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We'll, I finally got around to tackling my 953 project. If you remember a member of my local tractor club approached me about some Wheel Horse tractors he needed to sell. I went to look at them and one was a CG8 and the other was a 953 that had a busted transmission and was in parts. I ended up with both for $175! Well, with the help of Buckrancher's machining skills (thanks a lot Brian!) I now have the trans back together. I worked on the original Kohler for a while and now it is running great. The wiring is trashed and I had to jump from the battery to the coil, but she is going good, drives, and works great in all gears. Next comes rewiring and getting the deck mounted. She ain't pretty, but she's mine! I'll probably break her back down and do a full repainted, but she's all original in her work clothes for now.

Dear Lord, Jay Paxton has an exploratory procedure scheduled tomorrow that needs your divine intercession. Please guide the surgeon's hands to be steady and effective to do the task at hand, and not create any further damage We pray against any infection or complications. Calm the heart of his family. Give Jay your peace so his body can heal under the best conditions. In the name of Jesus, bless him to be healthier after this procedure than before. Lord allow this temporary trial to bring this family closer to you and each other. When Jay is coming out of surgery, let the side effects be minimal. Work a miracle in this whole situation and bless it from beginning to end. Thank you Lord for your blessing on this family. We praise you as we know we are in good hands- the very hands of God. In Jesus name, we thank you for each day. Amen.

I'm bringing a good selection of items that are on my store including the new removable receiver hitches and headlight bezels and some stuff that is not listed yet like ------- Reproduction dual wheel spacers for 6 x 12 rims with new bolts Drag links and tie rod for 953/1054 Sickle mower parts -lift link,travel hook and bracket and skid shoe.

Thanks again evryone. Just left the hospital. All is good. No further surgery required.

Seat is on finally!

For anyone wondering what the inside of the original backrests looks like.... I've made a new plywood insert, transferred the T nuts, reapplied the factory foam and put it back together. My cover split on the backside under the metal bracket so I think we can sew the bottom back together and with some staples and duct tape, I can make it work. 99% of the cover damage will be hidden behind the back brace.

hi guys and gals im new to this forum and a new owner to a used 1970 wheelhorse electro 12 model # 1-7255 i paid 20$ for it off some guy knew nothing about it nor did i try and see if it ran. what caught my attention was the hydraulic deck lift and i wanted it!!! so i brought it home cleaned everything up to find out mickey mouse had a nest behind the gas tank and a few wires were chewed. i also noticed a few switches and a flasher relay in there. I think someone hacked it all up. and i dont think this tractor had any of them but i want to get rid of the useless garbage and re wire this whole thing the way its suppose to be. ive searched everywhere and cant find a wiring diagram anywhere!!! also maybe someone can tell me what these controls do? i know the big white switch is head lights and obviously the key is ignition and start and the big knob to the left is the choke but thats all i know. the little metal switch is an on/off switch to what i dont know and the one next to it is a 3 position switch in to i dont know. and the white in the top right has a flasher relay connected to it. If someone can tel me what belongs there and what doesnt i think it will make more sence. Like if there doesnt need to be a fuse in the circuit like the 69 charger diagram ive been seeing then ill re wire it accordingly. But then i see brake lights in a diagram its all a mess! I dont know what belongs and what doesnt im also missing misc. parts like the mule drive which i know, boogey wheels and im missing a cover that goes ontop of where the shifter would go if it was a 3-4 speed. can anyone tell me what the plate is called so i can try and find it on ebay? thanks for your help i will answer any questions oupload any pictures you want to help better your response by the way!!!! this has a foot throttle conversion before anyone says anything about the trottle missing. it does have the electric pto. and i know the fuse holder is broken.

Sunday i leave my home with my trailer in tow to buy a non running C series tractor, 42 inch deck & Plow for 700 dollars,its a 18 horse twin Kohler. i'm a NEWBIE on here but not to Garden tractors, i have a chance now to buy a 516H, which way should a 57 year old Horse nut go, i can only get 1 this week, be easy on ole Fred

I have one to add here . I picked up this # # four today on CL for a little more than scrap. It has a surprisingly good set of Town&Countrys and the front wheels which look to be the longer hubs for my Suburban. The former owner found a carpenters solution to mounting a different engine.

