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Wifey was scrolling though the classifieds and tripped over this little guy for $100. 1991 520-H with rear discharge 42" deck. 40 miles round trip, but I could not get out there fast enough. Previous owner says he is not mechanically inclined. It tossed a belt and he then let the battery sit dead over the winter. He installed a new battery this year but no start ~ thus the sale. I bought a deck belt from the toro dealer this morning, I still need to source a drive belt. It needs lots of cleaning but over all it looks to be in good shape (Seat is clean / no rips). Came with original sales brochure and owners / service manual. Wifey was reading about them BAJA testing the WHeelhorse mowers 500 miles ~ to advertise that they were Baja tough. Funny cause I don't recall seeing many lawns out in Baja back country. ~ I picked up a late 80's 38" Wheel Horse back in 2008 for Wifey's aunt. It has been a solid performer. Here is Wifey's find ~ still in the back of the truck. It needs some cleaning and TLC. I'm hoping to find all of the tricks to make it back to a prized possession worthy of a place in Grandad's garage.

I just got back from picking up this nice little all original, one owner 753. From my understanding this was only used to plow. The carb needs to be cleaned, paint up the wheels, free up the cables, find a new square seat and maybe wet sand to see if I can find the original layer of red....Then I will call her done. The steering it tight and tranny shifts nice with no noises. My son claimed it as his already....

A couple of thoughts about the ONAN engines, first I think that Kelly is on the right track that their appears to be a lot more 520's than other WH's with ONAN engines so we talk about them more. Now for the other thought, ONAN is/was in the power generation business and the engines were designed with the purpose to power generators, the cooling systems work real well in that application, minimal air flow restrictions on the PTO end of the engine. the service points, oil filter and ignition and fuel system are also readily accessible in that application. Also consider that the generators tend to be used in a cleaner environment and that the generator heads have their own cooling needs that also help move air past the engine. At some point ONAN started selling stand alone engines to anyone who wanted to buy them, early on they went into other forms of generators, specifically welders, then they started to show up in garden tractors mounted with the crankshaft front to back with non restricted cooling air flow, (D series and the green machines) with minimal issues. It seems that when WH turned the engines sideways and restricted the air flow with a PTO belt guard and then marketed the machines to homeowners that didn't fully understand the need to keep the dirt and grass clippings cleaned out of the cooling fins and shrouds that valve seats became an issue. Part of the product development process involves putting a product into production, selling it, monitoring the results and then making changes as issues arise. When you see a 20 year old product that has issues and we are aware of them it's up to us to resolve the issues to keep a classic machine running and performing up to their potential. Boy it that sure sounds like I'm an ONAN fan, personally I like the Kohler engines more but I don't think that we should look badly at the other parts and pieces when we don't first look at the big picture and make some allowance for the technology available when these components were designed and built.

I went to look at a parts mower for a rider I'm fixing up to sell. Came home with these instead. The cart is not rusted through. A bent up rear lip and concrete on the inside in some places. Didn't think anything this old would have made it into Arkansas. Very happy!

Ah, Sir did you also stop by the jewelery store for a gift for the wife?!?! what a find! My wife would have tried to delete the ad before I saw it!

in my area i personally think the 416 is more available and you see a lot more of the 416. with that being said most of the 16 hp onans that i have found have blown rods. i have a 90 416-H that has low compression on 1 cylinder can't remember which one right now, so it will be interesting to see. the reason the onans pop valve seats is definitely caused by over heating the motor. but i believe most of that is caused by a lack of maintenance, not keeping the engine clean, then ad an oil leak in to the mix and you have a lot of grime that restricts air flow causing an over heating issue. i do believe the louvered belt guard will help but not totally necessary if a little preventive maintenance is done. this is just my personal opinion, that and a dollar just might get you a cup of coffee eric j

While I agree about the 416 /520 valve seat comment...... the 416 has just as many wiring issues as the 520. All the wiring issues are related as it's basically the same harness that has the issues on either tractor. The extra gauges they can be a problem, but you will find the majority of electrical problems are ignition or starting circuit/safety switch related. Most all 3,4,500 series tractors have wiring problems if they have been neglected, the wiring on the tractor itself is similar on all of them, same fuse holders, safety switches, relays and especially connectors. Engine harnesses on the Onans are almost the same whether it's a 16 18 or 20, same goes with the starting and ignition if we are comparing the P engines. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We talk about how heat sensitive the Onans are, yet on the 416 tractors, no louvers in the hood and very few posts about loose valve seats on the 16 hp Onans. Any thoughts about this? Looking at pics of the 416 tractors, it looks like my 314-8, i.e. hood's plain face comes down over the battery and over the top of the dash tower vs my 520H where the hood is cut to fit around the instrument panel. I like the simpler hood and dash tower, more open access IMHO. Are the dash towers easily interchangeable? Wiring - we read lots of posts about the 520H wiring and potential problems with it. What about the wiring for the 416 with Onans? Don't see a lot of posts on wiring issues with those. I gather without the mass of instruments on the 520H, the 416 Onan powered tractors have a simpler and more reliable wiring set-up? Any comments would be welcome. Thanks! Bill

those big ten teams have gone farther then I thought and my brackets are ruined lol

