Leaderboard

It looks like this Two Owner 1994 520H with 729 hrs will be coming home to THE Duke"O" minium. This will end up being my Loader Tractor when a ARK 500 will be fitted to her. What I need a loader for with a 100' X 150' City Lot is beyond me? Maybe unloading the groceries or salt for the softener!

Getting my brand new mid mount grader blade painted so it can be mounted soon!

It is with a heavy heart I write this post, and I was undecided which forum to use. I decided to use this one hoping it may help prevent another tragic accident. I am not looking for sympathy and I will not relate details. Last week I lost a friend and neighbor in a tragic accident. He was the active 79 year old owner/ operator of a one man excavating business that would do anything for anyone at any time. He was similar to many on this forum, A devout Christian, Sunday School teacher, Inventor, and capable of building anything that he wanted or needed. Including a flying machine, a snowmobile, and was presently building a snow thrower for his skid steer. He made several visits to my shop recently collecting information from my throwers. He will be missed by me and hundreds of others in Southern York Co. Pa. Rest peacefully my friend. For all my friends on Red Square, Please use care and respect when working around flammables in your shops.

Just another day at the lake in South Central Pa.

If you have it welded, the heat MAY make the repair itself brittle and subject to further cracking. If the weld repair involves adding on a thicker reinforcement plate, don't weld the plate to the back side as that will alter the required belt length. Better to weld a plate on the inside if that's how you intend to repair it. HOWEVER.... here is a BULLET PROOF method that requires no welding. Use 2 bits of 1 /4 " 2x2 angle iron about 6" long. Cut away the top edge of one piece and fit it into place as in 3rd pic. Transfer hole locations of the transmission case to the angle iron...then drill the two 3/8 holes in angle iron. Test fit to trans case and bolt in using 2 bolts, about 3/8 longer than original. Once in plate and bolted tight, drill 1/8 pilot holes from outside edge...open the up to 3/8. Using 4 bolts with Nylok nuts, bolt the outside corner of the trans plate to the angle iron. Repeat on other side... When done and all bolted together TIGHT,, then you can trim off the excess angle iron with a sawzall....or notl An important part of this is the location of the 2x4 wood block. Jack up the rear of the tractor and let it down again onto this block, just at the front edge of the transmission case. This 'leverage' will 'pinch' closed the broken frame plate, forcing it back to original position.

May as well put a ho on the back. Then you can dig holes and fill em up.

Someone on here said the other day, "If you need it you probably wouldn't want it." & that new loader will look better on that 520 than sitting on your shop floor! Very nice scores, both of them!!!!

1/4 20 x 1/2 inch work. i tend to use flange head versions they are less like likely to loosen up (I use 5/8" long)

For years I have gone to the Wheel Horse show where everyone is of course biased toward that make. But going to a show such as Olde Tyme Days, or Steam-O-Rama where many makes are represented, gives you a whole different perspective. Owners of Cubs, AC's, Deere's, Bolens, etc., will tell you what is best about their machines. You will walk away with a lot of information. Though we all love our horses, many of us have other makes in the shed as well.

Just guessing Jim....female powered trolling motor.

Found this over the weekend, L-157, Everything works great, rearend supper quite, Just needa Hood and decide how I want it to look

You could have a truckload of play sand delivered to the front yard and move oi to the back yard; and then reverse the process. nice find, you will have fun with it, that is the NEED that will be fulfilled!

Egbert arrived yesterday.

Today's stamped steel big box store disposable junk is what we don't think of as a quality garden tractor. A lot of them are made by MTD. They are built to last a few years and be replaced. The MTD brand is much maligned in the garden tractor collection world, yet at one time they too built some good quality equipment. I just happen to prefer .

http://www.rubbertirechains.com/ Keep in mind that Mr. Esh is Amish and, I believe, he has someone else handle the phone calls. Here is the information from the website: ADDRESS J Esh Manufacturing 557 Sawmill Rd New Providence, PA 17560 PHONE (717) 983-0123 (Retail orders & questions) (717) 786-6063 (Wholesale/dealer orders) FAX (717) 786-7221

