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While this post probably needs to be in the "Tools" section, I really wanted to get this out to as many folks as possible. As we are all well aware, there are numerous hinges, pivots, slides, etc. on our Horses that need occasional lubrication. For most of us, we generally put a few drops of oil on the mechanism and call it good. The problem is that oil doesn't last long. The lighter the oil, the quicker it dries and evaporates. Another issue is that the oil will run off vertical surfaces rather quickly, and the lubricating "film" is quickly lost. Wurth HHS-K is a lube that resolves the above issues. HHS-K is a type of spray grease/oil specifically designed for open mechanisms such as pivots, hinges, and sliding surfaces. I was first turned on to HHS-2000 (the earlier compound) when I did a stint at a Mercedes, Volvo, Porsche repair shop back in 1990. HHS-K is a German product, and is specifically recommended by Mercedes-Benz for use on door hinges, latches, etc. Coming in an aerosol can, you spray it onto the point needing lubrication and, unlike other spray "greases", it comes out clear, and penetrates similar to WD-40 and other penetrating oils. After a short period of several minutes, the "oil" begins to set up and turn tacky, becoming a high-pressure grease that is water resistant. I have used HHS-K for years on all my vehicles, and it has literally preserved in an "as new" condition, the hinges/latches on my Jeep Grand Cherokee, 1949 Ford F-2, and other vehicles. The stuff is non-staining, and is safe for plastics and rubber. I use it on the PTO pivot points, Tach-Matic mechanisms, and any other place where occasional oiling is required. Although it lasts for a very long time, it does eventually wash away. Note my other post wherein my deck fell off. While you can procure HHS-K online, you can probably more easily get it at you local Chrysler/Dodge dealer. Chrysler began using the stuff when they were merged with Benz, and have continued stocking it to this day, and using it in the Service Department. Be prepared, this stuff isn't cheap, and goes for around $23 a can. However, it works amazingly well, a little goes a long way, and is worth every penny. I know this sounds like a shameless plug, but I am in no way associated with the company. I just like products that work well, and this stuff works extremely good.

Literally dropped my 42" deck whilst mowing grass this evening. Was mowing around the maple trees when I heard some odd clanks and belt noises. Nothing loud or serious sounding, just different. Got another 30 feet and heard some rather ugly squealing. Looked down and found that the deck was being drug around by the belt and pushed by the rear wheels. WTF! Short story is that when I scraped and hosed out the underside of the deck last week, I neglected to make sure the locking wheel on the Tach-Matic had fully sprung back, and so locked the swinging hooks that hold the deck bar secure. Thing is, I was almost done with the yard when it finally fell off. Never had that happen to me before. Nothing was harmed, other than my feelings and pride. As Bugs Bunny would say: "What a maroon!" Sorry about the double post, but I got some weird configuration error just now. Got one earlier this evening when I first logged onto Red Square. Hmmm.

8-19-1909 Louis Schwitzer wins first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway In front of some 12,000 spectators, automotive engineer Louis Schwitzer wins the two-lap, five-mile inaugural race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, Indiana, on August 19, 1909. Conceived by local businessmen as a testing facility for Indiana’s growing automobile industry, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway would later become famous as the home to the now world-famous Indianapolis 500 race, which was first held in 1911. In that inaugural race, Schwitzer (then the chief engineer at Stoddard-Dayton) drove a stripped-down Stoddard Dayton touring car with a four-cylinder engine. He achieved an average speed of 57.4 mph on the new track, which was then covered in macadam, or crushed pieces of rock layered and bound by tar. Later, the speedway would be covered with 3.2 million paving bricks, which earned it its enduring nickname, “The Brickyard.” Born in Silesia in northwestern Austria in 1881, Schwitzer earned advanced degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering before immigrating to America around the turn of the century. His first job in the auto industry was with Pierce Arrow, as an engineer, working on one of the very first six-cylinder engines; he then began working for Canada Cycle and Motor Company, designing the Russell motor car. There, he met the prosperous automaker Howard Marmon (of the Marmon Motor Car Company), and would later earn lasting fame as the designer of the famous “Marmon Yellow Jacket” engine, which powered the vehicle of Ray Harroun, winner of the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911. After leaving racing, Schwitzer remained active in the sport’s development, joining the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Technical Committee in 1912 (he was its chairman from 1919 through 1945). He served in the United States Army Motor Transport Corps during World War I, then returned to Indianapolis to start his own business, which later became Schwitzer-Cummins. After developing improved automotive cooling systems and water pumps, Schwitzer began producing superchargers for gasoline and diesel engines, which helped both truck and boat engines produce increased horsepower. He then moved on to so-called “turbochargers,” the first of which was introduced on a Cummins diesel-powered racing car which won the pole position for the 1952 Indianapolis 500. In 1965, Schwitzer suffered a stroke while riding a horse on his farm. He was paralyzed, and for a time lost his ability to speak English, reverting to Hungarian. He died in 1967. To honor Schwitzer’s legacy, the Society of Professional Engineers now presents an individual or group involved with the Indianapolis 500 with the annual Louis Schwitzer Award for Engineering Excellence.

