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Picked it up today, F450 4x4 440hp and 860 lb-ft torque First new vehicle we've ever bought

By the way, I know what i'm bringin...

Here she is. My neighbor got it all fixed up and it run beautifully. Now, what kind of gas/additive do you all suggest that's not too hard on the motor?

well looks like I got approved for more time off work to make it to the big show. was a good day id say only can fit 1 machine what to bring either the 310-8 or n.o.s raider 14 as long as my parts are back from the paint shop. or as id yank the deck off to drive it around

Now I am not a Ford guy but that is a pretty truck! Congrats Duane. If you break down for some reason on the way down, give me a call I will bring my tow chain and pull you the rest of the way there with my Silverado Duramax... lol

Steve, You bring viable points all of which I have already considered. First off yes the Annual Wheel Horse Show does carry insurance, flat out one can not hold a event and not be insured. The disclaimer does sound like a good idea and will be brought to the table at the board member meeting. Giving some common sense instructions on driving Wheel Horse tractors to make sure things run safely can not be a bad idea. A tyvek wrist band would show that the child was shown what not to do ( i.e. wheelies, racing, doughnuts, pull offs, more then one rider on the tractor .... you know Wild Bill's whole whole routine at a tractor show) and if caught doing this while wearing a wrist band...... wellllllll ! Getting the parents to join in during the event also helps. Wild Bill

For the 2015 Annual Wheel Horse Show I will be instructing a class on safe operating of Wheel Horses for kids 15 years and younger and upon completion the child will receive a red wrist band to show there knowledge . Yeah yeah I know what your thinking ..... just who's gonna teach Wild Bill about driving a Wheel Horse safely ??? What I would like to do is have the kids bring their Wheel Horse to class at the Wheel Horse Show and I will give their tractor a safety inspection, teach the kid about their tractor, show them how to do pretrip inspection (walk around) before operating their tractor and have them drive their tractor through a small obstacle course( uh and no the Cruise Night will not be the obstacle course ...... I was thinking that might be the final exam!). I would like to get all the kids involved with this class to make sure they have a fun and safe time operating their Wheel Horse at home and at the Wheel Horse Show. I believe teaching kids how to spot trouble or handle a emergency situation only pays dividends in their lives. Now those of you who know me have already figured out that Wild Bill has fun involved in this some how ..... just come join in and see ! Wild Bill

All I can say is at least neither of us have a Dodge Opps I mean a Ram .

​Sounds like you need a bigger trailer Steve ! Opps forgot you have a duramax ,

I am bringing one of these....

That spool holder is dusty too!!! Since the hood and fender pan was dry enough to move, I decided to store them in "sneak peek" mode!

Bring the 300 series...you don't want to ruin the "new old stockness" of the Raider. Can you imagine how much dust will be all over the Raider and of course a couple thousand fingerprints....I wouldn't take the Raider if I was only able to take one machine. Mike.........

Sorry for the confusion. I meant I got the oil seal shipped to my house. I did not get it onto the tractor yet. Sorry for the confusion. I am just going to get the grinder going and see what I can do.

I'm confused too unless you mean you got the other side fixed. Really Bob, there's nothing to lose so you might as well dive into it with Steve. You might be pleasantly surprised.

I'm a truck guy and that's one sweet lookin' truck.

​I'll second this. I never did it with a small tractor, but I flipped a Boncat onto it's front end due to having the bucket too high and hitting a bump. In a Bobcat, if you tip it on it's front, you can't get out. Luckily, I was able to rock it with my body enough to get it to drop back down, but it was scary for a while. I was alone, and no cell phone. ​Definitely. This is my second tractor, I also have JD 110 Commerical grade FEL with backhoe and such. I put that on its side 3rd day owning it Rule of thumb i practice now is never raise the bucket over a 1 ft off the ground when in motion or not on stable ground/surface. And typically have my hand on the lever to drop it down the ground if need be when in motion..

Dude nice truck. Even though it's a Ford. I am a Chevy guy.

Half Throttle test pulling lawn roller. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayi1_km84P4

With the exception of the decals, perfect! The big "T" has to go!

​Well, I wouldn't go that far! Pictures can be deceiving. Some of the paint isn't quite as good as I would have liked, but as my wife always tells me, "You're the only one that will notice".

Can you just start it up and run it with the hood open and then the engine dies? If so you can get a nice cheap inline spark tester from Napa. Start it up and watch the spark indicator. When it quits and the spark goes away, then you know it's ignition/ Electrical and not fuel.

The symptoms you post are typical of a failed condenser, when it gets just a little bit hot. Replace it ......

If it breaks down on the way Ford better get there quick cause I won't be a happy camper.

Just a guess, but have you tried loosening the gas tank cap to see if the vent is clogged and you are pulling a vacuum?

This purchase is one of the best buys I've seen in a long time here. I'm cracking a smile for you just reading it! Even if you have to clean out the fuel systems on both and soak those carbs in Berryman, you have two excellent machines that will give you many years of service. The planets lined up for you just right. Now go buy a lottery ticket and don't forget to check the couch for loose change or maybe a cell phone or remote control you can sell on Ebay! That is so cool!

You need to operate the engine at full rpm to keep the engine and transaxle cool otherwise they will overheat. Use the Lo-Range to "throttle" it. My point about the duals is you don't want to straddle the ground on the outer tires. That would be very hard on the transaxle components. Also when operating a FEL, keep the bucket low down for stability. You should never raise the bucket high unless level left and right. You'll like the clevis hitch by Lowell. I have one on one of my other tractors. Here is a view of the ROPS from the rear that I got off the internet. When I bought my first 5xi over five years ago, they were still available but close to $800.00. The point of a ROPS is to protect you in a rollover, but Toro didn't offer a seatbelt to keep the operator in place under the ROPS. I never pursued it for that fact.

