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I finally was able to bring home what I feel is the ultimate garden tractor. Ever since getting my 518xi, I have been searching for a 523Dxi. Passed on a couple, missed a few but finally got a fantastic deal from a JD dealer in VA. I already have had offers to resell at a profit before I brought it home! It is a 1998 523Dxi with 605 hours that has a 52" mower deck, brand new snow cab, snow blade (with spare edge) that has been barely used, a pair of turfs, two pair of filled ags, clevis hitch, disc harrow, and rear grading blade. And a picture of: "Poncho", "Cisco", and now "Paladin."

A friend of mine informed me last night of a 953 he found in a boneyard in Lucasville Ohio. We got together this morning to check it out, and....needless to say...I brought it home for $250.00! The wiring is a little messed up, but nothing major. It came with the deck and a turning plow off of who knows what! All the belt guards are there as well as the oil bath breather! Even had the original owners manual! The engine sounds wonderful, no smoke or rattles! Going to have to do something about the Chevrolet steering wheel someone put on it. Lol. I'm tickled to death! Always wanted a 953! Its still sinking in that I now have one! Maybe the 701 won't be so lonley now! Happy Horsing everyone! ;-)

In a 12 volt DC circuit, you must have (+) positive, and (-) negative. From the (+) terminal of the battery, a wire goes to the (+) terminal of any item that requires 12 volts to operate. Some of those item are connected to switches, others to relay, still others to solenoids. For example, the starter is the biggest user of 12 volts on the tractor. The (+) wire from the battery goes to the starter through the solenoid, and in order to complete the circuit, the (-) terminal of the starter, which happens to be the case, connects to the engine block, which is connected to the frame, which is connected to the (-) terminal of the battery. So think of everything that is metal, that is connected to anything else that is metal, i.e. engine to frame, frame to dash tower, dash tower to dash plate, dash plate to ignition switch, etc. all becomes part of the ground system by virtue of the fact that the engine and frame and anything else that is connected to them are connected directly to the (-) negative terminal of the battery.

Here are 3 PDFs. I have included Motion Industries catalog numbers and the size of the bearings in each attachment. If you click on this link, it will bring up Motion Industries web site...type in their catalog number for the bearing or seal that you are looking for. It will give dimensions, a picture and an approximate price. You can also order online. Most of these bearings are also available from your TORO dealer and NAPA. Hope this helps... https://www.motionindustries.com/motion3/jsp/mii/productCatalogSearch.jsp The 1st PDF is the WH # 5003 and 5010 RJ and 3 piece suburban transmissions. The 2nd PDF is the 3 and 4 speeds...WH # 5007, 5025, 5046, 5048, 5049, and 5053 transmissions. The 3rd PDF is the 6 and 8 speeds...WH # 5086, 5073, 5091, 103907, 103916, and 103918 transmissions. 1. UNI DRIVE TRANS 1.pdf 2. UNI DRIVE TRANS 2.pdf 3. UNI DRIVE TRANS 3.pdf Bearings and seals for a #5058 bevel gear transmission. differential carriage bearing (2) WH #1533 From Lowell outer axle bearing (2) WH #1526...KOYO #B-1816 outer axle seals (2) WH #1213...SKF #11050 mushroom gear rh WH#1532...KOYO #M-16121 mushroom gear lh WH#1530....KOYO #B-1612 seal brakeshaft WH#1232.....SKF #9815 cluster gear shaft bearing (2) WH#1529.....KOYO #M-12121 input shaft WH#1508 (1)...KOYO #B-1212 input shaft seal WH#1303....SKF #7410 spline shaft bearing WH#1531...KOYO M-10121 case gasket...#3912 Here ya go...KOYO is the same Torrington numbers. 5/8" input shaft seal 103916 transmission WH # 100442 = Timken 340387 = very similar to original seal. (SKF/CR 6105)

AND HE WAS NO MATCH FOR "THE DUKE"