Thanks for all the help guys! It was missing the engine so I rehabilitated a Tecumseh HS50 that I had laying around. I know it isn't original. but it will look the part and do the job. The untrained eye won't know the difference. Once I get everything working, I plan to blast the wheels and paint em the correct color. I will probably paint the seat spring red and add the decals too. I don't plan on doing a full resto on it.

FYI. I was searching for replacement tires for the front on my 854, and i wanted as close to the originals as possible. I found Kenda Load-Star (K371). These are 4ply trailer tires, which is "over-kill", however they are 99% identical to the originals. They were $15 each on recstuff.com. Im really happy with them. Maybe everyone already knew about them, but i figured i would throw it out there anyway.

I had the carrier bolts with the spacers come out of the deck once. That's even worse because you lose parts!

Just sayin'

I don't think I've ever seen your 400 complete Bob Is that a Bud Andrews stack? Sure, I use 1/2" black Iron pipe (some are 3/4 I think) but any pipe will do find. You must have a threaded exhaust port outlet tho or fab one somehow. There should be two holes on the hood stand with a little piece of steel tacked there for a u bolt for support. See mine below I don't have the heat shield on yet. Two 45 deg ells are correct but 90's will work with some 3" + or - nipples. You are forgiven... Thats fine it looks good ...and like ya said does the job! We know how hard or $$ it can be to find correct!

That's @MikesRJ restored RJ58 transmission.

Now that's funny.

I had the plastic fan come loose, on a 520H, and the trans got very hot. With it just slipping, it still would spin of course but not reach full speed. Unless the fan was checked by hand there was no evidence of a problem. You may not have a plastic fan, but I wrote this to let everyone know the importance of the cooling fins and fan on these hydros. I would never have believed that the temperature would climb as much as it did without having had that experience.

Welcome aboard! Where in PA are you? I believe your mower is actually model 05-37SC01 (37" side discharge?). You should be able to find an operator's manual for this deck under the "Manuals" tab at the top of this page, it will show you how to level the deck, pretty much as the other guys have described. I believe that deck can also be adjusted side-to-side. When you're done, with tires properly inflated and the mower in the middle position on the height adjustment lever, the front end should be just a little lower than the rear And no, those front rollers won't normally be touching the ground when you're mowing, only when you run across uneven ground (to keep the mower from scalping). There's several other things that could be causing a "so-so" cut. Dull blades or driving too fast are the first ones that come to my mind.

My '88 520H with dash hydro temp warning light would come on after about an hour of mowing this spring and temps were only in the mid 70's I removed the seat and seat pan and just cleaned the dickens out of the hydro fins, body and everywhere for that matter and then washed it off with brake clean. There must have been five pounds of crud on the floor and now even with the temps in the 90's the temp light does not come on and the airflow coming out behind the hydro from the fan is 10 times what it was before the cleaning. I was lucky I had a warning light to tell me my hydro was in trouble.

@WHX7 Jim, that was a R-26. 2nd generation of RER for Wheel Horse. If you find one... they fit nicely inside a 4 wheeled wagon for storage. (this one was mine about 4 years ago)

I decided to spare you all the photos of the tare down and skip to the good stuff. What do you guys think of the colors? Am I close to authentic? before

Those are both funny as H#LL! I PITY THE FOOL THAT AIN'T LAUGH'IN !!!

