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New to the herd 551 original

Yes, thank you, just created an account for this WH site. Really great site from what i have been looking at and reading to answer some questions, My brother got the tractor in the late 80's Started to restore it, and never finished, so it has been sitting arounfd for a very long time until last year. This 400 was a year long build,. Sometimes progress was minor and even slow, to leaps forwards in progress. Parts list, 3-5 hp Industial series briggs engines( picked briggs, for fit, easy to get parts, and easily modifyable, these engines are drag raced, so i have the option to go very radical) Troy Built pony tiller electric start system, 3-plumbling chrome fittings for the exaust, 3 chrome air cleaners, 3 thecumseh H50 carbs, 1 fuel pump operated from the crankcase pressure, 1- triple snowmobile trottle sysem, 1 john deere belt gaurd/ elevator sheet metal, 8 pulleys, 3 idol pulleys, made the battary box and used a motorcyle battary for the small space i had left under the seat that was not taken up by the gas tank/ seat bracket, and belt gaurd , made and mounted the steering system on top the middle engines's L head offset the steering shaft. Deck lever(shortend to fit under air cleaner and remade bracket), reworked clutch/brake pedal, wider tires for the back, 5" ones for the front. and many more hours with metal brackets, intakes manifolds , air cleaner mounts. overall i just got it running and driving late spring of this year, I still have to finish it, just not now, maybe next year,, but painting, will not be an option, i kept it as gotten condition and i wanted a Ratrod themed tractor, lot of work just to get it to this point, a lot of EBAY parts since my brother lost a decent amount of the parts he took off

Well... it's commonly used to refer to the mid-engine 1960 and 1961 models, the 400/550 and 401/551. Beyond that in a much more complicated fashion though... Wheel Horse used the term/name Suburban for several years. Just the term "Suburban" refers to the fact that this was a tractor for the "Suburban households" that were gaining in popularity in that mid-50s era. Expansion of housing into Suburban developments where people wanted their small patch of land with a lawn and a garden. Many people were losing interest in living in the "urban" city. In advertising, Wheel Horse started referring to the RJ-58/59 as a Suburban tractor sometime during production. Then, in the 1960 brochure, they named the tractors the Suburban 400 and Suburban 550 as shown in the brochure and on the manual. In 1961, the manual cover removed the "Suburban" title, but the advertising literature still referred to them as Suburban tractors. This is generally where collectors quit calling tractors suburbans... although interestingly if you look at the cover of the 1962 manual, they were still called Suburban Tractors! They were still referred to as a "Suburban Tractor" in ads as well, but I think this was going back to the original reference to Suburbia itself. Even as late as the 1963 brochure they used the term, but I think clearly this was used as a general term. After that though, I don't recall seeing the term used.

I will be using my first Wheel Horse. Just got a free 314-8 and went out and picked up a snow blower attachment.

Here is what I believe is causing the condition. The shift rails are supported by blind bores in the transmission case and machined to a fairly close tolerance. Add gear oil to the mix and it gets even closer. The top rail in the illustration is for 2nd and 3rd gears and the rear rail in the transmission. Both shift rails are in the neutral position. The 2nd and 3rd rail when shifted into 3rd gear is slid farther into the case bore. When you shift back to neutral from 3rd gear vacuum is created behind the rod. If you go through the neutral gate the shifter lets go of the 2nd and 3rd rail and enters the 1st and 2nd shift rail. The second the shifter leaves the 2nd and 3rd rail the vacuum behind the rail (rod) sucks it back into the blind bore and engages 3rd gear again. BUT the shifter has already selected 1st or R gear. If you are is 2nd gear and shift to 1st or R the same thing happens but this time it is pressure in the blind bore that returns the rear rail to 2nd gear without the shifter in the rail. To vent the blind bore my plan is to grind a shallow spiral groove in the rod so that the vacuum and pressure is relieved faster. Location of the ground groove is critical at the detent ball notches in the rod so it does not interfere with them. A spiral groove would minimize future wear in the casting. I discovered this many years ago and have lived with it by pausing at neutral before shifting to the other rail. The pause gives time for the pressure or vacuum to dissipate and it works. I have since acquired a short angle drill and wonder if a vent hole could be drilled into the bottom of each shift rail bore. That would be even better but don't know if there is room to get the drill in to do it. Garry Adding Wheel Horse addressed this problem in late 1964 As a result all the transmission model numbers used in 1964 got new model numbers in 1965. I suspect this was a result of the change. It would be interesting to see what tractor models or transmission models still experience this problem today.

