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"Fireball 8 " is all assembled waiting to be dropped into HHHOOOWWWAAARRRDDD!!! Just waiting for some warmer weather so I can get the hose and power washer out so I can degrease the carcass.

I got Power of You (Employee of the Month) at work for this month. That was cool.

I have always wanted a Lawn Ranger and thanks to Handy Don and Pullstart I now have a Lawn Ranger. I think this will eventually get a full restoration, but in the mean time changing the muffler out to the spin on type to get the exhaust out from under the hood. Changing the oil and transmission oil. Cleaning an d rebuilding the carb. Installing new used tie rod ends (you just gotta love going down a hill and the tie rod ends pop off) new fuel line and filter, and install a battery and new wiring. This little tractor has been well taken care of over the years, she just needs to be cleaned up and loved on and then put to work.

It is likely that your shaft coupler idea will work. Once everything is lined up properly I would suggest drilling shallow holes that go into the shaft to allow the set screws to have a good seat.

Glad to be a new member! To repower or to buy new, that was the question. The ole Kohler was worked on once and lasted a while before it would now have to go into a whole “total rebuild” It was hard to find any local dealers that wanted to do the work on a 39-year-old engine, and being that old, they basically suggested that I just go buy a Home Depot / Lowe’s model economy series and call it a day. WOW! Out of curiosity, I did visit several authorized dealers of some top brands and in all honesty, I could not find a unit that I really liked. They were all “lawn tractors” as to where the Wheel Horse is first a “tractor” then by adding the deck it becomes a machine that can mow the lawn. The only models that seemed to be built like the Wheel Horse were on the 7k-10k price range. They just don't build them like they used to. Not to mention, some had plastic transmissions; no, no, no! So, I made the decision to repower. Yes, it is an investment, but that tractor has been good to me for 39 years and I just could not be comfortable seeing the whole Horse go out to pasture. I contacted Repower Specialists and they set me up with their Honda GX630 kit for replacing the Kohler M12. The install was not too bad, but I did run into a few minor hiccups with wiring (which they sent me a custom harness) and some PTO bracket clearance issues with the muffler. I found fixes for all. With that said, I wanted to document the install of the repowering of my 1987 Wheel Horse 312-8 tractor (bought new in the fall of 1986) with the new Honda GX630 engine kit. I saw a lot of videos out there for engine replacements, however none were going to use the PTO and therefore they were dropping in all sorts of engines for mud bogging and such. Even though this is a 312-8, I believe the install process, and some issues I encountered, along with the fixes, may apply to other Wheel Horse models. I hope this video helps if you decide to repower. Link: https://youtu.be/KPl3smQl9cg

All that work and you didn't even "disturb the grease!"

My wife worked for a College and there was a home-coming event being planned. The alumni list was not in the electronic data base and they didn't want to create a new entry so my wife had her student assistants type the addresses on individual envelopes. She had to show each one how to insert an envelope into a typewriter, none of them had ever used one before, they had just seen them in "old movies."

I was writing a paper check this afternoon at the robotics meeting at the high school. Had to explain to one of the students what I was doing..

After seeing some other threads on here about Mighty Mac chipper shredders, attached to WH tractors, I decided to keep watch for one at a decent price. I ended up finding this one on marketplace and negotiated the price down to $100 - knowing it was non-running ($45 cheaper than the replacement screen I had to order ) . Since my plan was to convert it to a WH attachment, the "non-running" part didn't bother me. After a few messages back and forth with @ebinmaine, and looking at his previous threads on the topic, I decided to pull the trigger! Here's a video of my progress, so far.

Looks like a solid candidate for restoration! If that Tecchy gives any trouble, a K181 Kohler will fit nicely.

This year I ain’t talking to any of ya’ll…

The seat is worth the price of admission and dealer tag is old skool cool ...

These transmissions have a "hump" in the middle of the bottom. They won't completely drain unless you lift the front of the tractor up as high as you safety can. Many of us like to flush the transmission on new to me horses with diesel or kerosene. I usually do two flushes. you've already did one. sometimes I put 2 quarts of diesel in and drive it on the gravel or paved road. Don't drive in the grass as the seals may leak with this thin fluid. Sometimes I just put it on jack stands and run it in each gear for about 10 minutes . Then, as Racinbob said, just fill with the recommended amount, forget the fill hole level measurement. As you've mentioned, get a new shifter boot. While it's jacked up to drain, grease the front end since it has no weight on it.

Hello Everyone, The information here has been invaluable as far as getting this old wheel horse I purchased back in service. Some parts home made, the motor generator is ripped off a 2013 Yamaha, some salvaged parts. I bought this little bastard some months ago, it had to be dug out of the previous owners yard and lifted with a backhoe. It had not ran in about 40 years. Thanks for taking a look.