Title says it all. My intent when I first bought the 312, was to do all the maintenance items, fix anything obviously broken or missing, and use the tractor till this fall/winter when I would do some serious restoration. But these damn things have a nasty habit of growing on you. Slowly but surely, I have repaired, replaced, re-worked, or otherwise restored a significant number of items. And I just can't seem to stop. All I have to do, is walk past the tractor, and notice some little less-than-perfect part, and I begin planning of fixing it. Just this week, I bought and installed a drive belt idler. This is covered in a separate thread under Transmissions. The other undertaking this week was the stripping and repainting of the seat frame. After picking up a new seat at the Big Show and installing it the day I got back, I have been seriously irked by the rusty frame and springs it was attached to. So...last Monday I dismantled the seat, frame, and springs, took them to work, and sandblasted everything. Applied a coat of primer, and painted the parts semi-gloss black. Most all the hardware was wire brushed and painted. Was pleased to note that there was almost no wear on the hinge, and even the rubber bumper caps were like new, no cracking or checking. Pretty pleased with how the seat frame came out. Maybe now I'll just leave the tractor alone till winter..... but probably not. Noticed that most of the paint is gone from the PTO pulley, and the muffler has some rust on it. The Rodent (granddaughter) gave the tractor her seal of approval by making me ride her around the yard.

Finally getting started on some of the walk behind parts!

I have been reserching terminals, connectors, crimpers and the like and found the following thread with additional threads along the way. Due to the information provided and from everything I found online, I have ordered the crimpers that SOI suggested, and have also ordered a lot of "Packard 56" connectors, terminals, and adhesive heat shrink tubing (3:1 ratio). I will try to keep you all posted with the ever requested photos!

Have had a busy week. Anyway here are a few pic I got a couple out last weekend.

Lovin' that collection of yours while I have my morning coffee Bro'

Cut an old leather belt of about 2" wide to a length that'll fit the inside of the metal brake band. Liberally apply an epoxy bonding agent (POR 15 is great) to glue the leather strip. Clamp over-night to let dry.

This is what I flew today (PT-17 Stearman) This what happens when things go wrong. Just a little cleanup on the field.

Midwest, Vogel and others specify Cen-Pe-Co for their stuff. Frank in WNY on here is a dealer and got me started on it. But I buy mine locally

I have 3 predator 212 engines. one on log splitter, one on my WH, and a spare. Only reason I purchased them is because of all the reviews I looked at. So far, I've been very pleased. It will be fun to see how they last! If they don't, I will have waisted $300.00 for three engines. Less than the price of one 5 hp Honda. If they last a few years it will be great, just throw it away and get another. Some parts can be had on feebay. Hi performance parts can be found on go cart sights. They are pushing some crazy hp from these engines for go carts. So far, I've heard very little bad talk. Most, bad talk comes from people who have never had one. Good luck with yours!

I first want to thank all the admins, supporters, members, and all of you guys that go on here and take time out of your day and answer questions and try to help out where needed! Without this forum and its vast knowledge of info I wouldn't even had tried doing all the stuff I had already done to my Wheel Horse. So far I have adjusted the carb, (it runs so much leaner now!), oil/filter change, took off 60" deck and scraped off the sludge and decayed grass. Changed the blades, replace spark plugs, greased all fittings, and installed Matts foot control. It works great! I thought not bad for a guy who didn't even know how to take off the park lever at first! here are some pics: Can you guys do me a favor and look over how I put the drive belt back on? I knew I should have taken a pic before I took it off, but something just doesn't sound right after I put it back on. Maybe its just me though. Thanks again for everyone's support!

Yep, remove the bolts to the bearing blocks and lift high enough to get the belts off. Careful not to get grease on the new belts

Same thing happened to me. But it's fun. Once you get one your finished. Glenn

You now have the bug, Next it will multiply and you cant stop it.

