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Get an old hub and some nuts and bolts and make your own. Here is the one I made:

I keep a sleeve hitch on my C-161 all the time for my larger implements but frequently need to move trailers and carts with it. I've always wanted an easy way to do that and thought Lowell's (Wheelhorseman1000) adapter would work well. Then I thought two of them welded back to back would be slick, very strong, and flexible. I ordered two of them and he welded them before he shipped the order. When I received it I drilled out one of the center holes to 3/4" to receive a trailer ball, did a little prep work, and then painted it. To pull a cart I just turn it over. It could have been done less expensively but I thought this was clean and strong. I think Lowell and my wife think I'm crazy but I took care of my own Father's Day present so my wife was ok with it.

And for the really belligerent hub, I add a helper bar.

It was a joke! Hence the "pulling your chain" smilie!---->after the comment. Do you not get that? Sorry! maybe it doesn't show up on a phone or something???? At least you didn't write "blew a tranny on my tractor" or this could've went off the rails real quick. I'll try and refrain from any more jokes in the future! Thanks Steve!

Just confirmed reservations and am preparing for the show. B.S. sessions on the front bench won't be the same without the stevasarus though.

I would put my money on the idler pulley as it quiets down with the clutch depressed.

I feel the same way about political BS, but if you ever get to meet @wallfish (John)...you will know he just means to have some fun.

I went into the "Manuals" section...clicked the era where 1986 would be and typed 417-8. Here is the TIPL and it shows the transmission #11095 8 speed transmission. As far as your noise, it sounds like an axle bearing. I would check the input shaft pulley, the idler pulley and wood ruff keys first...before I dropped the trans and opened it up. If those things are OK...you will need to drop and open the transmission. Here is the manual link to the process...you will want "Section V". 492-4004.pdf If you go to the "Reference Section" (Transmissions) on the main page...my #5060 thread will be helpful with your transmission. The differentials are different, but the main part of the trans is the same as yours. What were you trying to search that you had bad results?? Pull off the wheels or hubs and check the up & down and side to side play of the axles. almost any play at all is the sign of a bad outer axle bearing.

It was gear drive and made in Germany You can avoid your boredom by trying to find parts.

It was an option so the dealers probably just swapped them as needed.

I recently finished restoring my Speedex S-14 and took it to the mini WheelHorse show in Danbury, CT last week. I learned that several of the Speedex engineers came from Wheel Horse. I made a video which can be seen at https://youtu.be/d6qdxDnTCr0 . I did not get the original engine with mine and would very much like to know the Model, Type and Code numbers off your engine. I also notice that our seats are different. I have a hood retainer on top the engine that I do not see on yours and do not have a lever sticking out the top of the hood which turns and latches the hood.

If you do a lot of this stuff - consider getting an electric impact , they are far stronger than you'd expect and will rip those nuts off easily . Best solution for those without a decent compressor and you can find them at times on CL or one of the auction sites . Some of the newer cordless impact tools are also quite capable - my little 1/4" hex drive Bosch will knock 120ft/lbs of force onto a nut - have removed the lug nuts off the old Cruiser with it several times and use a torque wrench to put them back on properly . I have a full compressor setup here as well as a 650ft/lb 1/2" drive impact here - stuff will come loose or break one way or another . Sarge

We my dad wanted a pulling tractor so I gave him a C-85 I had with a bad rod. He rebuilt the engine with all nos kohler parts. It got completely stripped down and gone through all sanded and completely panted. All new tires and another pulling hitch from tom. Here are some pics of before and what it's up to now. Still not completed yet.

The problem with pulling D series hubs (and GT14s) is the body of the hub is long and the flange is not much thicker than a regular hub. if they are really stuck you have to pull them from the back of the hub not on the flange or you may break the flange. this setup worked on my D and she fought all the way off. It bent the heavy wall square tubing I used a part of the puller but the hubs came off in one piece... finally.

