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OK... let me catch my breath... I just returned from visiting "the barn" that he has all the 400 parts stored at. I drove an hour to get there so that I could carefully check everything out--myself. Everything belonging to the little 400 was kept in it's own small covered trailer inside the barn. He turned the latch, and I swear I heard an angelic chorus singing as the doors swung open. It looks like everything is there (except maybe some minor things like springs and belts). The parts that are not already installed are just simply not cleaned up and painted yet. And, tucked way up in the front of the trailer what did I see...? The original mower deck, in it's unaltered, unrestored--but looks to be all there--condition! BONUS!!! Regarding the front tires: they are not filled with anything (including air); the bead is not sealed on either rim. The liquid seen in the picture was just oil that he used on the spindle. That will be replaced with the correct grease when I turn around the front axle. Regarding the cut hood: yep... kinda sucks... and there is a little jagged section in the cut right near the bottom of wherre the ID plate goes. But certainly not a dealbreaker. Which brings me to my final point... There WAS a deal made. The 1960 Wheel Horse Suburban 400 is MINE! I will be picking everything up this evening. One quick question: should I put gear oil in the gearbox prior to rolling it onto the trailer? Or am I just overly concerned about rolling it a few feet dry--they obviously weren't, because they rolled it out of the garage? What type of oil is used in the Uni Drive? BTW, good thing I was smart enough to put a deposit on it yesterday. They have had 15 people today wanting to buy the tractor. One of them offered twice the asking price. I'm glad these nice people are honest.

Here is my Wheel Horse push mower I bought a few years ago when I got it you could hardly see the red paint & logo. It has a 2 cycle Clinton engine it runs and mows pretty good,heavy steel deck.

Well, it's 95% done, it will probably never actually be finished. Lots of little things, and some decent photos, these cell phone jobbers suck, but you guys are all up in my junk about seein pics, so .... hope you're not disappointed!! LOL

Someday, for me at least, is today. You know how you see something really cool and think to yourself... "someday". I picked up the Suburban 400. To my surprise, I think I scored BIG. This turned out to be the best garage sale find EVER! The tractor came with two big boxes full of of nearly every part necessary to complete the restoration. And the original mower deck. And a snowblower. And a plow blade.... And 200+ pages of documentation in a 2 inch binder containing every record of every part purchased for the restoration, even with a mapquest page for each purchase showing exactly where the part came from. He claims that he has a rear plow for it too, but it's mixed in with his other tractor stuff--he said it's mine when he can dig it out. He has parts diagrams, and a copy of the original owner's manual. He obviously cared about this little project. I guess I can stop bitchin' about my Craigslist Nightmares and all the $#!T I dealt with recently. The Wheel Horse karma has come full circle. This more than makes up for all of that. Here are the only pictures I can post today. I had to quickly unload and squeeze everything into the garage before a huge storm hit.

I got to do it again Doug, the gentleman who had the 701 and other stuff I hauled to the big show sent me a text yesterday. He wanted these out of his garage but didn't want to scrap them so he was giving them to a good home. I was more than happy to take the trip to Palm Coast. The rear tractor is a 657 and definitely worthy of saving. It has Wheel Horse branded tires in real good shape. I was finally able to get the ID off the one in the front, 1-3631, a 500 Special. The hood is straight but for a long frame, The pivot point has been modified. I'm thinking the hoods are identical on the 500 special and 657 (edit....nope ). I'll have to research that some more. At first I was thinking to fix up the 657 using some parts off the other one but now I'm pondering. I think the 500 Specials are pretty spiffy.

So i found an RJ to restore. Except I cant figure out exactly what it is, here are some pics. I have not seen any others with the choke and throttle pulls on hood like this...i know its not a 35 thats all i know though lol. It came with a seized up k91 which i think would be the original engine, I tore it down, the connecting rod was seized to crank shaft so i will see if i can get new rod and have a friend measure crank to see if he can regrind it...Excited about this project so any help would be great!