Wow! That just about sums it up. Mounting tires on a tractor is a chore. It took me all day, but I am proud to say I did it myself. Anyway, looks good. Much better than the tires I had... I haven't seen a surface like my sidewalls since someone spilled a bucket of oil on a dry salt lake bed! I mean, they were CRACKED. 3 of the tires had tubes in them, otherwise, I don't think they'd have held air. Before I took on the task, I browsed the net, watched videos, read tips and even researched tools available for the job. I settled on making my own bead breaker using a 6' long 2x4 bolted to my work bench. This was the lever of the bead breaker. I bolted a short 2x4 to the first one about 18" from the bench to act as the "shoe horn." Both bolted joints articulated. Later, I cut a taper on the shoe horn, making it more pointed where it met the rim. To the tapered surface, I then screwed a 1/4"x1-1/2"x3" brass plate for strength. Worked like a charm. I was glad I had the extra leverage on the front tires. Aside from the bead breaker, the only other tools used were two of the cheap $5 tire irons from Harbor Fright (typo intentional) and a flat bar (wonder bar). Okay... here are my tips... things I didn't see elsewhere in my research. #1 Measure the rim!!! BOTH SIDES!!! Geesh... SOME rims the tire will only go on one way! I wish I had known that. Futzed with one of the front wheels for 2 hours before I figured out one side of the rim was a good 1/4" larger in diameter. Once I flipped it around, the tire slid right on (relatively speaking). #2 NO LUBRICATION! (if mounting manually). Rather, only lubricate AFTER the tire is on the rim. I had more trouble with lubrication than without. Seemed to make the tire iron slippery enough, but couldn't get purchase necessary to stretch the tire over the rim. Dry was no problem. Once the tire is on the rim, I sprayed the bead with windex prior to inflating. I figured that might help the bead seat. Tip #3... take your new tires and rims to a garage and PAY THEM TO MOUNT THEM! Okay, I doubt I'll ever follow that tip, but boy will I be tempted. Finally, I'll finish with this... I decided on BKT tires. Since I plan on using my C-125 as a FEL, I bought 6-ply turf tires for the front. I also plan on using the tiller, so I chose the TR-315 trenchers for the rear. I had seen someone on this site talking about the diameters of the Deestones being considerably smaller than comparable brands (Carlisle?). For that reason, I avoided the Deestones. Sadly, the BKT's are also small. Same size Carlisle Turf tires (23-8.5-12) were a good 2" larger in diameter. I can't help wonder if the larger turf tires won't have nearly as much traction as the smaller trenchers. I'm really disappointed about this. I may try to sell them and get something else. Anyone have any recommendations?

Yes that blower is a 1962 and should fit your 702 and looks to be in VERY nice condition. Jason is correct about removing that suburban bracket. That bracket and the lift arm make it the st302 for a mid engine tractor but those are the only differences I can remember between it and the st3072. If it's only a 1/4" too narrow then it's probably just tweeked in a little and bending the mounting brackets back out should work. It bolts directly to the frame with 2 bolts each side in the front 2 holes of the frame. You'll need to make a lift arm. Maybe cut the pipe of that one and weld in a new length of pipe or rod?????? Or just make a new one out of angle????? I might be interested in that bracket for a suburban. Made one for my blower and thought I bought one to replace it but just haven't seen it around.

This is what I use. Do not pound out on the back of the hub you may pull the axle out of the transmission.

I think that most of the "Spray Bed Liners" have a rough-softer surface (to keep things from sliding around in the bed of a truck). On the underside of your deck, you want a very smooth-hard surface so the moist clippings slide off easily and don't stick. POR15 alone is excellent, hard and very smooth. I like to also use "Slip Plate" (liquid Graphite) on the underside, and then redo the graphite every year. IMO, the Bed Liner may not be the better choice if it is rough-soft, unless the actual surface itself resists grass sticking (like a silicone coating would).

