Leaderboard

I hope y'all enjoyed my 2026 Big Show photos. I currently have 9 Wheel Horse tractors in my collection. But remember, it's the Wheel Horse tractors that collect the nicest people. See y'all next year at the Big Show.

For the 29th Annual Wheel Horse Show (that's next year folks.... next year) my buddy John Frock came up with the idea to let people who have never driven a Lever steer or Senior Model Wheel Horse a chance to experience and drive one of these models! They do take some getting used to when operating them as the Lever steer takes some hand and foot coaddition and the Senior does have some giddy go but quick steering. John and Wild Bill will let folks get the fun experience of operating the true Wheel Horse originals. Wild Bill 5683816651059863540.mp4

July 4, 1776 US Congress proclaims the Declaration of Independence and independence from Great Britain.

Have a wonderful day! Be safe. Enjoy your family and friends and freedom to express yourself. Work and play with tractors. Life is full of ups and downs. Take all of it, yet remember the good times more. Our previous generations would want that for us.

Yep he let me take a spin on it as well. It's an experience and awesome part of Wheelhorse history. Definitely puts a smile on your face.

July 4,1831 "America (My Country 'Tis of Thee)" with lyrics by Samuel Francis Smith has its first public performance at Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts.

I know a dude who is always willing to let someone take one for a spin. Video courtesy of said dude.

Might I suggest a reading of the document that started it all? I read the Declaration of Independence every year. Good reminder of how remarkable this Country is - warts and all... https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript

Me and the neighbor did some last-minute decorating for tomorrow's Freedom 250 parade.

July 4, 1803 The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people by President Thomas Jefferson, we paid less than four cents per acre.

Buy land... they ain't makin' it no more... Mark Twain

Slightly off topic ...I know when you use a crowfoot on a torque wrench facing forward yo have to adjust the torque setting. If you have it to the side as in the picture do yo have to make an adjustment??

Please keep me and my family in your thoughts and prayers today. Today I will bury my wife of 35 years. She passed away on June 28th while I was holding her hand. Thank you, Dan https://www.thompsonfuneralhomelebanon.com/obituary/rita-bailor

Did some final wiring and got the choke and throttle cables hooked up on the Raider, leftover items from the engine install and points conversion. Picked up an old regulator at the BS, but no charge, pretty sure it’s toast as the stator windings ohm’d ok. Any recommendations on an Ebay unit? I’ve seem them for like $25 from a quick search, but would like something with exact mounting hole spacing. USPS pleasantly surprised me by delivering my 6908 pulley today instead of Monday like it said on the tracking. I was a little saddened to discover the inner bearing bore was wallered out around .035” oversized. I guess i should have asked the seller questions. I didn’t notice the 3 stake marks around the bearing in the pictures. Oh well, not my first rodeo. After driving the bearing out past the stakes, i could see more stake marks around the circumference of the bore, as well as a ridge because the bore as a little deeper than the width of the bearing. After carefully removing just the ridge with a die grinder i was able to get an accurate measurement of .036” over the 1.125” bearing O.D. I found a piece of sheet metal .019” thick (probably .5mm) and cut a strip as wide as the bore depth and 3.550” long and beveled an edge. Rolled the strip over the bearing to give it its shape, beveled edge in. Placed the the shim in the bore and drove the bearing in with socket that only touched the outer race. I think i have a 2-3 thou press fit. Bearing had removable snap rings holding the seals in, so it got cleaned and fresh grease before i drove it home. I think it’ll make for a nice permanent repair. The outer bore was worn slightly also, but not enough to shim. I have a roll of .002” shim stock, but i couldn’t even measure.001” difference, but the bearing would easily push in and out of the bore with my fingers. So i cleaned everything well and installed the bearing with some Loctite 660. Some kind of logic tells me that i’d have thought the larger engine pulley side would have failed like this before the inner bore, being that the larger engine pulley hangs out way past the bearing. But whatever, it’s fixed. The cables on kRusty the donor Raider are completely rusted, and the cables on Whitey were backwards. The choke cable was a locking cable, even though the knob has a “C” on it, and the aftermarket throttle cable had no lock, so I swapped them. I cleaned up the dash while swapping the cables and tidying up the wiring. The surface of the dash plate was a solid rust except for most of the black lower portion. Removed the rust and did 2 coats of Dover White and flat black for the lower part. I should have color matched the screws instead of painting them all red, but it came out ok. I might have to match them because it bugs me now. 😕 After the dash was together and cables run, i fired it up, verified the charging system not charging, took it for a hot lap. No governor either, so i’ll need to figure out how to do the adjustment. Hoping nothing is broken or missing.

and of course it is impossible to get a torque wrench on the center back hose on the control valve so feels about right torque is the answer.