These are the knurled thumb screws that are used to mount the hoods on the early 60s wheel horse tractors. The part number 1346 is the longer screw that was used to mount the hood at the front of the tractor to the frame. The part number 1345 was used to mount the hood to the fuel tank. On the 953 and 1054 there was 4 of the part number 1345 used to mount the hood. I have these for sale they are made of Stainless Steel they will not rust and they will not seize in the aluminum fuel tank. I am selling them individually for $8.50. A set of 3 screws for $20.00 , 2 of part number 1345 the shorter one and 1 of 1346 the longer one for the round hood tractors. A set of 4 screws for $25.00, these are 4 of part number 1346 the shorter ones for the 953 and 1054. If you would like to order these email me at aztractor255@gmail.com or you can call me at 1-717-821-2542. I will need your full name and address for shipping thank you. The cost of shipping is $3 in the us. I can ship internationally also.

Washing wheel horse's that's what! Lol they actually begged me to scrub the grime off the 520! Doing a great job I might add! Haha

Traded a cub cadet for these two yesterday. The rj58 is all complete and runs. The guy said the seat cover was the original to. The rj35 has seen some neglect, but think the cast iron steering wheel is pretty neat.

SEEMS LIKE THE HORSES HAD THING FIGURED OUT, THE PEOPLE WERE ALONG FOR THE RIDE. Sorry about the all caps, wasn't shouting, just fat finger caps lock.

Ditto all of the above posts of the Guy's principles and methods. I also tend to be meticulous with checking fit/wear or Go/No go on any engine etc. I also set myself challenges and measure by 'Feel' with inside/outside calipers, then take measurements from those. I then compare with Hole Gauges and Mic's etc to see how close I can discern accuracy by feel. I have a number of items I use regularly for many jobs (Hobby), some of which are shown below. The Lever type Dial Indicator is 69 years old and still good for 5/10,000ths of an inch, or better. I also use it for setting Techy Timing BTDC of the Piston. The Engineer's Blue (paste) assists with highlighting High spots or wear points on Bearing/Crank Journals etc. Nothing in this pic is less than 30 years old- Like most Tools, you get what you pay for and it depends how often you will have a use for them that will dictate what you pay. If you know the source, you could also buy secondhand and obtain high quality measurement tooling for less money. Whatever you get, enjoy using them and get those engines running smooth and sweet.

Takes a fair amount of practice to be accurate with any precision measuring device. I can get a general idea of the condition of a cylinder by using an old piston ring and checking the end gap and looking for light getting by the side of the ring at various points down thy cylinder. Push it down an inch at a time using the old piston so you know it is square to the cylinder. If the bore seems to be needing attention then the machine shop will have to measure it anyway. The caliper will give you a good indication for cranks, but if you use a bit of plastigage that will tell you how well the rod is fitting.

Is interesting to see all the fancy rigs , 2 stage , Cabs lights etc 20 hp units.. Some of it looks to be overkill for the driveways involved. But these two simple old horses no cabs stock lights, a blade and short chute single stage blower did all this. Mind you the snow was much deeper on Wednesday (26 inches). I just took these. They cleared from the road all the way down to the barn with the snow on the roof and in front of the workshop. still had to work today as the snow slid of the workshop roof. Only real issues were the belt broke on the blower, I had to tight up the PTO clutch. and the hydro lift handle fell of the plow tractor (cotter pin failure)

Rearranged the garage after I got all the tractors out this weekend. Needed the couch in the back. I kinda like it this way.. for now! Ha and we built a shelf for my toy tractors so my wife could stop complaining they were taking up the DVD shelves in the house lol

Good to see you back on here Duke. Good looking 520 for your loader project. Wayne

You need to buy a bigger place so you have more room to play...a.. I mean work..

Just picked these two up this afternoon. A few fixed wires, carb cleaning, couple fresh batteries and they're up and running. 1973 8 4speed and 1975 b100 8speed....900 for the pair.

!! AND...... nobody got sued!!

God I hope so. I've got a lot of work to do. Some involving tractors.

