking pawl intact of the 20 or so I've had!woot woot!

Well it started snowing here around 5:30 am today. I cleaned off the drive about two hours ago and you would not know I was even out there when looking out the window! I used the 1963 Wheel Horse 633 and she amazed me several times when pushing a very heavy load of snow!

Another vote for the hand warmer packs. I don't really know why but the last few years my hands start to ache like hell when they get cold. The hand warmers help a lot, as does a liberal dose of Jack Daniels afterwards.

I think I have snow pushed 12 feet into the yard on each side of the 24 foot wide concrete drive! Just finished the second round! Moved another 4 inches. We have every bit of 10 to 12 inches of snow! We used the broom on the dogwoods because the limbs were about to the ground! And it is raining 45 miles southwest of here? Crazy!

Made my annual run to the after holiday RIte Aid toy sale. Picked up a few goodies for the kiddies next year

Had the 314 out yesterday plowing & it kicked azz The brake pedal conversion worked great, the new chains bit without spinning once & the flashing taillights kept me safe ( as if they couldn't see my fat azz on a big red tractor, but better safe than sorry ) Yea I know the drill ...pics...pics...pics Brake pedal & linkage removed New brake linkage install on clutch arm & adj. up. A return spring added to help the cheesy damper thingy Click on video of lights Its a little different working out of a wheel chair, but we gotter done !!!! Chasm

Howdo all, welcome to my first blog.. Of any kind as it happens. Hopefully I can get it right As you may of guessed from the blog title, it's all about video making. Something I love doing if you hadn't guessed already.. Over time I will post up all sorts of (hopefully) interesting video making ramblings such as editing software, which cameras I use and other equipment. Hints and tips, that sort of thing. I hope this blog will inspire some of you to make videos, and have fun doing so.. Of course the opposite is possible So other than introducing you all to my blog, what else will I be putting in this first entry? Well, as it happens I need your help... I'm working on a video series all about promoting RedSquare and RedSquare members videos No hint's on what it is called yet, I hope all of you like it when it hit's a computer screen near you.. So what do I need help with? Video's of course.. If you think promoting RedSquare and your video's is your sort of thing please submit me your videos.. Full credit will be given for the video clips of course You can post your video links here, or PM them to me if you want. I will be adding a "RedSquare members videos" section to my YouTube channel where people can click on your vid and be taken straight to your video page. The bad news is your videos MUST be on YouTube so I can use in-video click-able links. YouTube won't allow "non YT" in-video links! I may be able to find away around this in the future, but for now YT video's only. Will this idea work out? I hope so. But for it to work I need your video's so get submitting Guy's It's going to interesting for me as this will be the first time I've played a "presenting" roll.... Should be fun It will be a couple of weeks until the first episode is ready as I'm waiting for a bit of equipment to arrive which will make filming more fun.. And is the only way for me to get the "look/feel" I want in these vid's. By the way I'm looking for 3 or 4 video clips to finish off the opening title sequence I have created, so get submitting and I might pick yours I will of course try and keep you all update on how the project is going and get some other blog entries up here very soon.. But for now that's all. So long and thanks for all the fish.... I've always wanted to finish something off using that line :D

Thankfully for once I don't have to tear this hydro apart.Some mobile 1 and a new filter and I finally have a good one!I have had these ol Hydros apart so many times only to be let down not able to get replacement parts!Got a shed full all with the same problems!

I wouldn't suggest putting anything other than the proper oil in a Hydro. Kerosene or other products may present problems; multipal oil and filter changes will not.

What a great forum! I really appreciate all of the replies, have never run into a friendlier group. I decided to search for a Suburban,but will consider a Lawn Ranger if a good buy comes along. Can't wait to get started and work with you guys. Thanks again, Rick

That's right...let no grass grow under your feet... when they pop up, you gotta drop what your doing, and get on the bus gus. Buy 'em now...pick 'em up later.

That's not poaching... all's fair in the love of 's.

A while back I asked the boss if we could 'charge' all the employees a new unwrapped toy and the 'cover' fee for the employee Christmas party. Of course then knew it was for Toys for Tots. It went over big and I had the bed of my full size truck (with a cap) completely filled as well as the interior (supercab). I delivered them to the Marines during a live radio broadcast (I think the old B100 in South Bend). Toys for Tots is such a worthy cause. Children need cloths, shoes etc. but they need toys as well. I donate every year but never thought about buying them during the after Christmas sales for the following Christmas. What a great idea!!

Martin, if you sell a tractor you can buy a pair of gloves from "Thewarmingstore.com". Lol.

