Leaderboard

My daughter Shanna loves John Deere's. I threatened to cut off her inheritance if she continues to disgrace this family with her green tractor. I keep telling her we are a Wheel Horse family, and there is no room for green here. So we decided love conquers all and met in the middle as a good Father and Daughter should. Here's what we came up with. LOL

I got the 701 out for a little exercise today and my daughter wanted to drive it. The goofball came down without shoes but I let her drive it anyway. Of course, in the video, as you will see, she wanted to know if it would go faster. She had a blast. IMG_3704.MOV IMG_3705.MOV

I was looking for a couple parts for my 73, and decided to check craigslist. The funny part is when I started dialing the number for the ad it happened to pull up the guys name from my contacts.... So I scored a heck of a deal by trading a couple things that I was no longer using. Both tractors need rebuilding, but the majority of the pieces are there plus they are both 8 speeds. There is only one good deck between them, but the one that is rusted out at least has a bunch of good parts still. The spindles still spin freely. The 417-8 was in use until June, and only has a knock that sounds like a wrist pin. The 310-8 smokes so it will need punched out, the carb is toast so it will need replaced. My plan is to fix up the 417 and keep it as a worker with my blade on it, and move trailers around. Eventually I want to put a loader on it. I don't figure for about $200 (what I valued my trade as) it wasn't a bad deal. Now to get the wife to see the value in them since all she sees in "junk" that will clutter up the yard.

I'm really glad you guys got a good laugh out of our Sunday afternoon of being goofy. I wanted to share that time with you. Shanna is back in Nursing school going for her RN this time. I sure am proud of her.

10-2-1948 Checkered flag waves at first postwar U.S. road race in Watkins Glen, New York On this day in 1948, the first American road race since World War II takes place in Watkins Glen, a tiny town near the Finger Lakes in New York. In 1961, the Watkins Glen event was added to the Formula One Grand Prix schedule and for the next 20 years it was a destination for the world’s best drivers. Compared to Monte Carlo and other sophisticated stops on the Formula One circuit, Watkins Glen was scarcely even on the map (Sports Illustrated poked fun at its “courage and cornpone, sophistication with straw in its teeth”), but the race was named the best Grand Prix of the season more than once. Road racing–that is, racing sleek sports cars on real roads instead of custom-built tracks–had fizzled out in the United States during World War II, but was revived in Watkins Glen by an enterprising young law student named Cameron Argetsinger. Argetsinger was a fan of European road racing in particular and fast driving in general and he was convinced that the village’s twisting, scenic lanes and byways would be perfect for a Grand-Prix–style event. (He was motivated by more than civic boosterism, however: as he once explained to a reporter, “I had an MG-TC and didn’t have a place to race it.”) Argetsinger spent months planning the race–he plotted its course by arranging and rearranging magazines on his living room floor–and finally settled on a 6.6-mile, mostly paved route around the town’s perimeter. Before the race could happen, Argetsinger needed to get permission from nine different state agencies and the New York Central railroad, which agreed to suspend train service through Watkins Glen for the afternoon so that the drivers could cross the tracks safely. (As a result, some people refer to October 2 as “the day the trains stopped.”) Twenty-three cars participated in that first race; Argetsinger and his MG finished ninth. By the end of the decade, the event was drawing 100,000 spectators each year and in 1956, after a couple of race-day accidents on the public roads, the town built a brand-new course especially for its Grand Prix. In 1961, the Watkins Glen race became the only American stop on the Formula One tour (“A biscuit,” one reporter wrote, “reincarnated as a brioche”). In 1981, citing financial difficulties, Formula One dropped the race from its schedule. Since then, there have been U.S. Grand Prix races in cities from coast to coast–in Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas, Phoenix and Indianapolis–but none as successful or celebrated as the ones at Watkins Glen.

It turned out to be a great day at Scott's. I think the rain kept the crowd down a little, but we had a very nice variety of horses there. It was good to see old friends again as we head into winter.

The GT-14 has the Sundstrand Hydro Gear model 90-2062 (if original). The symptoms you described are typical of a worn-out hydro pump. It works great until it reaches operating temp, then fades....correct? The only solution is to rebuild the hyd pump and I have done such a number of times...successfully. This not so daunting a task. I am a retired bean-counter and if I can do it...successfully....most anyone who knows what a box-end wrench is, can do the same. I can provide TONS of pics of the rebuild process, and refer you to a source for some parts, though not all parts are available anymore. There are 9 pistons in a cylinder block that have brass surface SLIPPERS and these get scarred or scratched, allowing hot oil to bypass thru those imperfections, resulting in loss of pressure. There are a few other components needing service..Charge Pump Housing, Gerotor set, Thrust Plate. These are steel and MAY require a machinist's flat grinder. Don't remove too much material from any part....just enough to eliminate the gouges or scratches. Some REALLY DEEP gouges may not come out...get most of them though. You'd be will advised to install 3 new oil seals in the pump housing too... Essentially what needs doin' is to resurface the BRASS components of the pump...meticulously...by hand. Depending on how deep the gouges are, use the infamous "WAX ON....WAX OFF... technique to resurface the parts. Use a machinist's SURFACE PLATE or THICK SHEET OF GLASS. I start with 280 grit, then 400 grit, and finish with 600 grit with a drop of oil on the sand paper. Don't make a mirror finish....just to a buff. Try to keep pistons in their original cylinder bore as the sidewalls have mated over time. NOTE.... here are a couple pics for reference. There MAY ALSO BE other components that have failed...or broken and these my be addressed too. Valves, springs, O-rings and the like...not directly related to the components of the hyd pump.