Found this if you trust AI

Fixed that for ya ...

Check for vacuum leak on 2 piece manifold where it goes together. Had the same problem with my 520H thought it was a dirty carb but manifold fell apart when I took carb off so I'm sure it was leaking and I just went ahead and done a decarb, adjusted valves and rebuilt carb why I had it took apart the far. it runs like a new one now. Almost forgot added an electric fuel pump also, very much recomend and your starter will thank you for it also. Fires up almost instantly now and the fuel pump I removed seemed very healthy but would take forever to crank if mochine set for any length of time.

Lemme know what your cure is. I got one the same thing and cleaned it the proverbial @Ed Kennell three times with massive doses of sea foam and still not right.

Some years ago @Pullstart shipped a palleted tractor plus some parts to @Tractorhead in Germany. More recently, I shipped a palleted box of family heirloom furniture to Ireland. Being used furniture of low market value, it was under the duty threshold at the time. There were very explicit rules about size, weight, and all content as well as documentation--detailed but not onerous. With so many source-destination-content-timing combinations, it pays to consult a shipper with direct current knowledge.

reagan one generation away quote - Search

A lot of old Florida "Sanitary Landfills" became Golf Courses over the past half century. Just don't create too deep a divot and you will be OK.

Happy Independence Day! 250 years of freedom!

Here's a tech tip video showing the increasing lever effect. He shows that a 90⁰ offset does not increase the value. That's different from what I learned years ago. I see his logic but I was told to allow LESS difference. Not equal.

Happy 250th Declaration of Independence America!

To attach a link to your own (or other threads) you can open that thread, highlight the address at the top, right click COPY, return to the thread you want to post it in and right click again then hit PASTE. Magickly it will appear.

If you do the swap from K Series with battery powered ignition to a Magnum the wiring can be easily modified using the information this thread.

You might need to reseal the intake manifold.

A lot is determined by the size of the both the block and the crank. This is best determined with the engine disassembled. The bore needs to be measured for diameter, roundness and taper. Three sets of two measurements - at the top near the end of ring travel, midway down, and the bottom of ring travel, taken 90 degrees apart. This will determine if just honing the bore is sufficient (most likely not at 2000 plus hours), or if boring to the next oversize is in order. The tools required are a telescoping bore gage and the correct size micrometer. A dial caliper can be used, but is more difficult to get accurate readings. Note - if the top of the piston already says .030, reboring may not be possible. It is easier to measure the crank journal. Same idea, three sets of measurements 90 degrees apart. Again, if the crank has already been cut .010 undersize, it may need to be replaced. If you have a local trusted Machine Shop nearby, let them do the measurements if you do not possess the proper tools..... One more area - valves, seats, & valve guides. Those need to be inspected for conformity to Kohler specs and are replaceable if needed. IF you go the rebore and recut route, get the oversize piston and undersize connecting rod BEFORE any machine work is done to allow the machinist to remove material for optimum clearances on both.

Yep, e-pumps on all mine

Eric I have been using Star-Tron Enzyme treatment for years now. One cap full treats 1.5 gallons. Had good luck with this. This for the Non Eth fuel because of storage. I do not go through 5 gallons that fast so that is why I use it. I guess cheap insurance. I buy 20 gallons at a time.

Throw some stainless steel screws in there!

Sounds fun. I saw this one Saturday at the BS, who’s the pilot? IMG_1958.mov

Definitely will do a foot pedal control- I dont like the lever. Ill have to see who sells them. Likely will do the electric fuel pump also. 9 pin appears to look fine but weather here has been too hot for me to be out inspecting it just yet. Ill definitely do the wiring modification to help take load off 9pin Carb was supposedly cleaned recently. It starts easy & runs/idles good. Hours are unknown. Hour meter isnt installed. I would guess by overall condition maybe under 1000hrs??? Idk. Doing valve adjustment makes sense.