Lots of good information here. When I selected the 520-H to take on the responsibility of becoming the next SNOW CHUCKER II I had heard all the stories and knew what I was up against. For many hours I studied this and talked to many people. The Conclusion is that a lot of these failures were caused from HEAT. Being a 35 year HVAC contractor if there is one thing I know it is heat transfer and airflow as I have delt with it my entire life. I sat on a bucket and ran my newly acquired 520-H that came from Steve WH500Special in O fallen, Ill. I sat there with a digital Infrared temp gauge and shot everything on the engine and wrote down the readings. The highest temp readings of course were from the exhaust! Now look how they have the exhaust all jammed up half way under the hood. Right there above the rear head, right there by the FUSE HOLDER and all those brittle charred wires! Yep it didn't take me long to figure that one out! During the resto of this tractor I ended up just about rewireing the whole tractor. I knew right then and there the exhaust had to GO! There was too much heat back in that area and it didn't need anymore so that's what I did.I welded and fabricated an exhaust manifold and "Y" branched the exhaust into a Farmall Muffler out towards the front of the tractor. After much research I installed a remote Oil Filter which removed the restriction of air across the rear head. My opinion the following are problems of the valve seat problem and other heat related problems with the wiring not necessarily in order. Many of these problems have been listed above by others. Grass & Dirt Packed In Head Fins Causing Air Flow Restriction Causing No Heat Transfer To Cool Engine. Oil Filter Blocking Air Flow. Swinging a 60" Mower Deck (High Strain On Engine). No Cool Down Time After Mowing Shutting Tractor Off Abruptly After Mowing Or Straining Engine. Mowing Or Working Tractor In High Heat Conditions. Exhaust Heat Buildup And Restricted Ventilation In Rear Quadrant Above Rear Head. Blocked Ventilation From PTO Belt Guard. I love my Kohler Engines, But the Onan Just doesn't give up. If the valve seats were an inherent problem then how come the front head doesn't have this problem? Simple the problem is cause by heat. Take many of these condition I have listed above and combine them you are in for rear valve seat and wiring and fuse block problems. I guess this is my two cents on the subject. ~Duke

I thought the Onan 516, 518, and 520 were all the same block, with minor adjustments to tweak the horsepower. I dont think there is any difference in the valve seats. I think Kelly hit it on the head. You don't hear about problems in the lower horsepower Onans because they are rare, and the 520's are common.

I think we hear more about the 520 because there are more of them out there than the Onan powered 416. Just a observation on my end but I have owned more than a dozen 520's closer to 20 of them, and have never owned a 416, not sure if the price was close to buying a 520 and less 416's sold and more 520's not sure, but personally I've only seen a couple 416's and hundreds of 520's

Did anyone notice the wind up recoil start. I have a Three Wheel Ride King that has one of those on it. You better hope it starts on the first try or you sit there and wind it up again. lol Its a great conversation piece. The tractor is too. To go in reverse you just turn the wheel 180 degrees. You can do this while moving and it looks like some kind of dizzy carnival ride. Heres a pic of one like mine. I have no pictures of mine. Its in storage. Notice the wind up starter.

Last fall I Acquired a 1955 RS-83. It is in terrible shape and has been sitting in a WH Dealership Storage Building for 30 years. After getting her Home and giving it a bath I discovered that the rims are in exceptionally bad shape as is the tires and there seems to be a lot of gaskets that need replacing as the tractor has been leaking and seeping oil all over, and the whole tractor looks like it pretty much needs some attention. After thinking it over for a couple months I have decided to give it the once over and give it a facelift. By the time I get the Tractor Mechanically in shape much of the Patina will be jacked with and how is the tractor going to look with new rubber and fixed up rims? With all things considered the best thing for this one in my opinion would be a Resto. More to come. ~Duke