i got to meet glen pettit, and quickly discovered 3 things. he is a very nice man, he has a great selection of high quality parts, and he was very happy to take my money! all kidding aside , what a great guy, he is an asset to the hobby. he gave me a great deal on a pile of parts.

I drill them and install brass bushings in both shaft installation points. The upper one gets drilled to allow for grease to flow in from fitting. Cleat

Van, that thing is an abomination. You do realize that you have permanently soiled that hood don't you?

OH...the horror! Poor Elmer & Cecil... must be rolling over in the grave.

I have a pic of what got picked up today . Thanks @ol550 for the A-81 and @biggin for the snow thrower . My son wished that 867 would've jumped on the trailer ! Can't forget about @Jake Kuhn for the k91 block.

Hey guys, new to the site, going to kill two birds with one thread and combine my build into an intro also. Tony from MA, picked up a few wheel horses last season, an RJ and a 502, sold the 502 and am now finding time to start a little resto/mod on my RJ. I started disassembling it yesterday and have a few questions maybe you all could help out with. My plans are not to give it a full factory restoration because of time/funds and overall shape of the unit as it stands. So i have a few motors to chose from laying around the shop and some other parts i am going to be using. so the first and most important question is transmission seals and bearings. Is there a source i can buy a kit or any one place i can itemize and order all the bearings and seals I need? also whats the best fitting off the shelf style replacement fuel tank? Here are some pictures, When i first opened the case i was a little disappointed but i knew it was not going to be pretty from the water i drained out of it. but luckily But a quick wipe down revealed that they gears and case were pretty well protected by a layer of grease before the water intrusion so off to the hot tank for everything. So these are the bearings and seals i am looking to replace. I will also be needing a set of front wheels. stay tuned this project is hopefully going to make ground quickly.

If the women keep loving to drive the us guys better watch out they will take over the snow blowing, mowing and the fun of us just driving them. .

are we there yet?...are we there yet?...are we there yet?...are we there yet?...are we there yet.?..are we there yet?...are we there yet?...are we there yet?...are we there yet?...are we there yet? At least that hood will out last that tractor.

Paul brings up a good point. In the old days, one often did a "shade tree" overhaul if funds were not available for a true rebuild. These sorts of overhaul were only done when there was no evidence of significant wear on the crank and cam. As he pointed out, you could get a gasket kit and a standard ring set (if it has never been bored). You then dismantled the engine, cleaned up any ridge at the top of the bore, removed the piston, then de-glazed the bore with a hone. Best hone to use is the "berry" type, leaving a nice 45 degree cross-hatch pattern. One must make sure to remove as little metal as possible, yet get a good pattern. To improve compression, you then lap in the valves with valve grinding compound. Again, lap only to a clean up. Of course, you clean up the engine parts thoroughly both before, and after the work. Assemble the engine, adjust the valves, and there you are. If wear isn't very bad on the bore, crank, etc., you can sometimes get upwards of 50-60% more life from the motor, perhaps more. Shade tree overhauls are not a bad option if money is tight, you have a basically decent engine to work with, and you do not plan on thrashing the motor afterwards.

If the smoke bothers you you could pull the piston hone the cylinder to deglaze it and put in some new aftermarket rings. May stop/reduce smoke and wouldn't cost much.