After a dipper broke off the connecting rod, which caused the engine to throw a rod, it was time for a rebuild. I also decided, since thre engine was out and looking so good, I'd do a refresh of the entire tractor. Below are the before and after pictures of the engine refresh. Tractor pictures to follow.

Hey all. Just joined. I have a 312-8 (91) Kohler engine. I also just purchased a 417 Hydro that I think is an 85. I picked it up a little over a week ago. I had originally started looking for a blower unit for the 312 but ran across the 417 and 2 stage WH blower for $850...talked the guy down to $700. Looks like it needed a starter however so its sitting at the WH repair shop down the road getting the starter rebuilt and having all the general maintenance done. I actually work for Sherwin Williams with the OEM division of the company and sell paint in both liquid and powder. If anyone has questions about painting, please ask!

​park it in the building at night that's what I did with the 420 Brian

You are over thinking it. Bring NOTHING because you know you will want to haul one or two back.... If I remember right you hold the record for buying a 308-8 riding it around for maybe 2-3 hours and selling it because you could not fit it coming back. I have been there myself. I am only taking 3 this year which will leave me room for 2 more roundies if I find one or two I want.

Bring the one that you are proudest to say "that is mine"!

​I think Duane would drag your current truck, the old one and your old Tahoe chained together to the show and back with that beast! That's one SWEET ride Duane!

Welcome! This is a great place to hang around and learn quite a lot!

I know that Buffalo has the best beef on wick sammiches in the world!

Don't forget the potential " Dust Bowl " from the cruise

I've taken some pretty sick engines and run it with a TON of seafoam in the gas and after a bit of smoke they have come back to life! I mix a normal amount of it in to all of my gas cans and havent had much trouble since.

I just picked this up. Its a 1998 522Xi with kwik-way Front End Loader. for $2800 the hour meter is showing 327 hours. The guy claimed to be the original owner. Im new to the wheel horse's but very much becoming a fan. In my eyes Its a great little tractor. I just was curious if was good buy as I couldn't find anything to compare it to for sale.

That turned out nice! With the OHV it will probably burn less fuel also. You might consider a magnetic drain plug seeing as the engine is new. I have used both Dimple ($$) and Gold Plug ($) on my tractors and vehicles.

I know where there's an all original 310 that would be stiff competition.

I'd say it looks better than brand new!

​I thought the same...looks like it's ready for the Showroom...NICE TRACTOR!!

That was a great buy. Just the tractor and a smaller mower deck sell for what you bought that for. Looks pretty nice! There are folks buying just the Kwik-Way loaders for 1500 bucks so you do the math. Stability is an issue on small wheelbase/sub-compact tractors as was stated. Weighted tires with your weight box are excellent for keeping the paws on the ground. Also with a little modification, you can put a set of 26 x 12 x 12's on the back and ditch the duel wheels which I do tend to think stress the tranny and the frame under load. The duels add a real cool effect but it may be at a cost. However, 26 x 12 x 12's with the loader are pretty cool looking too. I wish my impulse buying were good deals like you got! Welcome to Redsquare!

Nice looking deck for a decent price. I take mine off once a year for annual cleaning and service, other than that its far too much of a pain to remove from the tractor and move around. I take rear tires off the tractor to make it easier to slide straight out. Cuts great but I will tell you, Onans are already thirsty engines, when you add a 60" deck, they become even more thirsty!

WOW Thats just fantastic...great attention to details! So on your second attempt?

I think the cracked frames come from hitting the big heavy deck on trees and unmovable things

That is one really nice looking tractor. Excellent job.

I forgot to show what was on the trailer.... I am guessing these tractors have set for about 5-10 years. Batteries were dead and no gas in the tank. It must have evaporated. One had 3 low tires....the other had 4 completely flat tires. It was a bear to get on the trailer. I even took the blades off so I could get them up the ramp easier. Probably going to power wash them tonight after I swap out the wifes new couch. Thad (Ohio)

Well I pressure washed it and this is all that was left. Trust me it was a lot worse than the pictures led on. It would take too much elbow grease and a lot of sheet metal to get this one back to life. However, there are mechanical parts on this one that I was missing on some of my others. Now I have a spare tranny to rebuild,two good back tires and a decent hood should I need one.

Not the best pics of the new hoops and powdercoated wheels and seat, but it's what I could grab in 5 minutes this afternoon, lol The rears are the Carlisle 6-12 "Farm Specialist" tire, fronts the standard run-of-the-mill Carlisle block tread or whatever they call it. Still have to pop the bushings back in, well, have to remember where the heck I set 'em... Powder is really WHITE. Can't remember the brand, but it's called "Traffic White". Not as brilliant as other whites Mike had, but certainly not as yellowed as the white normally used on these tractors. Enjoy!

I agree with you here Bill. I think keeping these old horses alive and working is doing the right thing. I had dinner with two of my oldest guy friends this past Saturday night. They were yanking my chain about my Wheel Horses. They say you are suppose to buy a riding mower, run it till the wheels come off then drag it out in the woods and get another one. I tell them they are lazy, they need some testosterone therapy, and they need to man up and put a wrench in their hands like a real man so they will get some respect at home. Then I tell them they are poor excuses for males, and they should be made Eunuchs. Well, after giving them the old what for, we had another beer and went home. So next Spring and Summer when they are hating life behind the wheel of their BoxStore GreenMachines, I'll be grinning from ear to ear cutting grass with the Iron Horses !