I picked up this lawn ranger last night it appears to be original and does run heres a few pics from last night i will try to most sum more pics later today

At $500, I'm inclined to say you're on the high side, but since you got the original engine, and the correct 1961 deck (which are actually kind of hard to come by) , I wouldn't say your out of the range... especially out there in the PA and east region. Lots of info here. Search for Suburban 401 and read up. Enjoy your project and ask questions. Keep in mind that for many questions it will help if they're accompanied by pictures of what you're talking about. Have fun and

So I finally broke into this tonight. Came apart with ease, which was surprising for a 48 year old tractor. I THINK the gears look REALLY good: Which is awesome. The pros will have to take a look and let me know if they see anything that I dont. But I was impressed with how it looks for its age! THEN i found this: Of course I would loose a 1533 and the needle bearing at the end of the axle. I dont have a press or anything and I was hoping to not have to dig into bearings. Everything was spinning smoothly, or so I thought. The other side doesnt look too bad, the brake shaft needle bearing might be a bit stiff. Thoughts?

If I can carve out the time from my crazy life...there are more stories to tell and many more pictures to share. The iron horse has been in our family so long that the memories abound! There is the time that I took the key as a little kid and hid it who knows where, there is the effect that a timed RD deck can have on a vintage Schwinn bike when accidently backed over, there is the feel and sound of using the same machine for years and years. After all this time, I've been at my own house for 15 years, when I get on that little tractor, it brings all those memories back.

This is your "official" spoiler alert, as they say these days! It is time for me to resurrect this thread and finish the story now that we have nearly finished the restoration! We have a little fine tuning to do to the carb and then "letter" it and this Iron Horse has a new life for the third time!!! It has been a great project to do with my dad and my boys, now we get to enjoy playing on it! ...more pics and story to follow! I just wanted to let you guys know that we hadn't given up!

I was hoping to put an 8 speed transmission on my 854 mostly for the limited slip diff, but it would be nice to have low range every once in a while. Before I knew anything about the differences in transmissions (input shaft/pulley size especially) i happened upon a pretty trashed 867. The transmission shifted smoothly into all the gears and I got it for a song (was at the persons house 3 hours after listed on CL!) so the adventure began. I learned after the fact that this was an excellent bit of luck as it was the only year of 8 speed to have the right input pulley to match up to the engine pulley on my 854! Got the rest of the 867 dealt with a few months back and never had a chance to really take a look at the transmission until tonight. I knew that one hub was welded on the axle and the other was busted up so I preemptively bought good used replacement axles and I have hubs from a C-165 I can use. Ground off quite a bit of really ugly weld, had to bite into the hub and axle a fair amount. Broken hub (with a leaky seal behind it, maybe an early attempt to replace?) Got both hubs off without too much effort... Well the axle keyways look... perfect.. what!? Lets check the hub... WTH!? Keyway is also nearly perfect... whoever welded this was a nutcase. I had to ruin the hub and axle to remove it. Was this a setscrew originally? Looks a bit cobbled. I had mixed in a bit of pure methanol to clean out the oil... Dumped out a gallon of mostly water. No oil to be found. All setup on my 'work station' ready to be torn into. To Be Continued...

Does anybody know if this is a suburban snow blade? If not what will it fit? Thanks in advance.

I'm in the process of rebuilding a 48" deck - about my 5th one! - and thought I'd share a couple fixes I've come up with that are relatively easy to do with common items from around most of our shops. The 'roller' wheels on back and front of the deck really take a beating and after I paid out a pretty hefty sum for new ones -- well I thought I could do something better. This is for the solid wheels that have a white bushing on each end that is almost always worn out. I had a piece of 1/2" schedule 80 PVC around the shop (my air line is run with it) and since it has the 1/2" inside is about 7/8" outside it makes an ideal replacement bushing. I chuck it up in the metal lathe - a wood lathe should do just as well - and trim the outside down to my worn wheels inside diameter for about 3/4-1" and cut it off. Here I measure every opening because of the wear, it will vary from .750 to .800. so I trim off what ever is needed to get a good snug fit. This will leave a slight shoulder similar to the original ones. So if the wheels are worn then the axles are more than likely worn too. I get a piece of 1/2' rod and a piece of sheet metal from the scrap pile and a couple minutes on the drill press and a quick spot weld and I have a new axle. My decks get a lot of abuse on the left side from rubbing against the edge of my concrete driveway where I try to get too close, so on my last couple of rebuilds I added a 'guard', Another piece of 1/2" rod from the pile and another few minutes on the welder and I should have enough protection.