Just for grins , I did a bit of a comparison recently.... Had a buddy over who brought a guy from work with him. Had both the '73 16 Auto and the Deere LA145 sitting out after a bath , the '73 has been resprayed/decals and looks pretty good . I asked , out of the two , which the guy would buy used .... He said the Deere , based on reputation and horsepower (22hp Briggs) . Then , I asked him about quality/weight/design ... He says , well , the Deere is a lot of plastic , but at least it has the horsepower to pull that big deck . Hmm.... I said "well, there is a huge difference in torque , that old Kohler will pull the 48" deck just as well as the Deere's 22hp Briggs" . He looked at me like I was nuts and asked if he could try them out . After two passes each through some pretty tall grass at a faster than usual clip , he asked if he could buy the Wheel Horse . " It's not for sale" was my reply . I asked why he'd prefer the old Horse to a newer machine - he says " it doesn't feel so cheap, like it's about to fall apart" . He's been hunting CL now for a Horse of his . I wasn't aware buy my buddy later told me he's been buying a new lawn tractor about every 4-5yrs and is pretty reasonable about taking care of them , mows about 3/4 of an acre , pulls a small cart around and a sweeper . Every single one of them has had a transmission failure of the cast aluminum type . It was the cast iron beef he liked most in the old Horse and the way it rode due to larger tires and an extra 300lbs of weight vs the Deere . My point is until they understand the quality difference , they buy according to looks , hp numbers and price - it's an uneducated mass that wasn't taught enough about all things mechanical like many of us - or are at least willing to learn . There is a small group of older guys and even a couple pretty young rebuilding old garden tractors around here and putting them up for sale . Unless one is priced crazy - they disappear in just a few days . Illinois is a brutal place to live with swings in temperature/snow and grass duties . Cheap junk doesn't last , some are actually starting to learn .... I'm also working on a D180 lately and rebuilding it's 56" blade - getting tired of people stopping here and wanting to buy it despite the faded paint , rust and general ugliness that only the nose of a D can generate . It's a huge chunk of iron and has a certain appeal of being in charge of something brutal , I guess.... Sarge

43 miles due south of me. I get on the road that passes by my house and never have to turn off of it. This is a cool little village with a beautiful gorge in the state park which is right smack dab in the middle of down town. If your into vintage race cars visit during the Annual Grand Prix Festival after labor day. If you come make sure your car has NEW BRAKES. The hill around this village are unbelievable!

Well now, seems I was in the middle of this rustle rampage between VA and NY (York, PA). I'm going to have check out my sheds in the morning and take a roll call of all my horses. I've rustled some of mine out of MD and MA into PA, so I not only have to keep an eye out for the "authorities" but also those out of PA state rustlers.

UPDATE :::::::: Ok, this bad boy is paid for, now it's mine. On to phase 2, getting it home to me. Working out a deal with uship. I saw a few members used them, you know what I like, they pick it up and drop it off, right at your door, non of the pallet bs either, and bring it to them. Now, when it gets home to me, and it's a wreck, I will change this post. Lol Glenn

Get out the Carhartts and woolly hats. It's time for Scott's M & G! Will the weather hold for the final show? Only The Shadow knows! Safe travels to all and don't forget!:

They do make them. I have seen them in various medical settings. Problem will be getting the guys on Red Square to agree on what "shade" of red or brand will constitute the official and acceptable Wheel Horse "Red"... May have to post a new thread on that issue alone!

Message member Jake Kuhn here... http://www.wheelhorseforum.com/profile/4240-jake-kuhn/ offers complete kits to redo all the seals and bearing inside your trans.

The engine should get good airflow! does it run?

I have an m16 with over 1200 hours on it. Runs good but uses about a quart of 30w every 8 to 10 hours.It is down on power as compared to a K series 16hp I have but the 341 has very few hours on it.I have no intentions of a rebuild of the m16 at this time.No serious smoke except at start up.The block would need to be bored.Somewhere over a $100 in my area.New piston and rings,plus gaskets $150.00 and then maybe valve guides,new or reground valves.Around here regrind on the crank is $75.00 If you farm this work out maybe $500 or $600 for parts and labor in my area.You would still have to break the engine down and reassemble it.JMHO,JAinVA

Don't worry about it. I just grabbed the C175 out of Virginia. Lol kind of like *** for tat. In a manner of speaking. Glenn Let's start a new rule, we (the members) can only cross state lines for wheel horses every third Tuesday of the month. Can you see us all zig zaging and horn tooting to one another on the interstates. I am laughing just typing this. Glenn Glenn

That is a 1973 model....only year they were named that way on the decal

Hey AC! Nice buddy! Where in the world are you stashing all of this great stuff? Not that I might make a midnight run up from VA or anything. Hopefully I'll be here a little more now that Dad is doing better. He's finally able to drive again and feels great to be out and about again. Keep an eye out for us ole VA horse rustlers!

Another party at the Dino truck! Almost didn't recognize Steve with out the Carhartt! Bang! Waitin for Jake to start a beard! Was hoping Lane would have one of his classic hats!

Progress has been slow for the last week.... the axle is mounted but I cannot steer. The tie rod ends I just bought are left hand threads and there is no tap avaliable for it so I'm waiting for new ones to arrive. It sure does sit up much higher! Once she is leveled out, I think I'll be higher than the C195 I had earlier this year! .. At the very least, the front tires don't stick out farther than the rears!