35BC (before children) years ago my wife and I would take a vacation and visit my sister in Laurel Md. From Pensacola Fl. we would ether take the Blue Ridge up, and the Atlantic coast back or visa versa. Usually took about two and half to three day going and coming, just stopping when we wanted and checking out the sights. Those were the days, no 10+ Hr bonsai run to some way over priced amusement park (sorry Richie) or big motel with a big pool. Sorry I regress, any way Corolla NC was ether our last night stay going up or our first night going back. So Bob, in your honor I'm drinking a cold one as I write this, what the H, I my have a few more, its Friday afternoon, wait I'm retired. Chris

ill do my best here with the back story. While servicing a John Deere rider for a former boss 3 weeks ago, I saw the red paint under a tarp in the back of a barn. I offered him $300 dollars for the tractor, deck, snow blade, snow blower(single stage) and lawn aerator. It also came with two sets of chains, and home made wheel weights. It had belonged to his wife's uncle. Repainted once some where in its past. It had been stored since the early 90's. With a set of points, a carb rebuilt and cleaning, and fresh gas it fired right up but smoked. Starter generator works well too. The motor was tore down and miced. It was still factory. Full rebuild(.10 over piston and .10 under rod) I'm a fan of everything built in America back in the good old days. It's built stronger, better materials, and obviously lasts along time. I'm 34 years old but everything I own is much much older than I am. I go through them, make them as like new as I can, and teach friends and neighbors how the stuff works. I plan to put this tractor back to work. I take good care of my equipment, so it will get a wax in the spring, and in the fall when she gets put to bed till snow flys. I hope to find a plow and disc to work my garden. My hope is that my grand kids will learn to drive it, just like I learned on my granpas wheel horse.

The only real differences between the 400 and the 550 is unfortunately the engine and the electrical start components, and possibly the hood. The 550 had fenders and toolbox standard, the 400 may or may not have come with the option of fenders and toolbox so even that is not tell-tale. Examine the toolbox under the seat (if there is one) for any extra holes that would be from a solenoid mounting spot or evidence that there was a battery sitting in there. Also look just to the right of the steering column in the dash. Is the dash solid, is there a hole, or is there a plug? If it's solid, or there is a plug, your tractor was a 400, if there is a hole, the tractor might have been a 550. (also might not, because there could have been a plug and it was lost.) Early 400 (no hole or plug) Later 400 (with knock out plug in ignition hole)

The thing I was not aware of, and should have been, is to make sure the locking disc and pin had fully retracted, thus preventing the hook from swinging open. The spring for the lock pin is probably getting a little weak, and at some point I will likely replace it. The bigger problem though, is that I am pretty anal about keeping my tractor clean. The occasional washing has no doubt removed the lubricant from the pin, and made it harder for the spring to overcome the increased friction. Going forward, I intend to be a little more diligent about getting some lubricant on my Tach-Matic assemblies so as to keep them free. Don't want to be like Doc and run over my deck. Neighbors would surely not take kindly to my emitting a large blue cloud of profanity over the neighborhood.

Not impossible for a early 400 to have 5003 tranny tho as they might have trying to use up 59 parts in early '60 or a dealer swap of some sorts. Never know what craziness went on back in the day! Is a nicely done rear end there tho Russell regardless!

Also, that pretty transmission you have pictured is a 5003 for a RJ not a 400. The 400 and 550 hoodstands were identical. The battery that year was under the seat. In 1961 the hoodstand was changed to accommodate the battery.

I had that happen several years when was transporting the deck to the shed for winter storage. The drive belt was not attached. The deck dropped and before I knew it, I drove right over it. I was not a happy camper

Case Ih 2150 red with hardener. Light gray primer. Krylon ivory gloss on the rims

I had it to happen twice last week. I think the spring is weak on the Tac-a-matic, as I know it was locked in place. The second time I pinned the latch. It's not much fun attaching a 48" deck in the yard.

The 400 has pull start the 550 has electic start the 400 has a 4hp kohler the 550 has a 5.5 engine lauson. the 550 has different belt guard and hood stand then the 400 has a more rounded looking uni dive the the 400. sure there is more but thats what ive gathered 400 tranny 550 tranny end cap

Sounds scary. Probably good the belt didn't break and launch you out over the deck.

Thanks guys, I am going to pull the seat pan as mentioned and give it a good clean and also change out the fluid since it has been a few years. From what I have gathered, it just takes standard synthetic 10w-30 for the Eaton 11 trans/hydro assembly, correct?

