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I bought another project tractor about a month ago and I made a new flag to make it easier to swap out my snow blower from my other tractor. Not because it is hard to do but just for something to do.

I would also run Seafoam through the gas as well...

If ethanol blended fuel was ever used in that tractor it is highly likely the fuel lines have rotted internally and deposited small particles in the carb and may have plugged up the check valves in the fuel pump - that is really common, the stuff is evil. Not only use ethanol-free fuel, but replace every inch of fuel line, clean/inspect the pump if it's possible and rebuild the carb along with a deep cleaning. Might want to do the spark plug as mentioned too - ethanol will damage them over time. Welcome aboard...btw. Sarge

When draining the transaxle it is important to jack up the front of your to get complete draining. Also, a new rubber boot on the shifter is a good idea. Ethanol free gas should be used to protect the fuel system from damage. As suggested above, Seafoam will do a good job of cleaning the fuel system. https://www.pure-gas.org/

I have no problem painting the wheels on a patina tractor. Whatever you decide it will look fine.

Note: When you clean a starter shaft (that goes out to engage the gear-flywheel, then retracts), WD-40 is great for cleaning it to dissolve the oil, grease & crud, BUT, WD-40 is not a lubricate, it will not stay on the shaft and does not protect it, actually leaving it unprotected. Always use a heavy grease (I like to use white lithium grease, but there are probably are even better lubricates). That starter shaft is exposed and in a very dirty environment and must be cleaned at least annually, then lubricated, otherwise it will continue to stick and wear more and more often.

At that point I'd just start over with a new piece of metal, lol...hard telling why previous do what they do but it does make you scratch your head at times. I honestly believe that to own tools you need an exam and a proper license . Sarge

If you had one of these type of blades. I got this with the 520h and the guy said he used it to plow snow. So I did connect it to the front and it worked like a champ.i even posted it here to see if anyone ever seen this type setup. but I sold the 520h and kept this very heavy blade. But the one thing that you would have to overcome is the lift for both on the cylinder. You would have to put a winch on front for the blade and use the tractor cylinder to lift the tiller. To bad your so far away or I'd sell it to ya

I don't listen to music while working. Call me crazy but I find it annoying.

Based on the serial number sequence it would be a 1963 model 753. Your tractor would have left the factory with a Kohler K 161S spec # 28626E and a rating of seven horse power.

Virus-free. www.avast.com

64's are my favorite model of the lawn ranger...and for sure it's priced right..IMO.

Are you saying this extra pair of 1" five holes I have are like hen's teeth Steve? I may be able to part with the set pending an upcoming build I have.

Many thanks to you all for the help and information. The specification of my motor is as suggested above so now I know what I need. I have just had a delivery of parts from A-Z Tractors so I guess there may need to be another as parts over here are in very short supply. The killer is the shipping costs which are very high but we have to keep these great machines running! I have been mowing with mine for 29 years so I guess a little investment is fair enough. All the best from the UK

You can also hover your mouse over the "Browse" tab at the top left of the page, you'll see a link to the calendar in the list that appears there.

I thought I would try to make a tiller idler using an old deck hitch as a starting point. I used a little piece of 3/4" pipe to couple on a cut down 3/4" bolt. I think I used schedule 80 pipe but use whatever is basically a press fit. I then drilled and installed spring pins for added security. A 'V' pulley from a deck mule drive goes on the bolt. Two spacers are also made from pieces of 3/4 pipe but drilled or filed out until they are a slip fit. One has also been pinned into place. I added teflon washers for smooth operation but this is optional. This is the finished product. Here are the plans I drew up. Tiller idler plans 1.pdf Tiller idler plans 2.pdf I used a hydraulic press and 'V' block to bend the flat bar but I imagine you could heat and bend it in a vise as well. Cleat

You are good. The ball wasn't under the shift fork though it was in the oil. I'm thinking that whoever assembled this last tried to do it upside down with the wider case half on the bottom. When they put the other case on, the shift fork came out and so did one of the balls, but they slapped it together anyway. I will measure the overall axle width soon.

Thanks guys, Left him a message. Bout an hr drive for me. I'm going to go look like you've said can't hurt.

The Wheel Horse factory never used silicone or gasket sealer and neither do I. Really no need if you get everything clean. Yes you can pop out the seals and tap the new ones back in...I use a tool for pulling carter pins. The seals should be flush with the outside of the casting. As far as axle length, I am thinking that the Commando might have had the longest 1" axles that Wheel Horse used. Your axles are 1"...how long is your axle?

I am working on a couple decals for a customer who is re-powering a 62 lawn ranger with a HF predator 6.5 to make it look a bit more Wheel Horse. Can someone tell me the dimensions of the two factory decals on this engine? Thanks

You could do a winch to raise the tiller. Mounting the plow forward 3-6” should be ok. Might need to weld a new lift point onto plow. Personally I’d get another horse.

@Tankman I tried that once but she grabbed the stick and chased me around the yard giving me a wack ever step I took.

You might try this.......

@giddyap I think it's looking great so far. Looking forward to seeing the finished product!! Here's a pic of my Rat Rod to help keep you motivated.

Apple trees from an orchard are going to yield relatively short logs and probably not more than 12" in diameter. When you cut the trees and look at the top and bottom of log you can first determine if it has heart rot which is very common . If it doesn't it will probably have some decent board material in it. I would right away paint the ends on them with a couple of coats of any paint you have laying around to prevent checking enamel paint preferably.I use paraffin but not everyone has that around. It should then be milled as soon as possible. 6/4 or 8/4 would be ideal for initial drying. There is going to be a lot of waste since apple will warp and twist like no other. Even if it has heart rot it will have great pieces that can be used to turn small items such as furniture knobs and small bowls. Since logs will be short and not too thick it can be milled with a re saw band saw if available.One would have to devise a cradle to mill the round log.I use a vintage Makita with a 3" blade.