I did get them pressure washed today and the 520 didn’t come out bad, it’s more pink than red but I think with some was it might get some color back but otherwise it’s in nice shape for the most part. It runs good but might need a carb cleaning in the near future as it has a surge down low but cleans up at wide open. It’s missing some pieces I’ll have to track down but right now I have the rear end draining of all the water/oil and the fuel tank out and trying to clean all the sludge out while I wait for the new Dorman universal fuel sender and grommet/shut off valve. The 314-8 came out okay everything is pretty much seized though from the steering to the clutch and brake pedals. The fuse box had been cut off the harness for some reason and some other bits but nothing that can’t be fixed in due time as it’s gonna need a lot already. The engine shows promise though it does turn over fine and has compression which is the biggest thing that’ll determine fixing it up as I intend to gift it to my brother when it’s finished. So it’s getting soaked down with whatever penetrating oil I have handy haha. Will try to get some pictures of them tomorrow though!

The 416H is my favorite tractor, but it does have some issues. Here's what I do to mine: 1. Install a foot pedal control. I hate the hand controls, especially on that model. I built my own, but there are a couple you can buy. Huge improvement. 2. Install a new fuel pump. Since OEM Onan pumps are not available, and I don't trust the Chinese knock offs, I installed a Kawasaki pump as shown. 3. If the 9 pin isn't burnt, clean it and put Noalox on the pins. If it's burnt, replace it with Packard connector. You only need seven of the nine pins on the 416. I used a 5 pin and 2 pin connector, but 8 pin connectors are available. 4. Run a wire from the battery positive on the starter to the voltage regulator/rectifier to take the load off the 9 pin. Fuse it as shown in the pictures. I used the unused white wire for the cylinder head temp sensor. 5. Clean the carb carfully. Take out the main jet and clean everything thoroughly. 6. I have removed, split and resealed the intake using Motoseal. If it has enough hours on it to be due for a decarbon and valve adjustment then that would be an ideal time to reseal the manifold. Just some thoughts. How many hours on it?

I'd love to see more pictures of those when you've got them cleaned up.

That is great info!!!! I probably over tighten mine

Torque settings for ORB fittings should be made in accordance with this chart. Too tight will kill the "O" Rings. You will need to use a crows foot placed to the side of the torque wrench to get a correct reading. JIC ORB Size SAE Thread Torque Size SAE Thread Torque 4 7/16-20 140 In/Lb 4 7/16-20 220 In/Lb 5 ½-20 180 In/Lb 5 ½-20 260 In/Lb Dash# 905 O Ring 6 9/16-18 250 In/Lb 6 9/16-18 320 In/Lb Dash# 906 O Ring 8 ¾-16 550 In/Lb 8 3/4 -16 560 In/Lb

I have a small piece that will fit the round hoods for that fix. Send me a message or text 317-491-3106 and can send you the part.

The different threads and sizes really are a hot topic. So much 'fun' can be had when a customer comes in with a unknown nipple with the question "can you find me an adapter for this".. is it Witworth, BSP, BSPT, NPT, Metric, Metric fine, UNF, UNC?? Besides that at work we also have hydraulic couplings which are a whole world in and of itself. There's different sizes of 'L' couplers which are metric and pretty standard on most agricultural equipment, but those can also be a 'heavy' version which uses the same inner cone size but a larger nut size that are more commonly used in excavators and wheelloaders. John Deere has their own sizes or so I'm told. Than there's the 'British' variety and of course JIC and maybe even more which I've never seen or heard of P.s. I have not yet invested in either taps or dies because it's simply not a priority at the moment. Working, renovating a home and taking care of 5 horses and giving some attention to the better half doesn't leave a lot of time for hobby activities sadly. Everything in due time.. P.p.s. Am (still) looking for a replacement grille for the 585 but find new reproductions to be very expensive and I have some doubts about fitment. I did come across some used ones in the US but I'm not sure how that works regarding shipment, duty, tariffs and what not. Anyone got experience in that departement? Greetings from the Netherlands, Mark

Before COLOR TV there were colored strips that could be adhered to the screen to make the sky blue and the grass green when Bonanza was on. Made Hop Sing look a bit funky though.

Page 1055

Its a home made bracket for the seat pan so it can tilt back to have access to the tool box it works but sits high. maybe someone was a midget and needed to sit higher on the seat ? or to fit over sized tires on it . The rear fender pan is missing the ears. Someone sure did put a lot of time in welding it up that’s for sure . never know what you may find on these old tractors.

That is how I am running my 48" deck right now. Blade speed is about the same as the new zero turn mowers so I think safety is fine. The Onan is happy running around 3000 to 3200 rpm so that is where the engine speed normally is when I Mow so the pulley change works well for me.