The boys adopted my Pennsylvania and the Radio Flyer! https://youtu.be/MhlK4_4I4JY

Thanks guys for the positive comments! The future of this tractor will be noted right here. After all, the story goes on every day that we use it or give it rest! The Story: I looked through many old slides and pictures to find the ones that I have posted here. This is the first picture that I could find of me and the Iron Horse. I was about nine months old at the time of this picture. I've been into engines, cars, trucks, tractors, and pretty much anything mechanical my entire life. Mom and dad tell me that as a little child, every time I would hear that single cylinder Kohler fire up, I wanted to be on the machine riding. That tradition continues today with my youngest son who is now about 26 months old. He loves to ride on the tractor. I know that it isnt considered PC or "safe" to give a kid a ride on a tractor but... Notice the 1966 IH Scout in the background. That was purchased by dad as a means of transportation but also because it had a 6' plow for snow removal. It would be in our family until 1992. At that point, dad installed a light kit on the Iron Horse and modified yet another single stage snowthrower to clear the driveway with it. Dad wishes to this day that he had kept that old truck too. The only machine that he kept through the years though was the old wheel horse 875. Of course cutting lawn wan't the only time that I wanted to snag a ride! Here dad is busting the clods from last fall's plowing. "We" are getting the garden ready to plant. Don't I look serious about the task at hand? What is ironic to me as I look at this picture is the fact that dad here is a dozen years younger than I am today. The 875 was a tough tractor back then and it continues today. Although the wheel horse isn't in this picture (It was parked just to the left of the screen), this is where I spent my time as a little dude, with dad in the garage. I'm smiling because I'm looking at my reflection in the shiny Cardinal Red 1972 Pontiac Lemans right in front of me. Or maybe it is because I was just "helping" dad rebuilding the old International four cylinder from his Scout on the saw horses behind me. A couple of interesting notes to observe: the bolt rack behind me is the same one as you will see in the current resto photos (even though mom and dad moved about 20 years after this photo), as is the old Craftsman tool chest which a discerning eye will see the drawer just sticking in to the left of the screen, and you may also see that brown oil can in current pictures too! Dad put a premium on getting good things and taking care of them. They were built with pride and have endured my whole life, Including the Wheel Horse 875!

Unfortunately, I could not get this pic. For one, the little Suburban 400 is too short for anything but the top of the lift lever to be seen over the truck tailgate, and secondly, I had to rush home with the precious cargo before monsoon 2015 hit my area. So, I wasn't able to stage anything that qualifies. I guess that means I have to buy another one to make up for it

I still have a lot more cleaning to do before I oil her up but it does look better and the model tag says its a L-156 I used sos pads to clean it

I would say that is a fair price. Probably rare to find one like this.

Actually, those didn't clean up Jim. I was missing one lever but was able to straighten out the one I had good enough to use it as a pattern. I made a jig to hold the three pieces and went at it with a benchtop belt and disc sander. Basically letting cdsi810 not to worry about some of the missing items.

There was a local guy here that had the 420LSE that someone on this forum bought pretty quickly after listing. He left that darn thing on craigslist until the ad expired. I cant even IMAGINE how many phone calls he received on that ad.

Here's another control plate decal by Terry. The serial # was completely gone and I didn't want a random one.. I flipped the original plate over to get rid of the pitting, made new levers from 3/4" stock from Lowes, and new levers from Glen Pettit. You've got the heat shield and belt guard. Any other that you might need won't break the bank.

Really ... if the essentials are there go get it! Dip into your girls college savings if ya gotta, I'll bet they will love ya for it and you got plenty of time to put it back! ...Im In the tires are worth that group too. Guys here will help ya figure out the rest. Also check out the front wheel situation if ya get it and let us know. Don't fret too much about the cut hood.