Hose raceways welded in the tool box. Made the patch for the fender and got it tacked in place. Still more metal pecking to do.

I'd have to say the idler pulley would be my first thought too. Hopefully that will be your problem but if it's not it should still be an easy fix. There's another list in the manuals section that goes into 2000 but that's really not critical here. The Unidrive transmission differences were insignificant through those years. Keep in mind that Steve isn't referring to in and out play. Side to side has been confused in the past. A little in/out play, 1/8" or so max, isn't an issue.

After my SECOND hub breaking with a giant 3 jaw -- I figured that more than 3 points of pull was needed so I built a 5 and a 6 pull point. I havent broke another hub and have successfully pulled several ... but I had a big D-180 make me holler UNCLE! on both hubs no matter how I went at them --- manohman, hubs and steering wheels! whew!!

The 3 jaw puller is a 10 ton set up from amazon. ~ $100

I been wondering. i see alot of old round hoods with ags. but some with turfs. was it customer preference or did Wheel horse just throw turfs on so many and ags on rest.

Presuming the axles are the original type they will have a roll pin driven through them rather than a "C" Clip. I have had good results using "Form-A-Gasket".

Found them. Glad you brought it up or it could've been forgotten I think you should send us one of you to use! Wanna start now?

Their maybe a adjustment that i'm not thinking of but the first thing i would try is getting a good set of deck wheels sense this is what the deck rides on if their not right the cut will be off.

My spray rig

ohhh i'm sorry the political world gets me frustrated sometimes so not sure how to take it sometimes

This brochure shows them as an option

Here's a pic of Dubay's sign and a couple shots of their bone yard

Going to miss you this year @stevasaurus ... I've been having some bad juju following me around lately too . Hope your recovery goes well . I could just make a permanent seat at the bus stop ! We're staying at the Holiday Inn express in Shippensburg so I can be what ever I want when wake in the morning . Ship me some wine Steve and I can try to fill your shoes (without socks of course) and play the part of the old Dino .

"ok more tranny questions" In these days of political correctness, you might want to be careful how you word things.

I gotta find'em first, it's been a while. Without a doubt, that had to be a tough decision, it's obvious how much you enjoy being there. Your first year was mine too so I don't know what it's like without you being there. The huge smile on your face when you won the tractor raffle is still one of my favorite memories of all the shows.

I made a hub puller and it is my intention to produce a number of them to sell. I wish that I could say when they will be produced, but too many other things keep getting in the way. I wanted to have them ready for the show, but that may not happen. Now back to installing the mower deck I welded yesterday (see what I mean?).

I spent most of the day doing yard work but still had time to figure out the hose routing through the shifter tunnel. The connections are not the correct ports just worst case.

@857 horse I don't know what a portable mono pole would cost, but I'm guessing that the club doesn't have money in the budget for something like that. @SPINJIM I am setting up in a building this year to sell a bunch of stuff, and I'm on my own with no help. So the ability to leave a cell phone number is almost essential if I want to do anything other than be with my stuff all the time.

Garry

This looks so stock,,,,I missed what I was looking at,,,, This is a pure case of common scence taking over or reemerging,,,,,"sorry digital age" Sometimes the best shows up when we put our head to the grind stone,,,But not to close !!!!!!!!

Early in the week something went POP !! in my knee, so I've been hobbling around like an" Old Man"... by the way I am one. That 312 Hydro really made it easy on me mowing the lawn this week.

If you have that trans on the bench like that...why take a chance. Open it up clean it out, check your bearings and replace the seals and gasket. The hard part is already done, and if you are not lucky, you will be right back to where you are.

Awesome way to get time in with the kids! Love that rj too!

Kind of corny , but it does work !