Would Andy Granatelli steer you wrong?

Since you are not using hardener in your paint you need to give it a few days to cure, put them on too soon and the paint may loose adhesion. Those days of delay are working in your favor!

If you have a cap on the outside you may not see it come out but in any case it's going to take the path of least resistance once the cavity is full. I've had it come out the inside, the outside and both and it's never been consistent. As long as you grease them regularly you'll be fine. I'm sorta in the middle of a test right now. On a non-worker I've always used sealed bearings so I didn't mess things up with grease. Last summer I got a great price on quality sealed bearings in bulk. My main mowing tractor needed them so I cleaned the cavity out and used them it that one. I'll see how long they last. I just got my 1976 "B-160" I purchased new back and I'm going to put them in that too. I only had a half acre in Florida but now I mow something over 2 acres so it will really be a test.

God is the best surgeon there is. Prayers sent, get well.

Hey Richard! Yup, Emory says she is his favorite horse so far. I'm sure that will change once I get one of his lawn rangers going though!

I'm uncomfortable pushing the absolute maximum with a vehicle nearing 150k miles even though I try to keep up with maintenance. For instance I proactively changed out all front brake lines but have not yet done that on rear. They may be fine but I don't want to break pushing maximums. From several sources the amounts for my vehicle runs from 7,700-8,700 So I feel this one allows me to haul several round hoods or what have you comfortably.

Here's the rest of the pics from the ad for WH2 BTW:

He will Ole Red..if he gets rid of that crusty tractor someone wants him to haul out out ther for him! Have fun fellas

Well, I bit the bullet and bought a dedicated horse hauler. I have not seen it mentioned in this thread so I'll tag my experience in on this for others to compare. I am planning on using U-POL Raptor. I'll post up pics of before and after but for now, just the trailer as noted in the WIMM "what's in my mirror" thread.

You kind of gave us half the information on both of them. Is the non running "C" an eight speed or hydro? Is the Kohler just not running or has it thrown a rod. I would bring some jumper cables and some starter fluid and expect to have good compression on both cylinders and perhaps an attempt to fire. Is the 516 H running? A non running Onan can be a money pit and if it won"t run you can't test the transmission. I would be hard pressed to pay more than $ 300 for a non running Hydro because you have no idea what the condition of the transmission is.

almost to stopping point lol

The best way to check out the transmission is to drive it around until warmed up then chain it to a tree and see if it will dig in in both directions. The fact that it has been setting for a while shouldn't have hurt it, looks like it was well cared for and stored inside. The fact that it hasn't had a loader on it is a plus in my book, lots of loader tractors are worked hard and will require more parts replacement.

Thank you for the prayer Richard. Jay

Unless you ABSOLUTELY have to have the FEL right now I would jump on #2 in a hurry! The Kohler engine is worth the $ 1500, you get the rest for free! You should be able to pick up a loader for around $ 1500 later on.

All issues fixed and operates great. My brother made the bracket and rod to hold the sickle bar in the upright position. Will get a video hopefully tomorrow.

Thanks for posting these backrest photos Red Ranger! Great details!

I don't even know who makes oil for STP. I know Napa sells 30W oil as Napa oil but it's made by the same company that makes Valvoline. (Ashland Oil) Personally I use Shell Rotella 30W when I can find it on sale. I stock up when I do. I do use STP Oil treatment cut with a little Lucas Oil supplement and a little gear oil in my Power King transmission.

Heres the back side of my key switch

See you at the Big Show!

Here is the upgrade that I made to my "Wheel Horse Wrench"... The top is the section that kept getting torqued outwards. So I figured that would be the best place to weld this piece on especially considering that my more beefier wrenches this size had extra support in that area.

The one zerk takes care of both sides.

Will Do!!

g_west - ill get it after work today. whats breaerless magneto ignition? i know it has points on the front of the engine and i get spark up to the coil but not to the plug. i dont know if that helped any. ed kendel- thanks. ive been debating on goig by that circuit 953 nut - your not being harsh , 100% agree with you, its all hacked and mickey mouse was in there!!! i forgot to mention i cant go by that diagram because theres no starter solenoid on my machine Is this the correct layout for my dash by the way if so... looks like i have a few things to move and throw away.