I know its no , but I thought I'd post my latest project. Its a 1974 Case 444. I've always liked the size of theses garden tractors, as they just feel more like a big tractor. I think it has something to do with sitting between the fenders, rather than on top of them. Kinda like a GT14. This project is almost finished now, so it will take several post to go thru the build. Here are the first pics of me bringing it home, along with its tiller, snow blade, Brinly plow, and mower deck. This is not a restoration, just a good worker refurbish, as I plan on using this beast. Matt

I will be attending this for the first time. It has been recommended to me as a very good swap meet with folks from Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana attending in past years. Franklin County Antique Machinery Club Swap Meet April 5 Brookville, Indiana Venue: US 52 in Brookville, across from IGA at stop light Contact: Shorty Schwegman, 812-525-5357 Website: www.fcamc.org

A lot of ARK loaders were made for Wheelhorse for the C series tractors. Drect hook up and go! Go to the downloads and get the file named "WH_Interchange_1955-2000". It will show the ARK loaders for the C and D series tractors of those days that were compatible. My loader has a Wheelhorse ID tag on it but it was manufactured by Ark Manufacturing. The only reason I needed to modify mine was for it to fit on a 500 series tractor. The Onan motor and not the single Kohler engine changed how the pump mounts. The forward-swepted axle also requires a little tweaking but it was a 98% throw it on and go install. Not bad for a loader made to fit a Wheelhorse tractor from the early to mid 70's being mounted on a 1991 tractor.

Just got mine also Steve … There's a chance Andrew and I will go again. It's a long haul for a one day show, but its a very nice " kid friendly" show and Andrew had lots of fun ...

OK, thanks again for your time and support Martin.

yes sir... the weather is starting to get warmer....

Thanks for the warm welcome guys! Wifey said don't worry she is cashing in on that one very soon. It has been pouring down rain all day but I still managed to get outside, climb up in the truck and pull the carb top ~ then it began to rain harder so i covered it up and ran back inside. Then I found Martins post on his 520H restoration which morphed in to another restoration.. I think I got lost in his rebuild write up, WoW 4.5 Hours later..... Amazing work and great WH tech stuff. I'm making a list... Pilot jet was clean, main jet screw drive slot has been stripped where someone once before tried to remove it so I left it alone. Float bowl is a little scaley but usable as is for now. I reassembled the carb and hooked up the jump pack, then it poured down rain, but I soldiered on. I checked the oil ~ quickly, and it looks like it is overfull. Key on gave full instrumentation but no signal to the starter. Everything is covered in a good layer of grease oil and grass so I will clean it up and check the safety switches another day. Pulled out my power probe test light and powered the starter solenoid and the engine turned over. I let it spin over a few times and then I bottle fed it a small shot of fuel. The Onan immediately sprang to life at 1/4 throttle and 3/4 choke. Once it drank the small shot it cut off but I can now see it has fuel up to the filter. One more small shot and it is up and running on it's own. Everything sounds good ~ runs smooth, much more sewing machine like than the Craftsman Kohlers I've played with. I let it run about 1 min and was able to take it off choke and bring it down to idle with no issues. All while still in the back of the truck so no test runs yet. It will get a complete oil change and fresh fuel filter with a temporary secondary small can filter to catch water / moisture before the test drive. So far the to do list is: Tube for right front tire which is off the bead Oil change / Filter / Replace oil filter base gasket Hydro filter and fluid change Pull the tin and clean the fins Pull the seat and read sheet metal and clean out around the hydro unit Anything else I'm over looking? Any preferred or forum support vendor for parts?

Well the trout fishing ended early ....the rain moved in about 10AM, but Grandson Jacob caught a few before the rainout. With the fishing rainout, I got a little time on the Onan this afternoon. I took the top off the carb and pulled the float out and could see some varnish crud in the bottom of the bowl. After looking at the two bolts fastening the carb to the manifold, I decided to take the carb off. I only had to remove the exhaust pipe heat shield and pull the oil filler pipe and tip it outside the muffler. This made enough room to use an open end wrench to get the bolts out. I think I got the carb totally apart and nothing seemed to be blocked. I do have a couple questions. The carb/ manifold bolt on the muffler side had a fiber washer on it , the other one did not have one. I really don't see a need for this washer on either bolt. Was this just a mistake by the PO ? I found this small sst washer loose in the bowl. It does not fit any of the bolts. It is the right size for the main jet, but if I put it on the jet needle with the spring, the needle will not bottom out before the spring gets tight. Was this another error by the PO ? The only holes that I am not sure are open are the three small holes under the edge of the throttle plate when it is nearly closed. I could not get the carb spray nozzle pipe sealed on these holes to be sure they are open. Are these three small holes connected to the larger main jet hole just below the throttle plate ?