I wish that stinkin' list had a different name. :angry-tappingfoot:

I had some stubborn hubs on my B-100. Here is a hub puller that I made. It is made from a 1" hub, a 1" bolt and nut, five 3/8-16 all-thread bolts, 10 nuts, 5 lock washers, and 10 flat washers. It took over one hour of 1/4 turn on each nut, over and over again. Lots of PB Blaster, a Mapp gas torch, and a big hammer to hit the 1" bolt every now and again. Bob

Mowed the yard today I love it.

Ol' school stuff! Just so neat!

I wouldnt mind having a set of the 6-12 turfs for my suburban . I did see an ebay ad for those and they were 120 apiece along with the town and countrys.

I believe the HC is a commercial model of the H.

We all know that using a Battery Ignition switch on a Mag can create expensive magic smoke. The reverse is interesting and less destructive. the 1075 I am working on would start albeit hesitantly. After cranking it a couple times it would fire up and run when you released the key. Initial just figured being 52 years old it needed a tune up/carb cleaning. Turns out some PO had installed heavy duty Magneto ignition switch. Wired the coil to the Acc terminal which is only hot in Run. After you got it spinning and released the key then the Acc terminal would feed juice to the coil and she would run.

Awesome song, always liked this one.

I would think that you would just replace the idiot light switch by the oil filter with the gauge sending unit or just hook up there if using a mechanical gauge. Tach hooks up the same, I have a 16 HP engine in one of my 520's and the tach works fine.