I broke down and fixed an older craftsman rear tine walk behind this spring thinking I wouldn't find one reasonable enough. Of course the parts for the craftsman were NLA but with several hours of research and looking through all the tiller models available on partstree I found that Husqvarna started using the same gear case. So of course after its fixed I find a Wheel Horse tiller, but its all good.

I usually go to an engine mounting bolt for the negative cable because the starter is the single biggest load on the system. Then add another lighter gauge ground wire from the same bolt back to the chassis. Garry

With the lift strut (Strong Arm F4673) installed. I'll probably wip up some backing plates to eliminate any flex of the pan. It works really well.......

You just continue to get better as you go along.

Like that steering wheel.

I'm with Martin on the end moving more on the end than at the case. With that much movement you would see the flywheel move a lot. My money if I had any would be a broken crankshaft.

At this point I don't think there is anything in the transmission that shouldn't be there. And I'm not going to flush it because I don't believe it needs it. I'm posting an image of what I think I saw on Wed. night. It's used oil mixed with brand new oil. You can see a definite difference between the two but nothing like Steve's first photo. But to the untrained eye a milky appearance all the same Also pics of the drain plug underneath the transmission. Absolutely invisible with the hitch on and if you don't know to look for it. Opened it up last night and got another 1/2 qt. out of a "drained" transmission. Thanks to all. John p.s. Last night, on a somewhat unrelated note I'm telling my wife about flushing a tractor transmission, in my deepest manly man voice, and whether to used diesel or kerosene and she comes back with "use diesel, I love the smell of diesel." I think she's a keeper. p.p.s. Don't even think of asking for photos.

Thanks Craig She surely aint all that great or nothing to write home to MOM about but but if your interested here is the thread where I restored the Ole Gal, and here is a couple to get you by.

As a backyard hammer mechanic without a press, I take the shortcut, easy way out and just cut the shaft. Do whatever needs to be done and weld the shaft back together. I understand everyone doesn't have a welder so you if you don't, use a 3/4" shaft coupler ( http://www.surpluscenter.com/Power-Transmission/Shaft-Couplers/1-Piece-Solid-Couplers/3-4-SHAFT-COUPLER-1-1563-C.axd ) Drill 2 holes and connect it with roll pins. If changing steering wheels, just cut the shaft on the new one to the same length you cut the old one. No soaking for days, no knocking out old roll pins, no banging forever with a hammer, no cranking with a puller, no destroying the steering wheel and no aggravation (except for the locking collar sometimes).

Wix changes 122073703 to their 51395 but you should really use their application to make sure that is what Wix recommends. Napa carries Wix filters. Garry I looked the 212-H up and it does use Wix 51395

I let one of those get away from me right before the Big Show because its really not practical for me to own one. But then after noticing at the show how cute they really are now I'm thinking I should have bought it. I'm glad to see you are bringing that one back to life with a good engine. The clones are definetly up to snuff!

Older 4-sp trans had a roll pin in the end of the axle, inside the differential. Here is one. I think this was a Commando 8 trans that I parted out a few years ago...memory is fading. When it failed, the po was creative with a 1/4" bolt / screw.

I've been using Amsoil products in all of my equipment for 5-10 years now. I won't sit here and tell you how much better it is than anything else. I've stuck with it primarily for my truck and minivan. I'm of the opinion that once you go with something stick with it. I do 10k oil changes on our vehicles. I truly appreciate that Amsoil prices dont seem to fluctuate with the market. I have the stuff delivered to my door for a few $$ and don't stand at Wally World scratching my head over saving $3. I have enough going on that the last thing I need to concern myself with is getting to the cheapest place for oil. When it's time for a change I've got it on the shelf. So I've done the same for my horses. There's probably a case of small engine oil at the vacation home just for them.

Aww crap I forgot about this pull. Just as well I don't think I could be ready after what happened to it last weekend But I would have tried ! It's a good pull for a good cause

ekennell, I am right with ya there. I am still cleaning up from a tornado that just brushed us two weeks ago. I had three big trees go down. One of them was a 70 ft White Pine. Nothing but a super sticky mess. It's like working with rubber cement. Gloves get so bad they just stick to the limbs as you throw them on the trailer.

