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Kind of a long read here, but I wanted to share a funny story. About a month ago my folks and I were coming back from TN hauling a trailer and we got some bad diesel at a shell station. The truck threw a "water in fuel" code and went into limp mode. We got to the walmart parking lot in Whythville and changed the fuel filter and siphoned out all the bad diesel. We were back on the road, but the truck was making some weird noises. Not being familiar with diesels, we decided to call AAA and tow the truck back to the house. The towing contractor was actually in the same gas sation where we were parked. So when the guy got the call, he walked over and introduced himself. We only had coverage for the truck, not the truck and the trailer (lesson learned). So the driver helped us come up with a solution to get the trailer home. Anyways, mom (who is introverted) and I loaded up in the single cab with the driver, and dad waited for another truck to haul the trailer. Well, I'm pretty extraverted, so we weren't 3 minutes into 1 hour drive and I decided I wasn't going to sit through that long of time with small talk. I started asking the driver questions in effort to find something to talk about. It didn't take long before he mentioned that he had been working on his "vintage lawn tractors" that day before coming to work. I said, " it wasn't wheel horses was it?" And he turned and looked at me like I was santa claus. My mom was relieved that she didn't have to say a word for the rest of the ride, and I had some great conversation! He has several different lawn tractors, including some odd ball brands. The wheel horse he is working on now is a D200. I talked about the big show and how awesome the people were in the hobby. I tried to convince him to head to the big show this June and also to join red square! So Josh, if you are out there, come out to Biglerville next month! Hope to see you there!

That I can believe! ( There probably wasn't much room for her. Did she sit on your lap? )

Made a little 3-hour road trip to pick up this '74 C-160 Automatic. Everything feels tight, no slop in the steering or drive tensioner. no leaks. K341 Purrs like a kitten. When I got it home, the thing was dead as a door nail. I though "Oh Crap"! Turns out I had just never owned a tractor that still had all of the safety switches working properly. Pressed the brake and double checked the PTO lever - BOOM fired right up. Heck, even the internal parking pawl still engages!

Brought more horses home. One is a Commando 8 that runs and mows and the other is a project 800 auto someone gave up on. The wife is growing concerned I may have an addiction. Shame the tires are dry rotted, both rear sets appear to be original and say Wheel Horse on them... which I think is just so neat. Swapped the tall skinny's from the 633 onto the 8. It looks semi-ridiculous but at least it's functional for now.

I bought it just for the key. Seemed like a good excuse to build a tractor around it.

My $5 marketplace score - 6 miles from my house!

Can we assume Kev is teaching the class?

@Fj40z, You can leave the gas dampener in place and just add the clutch return spring as pictured below. Jut need to remove the left rear wheel, no need for a full disassembly.

May 16, 1984, Prince's biggest hit is widely considered to be "When Doves Cry," released on May 16, 1984 from the Purple Rain album, which became his first #1 single, the year's top-selling song, and a massive international success, famously lacking a bassline and showcasing his unique genius.

The running herd…

Seems quite a few of us have loose nuts.

When the local hardware store closed is when I went into full blown having my own stuff. Belts bolts etc, got to have them. 13 mile trip one way now. Neighbor called last fall when he was working on his bath remodel. Got any small lags, yep, up in the shop on the back wall in the orange tray. Help yourself. He said wow! that was nice no trip to town and got it finished. He replaced the ones he took and I told him that was not necessary. He said, oh no, might have to barrow them again!

I typed in "oil" in the search bar and my internet provider called and told me I overheated their equipment!

All packed up and ready to go to AJ's tomorrow!

Just gonna say i seen worse scores. Got good bones and worth the price of admission.

Not a chance in hell Ed Dog... more on the class in another thread. Suffice to say i didn't get a dang thing done on horses today but did get to watch @Achto whack on a busted up hub. Yup saws all came out. @Chris689 he's dipping into my stock of 1" hubs.

Guys thanks for all the welcomes and fantastic input! Really do appreciate all the help and support. I couldn’t help myself this evening, even though I haven’t had a chance to baseline some of the basic maintenance on the 314 I had to try it out and mow a little bit with it this evening. Mowed and ran great until one of the rear deck wheels came off. The wheel and shoulder bolt have seen better days so I went ahead and ordered a new set. Really wanted to get a good feel for it and try it out. Kind of a shake down run. Noticed all the belts are cracked up pretty bad so all need replaced. Also noticed the clutch pedal doesn’t want to spring back up from time to time and I’d have to pull it back up with my foot a little, so I’m hoping that’s not a bad sign. Picked up the stuff to change the oil and gear oil in rear differential and transmission. Got a lot of parts to sort and hopefully get this one in good working order. Thanks again!

What did I do to my Wheel horse today this week. I added a slot hitch so I could pull and lift the new tiller. This required removing the weight rack and moving the support legs to the outside of the drawbar hitch to make room for the slot hitch. The seat and fender pan had to come off so this was a good time to clean the hydro and change oil and filter. Nice surprise when I picked up the filter...NAPAs oil was on sale. Also installed new fuel lines, e-pump, and filter rerouting everything outside the tunnel and ran it along the outside of the right frame rail.

C-105 Black Hood I purchased couple weeks ago..but the hood was all red . Little amateur painting today to fix that.

