Leaderboard

What have I done to my Wheel Horse today?………I bought it!! Hey guys just joined the forum as I bought my first Wheel Horse today. I had been utilizing the forum to do some research before I pulled the trigger on one. Brought home what I believe is a mid 90’s (could be wrong) 314-8. Seems to be fairly well taken care of, best I can tell so far the only thing not working is the headlights. It’s missing a few pieces like the pulley covers on the deck but overall really excited about it. Look forward to learning here and hopefully many years of good service from the 314.

I have two tables, one I built years ago to work on tractors and then I bought a lift table from Harbor Freight. The first one I built so I could roll it under my workbench when it’s not in use. The second one I made a wider top out of plywood and painted it. Obviously it’s adjustable in height. I don’t really use my original one for tractors anymore now that I have the lift table, but I do use it as a roll around workbench occasionally. As far as the height goes it’s hard for me to pick one because with the adjustable table I use different heights depending on the task at hand. I have a bad back and I’ve said it before, I should have bought the Harbor Freight table years ago. It’s not a terrible amount of money ( I think about $500 ) and it’s a game changer for me.

I did some welding on a hot day last summer wearing short sleeves and my long-cuff gloves. The arc gave me a good sunburn on my arms between the gloves and shirt sleeves. I did have on my apron to be sure my legs didn’t get any surprises.

I have a rotisserie for doing body work and some disassembly and assembly tasks. You can swing it around until you get to a comfortable position.

Located in Palmer Main ? https://wheelhorsedigital.com/ A quote from their web page. Wheel horse. Not something you hear every day.. (Unless you’re my husband, who often reminds me it’s also a brand of lawn tractors). In cowboy slang, it means “your right-hand man.” Here? It means exactly the same thing.

May 15, 1940 Richard and Maurice McDonald open the first McDonald's restaurant in San Bernardino, California.

Regarding Kohler K series rear oil seal p/n 4703207: I found that NAPA has a seal that says it replaces that part..... NAPA Part #: SME 704003 NAPA seal, replacement for Kohler 4703207 I have one coming Saturday..... priced today at $7.71. I'll report back when I get it installed to comment about the fit...... then follow up later when I get some run time on it. (I had an oil leak on my Cub Cadet 123 that has a K301 in it. This will also apply to my Wheel Horse C160, and will apply to any K series engines that use 4703207)

Scrolling maps around an area in MA and then!!!!!! Hmmmm Wheel Horse Digital

Years ago at the Big Show I bought a nice Commando 8 for $500. I thought something must be wrong with it because the price seemed low for the condition of it. The guy I bought it from said he had not owned it very long and didn’t like the way it cut. The belt from the PTO to the deck was missing so I couldn’t cut with it. It ran and drove perfectly and I wasn’t going to use it for mowing anyway. When I got it home I bought a belt just to try it out. Yup, it cut terribly! So I jacked it up to check out the blades. They seemed sharp and when I turned them by hand I noticed the back side of the curf of the blades was shiny? Then I realized that this is a deck with counter rotating blades and they were on backwards!! I switched them around and it cut beautifully!

Better pics of the rest after I unloaded the truck this evening. Has some issues here and there. Fuel system needs totally gone through, did the carb and fuel pump and drained the old gas. Fuel bowl needs replaced. Hopefully get it finished and running tomorrow. Not sure if the plow is WH? Thoughts on that? The hood doesn't fit quite right add I think I see why......

I'll have to be careful not to end up like this guy

That is DJ Harrison on the tractor, @hcminis.

They also did one kind of like a Palomino

Loaders have been fitted to most any Wheel Horse but as a practical matter the Commando 8 may be a little underpowered for a loader. The loader must be accompanied by a subframe which will be mounted to the tractor, most of them are made for larger long frame tractors. Here is a picture of a loader from the Big Show, I don't know who it belongs to.

Thanks for all the welcomes! @C100guy94 thanks for the heads up about the rear diff service and the low range boot. I’m glad to get any pointers like that you guys give out. @953 nut good to meet another North Carolinian on here! Im really excited to get this one, almost excited as my youngest son is LOL

Palmer Mass

Soooo true.

As long as the ID/OD and thickness match up.

@Fj40z, Welcome from a fellow North Carolinian, we are here to help if any questions come up. Enjoy the ride and make room for the next , they are addictive.

Looks like it is. See Dan's Thread on his 401 restoration. We were comparing different WH plows. Doesn't surprise me about the front of the hood. Most round hoods are like that. Kind of a PIA to restore but doable.

Hi all, what's a good inner tube, may fluid fill in future. Lot of tubes to choose from, some aren't cheap,but are they any good.

I have 2 ways that are adjustable to any height I want. Both HF items. A lift table and a Motorcycle lift with extensions to widen it. The bike lift has an air over hyd pump in place of the crappy stock pump pedal.

I seldom have anyone in the shop with me to grab a shot of me working, at the last minute I decided to stage that shot.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/2166852180769673/?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V&fs=e&fs=e Apparently AMC tried to cross breed Jeep and Wheel Horse in the 80’s, there’s more detail on it in the reel.

and that is a great first WH to have

This is the video I referenced on another so-called informative video. Right off the bat, the video claims that IH produced a tractor with hydrostatic transmission. Within a few seconds, the video disproved itself to me as being junk. As for when and why IH went from the yellow and off-white to red, was a decision they made to reestablished their L&G line as an extension of their IH tractors. By this time, the Farmall name had disappeared from their row crop tractors and International was the name on each and every hood of their ag line. The more interesting story is why IH chose yellow and off-white in 1961. I had that information, but I would have to see if I still have that. I wouldn't want to post another "junk" informational piece like the video.