National Report IRS Tax Fraud Day is observed on April 10 every year. This day was founded by attorney Joel Hesch, who served as a Whistleblower Reward Officer for the Department of Justice for 16 years. This day was established to raise awareness about the I.R.S. Whistleblower Incentive Program and other such rewards. Later on, Mr. Hesch started an independent law firm to assist whistleblowers to claim prizes under various government reward schemes, like the I.R.S. Tax Fraud Reward Programs. Congress approved the Revenue Act of 1862 to generate funds for the American Civil War and to start the Bureau of Internal Revenue. The Sixteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was sanctioned in 1913, which enabled Congress to levy an income tax, regardless of the source. The Bureau of Internal Revenue was also created shortly. The Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) was established in 1953, and has undergone several modifications and reforms ever since. For the benefit of the federal government, the I.R.S. is in charge of collecting most of the revenue. In 2021, it processed more than 261 million tax returns and collected more than 4.1 trillion dollars in gross taxes. In 1867, a reward program was established to enable the I.R.S. to reward people who reported tax fraud.

That's a good idea. I'm going to wear one that says @ebinmaine

Sometime in the next week or so I’ll be helping an 80 year old transition to a decent smartphone. I plan to teach her how to use voice commands for everything she’ll need to do with the phone--making calls, getting the weather, sending texts, making calendar appointments, adding contacts, and even launching the camera or photos apps. Facial recognition for login. One tap to answer a call and one button to end it.

Steering block was solid with no cracks. Closer inspection showed the cotter pin almost completely worn thru (what was left of it is circled in red). Pictures 2 & 3 show how much front to back slop the lower steering shaft had. Added one thick and one thin shim and a new cotter pin and she’s good as new!

@Handy Don & @SylvanLakeWH Thanks for the input. The bolts are 1/2 inch grade 5 and there is metal angle iron on the underside of the 2x8. Next step is to bolt on 9 foot 2x12 cross members at each end and just behind the crane if needed. When in use on the dock helpers can stand on the 2x12 to add any needed counter weight.

I'm accused of thinking all the time. It's just that apparently what I'm thinking is wrong!

When our kids were in high school, we hosted a church youth group event at our house. One of the kids spotted my stero system and record collection. He was fascinated by it, having never seen a 'record player' up close before. I set him up with headphones -the old school cover your ears type, and showed him how to operate the turntable. He worked with it for quite some time.

Last year I started wearing a name tag with “@Handy Don” on it. It helped a lot when folks would see it and introduce themselves with their Red Square handle.

Agree with 953 on that wiring. Definitely not original. Sometimes best to take everything out and start fresh from diagram. Never know what's been hacked or rigged by P.O.

True ...

It was better in person then what it looked like in the photos I was shown. I didn't pay much for it. Was sold as a parts machine. Owner told me he was going to take some parts off and scap the rest. He got it from a scrap yard with the original tecumseh engine on it that he got to run but ran poorly. He said the hydro worked fine. Then he traded something for this engine and just lost interest in putting it all back together. I can see why. Alot of work left, not sure I'm the man for the job. I know some of you guys put a limit at 100 dollars for nonrunners. This one fall into that category?

What were you thinking showing us a picture of a shifter boot that looks like that

I think what @ebinmaine is saying, is use the coupler and add JB weld in it for insurance. Scary thinking like EB

I haven't bothered to even remove that 'fill' plug for decades. The 'fill until it comes out the hole' thing is wrong. Simply put use 1.5 quarts in the 3 and 4 speeds, 2 quarts in the 6 and 8 speeds. I use a nozzle on the jugs of lube and remove one of the seat bolts to fill. Some folks remove the shifter. Here's a chart they put out. Ignore the highlighted part.

Tried to finish up my 30 minute spring project that takes several days...got to wait for the wind to be right direction today wasn't. At least snow blower you can crank around the discharge chute. ... But the sweepster beats rakiing to get the driveway back in to the driveway and the road back on to the road.

Rigid brand pipe wrench. No cheapo Lowes or Harbor Freight

My sweetcorn seeds are sprouting in the green house. Potatoes are popping up. This is a general.view of the community garden, plenty of spring colour

In the police we still used cassette tape type recorders for audio suspect interviews. You know, the little C90 cassette with 45 minutes on each side. The first half of the lesson on interviewing had to be about cassette tapes as the kids hadn't even seen them, let alone use them. We moved on to DVD disc recorders a little while later and all they could do was moan that we weren't using the cloud. I have an album of photos from the 1980s of me working as a cop. I'd show them the students to demonstrate how far things have come. One saw a manual typewriter on an office desk and genuinely didn't know what it was. Could not believe we had to use them for our official reports. The twirly dial telephone was another thing they could not believe. Lord alone knows how they woukd gave managed when I joined, we had radios, but not nearly enough to go round. So the drivers all got one, then the old sweats, and the probationers like me were sent out with the phone number of the nick. Knock on someone's door and ask to use the phone if you can't find a call box.