I had the opportunity to attend a short course today on tractor safety . The Badger Steam & Gas Engine Club put this on as a requirement for all juniors who wish to drive a tractor around on club grounds at their show. https://badgersteamandgas.com/ Rightfully so since any given accidents can shut a show down without a question. Interesting and since I am committed to give a presentation at other shows this was a note taking experience for me in my quest for being a certified instructor. This was mostly centered around big tractors but it still applies to GTs. Lots of farm safety included with loading, tieing down, and grain bin safety. On a tractor's center of gravity and how quickly one can meet a misfortune in a PTO. A nice primer on steam.

Better pics of todays haul. 5hrs of windshield time, low $ for this one. Tractor, deck, snow blower, & a set of tire chains. Runs great, mower deck is smooth & quite, tranny needs a little love. A new set of axle bearings & seals should cure the issue.

Got out the 656 for the show today, thought I'd post some pictures...

We've all read our operating manuals. HA! YEAH RIGHT!!! They all say check all fasteners before operating! Well I was out mowing with the Wheel a Matic and Dino deck and I got to noticing how low it was cutting. Then I saw both "special 7/16-20 shoulder bolts had fallen out that hold the height adjusting rod!!! I had 1 spare so I had to go to the parts room and get a wheel lug bolt and lug nut to secure the adjuster!

Lost part of the deck belt tensioner while mowing. Was out in yard with "construction magnet" dragging around yard , looked across and neighbor is looking at me like i've got three eyes, and asks what in the he$$ are you doing? I did eventually find the part.

We had a little hardware store that closed about 6 yr's. ago. Had everything in there. Had the wooden floors that moved as you walked. One of those ladders with rollers so it would slide along the wall to get stuff way up. The whole works!

Had one lasted a couple years. I am pretty hard on them rolling through grinding dust and a slightly rough floor. I ended up building one with square tube and steel casters and a tractor seat.

A little tail light security. My new led taillights work great but one of them was a little to easy to remove the lens on so thought I would add a little security and put a. #6 screw through lens and base.

Got the Echo CS490 chainsaw back together. Muffler modification completed, and I cleaned out the case of old sawdust. It took me a few tries to dial it in just right. I can definitely recommend doing this mod. The supposed 10% - 15% power gain is enough to make a difference. Not massive. But a usable real-world difference.

I looked for a S/G belt for my 701 the other day. Then remembered I needed two of them. Nope... $6 each online but won't be delivered until the 22nd. $25.99 each at the local parts store. Guess I'll be waiting another week...

I'm lucky. I've got 3 small town old fashioned type hardware stores within about 5 miles. Two of them have the old wooden floors with basements - stashed full of stuff. I'm recognized in all 3 when I walk in.

I never really got into the '80s music at the time but have begun to listen to a lot of it lately. The radio station that was playing '60s and '70s music when I move to Franklin twenty years ago is now playing '80s and '90s tunes and most of it is great. Prince, Queen, Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Kurt Cobain, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers have all won me over.

I've wanted one of these Bull nose trucks for a looooonng time. I've also wanted to build a particularly strong inline six 300 for a looooonng time. It's been setting around unused collecting dust too long. Time to ask others for help.

I guess I'm fortunate. Lowe's, Home Depot, Menards, Ace, Do It Best, Harbor Freight, and 3 auto parts places within 3 miles... but, I miss the little neighborhood hardware store that went out of business about 10 years ago...

For me he was the most talented entertainer in my life time (so far). Singer, writer, produce, could play every instrument on his songs and the best part was his concerts were equal to none and I've seen them all, from Elvis and Frank to Metallica. Least we forget he could dance backwards in 6 stilettos inch heels .

See me at the show Paul. We can probably fill in all the gaps in your belt collection.

Finally had the V61s mounted for the C120 and the AGs mounted for the 10-8

I will see your hills and raise you three mountains I have to cross in North Carolina and Virginia.

Yep, hit a grain of sand while wheeling across the garage and the thing stops quick!!

Run what you want and keep it topped off and clean. Just don't run the "lack of" kind or brand of oil!

I'd like to use that as an excuse but no. They sit parallel to each other inside the barn. Exactly! I dunno if it'll happen but I'd really like to see this truck pull a trailer to @JCM 's event in September. If it has a bed by then I'll toss a tractor or two up there. Six in the trailer.

Yep, let a pro handle the rear end and whatever else. Get it roadworthy and start enjoying it!

So this is the thing that's been blocking access to Colossus??? Glad you finally figured it out...

Hi Pete and thanks for the tips. This turned out to be the result of a (too) cheap head gasket. It lacked the edge protection found on better quality gaskets and resulted in the material sandwiched between the two metal layers to blow completely out. I put the original head gasket back in and the tractor started Right Up and had full power. (I have a better Stens head gasket inbound should this one start to have issued.) I completed the service by changing engine and trans-axle oil. best,

@ebinmaine Impressive that you returned to it. I would have been at the auto shop long ago.

Here in our Herd every machine is older than you have so my familiarity is limited compared to other guys. That clutch issue may be a worn out gas cylinder. I believe you can simply replace it with the older style spring. Toro number is 108035. Shop carefully for those. The price varies a LOT. Another maintenance item you'll need to consider is the fuel system. Ethanol fuel is not friendly to older rubber. Your tank valve, its grommet, and all your fuel line is almost definitely dried out. Again all parts are available from good sources.

@Fj40z I would recommend becoming a supporter of the site makes it so much better of an experience and a lot easier to post pics. I 4 see more WH's in your future so you may as well join this support group . It is well worth the price of admission in my opinion. So much help and knowledge on here.

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!!

And a cardiologist opened up next door...

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.