Definintely scored a keeper there... both the and the wife.

I'm going... Just got my flyer in the mail.

ON WISCONSIN !!!!!!!!!

Your welcome and welcome to red square and ask away with questions some one will answer because that's what this site is for helping each other out when we break stuff LOL it also helps us to get to know these horses better IMHO.

Desko, Martin, bmsgaffer, you guys are awesome. Thank you so much for helping an old guy out. This tractor belonged to a friend who ran it low on oil and broke a rod in many pieces. We were able to find a crank, rods, pistons and gaskets and put everything back together. At first it would only idle with the choke on but after a good soaking in carb cleaner and washing out with hot water we were able to get it to run without the choke. The high speed adjusting screw broke right at the slot so only half the screw head is there, but it's running and now we can look for another screw and o-ring. Thanks again for a great forum. I'm sure we will have several more questions. Nice to know there are people like you to help out. Lynn

there are other differences also between the b and p series engines...... a major one is the move from points to electronic ignition.... heres a summary of some of the differences from early to late (b to p series) from the JD TM1590 manual. this is a JD manual but it still relates to our engines..... in the 316 column you will note that the b43 was replaced by the p218 (not a p216) so the early specs are for the 16 hp engine and the later are for the 18hp (same as the 318 column late engine) just studying that spec sheet for a bit you can pick up the minor differences and similarities between the engines....

Like bmsgaffer said they are the same except for the crankshaft and rods the 16-18 shared the same cam and carburetor while the 18-20 shared the same crank and rods while the 20 had a cam of its own but all is the same outside as in intake,heads(not all of them as some had the plugs on top while some hade them over the piston)some gear covers (some have the fuel pump hose while some blocks had it),bearing plate, depending on the block valve covers but not all b and p series are inter changeable like valves and cranks. Hope that clears it up a bit

A Trent Reznor song...

I am absolutley delighted for you Chris , Heres to the Doctors Extatic News

Hello Duke...Michigan won 15 minutes ago...and you are not in here yet...Lake Effect??? Time Change??? Getting the heart paddles out??? Looking for a little Rock & Rye??? A little electrolysis on the ole horseshoe??? Realizing Michigan is OVERRATED??? Keeping a low profile??? Abducted by aliens??? Found a RJ59 with the sticker serial number??? Celebrating with MJ??? Well, anyway...congratulations on the 2nd Big Ten team making it to the ELITE 8...

posifour11 we are happy for you and will live through your garden until we can get ours going.

I grabbed the 603 today. I left work early so I got it home by 2:30 this afternoon First thing I did was 86 the chrome side moldings and give it a bath. Tore the mower deck and homemade rear hitch off. Cleaned the tank, carb, new fuel lines and pulled the flywheel to clean the points. It runs and drives but it runs like any tired Techy I've ever had, dizzy, dazed and a little confused with some smoke but it does run which is more than I expected. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about an engine for this tractor... There is a spring missing on the throttle assembly on the flywheel side of the engine, anyone got a picture of that spring and where it goes?

Lightning bugs now...

Well to clarify, the 603 Specials are made to be a cheaper priced economy tractor. The WH factory had a lot of older style parts sitting in their inventory so they were smart about it and put all different types of older parts in this particular machine. So they used up the old parts such as footrest's from as early as 1960/61 as noted by the early production straight shoe sole type of footrests that dropped down some for a boot heel to fit into and were only made for a short time before they switched to later shoe sole type that are angled outward like the 1961 WH's and didn't step down for the heel but were flat. There is a few 603's around that have the step down type and even more were sold with the flat shoe sole type. But once WH got rid of their older footrests which may not take long, they installed their new stirrup type of footrest's on the 603. They came out in 1962 and they used them for quite a few years. The hood stand on these machines were a 1964 Model year item but it was put on the late production Special Model 603 to start the new style. So the front axles, steering parts, front tires and rims were old style parts too. Some 603's have older style Suburban front rims with no holes in them for Wheel Weights like all the other 1964 WH's had. I had one 603 that I sold to a friend on this site, it has a old style 1950's and 60's tool box on it with no fenders mounted to it and the early step down shoe sole footrests too. It had a low Serial Number on it. The hood is also a 1964 style of hood. So you can virtually have a 603 with a lot of different combinations of parts. That is why I like them and have so many of them. They are all different from each other. As far as the hood goes, it didn't come with the indented part where the 2 inch square WH decal resides on one of my 603's pictured. That hood was repainted years ago by a WH dealer that repowered the tractor and placed the decals on there according to the original owner, a 90 year old woman who I got it from, a Miss Clara Bell Valentine! Seems she couldn't pull the original recoil starter anymore so they popped on a new electric start motor a 6 hp Tecumseh. So that 603 was converted to an electric start model and they spruced it up for her too. She kept the original motor as well! I left it as is to keep the story going in her memory. The new for 1964 hoods came with the decal there but just not indented anymore like the 1962 and 1963 hoods. The stripes that are on mine and Ken's new 603 are not correct, but they kind of look cool, mine is a double pinstripe. I think Ken's is a rubber piece of door trim from Napa or The Walmart. So I hope this clears up some of the questions on the 603. I am sure I don't know everything about the 603 so feel free to chime in. The 1045 was another inventory reducing machine that was produced late in the 1964 year and cleared out a lot of old fenders, tool box assemblies and square seats from the earlier Models. I have never heard the 1045's referred to as an Economy Tractor for a reduced price like the 603 was advertised to be. WH did it a few more times over their history and it worked out quite well for them financially. I thought most of this info was common knowledge to most WH collectors but maybe not. Nuff said...