Sorry if i misunderstand the topic (I'm not that good with English) I have an electric clutch/pto on mine, and unless i run it somewhere near full throttle when the clutch/pto is in use + lights is on..it slowly discharges the battery. The pto/clutch draws about 5-6Amp and the lights takes another 3-4Amps. The engines charging system is good for 10A, but only when running at or close to WOT or the voltage across the battery will drop to much.

Just what is there not to like about the LAGT magazine? Brandon, Kate and their staff produce a great bi-monthly magazine. Although, I am partial to Wheel Horses, I really enjoy reading about all makes and models of lawn and garden tractors and the people who collect and restore them as well. Thoroughly enjoyed the Jan/Feb 2014 issue and I am already looking forward to receiving the next issue.

That's nature's way of telling you, you should have bought a White Toyota . Great pics and 633+, Thanks. Just relentless torrential Rain, flooding, high winds and mild Temps over here. Glad to see your back to health .

I have always run my Kohler K301 at WOT, and do the same with my 5xi twin cylinder, and yes the 5xi can drink the K301 under the table. I am a believer in the WOT principle when operating attachments for the reason that these attachments are designed to be run at a particular RPM for peak performance. The cutting deck was designed for a certain blade tip speed, to lift the grass before cutting, and to properly discharge the clippings. The snow blower or thrower is designed to throw snow of varying density. Someone ran the calculations of what would be the optimum auger and fan speed, figured out the needed gear ratio to get this from the engine, and they did this using WOT rpm's as the basis of their calculations. Can you run at less than WOT and still get "good" performance, yes, but I'm going to guess that you are not getting the optimum performance that was intended. I would also think that the added rpm's add a "reserve" that the designer calculated for, so when you hit that thick clump of grass or snow drift, you don't burry the engine. My machines have always been happy to run at WOT all day long when running attachments. If I'm moving dirt, then I am all over the throttle all day long. I would also venture to speculate that from the designers point of view, it is easier to design the implements to run at WOT, because they can then specify in the manual to operate at WOT to the consumer, rather than say to operate the blades at 2/3 throttle, the tiller at 3/4 throttle, and the snow blower at full throttle. The WOT specification takes away some of the judgment call that you would be leaving with the consumer, who would then be calling the factory to complain that at 2/3 throttle the deck is not cutting the grass well, when in reality they are operating at 1/2 throttle but it looks like 2/3 to them. Ask me how I know this would happen. When building equipment that is a "consumer product" you have to make it easy and simple for the average person to operate. You take away as much of the variable in operation as possible. Hence you specify WOT in the manual. For many on this site, you understand the inner workings of the hardware better than an "average consumer", and can be free to make you own judgments as to what rpm you want to operate your attachments, and make your own decision if you are degrading performance or not. It is no longer black and white, we are now thinking in color!! I think that these engines are going to provide adequate cooling and lubrication at a wide range of rpm's, and that WOT is not required to for these reasons in most lawn tractor applications. If you consider a snow plowing application, you really don't need WOT to plow a small snowfall of powder, so why run at WOT if you don't need to. The engine will be happy at 1/2 throttle, and it won't overheat and it won't starve for fuel or lubrication. That's my take on the WOT principle. Rick

you're looking at the empty popcorn bowl! You old fellers really should wear your glasses more often!!

rtf, It was 42 years ago that my family purchased its first wheel horse. I was just a kid at the time, and this red machine gave me such a thrill. You feed it gas and oil, it makes lots of noise, and you get to control it. When it breaks you learn to fix it. You learn to read a repair manual. You learn to read a parts diagram. You get to go to the repair shop and purchase some parts that you are going to get to install. You learn what tool is the right tool for the job. I can remember putting together a list of parts, and having to wait until Saturday when dad would be home to take me to the parts shop. All of these experiences have led me to a life of loving machinery. I think that if I didn't have that wheel horse when I was a kid, I wouldn't be able to do half of the things that I can do with my hands today. I have never been without a wheel horse in the last 42 years, and highly recommend getting your grandson his first tractor. I would make it a priority to teach him about safety around the machine. Wear safety glasses when cutting grass, and wear ear protection when running the machine. I think that the constant ringing in my ears is probably from all of the seat time I have had on the tractor without wearing hearing protection. I wear it all the time now, but when I was young I never did, and no one told me to. I wish you lots of luck, and I think that you will find this web site a great resource for you and your grandson. Rick

Sorry no video but here is a still. This is the GX690 Honda. The limiting factor now is the clutch and belt. The motor never slows down. so you either smell burning belt or the squeal of the clutch slipping. Or a little of both.