Hmmm…good eye Mike! The 308 is still in the garage so I’ll have to crawl back under and see

Big thank you to Eric (Ebinmaine), he sent me some #3-48 screws to finish up a rebuild on my carb. Had to swap out the throttle shaft off a parts carb. Will have to drill and tap broke off screw in old shaft.

I do the same but I didn't want to muddy the tranny fluid by differing from the chart.

I've always used 2 full quarts of gear oil whether it's a 4 or 8 speed.

Read the following note 68 times and then read it a few times after that... DO NOT WEAR GLOVES!! Now what I need you to do is look at the line before this one and read that note again. I bring that up because gloves are going to get caught on branches and you do not want them pulling you and your hands in places you don't need to be. That said, glasses are extremely important. Flying debris is going to happen. These things are very aggressive. Even without the long chute in place there is still several inches of travel before you get to the chopping blades. No intake chute is much easier. That's how I've been running mine since I got it.

Next time I go, I'll let them know they are closed!

Yes, the spring was only there for a few model years, it was meant to give a more positive separation of the PTO clutch from clutch plate when disengaging PTO. If the spring is there, you also want to make sure the thrust bearing and two thrust washers are present - They will slip over the locating "pin" (Basically a bolt with the head cut off and a screwdriver slot to thread it in to the crankshaft) and then the spring seats on that and up against the stub shaft of the PTO. If the thrust bearing set is missing (2 washers that have a flat roller bearing in between, so 3 parts there, the stub pin and spring are the other 2 parts to that system) I do not recommend the spring be reinstalled until they are present, otherwise the spring can hang up or weld itself to the crankshaft and mess up the PTO bearing. This would date your tractor into the 1970's, AFTER they redesigned the PTO lever (that'd be their first version of the "current" design up until they changed it to add the little return spring from the cam plate to the half hoop instead, and then later a bit of engineering change eliminated the need for that, as well.) and before the CPSC stepped in making the seat safety switches a requirement (Which actually was a common sense addition, IMHO)

I rarely get accused of thinking, but since you did, I confess I wasn't thinking...

How about throwing out a request for clutch / brake shaft & ends for a square hood. Should turn this into a bolt on application.

I’m a balmy 26 degrees here. The snow melted quite a bit yesterday though.

Fluid still show signs of having water in it?? May be time (probably is) for a new shifter boot..... the shifter acts like a wick in the rain & water gets by the boot.

to get a "feel" for the event suggest you go on You Tube - - there are numerous videos of annual event over recent yrs - - will give you a good perspective of the show size, scope, and nature of the event

Assuming the cylinder walls are 1/4" thick, an operating pressure of 3000psi, you should be making about 12 tons. The valve is rated at 18 gpm. I can't read the numbers on the pump tag, but the John S. Barns web sight gives 3 possible pump sizes - 8, 11, and 16 gpm pumps. Calculated full stroke (22.5") extension times are as follow: Valve limited 18gpm gives 2.6 seconds. A 16 gpm pump gives 2.9 seconds. An 11gpm pump gives 4.5 seconds. An 8gpm pump gives 6.1 seconds. Retract time will be about .9 times extend time. Total extend and retract times: Valve limited 18gpm is 4.9 seconds. 16gpm pump is 5.5 seconds. 11gpm pump is 8.5 seconds. 8gpm pump is 11.59 seconds. The 11 and 16 gpm pumps are listed as two stage pumps, so actual times might be a bit quicker. These calculations are based on assuming the pump is operating at 3600rpm, and that there are no flow restrictions in the system. Accurate? Not exactly, but good enough for comparing proposed systems.

The 300 and 400 series Wheel Horses can be broken down to three groups when it comes to basic wiring. 1985 and 1986 all had K series Kohler engines with battery powered ignition systems with the exception of the 1986 308-8 which was a Magnum M-8 and the 1986 420LSE which was Kohler powered with a M-20. After all, this is Wheel Horse so there had to be exceptions. 1987 to 1997 were M series Kohlers and 1998 and later were Kohler Command powered. All 300 and 400 models that were equipped with Kohler Magnum engines from 1987 to 1991 used the 103991-ignition switch and from 1992 to 1997 they all used the 116338-ignition switch.

On some of them it does, if it has the little stub pin screwed into the end of the crankshaft to keep it positioned.

I've been spraying the body with primer and I'm.getting fed up of painting. So I went back to the tool chest idea and I'm having a go at a pair of pliers. I started with a 7mm thick slab of cast iron on which I drew the outline of a plier jaw and handle. Lots of filing and faffing to get the shape to my liking. The normal Milwaukee pliers are for scale. The middle one is a small pair I butchered to get the right shape of each jaw. The bottom one is my tiny attempt. Having got the profile about right I then cut the slab very carefully in half to give me two identical pieces. Tomorrow ill have a crack at milling the pivot point to get both jaws together.