****UPDATE**** The beans are coming off the field. Make sure to pack those plows and be ready to turn some soil!!!!!!

I've seen the topic come up a couple times about using spray on bed liner for under a deck so I thought i would share my experience with it here's a few pics of my deck off my lawn ranger that I used this summer for mowing that I used spray on bed liner. I will say the only place that is flaking off is were I welded in a stainless steel patch when I restored the deck I'm not disappointed in how it held up its about what I expected I think using POR15 or easy slide graphite coating would be the better route but this is cheap and was worth a try hope this helps someone out

can anybody tell me what this snow blower will fit (i have a 702). and the bar for the turning rod is that supposed to be bent?. the serial number on this is a-10286. also if anyone has pics of one like this mounted that would be great. thanks.

Loaded a couple WHs and others for the show tomorrow thru Sunday. No selling this trip, just relax and enjoying. Anyone going, stop in and chat.

Just picked this up sunday afternoon, guy said it was froze up... he was right but nother alittle pb blaster didnt fix.! should fit nicely behind the new c-160.

I have been a member for a few years and have enjoyed reading other posts and info. I had a GT-14 given to me last week which is my first Wheel Horse (a brand not common here in northern MN). The GT is a 1970 model 1-7451 serial # 630763 with a 48" deck and a 30" snowblower. Also, all the tires say Wheel Horse on them. The GT has been in the woods for 5-8 yrs. But after changing oil & putting in a battery, got spark and with a shot of ether it fired. Now I am cleaning carb. & gas tank. Pictures are on arrival at my shop. I think it will be a Winter project with many questions to follow.

well,well you learn something new everyday. i didn't know you had to remove the "suburban" bracket to mount it on a 702. thanks guy's i'll let you know how it works out.

Here is the hub puller I had built (since I do not have welding or machining skills). It is super heavy duty and I have not found any hub that will not succumb. It is made from 1/2 inch steel plate with a 1" grade 8 nut welded to it and uses a 1" fine pitch grade 8 bolt to apply the load to the axle shaft. Bolt the plate up to the offending hub with five 7/16-20 bolts, put a 1 1/2 open end wrench on the welded nut. (These wrenches are long enough so that it will touch the floor and provide the resistive force to the torque you will apply to the bolt). Drop a 1 1/2 inch, 3/4 sq drive socket onto bolt and crank away. Because the threads on the bolt are not long enough to completely remove the hub, halfway through the removal process, I have to remove the puller and insert a 1 inch diameter cylinder into the partially removed hub and reassemble the puller. If I had to do this all over again, I would use a 7/8 diameter bolt so it could be used on 1 inch axles. How well does it work? I have pulled 3 sets of hubs. Two sets were real nasty and one was relatively easy. An impact wrench would have speeded up the task. The puller that an earlier RS member made from a hub will work as well, I just did not have a spare hub lying around.

Sure is a nice looking 551, original paint? WOW that looks nice. My 550 has same tires also have a set of spares. Tom

I'm with Geno on this one. Especially on the rears which easily fit on any garage's tire machine. I gave my local garage, (great guys too), 10 bucks to take the old rotted turf tires off, clean up the inside and bead surface of the rims and mount my new Deestone Ag tires two weeks ago. Total time was about 15 minutes. The front tires.........................yea! Well the front tires on my 520 need changed so we will see how the spirit moves me on that chore. An eight inch rim won't fit on a car tire changer and to take it to a Lawn & Garden Dealer is going to cost more than 10 bucks.

Too much gray, liked N3PUY's red belt guard and clutch linkage guard. So......

Pile of parts blasted today!

And not to ignore the OP... that is a beautiful looking 551! It never ceases to amaze me that some of these things are found in that condition after 50+ years! Congratulations on the score! My 400 also has those old diamond turf tires... I love the look.

Not worth the time to mess with that stuff yourself sometimes, I get 5.00 to mount a tire, any size. The cussing fit would far far far outweigh the 10.00 for me.

I hope this arrangement will work well

Very nice. Just went back and read the whole topic front to back again... congratulations on a fine looking machine. Just in time for Scott's, eh? I'm sure it will get some well deserved attention there!

I would have liked to see those rows.