I would recommend going to tractor shows that have garden tractors there. Talk to the owners, get a close look at each brand, look at the features and construction of each. Visit the various brand specific websites, i.e. www.wfmachines.com for John Deere, and Only Cub Cadets for Cubs, or Simple Tractors for Simplicitys, Case/Colt/Ingersol website(s), etc. I'm a John Deere and Wheel Horse guy, but I can appreciate all brands as each has their pros and cons. I can tell you what I like about each, but it's best to check them out your self so you can get a first hand knowledge of each. One thing you will noticed is that the older GTs are built to last with more steel, heavier construction, etc. than the newer GTS which have more plastic, more aluminum, etc.

I have used several single stage throwers on my horses over the years, mostly on C120 or C125 and never had any good luck. It would only throw it just past the end of the blower. Then I bought my 2 stage blower and around the same time got my first 520 and never looked back. It will throw wet slush up to 8 foot and wet snow 20 foot plus. Then several years ago I inherited my dad's low shoot single stage blower. I put it on a 416-H and it did a pretty good job on a 12" snow fall we had. I then found a tall shoot set up and converted it over. Last year I had it mounted on a 520-H for the blizzard we had but unfortunately I did not have chains on it and the tractor was worthless with out the chains. So I bought chains but never got to use it again till this past week. It performed real good on the driveway till I hit the slush at the end of the driveway. Then it clogged up several times, so I put it away and got the 2 stage out. the snow was so wet that on occasion when I forced to much snow in to it to fast, it even clogged up once or twice. So while the single stage will get the job done, the 2 stage will get it done faster and easier. Another personal observation is with the single stage blower the more snow and the faster you can push it into it the further you will throw it. with that being said that takes horse power, the more horse power the better off you are. last year with the blizzard my 2 stage cut through that like a hot knife through butter eric j

When it comes to GT's they all have their features that make them desirable in one way or another. I grew up with Cub Cadets, they are quality tractors with some very good features. Bolens had their tube frames and shaft drive implements, Wheel Horse with their strong frame, trans and serviceability, John Deere's had their name & green paint. One thing you'll notice is that with all the brands of tractors, you'll only see a few different engines. I am a Kohler engine fan, so I tend to lean towards tractors that have a Kohler in them.

The only thing I see better about the 2stage is in my limited experience with it was that my chute "never" clogged in the DOT plow banks or the wet sleet topped 24"+ we got last January, other than that my tall chute single always came through in several 2' snowfalls over the 15+ years before especially on dirt/gravel driveways (that I doubt I would ever run my rebuilt 2stage over), again just my personal experiences, and as for the cab it really is more "pleasant" to blow snow as you don't wear what your chucking vs without it, mine is still all manually controlled and no extra lighting, just a dry comfortable shelter doing a not so pleasant job, Jeff.

So what do you guys prefer to use for precision measuring of engine specifications, bores, cranks, piston diameters, etc? Right now all I have is a cheaper (hobbyist) set of 6" digital calipers commonly found on the popular auction sites. Works good for general shop use but in my K241 work I came to find out quickly this is not adequate. I did recently order a set of the telescoping bore gauges. They were only 15 bucks so what the heck. Any & all opinions & ideas welcome.

Anyone have any experience with one of these? I'm thinking of investing in one to make it easier to pressure wash the underside of my deck and sharpen the blades.

Followed up the Trailblazer 7 purchase with another good CL find. This one is a REALLY good one. Picked up a 68' Raider 12 That came with wheel weights, chains, 48" deck in insanely good condition, and a dump cart with hydraulics! I'm not sure if the cart is an actual Wheel horse, it could be but the tires aren't right. Obviously the hydraulics aren't original. Either way, I paid the equivalent of buying the cart and wheel weights at Fair market value. I couldn't believe it made it past 24 hours. Nice to know I don't have much competition in the area! Couple of questions on the setup of this beast. My buddy thinks it was a pulling tractor. It has the rear wheel hub extensions (which I don't mind at all. Looks slick if you ask me), it also has a modified throttle body which works fantastic and is a thousand times better than the twist-lock cable, it had a homemade steering tensioner at the base of the steering wheel made from a spring and half a coffee can lid to protect the paint, and the footboards have extensions off the front sides. The fella I bought it from got the tractor from his uncle who I'm guessing passed away because he didn't have much info on the tractor at all. He wasn't sure why things were setup like they were. Certainly explains why the deck is pretty much mint. I swear those blades are original. Overall, the thing runs like a top and purs like a kitten with the modified muffler. Will the 48" deck mount up on my attachomatic setup on my 69' Raider? That's the other thing, take a look at this rear. There are no latches. Thanks in advance for any info!