Yes it is Ask if they have the foot pedal to go with it. It connects with a small chain and is used to release the pin which holds the blade in position. Not completely necessary to have but it's nice for setting the angle from the seat. A small rope connected to the top corners of the blade and draped over the steering wheel is used to pull the blade into different positions. Look on the tractor if they have it It'll fit 400,550, 401, 551 and an RJ but will need the RJ adapter mount to clear the front axle

Day 1.... I got there just in time to watch Dave take the WILDFIRE down the track with two nice pulls. He gets every ounce to the track I unloaded my few tractors next to Daves string of horses. Brian and Jo's rig is in the background and Eric Johnsons field of RED is just behind me. Checked out the auction field....what a collection to be sold tomorrow. From V belts to tractors, boats, campers...you name it. Even had US Mail delivery. Lots of old Fords, Some original and some not so original. Pullers...all sizes

When I first got my wheel horse the first thing on my buddys mind was tug of war. I just recently got it running and that was good enough for him. I am still fairly young and stupid so I agreed. I must admit my money was on his tractor a 69 cub cadet 104 he had me by weight, horse power, traction (tire chains), and the fact that my wheel horse isn't up to snuff yet. So we chained up, fired up our tractors,and to my surprise my wheel horse held its own. They both just sat there digging ruts. Needless to say it ended in a draw. Things might be different when I get it running right!

300 dollars is a great price for that tractor, especially with the 48" mowing deck. That was a $3500 tractor and mowing deck combo when brand new. 1200 hours is nothing to worry about as long as the engine is not knocking or smoking, and even if it is, that tractor is worth the investment of a good running 12-16hp Kohler to keep it working and spinning that 48" mowing deck. Don't lose any sleep over it even if the engine throws a rod tomorrow!

Sweet indeed. Bring that to next years show and you will set the bar for custom rigs!!!!

WOW WOW WOW WOW AND WOW! That is so wicked cooooooool. Brother, your like a mad scientist of wheel horse. How the heck you came up with that over the top beast. well worth the wait. Cant wait till others chime in. Thank you sir. Hope to see it in the horse flesh one day. Glenn

The more I think about it I believe the problem must have just been corroded terminal connections. When it did not start the first time I noticed some corrosion on the + terminal. I cleaned the connection externally but did not take the connection off to clean it. That would account for the jumper not working and the lights not working. Plus the battery showed 12.5 volts. When I removed the battery to recharge it I cleaned the terminals, and everything seems to be working fine now. I feel a little dumb for not thinking things hrough the first time.

Yes they did make that differential with cast (I think) cast caps (not turned)...has to do with identifying a year I think. The aluminum ones are fine, just do not hit them hard putting them back together. In the 10 pinion that I did a video on, that trans had a cast on one end and aluminum on the other...no doubt that some one was in there before me. You do not have to change out the bolts, just the nuts...they are the nylon lock nut type...that is why. 5/16" for sure...I am almost positive it is regular thread, not fine. For sure...show us a picture of the spring. It took me awhile, but I finally found that information about the cap types. This is from one of TT's posts some time ago. Posted 8 Jan 2013 · Report post ___________________________________________________________________________________________ The 1257 has the bevel gear differential, which is often considered to be the weakest of all. Some information purely from memory: The 5060 and 5071 have the pinion shaft-mounted brake drum (closest to the axle tube) The 5073 has the brake drum mounted on the countershaft like the newer 8 speeds. The 5060 has aluminum differential end caps and the 5071 & 5073 have iron caps. The 5060 does not have a dipstick but the 5071 and 5073 have dipstick holes at the top rear corner of the right case. The axle lengths for the 10 pinion differential in the 6 speed is 11 3/4" and 12" Given the above information, there should be no mistaken identity of the 5060 or 5071. The 5073 looks similar to the newer 8 speeds on the outside, but some claim identification is possible by counting the differential bolts by removing the dipstick tube and looking through the hole in the case. A 10 pinion differential has 5 through bolts while the 4 and 8 pinion units have 4.

Here's a picture of what Terry's decal looks like to complement Jason's post above.

Sounds good - please try and get some photos to post! I've been waiting on a reply from the Kohler guy over here on the con-rods as he's away on holiday till next week but that line of enquiry is obsolete now. I'll still have a chat to him though about what the score is re parts for the K twins.

So what size tri ribs did you use?