Good price

Got about half of my old pool area sand loaded and hauled to the back of my property, using a trailer, shovel and the C-141. Sure makes the idea of a FEL appealing. Funny, I was just contemplating how to fab a set of small forks to attach to a snowplow frame. Nothing major - just for moving things like mower decks, rear ends, etc. from my shop out to the shed.

Unfortunately the wheels don't turn but I can push the truck around that it is sitting in and make engine noises...

Yeeouch!!! Thanks for the reminder!

I’d probably start pushing it around like a matchbox car and making engine noises…..😁

I just had the same experience with this C101 I've got, shift boot all but gone, transaxle seal leaking, I did a diesel flush, then followed that with 2qts of cheap 10w30 I'll let that run in there for a few hours of actual use then drain/refill with 90wt

Use a step bit. Drill out the tube just a bit and it'll slip back in but still stay tight like it's supposed to. Then there's no tools required afterwards. Shove a paper towel or something down in there first to keep the plastic from falling in and I run a shop vac to suck them up while drilling. Just go slow and test it each time. You could probably heat up that tube and use the step bit as a flaring tool without drilling too

I got some seat time on the GC1720 today. I used the FEL to take several large, heavy items off of what is left of the deck and placing them on the utility trailer for a trip to the storage locker. Today's project about justified the purchase price since I didn't have to wrassle the items down the 4 steps to get them off of the deck. I'm seriously considering a set of forks for this thing. Deck is now clear and ready for further demolition. Muscle memory for the 2 pedal hydrostatic drive is improving. I only stabbed the forward pedal once with my right foot instead of pressing the brake with my left foot. For now, I'm only running the engine at 2000 rpm until I get smoother on the controls.

Definitely, and a reminder until it heals up fully every time you bump it.

Waiting on an oil pan gasket to start much reassembly but the head bolts came today so I thought I would go ahead and start on some of that. Blocked the head on granite with some 320 grit. Nice and flat . Chased the threads in the block, adjusted the valves and reassembled the breather. I'll wait to torque the head until it's back on the frame. It's just easier when it's not sliding around on the bench.

Back in the Yahoo days there was a Lawn Ranger with a front end loader and backhoe.

Used same size angle iron as tractor frame. Mounts using 3, grade 8 bolts per side, bolts to tractor frame. Has removable receiver plate bolted to the angle iron with 4 bolts that allows plate removal for unobstructed hood opening. I later drilled the mounting plate and bolted winch directly to plate to allow usage of both receiver hitch and winch at same time. The winch when mounted in the arm, can be used in the rear receiver as well. The extended frame works as is with snow blade and when using the bervac 44" 2 stage snow thrower, the right-side frame rail must be removed.

I was just talking with the better half about that. Whenever I get to the point (hopefully in a long time) that I can't look after the full size tractors, I will always have this little fellow to look at.

My advice would be to go low. IF you still have the capability of squatting... DO NOT LOSE THAT. We considered building a tall tractor table. I then decided that I really like maintaining my physical health and flexibility. I decided to keep the work low and started using short shop stools. I can still stand up and lean over the tractor when needed. And I can stay seated as long as I want. If you cut that table lower you'll have all those benefits and also the added safety of a lower ramp angle.

Yeah, apparently it’s the guts of a 80’s wheel horse with a fiberglass Jeep/Wheelhorse body on it,

That'd be neat.

Well I was able to get one that they had left over. It does not have a serial number but I am OK with that. It fits perfectly in the back of a model of my previous truck.

Proud papa here. My daughter defended her dissertation two weeks ago and earned her doctorate in higher education. No she will not become a professor in all likelihood.. She is employed by the university and does research projects as directed by them. She loves her job and is getting good feedback and appreciation from her group. She is living in Ann Arbor so we see her when we can. As always Go Blue!!

You could find a Johnson or an Ark loader to work on a commando 8 with some modification. The front end isn't gonna handle much weight and you have to add counter weights so it's use would be very limited. If you're doing full time landscaping you'd be better off getting a small compact tractor if you can afford it. Even if you can find an old Satoh with a Mitsubishi Diesel, those were pretty good machines and won't break the bank.

Tonight the boy and I went over to his girlfriend's house. Their tiller needs some work, so I picked that up to bring home, said boy is going to be doing the work. It's just a simple fuel line replacement, may need to clean the carb, don't know yet, and I'll have him go over all the grease zerks. Her (the GF) mom also asked me to sharpen the blades on their JD, that was bought used at the end of last season, because it's been cutting like crap. I jacked it up and found three new blades that were installed upside down, so the blunt end was doing the cutting. Flipped them over and that was that.

Spent the last few days cleaning up my tree line along the property. Wheel horse is definitely a big helper. Loaded up the trailer about 12 times to drive it all down the the big pile. Going to be getting a chipper here in a few days to make it all go away. Coming along nicely, I can finally walk into my tree line.

There is nothing in those pulleys that has a high level of accuracy. Just a stamping with a bearing in the middle. I did the drill and bolt thing, just to time consuming. Now I take a grinder with a cut wheel and cut 6 slots. I started out using a chisel to bend the tabs but use the press to just push through the tabs. Pop in the new bearing and bend the tabs over. I have done at least a dozen with no problems. Just another option from an old bush mechanic.

It’s been a few days since I did it. the cut didn’t look bad when I did it. I made sure it was disinfected and washed out though. I had a brain fart and thought u could keep a deck pulley from spinning when I was taking it off by holding on to it…. Didn’t work. I usually vice grip it but for some reason not then. My horse bit me.