Many of us myself included like to listen to music in our shops. I am curious as to what kind of gear everyone uses. Starting it off, since I have been an audio buff all of my life and I don't get rid of anything, so I use some of my accumulated components from past years. I am a big fan of analogue audio so my systems always reflect that. I use two vintage receivers, a Mcintosh 1900 and a tube HH Scott 340B. For speakers I use a pair of Dynaco's A25 which I switch back and forth between the two receivers. Since I am a big fan of vinyl I use again vintage turntables. A manual Pioneer PL71 and a full automatic Dual 1229Q. All my equipment is fully restored and updated. I also use a dedicated IPad to listen to downloaded music and a inexpensive small CD player. All can be switched at will between the two receivers. Everything is fit into one cabinet with intake and exhaust fans for ventilation. The Scott can actually be used as a room heater so it has its own supplementary ventilation.

Well, I've got my 857 running, cleaned up, and clearcoated. Got a few flow indicators on the seat pan because the air temp was in the mid 60's, but I wanted it to look old anyway. About half of it has had one old repaint and the rest was original paint. I wire wheeled down the wheels and scuffed them with 220. Now I don't know if I want to clear coat them or paint them white. Looking for ideas. One rear rim looked great, sadly the weather has worked in the others. Let me know what you think.

Thanks Steve. It seems most patina tractors have their wheels painted. I just wonder if since the rest of the tractor is imperfect paint, should the wheels reflect age and a certain amount of imperfections. But, you've got to admit fresh wheels look really sharp!

Yes! I have. They are a good resource for parts. Ships fast.

Maybe you could tell us exactly what engine. Revisit that .090" valve clearance, did you mean .009?

I'll do it myself

Nice job.Looks better than original equipment.

Wood hauler needs a paint job. Maybe Earl can help?

All right...am I good or what!!!

yes it definitely was a governor problem. it had a plastic fly ball spacer which loosened up on the shaft so it was allowed to spin. got it fixed with the help of boomer. thanks for all the great replies and info mgk

@Noirtier I have had to flush the rear end multiple times to get it really clean, so keep that in mind. Sounds like you may need to do a complete carb rebuild (which isn't too hard or expensive). You should replace all the fuel line to eliminate that as a possible problem.

HAHAHAHAHA !!!! Almost spit out my coffee..... She's awesome about being out doing More than her share of snow moving. ..... and don't like carrots much. And there is NO WAY I can outrun her!

It won't be a 4x4. It is going to get some kind of front suspension, but I'm keeping the front axle because I think it looks cool and has a unique shape. It's getting a newer Kohler OHV 196cc motor from a log splitter. Looks just like a Predator or Honda.

With all the rain we have been having the snow crew needs to be augmented by an amphibious

Right Richard, but he needs to verify the numbers before he can pursue that. I'm guessing that he has Kohler K 181 S spec # 30461D...if that is true, looks like 2 starters might work. The number should be on the starter. It is kind of fun to go through this manual and try to figure out what you really have.

I'll second that - getting much usable wood out of an apple tree is a true labor of love. I had worked with some of it years ago when I was at the cabinet shop - we made a few small jewelry boxes out of it and I had to do all the finishing work. Customers wanted all this dark stain - I finally got a sample done with a lightly tinted clear, they decided that was far better. Such a nice aroma when working the stuff in the shop and once it settled down I missed it . The stuff takes finish in an odd way as well - ended up using a sealer/base tint and a clear urethane coating to keep it sealed tight since one of the first smaller ones warped it's lid badly . Most of the issue is drying - ours came from a custom cutting shop I suspect was close to what @formariz has pictured. Hats off to anyone trying to use this material - it's beautiful and very unique, worth the effort in my opinion and I love it's natural colors and those defects. I got out of that shop in the early 90's , miss it every day but life goes on in other directions. I didn't care for much of the work we did but other stuff was truly art work - most times just people with too much money and no taste in overly expensive homes that had zero character to them. Many of the houses we worked on were well into the millions in cost, shame they weren't done properly but it is what is and we had to cater to the customer's wishes. One job was all solid cherry - they wanted it all stained nearly black, why people do that to something with a natural character I'll never understand....who knows but they spent hundreds of thousands on it and we could have made the same look with scrap pine...lol. Sarge

What do you think... how's it look?

Pure awesomeness! or

Great! American and proud!

Sweet. Spreads the word. Glenn

Just like to thank you all for your valuable input on this topic, a lot of information on a subject i know nothing about but don't fell so bad about tackling the fault and hope i can fix it whatever it turns out to be

@cpete1 just remember, anyone can have A reputation, but a good reputation is priceless. As for templates, I destroy most of my cardboard during the process of making what it is I have a template of. they get grease, silicone or spray on them and then they are worthless. I usually burn them in the trash. If I need another, I just take the part off and retrace it. For the dash, I just used the original plate. I cut a groove with a cut off wheel to match the original(got it straight the first time) and then cleaned it up. @953 nutThe chrome decal looks nice. I might trace out the holes and send Terry a template to make a decal for it. I have to get some engine decals made anyways. I appreciate the comments guys.

No... sounds like a great price.

So yes, the newer head was a dead ringer for the older head! She is all back together now and seems to be running great. I wasn’t a fan of the chrome stack on a “patina” machine so before I fired it up it got a light sanding and a few coats of hi-temp black paint....much better !