The entire seam where the hood top and hood front are joined is separated and rattling. On my 1980 C-125, the hood is made of two separate pieces very cleverly assembled to look and act as one piece. The seam is tucked up under the lip beneath the horse sticker. While it's rattling, all I have to do is push down on that area and the rattle stops. I can actually lift up on the top edge and wiggle it 1/16" or more, up and down. On the inside of the hood at this location, you can see tabs and crimped areas that mechanically join the top to the front. I think may try a two step fix by tack welding all the tabs and then using a permanently flexible sealant along the entire seam. Am I the only one that has a rattling hood? This is the 2nd WH I have owned with a rattling hood. The funny thing is that both are single cylinder earthshakers. The 20hp Onan is very well balanced and smooth, and the 22hp Kohler Command Pro is buttery smooth too (looks like a car engine sitting in there with the shaft drive on a slight angle...I jokingly call it a V2)

The heavy lifting has been done so it shouldn't take too much to finish, that's why I wonder why it wasn't done being that close to complete. Definitely a nice tractor. Plus we are to to help with any questions if needed to get that baby done

That hood IS cut and is a 400 hood! BUT- looks like they did a decent job doing it. Many of them get cut because people add a larger engine. That hood is repairable so it shouldn't effect your decision. The tractor is not a mutt, all parts there look to be a 400 although quite a few will interchange with other models.

Matt, the pics only show the bare wood. I cleared it to match the new bed wood.

Silly Q... both of course.

and just realized that i had not taken any pictures or mowed with it yet , so today was the day. it's an older restoration with a few blemishes , but ran and mowed great the guy i bought it from did not restore it , but had bought it 5-6 years ago as it is. it was his only mower while he had it. he only sold it because he bought a new Cub Cadet with lot's of attachments and his wife said he could only have one riding mower. i think he was about to cry when i drove away with it in my trailer maybe that's why i'm not married

If my brothers and I had one of those when we were kids, I guarantee one of us would have been chasing the other two around with it.

When I worked at Napa, We used to sell it to the jet ski people to glue their anti slip foot tape on. Only stuff that worked.

I put in a shift tonight, got most of the tractor back together. That was completely stressful, I wish there was a guide on how to fit the panels without scratching them. If I did it often enough I might write it myself. I can't get the bottom bolt hole to line up on the belt cover, everything else is fine but that one is about 4mm out?

I had a B6000 with the 3 cylinder diesel and 4wd. It is the ONLY tractor I have ever regretted selling - and folks who know me, know that I've bought and sold more than my fair share over the years. It was a fantastic machine. Someone made me an obscene offer for it and I sold it. I still think I should have kept it.

I'll be back in a few guys... I gotta go take an AC unit out of my trunk. And also throw away a For Sale sign. -Nate

I had a Wheel Horse for sale last month on a local classified site for $180. .... I got a call ... he wanted details ... he wanted the tractor ... says he's a little short on cash but has $35 ! End of conversation!

I love my L3400 best compact tractor made Brian

Humm...eleven hours, 19 minutes due west... with just only, Pennsylvania in the way. 200 tractors huh?

Just in case you are using a replacement three terminal solenoid you wil have to power the starter switch rather than grounding it.

When I retired and moved 2500 miles away to Arizona I gave away (that's right: GAVE AWAY).... 22 perfect JD's...including a beautiful 1965 110 and an orange and white triple stick Patio 140 (about as rare as they get!), a bunch of Simplicitys and a couple Jacobsons. A complete shop including a wonderful lathe, welding equipment, air compressor and sand blasting equipment..... But I dragged with me, packed on my 12 foot landscape trailer one JD 116 as a golf cart/yard helper and my WHEEL HORSE RJ58's and my 701. I am certainly not a hoarder............but at this stage in my life, as long as my family is taken care of, no amount of money what so ever could buy those 4 tractors! Not a day goes by that I walk past them and run my hand over one of their hoods, or say Hi Girls, and pat one as I pass by. There is something special about those tractors, like the feel of the walnut stock on a good 12 gauge, or the sound of of a Colt 45 1911 charging, or the flick of the safety coming off a Beretta in your pocket when a couple creeps approach you on a dark night in a 7-11 parking lot...............There are some things in life (like a really good Gin and Tonic) That made all the work and pain worth every second! These are mine! BTW... she's 22 years old now and flys the Stearman every weekend!