Waiting for raffle so here are some pics real quick:

Just look for the giant blowup of @stevasaurus holding his cup on top of the grain elevator , waving in the wind . It's the beacon for all RED SQUARE members to join us for the M&G .

D.J. Harrison of Coatesville, Indiana took this nice video yesterday of me operating the CBR-32 front cutter bar on the 1958 Wheel Horse RJ. This was across the street from Scott Mehlberg's Meet and Greet, You don't get to see these in opearationmuch so I am posting it for Red Sqaure members to view. https://www.facebook.com/dewayne.j.harrison/videos/1221926974496866/

My granddaughter just said yesterday when she seen the snowthrower mounted on front of my tractor and the progress I'm making doing my modifications that it may just make her want to go out and clear the snow with it. I'll believe it when I see it none of the females in this family want to go outside in the winter.

most of my small engines smoke at start up,i wouldn't worry if it doesn't smoke aftrer that,ive had kohlers that have 3000 hours and still goin,and I have a 312-h that had 300 and smoked so bad I coyuldn't drive it till I rebuilt it,keep the oil clean and full and she will run along time

Buy her some RED scrubs when she graduates - not them light GREEN things everyone wears....

That time of year again .A good cleaning & inspection then it's off to FPP in Ellicotville for a look at the engine noise & a dyno tune .So far (My) to-do list : 1) Rear wheel-bearings2) TTI arm bearings Read more: http://tri-state-atv-riders.freeforums.net/thread/53/time-again?page=1#ixzz4LxVrPXWP

There good news Glenn! I'm happy for you

Working on uploading the pictures now.

Add a set of Gator Blades. Three more blades mounted above the originals at 90º will give you twice the cutting edges (now 12 instead of 6), and the higher raise on the back of the Gator Blades will help to keep the leaves airborne. Cost is about the same as regular blades and there is enough room on the threads to add them. Google "Gator Blades" to find size, often an auto-parts store can order them next day with no shipping charges, but compare eBay prices first (Wheel Horse 42" Gator Blade).

To easily eliminate the solenoid as the issue, jump the large terminal connected to the + battery to the small post. The solenoid should activate. You can probably find a 310 wire diagram in the files section to help trace wires and ID the safety switches. Clutch, PTO, seat.

As already mentioned, 1973. Attachments from that year on will fit.

Currently here, at #28... the Mrs Rules has finally learned... to just stop asking.

The best or most versatile imop would be either the GT14 or the C195 of WHs larger tractors. Once i picked up a 195 the 160 was put into storage, while its a great all around unit it was to small for my needs. I would not pick any of the Ds, they have to many issues and parts are specific and getting hard to come by. Although the GT14 and the 195 have their own issues the C195's would be easiest to overcome. Most of the parts and attachments are inter-changeable with the smaller C's and 3-500 series and the engine can be swapped easy enough. I had loaders on both and both handle one well, the 3pts on both work well. I do like my XI tractor but parts and attachments are not as plentiful.

You mean to say you didn't stop and give him a ride!

Just a short update. I was able to give it great workout.. aerated a large yard (with over 100 pounds of added weight)...overseeded yard as well. Everything worked great and actually better than I can recently recall. I think I will feel confident in using it for another winter of driveway snow plowing now. Thanks!

I moved to Maryland eight years ago from Illinois where John Deere is "King." My first choice was of course a SCUT but my wife felt that was overkill (?) for our 2 acres. So I looked at all the different garden tractors, both new and used. In the new category, Simplicity was too high priced along with the John Deere 304 and above series (base 300 used a K46) and 500 series. The X series way too much. Even though Husqvarna offered a GT with a ground-engaging transmission, I still felt that it would need replacing in an 8-10 year timeframe. So I started on the used market looking at John Deere as there was really nothing else offered. I also felt that a diesel would be good to have (I was a diesel mechanic Engineman in the Coast Guard) as long as I needed a tractor. I can remember visiting a JD dealer in Illinois to look at a JD 430 but he showed me the worn driveshaft (common) that wobbled but still was about $4K. Shift to Maryland as we had bought the house but still to move and I was searching for a JD 455. I found a sweet little JD 355 with a Yanmar two-cylinder diesel but it was a bit used. Reviews were mixed as well. Even at higher rpm the plastic hood really rattled. Stopped at another JD dealer and found a JD 420 and a 425 AWS. They were not what I was looking for, but over in the corner was a red tractor that I had never seen before. It was a Toro Wheel Horse 518xi! I went home, did some research, and purchased it. Surprisingly this and my 523Dxi both came from John Deere dealers. I guess that they want to keep the red "ripened" tractors away from the "Green" ones. Here is the dealer's sales photo from 2009 of my 518xi:

Don't forget the proliferation of the ZTR to help kill the GT market. I think the three factors that saw the end of the GT tractor as we know and like it are: the ZTR the SCUT Throw-away mentality society