Here is today's last photos

Thanks guys im heading out now to find this rod!!!

Clean all the grass from the cooling fins and make sure the cooling fan is running.

Numbers fit right in for 1978 Garry

The clutch/brake rod is 21" overall and the engine pulley is 2.5" diameter. I don't have a mower deck. Here's my 400 that I recently finished.

I acquired this tractor a couple of years ago from a guy who thought it was a John Deere round fender. I currently have 31 lawn & garden tractors in my collection, all John Deere's, and nothing newer than 1973. I wasn't going to buy this tractor due to it being a Wheel Horse, however since it's an RJ and my youngest son's name is Ryan James, I figured I'd bring it home. Yes, this is the only "red" machine that I own. Anyway, once it was home, I took the tractor completely apart due to limited storage space in my garage, never thinking to snap a couple of pictures first, so sorry guys, I have nothing for you to compare it too when it's done. I'm slowly finding all of the parts and pieces, so as I do, I'll update as I go along. Here is what I started with July of last year. Each piece is getting completely stripped, primed, and first coated for now. I'll get to wet sanding and additional coats of finish later when all of the parts can be done together at the same time. As you can see, this RJ was repainted green at some point in it's life time, however I'm hoping to make it look as good as it would have been off of the showroom floor. I have the lift arm, front axle, rear wheel hubs, brake band, and a few other small little pieces stripped and primed. These pieces hung for a few days then were lightly sanded with a brown paper bag, and re-coated again with primer. I also spent the extra time tapping off the brake band.

You're doing good Russell. Wheel Horse did so many crazy things in the earlier years that it's impossible to keep everything straight or know for sure what was factory original on most things. That's part of all the fun we have here.

well i wish but mine only has the handle by the brake pad that is different so it is a newer one. i guess everytime i go on my info spree i'm wroung, sorry for the wroung info. ive only seen 551's and never a 550 so i figured they where about the same.

Nice! I have seen one of those before.

Yes. My exhaust port wasn't threaded so I tapped it. A short nipple, a 90 degree elbow (depending on the motor you may need a 45), and a 12" piece of pipe then what ever you need for your muffler. I used black pipe since I was painting it. You'll see two holes in the side of the hood stand. A U bolt holds the pipe there. Yes Jim, a Bud Andrews stack. It came with a black muffler and I painted it with Rust-oleum High Heat Ultra.

Wow those do look close! Thanks for the tip!

Ken--it has been a blast telling this story. It has been so much fun digging for photos and asking my family members for memories of the Iron Horse. And it's not finished yet! This is a great little tractor with a long history in one family that continues today with my children! They love to drive it as much as I did...

Never heard of that happening before! I cant believe the belt was pulling the deck!! I don't get it. lol.

I took a lot of photos but I am trying to take it back to original and I was photographing what other owners have done which was a modification at best and that's the information I'm looking for is what did the original manufacture do when assembling my tractor I am having fun with this project I think powder coating was the way to go it was a little more expensive but it's sure is good dropping it off to have someone else put the color on

I forgot to mention earlier... I'm no expert, but I believe that deck wasn't actually made until later in the mid-1980's, maybe for the 300/400/500 series. It doesn't matter from your point of view, a lot of decks of that era interchange perfectly on a variety of tractors. But it's possible that's not the original deck for your tractor. Again, no matter, just something to be aware of. Which makes me wonder... Can you read the ID plate on your engine? The original engine on that tractor would be a Kohler K241.

Looks sharp to me (of course I'm partial to short frames;) what colors did you use?

What they all said is correct. I have a 1982 C-105 and had similar issues a year ago when it was new to me. Once adjusted - mows through anything... You will find that you need to mow at the highest setting or two - otherwise it mows very low / scalps... Make sure you grease all the fittings on the tractor as well as the mower deck... Welcome to the Black Hoods club!

Nothing wrong with a little "off brand" in the herd every once in a while. I really miss this Allis Chalmers,. It ran fantastic, cut grass superbly and when you locked the rear diff it would push as much snow as ALMOST any Wheel Horse I've owned.. I owned this orange one at the time also and I liked it as well. My brother has the identical tractor as yours or at least very similar.

That type spindle on those decks takes a little longer to work on when redoing one but they last a lot longer also. Deck housing looks like a very good one too!