Since the late 1960s or so, the Wheel Horse design has been fairly standardized, with incremental engineering improvements and increasingly larger engines. Find one in the condition you want, at a price you want, that will do the work you want it to. It is really that simple! The other major GT manufacturers went through some significant engineering and design changes in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Wheel Horse didn't; they stayed true to a simple, well-thought-out design that lasted in production over 30 years! Here's what I've learned since I started researching to buy a good used garden tractor, in particular Wheel Horse. Some of it I learned from experience and general research, a lot I learned here by reading posts and manuals on Red Square. Most people don't want to mess with ignition points on a everyday working machine, you might want to stick with models that have solid-state ignition. You can't go wrong with the "long frame" models. They're the "C" series, (mind is slipping on the earlier named series...) and the larger numbered series like the 4xx series. The 520H/520-8 are sort of "special" maxxed-out builds of the long frame. You can run a single-stage snowthrower just fine with a 10HP engine. (I remember clearing the snow left by the Great Lakes region's blizzard of '77 with a 10HP John Deere 112!) 16HP engines and above should be able to run the big 2-stage snowthrower. The bigger the engine, the faster you can chew away at snowbanks. Mowing probably puts the heaviest constant load on the engine, which affects the size of the deck you can run. Know that the big 60" deck is hard on frames and engines. Personally, I'd avoid it or a machine that's had to run a 60" deck most of its life. Stick to the 48" deck and smaller ones. Maneuverability with a 48" deck isn't hard, but gate widths and gaps between trees and structures can be an issue in some lawns, so the 42" and smaller mowers are popular. Depends on your needs. Stick with the 42" and smaller decks for lower-horsepower engines, especially if your lawn tends to get thick or go too long between mowings -- it won't bog down your engine badly, while a 48" deck probably will. On the other hand, an 18 or 20 horsepower engine will probably power through anything with a 48" deck. Most other attachments are largely interchangeable because of the standardized design that Wheel Horse kept. Most of the time, differences come down to some specifically-sized attachment links that fit ranges of years, or the issue with the snow/dozer blade frame length and the later 520H forward-swept axle. I learned a lot from the manuals section here on Red Square. Even 8HP engines can run ground-engaging equipment like plows, disks and tillers. It's the strength of the rear axle and frame that matters, something any Wheel Horse has in spades. As engine horsepower and torque goes up, stress on the rear frame-to-transaxle mounting goes up. Look for cracks there on tractors that have done a lot of plow work. It can be repaired with welding, and prevented with an additional backing plate. The 520H is known to have the plate put in from the factory. Manual vs hydrostatic transmissions is a personal thing. Both are very strong in the Wheel Horse lines. It seems to me that Wheel Horse's hydro drives have always been among the most robust on the market for whatever year of manufacture you choose. The Sunstrand and Eaton hydro units are very tough. Just keep the hydro unit's cooling fins clear of mud and grass, and make sure that fan is in good condition. Loose hydro motion control levers or "creep" forward or backward when it should be in neutral are commonly caused by a worn-out or out-of adjustment cam and friction bolt on top of the hydro unit (Very easy to get to from under the seat) or, more rarely, wear or damage in the linkage to the motion lever. (Easy to get to by removing the access cover(s) on the center hump.) In short, if you want a hydro and it pulls just fine but the motion lever action is janky, don't count it out. It probably just needs a little attention to detail that you can do yourself. Good maintenance is critical on any machine, regardless of hours on the engine. If you need to get the tractor to work right away, find one that you're confident has had proper maintenance. Service records, the more complete the better, are golden. Even then, go over it carefully and put fresh grease in all the fittings and change the oil just for peace of mind. If you don't mind spending some time and doing a bit of repair or rebuilding, by all means go for one that's priced lower and needs more work to put right. "Sweat equity" is rewarding, and Wheel Horse's design makes these machines remarkably straightforward, if not downright enjoyable, to work on! Here's how my search worked out -- I started looking for a tractor to handle mowing about an acre or so, run a snowthrower to clear a 50-foot driveway in northern New England snowstorms, and possibly plow or run a tiller for a small garden. Those needs steered me toward 16HP and above machines really, so C-160s and later models were what I was looking for. I was prepared to pay the price of a new lawn tractor -- around $2000 or so -- for a used machine in good condition, with attachments, or less if the tractor only had a mower deck and I had to go hunting down at least a snowthrower. I started out just cruising Craigslist classifieds and auction listings to get an idea of the going prices for various conditions, learning all I could for the day when I would have the cash in hand to make a deal. Time passed, and I had to move to a different house that was more suitable to my wife's medical-related needs (single level, no stairs) which also had a smaller yard and driveway. That should have eased my search to one for a smaller tractor, but I've got numerous landscaping projects that call for a bigger machine, so my search qualifications never really changed. In a stroke of luck, I had the perfect timing to find a Craigslist classified for a 520H and attachments in my price range. It's a big machine for my yard and driveway, but it has no problem getting in and out of tight spots even with a 48" mower deck. The 520H is the "ultimate" development of the classic Wheel Horse design, and I consider myself very lucky to have found one; I'd have been quite happy with anything from a C160 on up. My 520H had spent it's prior life doing lots of honest work around a 1 1/2" acre plot of lawn and land with horses, mowing, hauling and clearing snow on a couple of long driveways. It's not cosmetically perfect -- the paint is faded and decals are tired. I did have to clean up a mess of mud and spilled oil under the fender pan from attempts at filling the hydro unit too quickly, which also involved dealing with rust-frozen bolts holding the fenders down because they'd been packed in mud. Mud and salt have damaged the footboards because muck got under the plastic treads. (No other rust issues, though.) I'm still tracking down a fuel gauge issue and the taillight bulb holders are corroded, but those are all minor things that I'll fix over time; the tractor was maintained well an came to me ready-to-work. If I have any complaints, it's that the shop that did service on it didn't clean out under the fender pan when they had it. That should have been just part of doing a job right, and would have stopped the buildup of mud that rusted the bolts holding the seat and fenders down. But, that particular shop has developed a bad reputation for not paying attention to detail, so I wasn't completely surprised. They also didn't check and adjust the hydro cam friction bolt, something that takes five minutes or less to do. So I've gone through the machine carefully anyway, cleaning and making adjustments that the shop missed. I expect things like that on a used machine, though. And I bought it as a worker, not a show machine. Shiny and cosmetically near-perfect costs more. My main concern was good mechanical condition and no significant rust -- I didn't want to have to start off with a rebuild and/or repaint project.