I agree too,just flush it a few times,oil is cheap compared to a pump rebuild,i would change it and the filter,run it hard and get it warmed up good,then change it again with another filter,just how id do it,not saying that the 2nd change is needed for sure,depends how bad it was milky,i have an eaton and Sundstrand and ive only seen that symptom on my 8 speeds,i geuss more moisture gets in the 8 speed

I would have to agree with this......

Looks like a fun little project for all your spare time Jim!

Neat lookin' tractor... one just like it on ebay now. Good luck with the project Jim.

Right on bro! Front end loaders bite a lot of snow! Right now, I am so happy that me and the family moved about 30 miles north of you. Only Up to 2 inches of the stuff up here.

Thats the one I was referring to. Thanks TT

Nice save, I like the goodyear tires in front of her.

Great cause...my daughter and I bought about 5 big bags of toys this year for them...probably filled one of their boxes. They have a box where she works. Fantastic. That is some nice stuff you bought...thumbs up.

Exactly the reason I did it Jerry... Too many knuckle heads out there sleeping @ the wheel ... Chasm

Lane...looks like we are all having a real winter this year. It is starting to look like the winter of 1978 here. I am a lot older now and have run out of places to push the white stuff. At least, so far, it has been the light powdery stuff. Be safe out there. BTW...excellent pictures mate.

Thanks Chazm for the ifno. I will probably wire my tail lights to flash when I push snow cause I have to drive down the street to my neighbors to clean his drive. I don't want to get run over by someone texting or doing some of the crazy things people do when they drive.

Lol Eric yes lets honor the leftovers. acually the one wasnt a 145 auto it was a 175 auto. im going to try not to scrap this stuff, it will eventually find a new home.

Good for you Chasm...glad you were able to get it done. Be careful out there.

Back to where we started pipe smoking was big in the 70's

You can use any 2 or 3 prong turn-signal flasher from the auto parts store Chasm

The glowing might be something rubbing underneath the tractor and getting hot. And the carb does need cleaning and adjusting.

that's all right you guys can keep it over there LOL!

Now go out and smoke a whole box of cigars in one day!

Yes that was a good story. Finding the new issue of LAGT in my mailbox always puts me in a great mood. More especially after a bad day at work

The "electric" part of the PTO clutch is the method of engagement. It's an electromagnetic clutch - and once power is applied to the coil, it is (supposed to be) locked at the same speed as the engine crankshaft. Engine rpm is directly relevant to the attachment rpm. The only exception to that would be if the air gap is too wide or the clutch is just worn out - then it will slip. An out-of-spec air gap can also cause failure of the coil. I doubt you see unacceptable heat in the hydro - even in the summer - unless you are really working the tractor. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I won't pursue the lead topic..... I have a 7.3 IDI diesel and can burn almost anything except water.

Rob, I get caught up in the thinking of the average guy. I'm no scientist, nor am I ever going to be inclined to get so deeply into the subject of WOT and experimenting the way you do. Hat's off to you on that count. However, I don't have a twin cylinder hydro GT either, so I tend to think more in terms of the single cylinder Kohler operated tractor group to which I belong. As you and others here have said, winter weather isn't as much of a concern for air cooling of even an 8hp Kohler. However WOT on these engines provides optimal oil slinging lubrication, which is another reason to open her up. So I suppose the thing to do is for you to run yours at half throttle and I'll run at full throttle and while I predict no significant harm will come to either of our tractors in the short term, I will definitely use less gas then you. Jim

Yeah, Got mine a few days ago and read it from cover to cover....wife also read it. If I was younger, I would enter the WH contest! On another forum people were upset with the "new" L&GT magazine and talking about not renewing their subscription, but I like it and have renewed for another 2 years. I love the short 2-3 page stories on GT's and other related items. Great Job Kate & Brandon and their crew of writers.

I own a tall shoot single and a fully rebuilt dual stage. The single is the way to go for 98% of our Jersey storms. I use my dual in upstate NY primarily for the snow banks left by my plow guy. As for getting the job done the single is much faster. Seriously no matter how slow you go it still beats wrestling a walk behind blower.

I had to switch the plow to the 518xi over the weekend. Thought that I would take a chance and didn't take the time to put the chains on. It actually did well on the turfs thanks to the weights. One neighbor's driveway is about 15 degrees and it walked right up. Here it is after the 5" we had last night.

I bent an open end box wrench to get at the bolts under the carb.

I agree. That sounds like a plan.

Flush it with kerosene don't run it just free spin and put fresh oil in run it then change the oil again to make sure you got it all out

They're all winners in my book.

Yes JT push the dipstick all the way in. It is difficult to read with clean oil but you should be able to see a line of oil on the dipstick. If not add a bit more until you do see it on the stick. I know my 18 auto calls for 6 qts but it actually fits a bit more. Just dont go too crazy or you will overfill it.