I used spray on bed liner on foot rests for one horse. It seemed to hold up well for that application. Looked pretty good to. I too will be going the POR15 route for my deck one day.

Clear POR -15 was used (two coats and one spray paint rustoleum overcoat) on two of my deck restore projects several years ago. They are both still operating and no rust or undersurface holes!

This is very interesting to watch. Keep the photos coming. What a great project.

Good point Lane. The service bulletin addresses the stop pins. The older style pin can be used with the newer rails but not vice-versa. I'm assuming the newer stop pin is a bit longer and offers a firmer grip in the neutral detent of the newer rails but in my case with the 5010 transmission it should be irrelevant. I like the idea of drilling the holes. Maybe it could be done with a smaller angle head drill.

Engineering Overkill: The sill plate on my house was nailed to the foundation instead of bolted (built 1975). One wall in the basement had shifted so we had a structural engineer out to give us a plan... wait for it: Bolt a CONTINUOUS 6" x 6" x 3/8" structural angle around the entire house (bolt to every joist, anchor to wall every 16"). That would have been almost 2 TONS of steel to make up for a couple 1/2 in bolts. (and would have cost $20K). We had another engineer come in and design it in sections that reduced our cost to $1k and keep just as much strength. I am an engineer (electrical) and can appreciate a little over-engineering as much as the next guy (look at those churches that were built in the 1700's)... but you have to know when to be smart about it.

You have to be careful with hammering. The axles are held in the differential with clips and if you hammer it you could pop one of the clips and then require a full tear down. If your puller has a pointed end on it (like mine) i used a 1/4-20 nut to spread the force out without mushrooming the axle. I put it under a lot of pressure after soaking in PB blaster and tapped the hub itself with a hammer. After just working on it slowly (just a small turn) for a while it broke free. However, many people using the jaw pullers break the cast hub because its on there so tight. If you look around people have made pullers with other WH hubs to spread the force out even more. Search the forums for "hub puller." There are many different ideas.

Finally the long road to restore my C-141 to its former glory is complete. She looks good and runs great.

wheelhorse-c-161-1979, one word of caution here. When I was cleaning out my daughters goat pin using my C-141 with a Ark on it. In the short time I was off the tractor on the end of a pitch fork, a goat ate off one of the valve stems on a front tire as I had the wheels turned and presented the irresistible valve stem to it. Then one jumped up on the seat and started to do a number on the on the rubber lines running into the Control Valve. Don't turn your back on those destructive Horse eating creatures for one second.

Better be some plowing video's or you'all will feel my wrath!

My 42" deck does this.. You can see the deck flex when it's lifted... You'd be better off to find out why it's twisted (my bet is stress cracks like mine) and repair it...

Yessir! One heckuva job for sure!! Welcome to Redsquare! Looking forward to more pics of this beast! :-)

Look for Martin's "416 Adventures" in the restoration category. He used them on his fronts.

You and I have the same taste in our collection. I would much rather have a nice original patina machine that a show queen. A real nice machine for sure !!

Awesome job, looks great!!

"If I buy a new "tractor/mower" honey, I will have to buy all new tools too. You know the new machines are all metric and the Wheelhorse is SAE standard. I sure would hate (snicker, snicker) to spend all that money on tools you know, just to fix one "tractor" but if that's what you want me to do......" Seriously though. Total the cost of a new "tractor" to mow the grass with. Then compare the cost of a new tractor vs. the cost of repairing/maintenance on the one you have. If she is anything like MY girlfriend, she will see keeping the older maintained one will keep you in the black longer than a newer one breaking and putting you in the red. My GF may grouse about me having too many tractors a few times a year but when I have to pull a bush, mow a patch, plow the driveway, till a flower bed etc... she doesn't have too much to say.

Just received the glass windshield, wiper and mirror for the snow cab that will be on the 523Dxi. Also, finally broke down and ordered the JB Sleeve Hitch so I can use a rear grading blade for in front of garage doors while using the 523Dxi with the blower. Three week backlog- but I don't think that I have to worry about snow during that time. I'm still cutting grass, and the leaves have yet to turn! I still have to use the Cyclone Rake yet.