Celebrate...yes. With those guys... Congrats Mark.

Can't start anything until it finally decides to stop snowing and the ground unfreezes and dries out. But when it does, tomatoes, zucchini, onions, and eggplants are on my menu this year.

Long awaited, much anticipated...go Duke!

Allright.. Why does everyone but me find a deal like that? Just kidding. Great Score. Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

Thank you. Going to start on the B-80 next week I will keep y'all updated. Getting very close on the C-80 also.

Here are a few more pics of assembly. Since I was going for that Big Tractor look, I had to put an exhaust stack on it as well. Just for a size comparison, I took a couple pics of the 444 next to my C-160. Matt

I have to make it this year as I have something for Stevasaurus

The transmission is a Borg Warner T-92. Apparently it is the smallest transmission B-W ever made. It was used in several applications I've read, but specifically the Crosley automobile. A gear box can be found for a few hundred, but pull the top cover and have a look before you buy. On the Windolph it bolts to a PTO housing (which can be "live" or not), which has a bolt flange on the left side and a bracket on the right. The whole drive train is splined together, so you must either pull the back axle or the engine to work on anything in between. After tearing mine down twice I'd say pull the engine. However realistically speaking the rear axle can be removed as an assembly. It's heavy though.

Napa used to sell a locking t handle that went right on.

Ed, In re-reading your original post I noticed you had mentioned "surging" at lower RPM and felt led to respond further. I have had considerable experience with these Onan engines and have found surging to be created by one of or a combo of three things. Onan carbs have a small expansion plug on the face side (same side as adjustment screw) that has tendancy to loosen up or worse to come clear out, and although this can happen it generally creates extreme surging. Second, is as mentioned in an earlier response a dirty carb. This can generally be taken care of by removing the top of the carb and servicing it from there. One particulaer area to look for in doing this is to remove the Idle Jet that is screwed into the lower body and be sure all of the side holes and the bottom hole in it are clear. I use a set of gas welding tip cleaning wires to do this task. Third and lastly, the carb manifolds are cast in two (2) pieces and glued together with a sealant from the factory. With age and continual heating up of the engine this sealant deteriorates resulting in the manifold sucking air. Since you are taking this manifold off anyway to adjust the valves I would pry the manifold apart and reseal it. This isn't that hard to do. One half of the manifold has guide pins cast into it and if you are careful these can be maintained. However I have had them break off separating the two halves. This isn't a big deal as they can be drilled out and replaced by some small #10-24 screws and nuts. Carefully clean the old gasket material off, trying to be very careful not to mar the gasket sealing surface. After cleaning it and washing it down with brake cleaner, laquer thinner or some similar type cleaning agent, apply an ample but conservative application of "Permatex MotoSeal 1 Ultimate Gasket Maker Gray" . This material is impervious to gasolene and ethonal infested gasolene and will hold up. You can use bolts through the end holes used to mount the manifold to hold location and to aid in clamping until the new sealant dries. Let it dry 24 hours before the manifold is bolted back into place.......................Hope all this helps in youe endeavors......................Gary

This photo made me laugh. Good to hear you got her running. Do you have any photos of the wagon?

I just gotta say, when my dad and I did a partial restore on my Commando 6, we used Krylon Cherry Red and I hate it. When I do a proper restore over the summer, I'll probably use Valspar IH Red.

I have grandsons that play on my tractors all the time. But since mine won't turn over without the clutch being depressed, and their little legs are too short to reach the pedals, I have always felt safe. However, I never gave the exploding coil a thought. Now, all keys are hanging on a nail out of the reach of little hand.