Yep, I got that tommy. I was referring to the fluids in the tractor.....engine oil, gasoline, and transmission fluid.

To answer the title question , YES . It never even started !

That looks very very sweet Duke, best of luck. Glenn

I just love winter...I wish it was all year long. Hibernation is the key word here...and less then 12 hours of day light. I hate going to bed when it still light out. Don't ask me what you can do with the time change.

Sweet 520H, I love those 520's, and your looks almost new. Great find.

Yes sir! Got her home and she works well. Bearings all seem in good condition. Seems like any noise is more of a vibration coming from the motor area. May just need some fasteners tightened. Return spring seem fine and has a tension adjuster. There is a bit of saw dust in spots of the machine so was probably used last in a wood shop. Will need a good oiling for sure.

I phrased this in the form of a question! If you think winter is over have at it. Right now I am in Florida spending Spring Break with our grand daughter; pretty sure winter is over here.

Ceramic flap disks on the 4-1/2" Metabo - goes quickly and the ceramic doesn't create nearly as much heat . If you decide to try these wheels do not use a lot of down pressure or you'll burn it and they won't cut . Best performance I've found so far is from CGW (Camel Grinding Wheels) . For polishing/cleaning they now make a non-woven surface conditioning flap disks in 3 grades - love those things ! Sarge

I personally have or have had Wheel Horse, Cub Cadet, John Deere, Case, Massey Ferguson, Economy/Power King, Ford, and Sears. I fell like I'm missing one, but you get the point haha. I honestly enjoy all of them with the exception of the Massey Ferguson's....always had issues with those Tecumseh Engines and same goes for the sears tractors. At this point I stick to the tractor's that have the Kohler engines.......they almost never let me down with proper maintenance. I have a 1966 Cub Cadet 102 that was in my wife's family since new and I still mow the yard with it every week, but it has been well maintained. A case garden tractor with the hydraulic drive you almost can't beat. I've never come across a tougher GT and it runs and drives so smooth. I prefer the hydraulic drive over a hydrostatic any day. I own this book and it helps give an overview of all the brands: https://www.amazon.com/Garden-Tractors-Current-Tractor-Legacy/dp/0760331960 This magazine is a must if you like all brands of GT's: http://www.lagtmag.com/

I've done the same thing on several of the twin Briggs - those seats were the biggest issue by far . I have welded up one block and had it machined for new seats - not fun . For years I ran a Huskee with the 18hp Twin II and couldn't kill it , even with the larger two stage blower - those engines were pretty noisy but just would never fail , hard telling how many real hours were on it . I always wanted to find one of the elusive K-361 18hp single cylinder units - but finding one complete is joke these days and I suspect most parts are NLA as well . Sarge

You realize the Magnum ignition is self-powered? Do not accidently allow any battery voltage into the ignition wire. That will burn up the ignition coil. The ignition wire is simply grounded to shut the engine off. Not connected it should run and a good thing to do until you get it sorted out. The ignition switch M terminal and ignition safety switches are just controlling the grounding of the ignition wire. Garry

Did anyone else notice the irony? Ash tray mounted to the gas tank!

I use the bench grinder and a bucket of cooling water. Then dress and deburr with a 12" half round bastard file.

Well considering we were a dealer, I have my Dads personal tractor we used at at home. It is a 701 that we assembled right out of the crate after we pick it up in South Bend. I bought a new 314-8 in 94 and still have it. It's got s whole 350 hours on it and still looks like it came off the show room floor.