Whatever you do, DO NOT MESS WITH THAT CAT! The cat seems to have already taken claim of a great find! Rob

Holy crap... you cut all the apples first!!!???? Man, that takes some time. Won't the grinder do whole apples? I spent every fall of my childhood, that I can remember, picking buckets and buckets of apples with my grandfather. The very same grandfather that is the reason for my fondness of Wheel Horses. We lived next door to my grandparents when I was a kid, and their place had two acres of fruit trees and bushes. As I remember, there were many varieties of apples, several varieties of pears, several varieties of peaches, two kinds of plums, three kinds of cherries, apricots, persimmons, blue grapes, green grapes blackberries, red raspberries, black raspberries, white raspberries, and even gooseberries. That doesn't even count the nut trees. He was an avid hobby orchard grower. An aspect of my childhood I'd love to be able to give to my own kids, but fear I won't be able to. I grew up eating every one of those kinds of fruit right off the tree/bush. A privilege that I now as an adult realize very few have had. To anyone who's never had experienced it... do yourself a favor and visit any local orchard you can for some fresh produce. There's just no flavor in the world like ripe, fresh fruit directly from the tree. He had an antique grinder and press, and some nights after school and most weekends this time of year, we'd be loading buckets in the cart behind the Wheel Horse. When we had a full cart we'd stop for the evening or day, take the load up to the hydrant and fill all the buckets with water to wash the apples. After letting them soak a little while we'd tote them over to the press. It was an old four post setup, painted red of course, with a tray big enough for two bins. One bin under the grinder and one under the press crank. Ideally with two people you can operate both ends at the same time with one person grinding and one person pressing. The grinder was of course hand powered by a big crank wheel and the ground apples fell directly into the pressing bin underneath. Then that bin slid over in the tray to the press side. It was hard work for a kid, spinning that grinding wheel, but I wouldn't trade anything for the memory of those days. It's been so long ago I couldn't begin to tell you what apples we were using or how many bushels per gallon. I know Grandpa knew that stuff, but he's long gone. I have to say thank you for bringing up that memory. It puts a smile on my face just thinking about those simpler carefree days of being a kid. Thanks for sharing and good luck with your cider. I'm sure it will be delicious...... and be sure to freeze some! Nothing like a hot apple cider on Christmas Eve!!

312-8 with 48" blade and a sb421 with a homemade back plow

As usual, I will be putting a B-100 with a 48" blade into service this winter.

The C-161 has snow duty this year

While waiting to paint the hood I have been making several adjustments in how the panels fit up, installing new amp meter and replacing the carriage bolts with stainless steel bolts. Also looking into a surface mounted tachometer.

Thanks for the encouraging words. Much appreciated. Well, its time for another update. I got the wheel weights painted, and on the tractor. While not as nice as OE wheel weight, they're very functional, and look decent. I'm currently running 115 pounds per wheel. I took the tractor out for a good workout today. We decided to expand the garden, and I decided to give the Brinly plow a go. This ground has never been broken before, and our soil is very, very hard to plow, till, etc.. Not to mention, this is the area we have been parking a big class A RV in the past, so it was well packed. While the plow works great, the tractor had a hard time keeping the plow moving. It did it, but it didn't like it! The pics below are of the hard packed soil. After that, I ran the plow through an area that had been broken last year, and it ran down through that like nothing. After breaking the ground with the plow, we hooked the tiller up, and finished it off. I also took a short clip of it tilling. I've ordered a hydraulic flow control valve for this Case, to help with tilling, and such. On Case Garden tractor, the travel control doesn't just increase/decrease speed, it also increases, decreases hydraulic pressure, so when your trying to go slow for tilling, your not putting much power to the ground either, so when you try to slow down, it ends up stopping, so you push the lever farther forward it goes to fast. Its very annoying, especially when your used to working with a that has an 8 speed. Gotta love those low gears on a Horse. Anyway, the travel control I ordered will allow a very slow ground speed, while still maintaining maximum power to the ground. I'll try to get a better video soon. Thanks Matt

Just a question, wouldnt that be kinda like jumping from the frying pan into the fire? I thought the 195s were far and few between also, I guess it couldnt be any worse on the parts side of things? Do regular C attachments fit those or are they like the GT14?