Looking good Bob! Great line up of WH power! Sweeeeet! I like the 1956.

I thought you had mentioned an 8 track player coming soon?

Another option for stubborn pins is a roll pin punch designed to be used with an air hammer. I have one from my import car days and it works awesome.

So far this year I've bought suburban 551 its repainted it and gave to my dad still looking for a deck for it so he can mowe his yard with it bought and sold a 314-8 416-8 c-121 c-85 and a pending sale of a b-60 and bought a 552 with a front mount sickle the mower was for parts going to take the sickle to the mid mo meet and great and almost for got about a 704 I got from bowtie guy that's awaiting a resto its been a fun year so far

When I hear "inventory", the first thing that comes to mind is: I've got too much! Sold 6 tractors, 3 mowing decks and other parts and pieces at the show. Wish I could have brought more but didn't have room. Already got another tractor to add to my "inventory". Hopefully it will leave soon with some other bits and pieces. I think Wheel Horses are addicted to me. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

DUKE! I need a roundhood fix bad... post more picts of that gorgeous RJ-35 please.

Duke, great display of the herd. Thanks for sharing. Wheres that senior, in the barn? Glenn

Keep us posted, I'm curious to see how those Predator motors hold up. I know it's not for a hardcore resto, but if you wanna get something you can run, what the heck.

He should have sold it ages ago because he's been losing money ever since. He's obviously never heard of inflation. $6000 in 1986 = $13,023.72 today Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

I have a Raider 12. Mine is adjusted by tightening the nut in the picture at the end of the rod where it meets the band like Chazm said.

well the lawn ranger repower/respray is almost done.

Ahhhhh!!! She runs! And it's awesome - we got new tires, 6.5 width but they fit - we couldn't find any original size - our starter has a soft spot so were looking for a new one, if anyone has a rebuildable one ... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Here's some nice pictures of my 520 and 416. I was going to use the 416H for a FEL project but decided it was to nice of a tractor so I made it into a mowing machine....

the spring could be weak but also....... the belt has probably developed areas where it won't flex and straighten as quickly as it should. think of it like this, as the belt is going around its path, if there are any stiff spots that don't straighten out fully they will pull and tug at the idler pulley moving it slightly back and forth. these areas will be outside of the path that the belt should smoothly follow and hence will hit the guard as well. a new belt that has been on the shelf for years can have these issues too, but they generally work themselves out. as far as belts go, some people have good service from aftermarket belts, but I'm not one of them. only one tractor in the past has ever been good for me with one, eventually i just gave up and used oem. the belt isn't always the only culprit though...... check the idler pulley even though you say its been replaced several years ago. also where the idler pulley arm pivot shaft goes through the hoodstsnd, the holes and/or shaft will wear over time. this will also cause noise similar to belt slap........ part number 108035 is a good substitute for 1014 from what I've read on the forum.

The 420LSE is a great piece of Wheel Horse history but personally, I would get the color pictures of the 420LSE that are still available (I do have a set), frame them, and put them on the wall (have not done that yet). If I wanted a chromed out Wheel Horse I would re do a 520H with a custom seat and lots of chrome just like a 420LSE and I would use it and enjoy it. jmho

I first wet sanded the boat with scotch-brite pads to remove oxidation etc. I then went over the boat many times with my Dewalt buffer using 3M rubbing compound and wiping the residue with lots of microfiber towels. I then went over it a few times with Mothers mag and aluminum polish... When I say its a dirty job I ain't even kiddin... I wear my most worn out jeans and shirts and toss them in the garbage when done for the day. I had a friend that wanted to do the same to his boat. Well, after a half hr. or so he said the heck with this! Determination is key. To think that I polished two boats last yr! Hopefully this was the last one I ever do....