Welcome to the forum. The 1970 Electro 12 originally had breakerless magneto ignition and it appears your engine has been replaced with one using battery ignition so we need to do some searching for an appropriate wiring diagram. See if you can find the identification letters on the back of the ignition switch for each terminal. The Kohler spec number on the engine would also help to determine what charging system you have.

She has a great look about her, I wouldn't change a thing but that's just me. Nice looking Horse

Thanks for all the advice, my son was hoping the plow would bolt up to his 310-8, guess we may find out, have a good weekend 953, thanks

Here is the '69. Could be the same as a '70.

I'm in Minnesota and there's a sale thread around here someplace for my tractor. About the ones you're looking at: Another option to check transmission and hydraulics is to try and push your truck or a retaining wall. Just something that won't move easily. Theres lots of little things to check on these tractors. Look at the bottom of the rear end casing. The bolts in the differential that shear and break out the bottom of the case. Steering, just google Ross steering box and you'll find more then you ever wanted to know. There is also a bell crank (under engine) that likes to wear. Check the coupler from engine to hydraulic pump for wear and wobble. There are splines on the pump that cannot be repaired without much effort. Then there is the obvious looking for leaks and clear signs of abuse or neglect. I'm sure there is more but that's all I can think of right now.

not for sure, but I do believe they will, the difference is in the motor, single kohler, onan and possibly twin kohler, each one is different. the top mount on the belt guard is the diffence eric j

If the flywheel is in fact in the correct orientation to the cam and the motor ran well telling you all is well internally you sort of have to go with the mark To double check the mark you could bring the piston to TDC and see if the "T" mark is in the site hole. .As long as the points open at the "S" mark and it is repeatable while rotating in the correct direction it should be good. I have never had one be higher than .022 or lower than .017, but that is just my experience.

Looking good. You have a paint booth just like mine.

For a big tractor I always found them to be a bit tight. I'm 6'1" and with the seat moved as far back as possible it was bearable. I couldn't sit and mow on my 1054 for as long as I could on one of my C series or 300 series machines. Mike....

To me, mine is priceless!

I might finish one, one day. My wife seems to think I am Bob Villa or something. Home improvement is driving me crazy. I need to be around gasoline, not thinset & grout.

How do you like the previous owner's hub cover?? Don't think I would have thought of that!!

The .401 shank air bits are designed for work in the aircraft industry and are very high quality tempered steel , built to do the job through thousands of parts - and have a price tag to match . They also have some really cool riveting setter tools that have quite a scary price tag - but well worth the money . Search around the aircraft hobby sites - they have resources to buy those bits and retainers/backers and there are only about 5 sizes of pins on these tractors - might be worth the money instead of hacking up shafts and valuable steering wheels that are NLA.... Sarge

got the rims sanded and primered and one side painted. rustoliums gloss white this is a quick repaint. just to freshen it up. dads wearing a mask and helping out with a drill and the black wheel. hes on blood thinner (due to blood clot) so i wont let him near wire wheel

First of all please don't take any offense at any of my questions. Did you clean the crank oil passages? Blow them out with compressed air? Did you use some type of assembly grease when you put the engine back together? Did you fill the oil filter with oil prior to installing it? Did you pack or prime the oil pump? Its probably uncommon but not all together impossible that your pump didn't do its job. Sometimes a pump doesn't get a prime and simply doesn't pump or gets a late prime and the result is rods and mains starving for oil. I doubt that the crank has been hurt but it may have some aluminum attached to it. This can be remove by using sodium hydroxide on it and polishing it. I just finished cleaning up the rod journal on my B43 with the help of oven cleaner and a length of mule string. Now, I've seen this happen with small engines just the same as I've seen it happen with Cadillac engines. Some engines its better to follow a factory approved method to prime the pump. What I would do is install a pressure gauge to see if you do have pressure. Once that is figured out take the engine down. Use plastigauge to check the rod bearing clearance. Inspect the rods for damage. I would assume the crank journals are slightly undersized. Inspect the rest of the engine and from there your choice is going to be replace the crank or replace the rods with another set that will allow you to have the rod clearance within factory specs. You may be able to have the journals turned and obtain undersized rods to mate with a .010 under crank.

Well I've alway's wanted the post hole auger for the GT14.