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I had to give the old C81 some TLC before I used it this week. I saw the insulation cracking on the stator/regulator wiring and it crumbled when I handled it. Used fome of my favorite heat shrink connections that have solder in them. Had some new connectors in my stash and a little 14Gage wire, so good to go. When I travel through Austin coming from the farm I pass near a huge city sewer plant. Nearby they have a contractor that takes the solids and the grass, leaves and limbs and makes excellent compost that they call "Dillo Dirt" As in Armadillo, it an Austin thing I can get a truck and trailer (2+yards) free if I shove or $30 for them to load with skidsteer. Its an easy decision to shell out $$. It does smell a little "fresh" at the composting facility. But the smell is gone from the yard in a day. Very good fertilizer! So the C81 has had easy duty pulling the trailer around the yard as I do the hard duty shovel/spreading. I've spred 2 truck/trailer loads on the lawn this spring.

June 13, 1980, The Shining premiered in the USA on May 23, 1980, with a limited release, followed by a wider release on June 13, 1980, in both the United States and Canada. This classic horror film, directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on Stephen King's novel, marked its debut in theaters in 1980.

Many people like my parents got into the mindset and had no need for multi function equipment. if it was cheap and just cut grass it was fine. I like the fact that my stuff can be a Swiss Army knife of lawn equipment.

…or someone did some drilling .

Here's Johnny!

I currently have 3 Onan engines. I was like you and very Leary of them when I bought my 416h. All 3 of my current Onans I’m sure have over 1,000 hours on them. My 416h is my go to tractor. It always starts doesn’t matter how long it’s sat or how cold it is. I don’t have a picture of the 3rd tractor and engine but it’s a 520. All have been excellent tractors

Something in the tank eventually clogging off the gas ????

I'm not so sure that's a 701 S/G guard, doesn't look quite right to me. Looks to be from a Briggs motor maybe?

Sorry - it looks to be a FrankenHorse. The double wide S/G belt guard says 1961, the short hood, front axle & steering, gas tank, iron dash all say 1962. If that is a Dial-a-Height lift stop, it says 1963.... Additional pictures from the rear & right side needed to better define this one... Rarity - probably a one of one - but not for a good reason.

The P216 and P218 Onan engines aren't as fickle as the P220 (20hp), but I'm not a fan of Onan either way. Of course if correct 400 hours is nothing. That being said, 1300 hours on a Kohler twin is getting up there. If it has been meticulously maintained, I would lean that way as well. But seeing would make all the difference for me. Both being hydros... you're just gonna have to look them over.

After a few cranks, it fired up on carb cleaner sprayed in the carb and rad good (for a rough check) I had it jacked up to change the rear tires, so kept spraying/running and moved the hydro control lever forward and backwards and hub rotates as they should. So theirs signs of life, maybe, just maybe the 400 hrs on the meter is real. A part of the deal I got a pile of 3 piece and 2 piece 3 speed transmission parts. #/4 of them are good, some are pitted or chipped . The complete 3 piece transmission has interesting damage, if only it could talk! Who knowns what went through it to break this bearing holding ring The case and hubs and pullies are good. This other side plate was good. This is a "newer style diff that I guess was in the 3 piece transmission. There are also parts to another 2 piece 3 speed. some good, some pitted. Here a close up of that diff with a corner chippe dout The axles need to be flipped, they have heavy wear in the bushing area. More parts and more parts. So for trading a tiller that I had 2 of sitting in the barn I feel I make out great. I really needed some transmission parts for various projects. I thing I can build a really good 3 piece transmission if i repair or replace that side plate, and a really good 2 piece 3 speed with another transmission I have that needed parts. There probable another so/so 2 piece transmission in the pile of parts. While the 520H is rough in some aspects, It give me one to learn on since it is the first 520h I've seen down here in 10 years. Its 48" deck has a rust hole near the discharge but turns free. If nothing else, as @ebinmaine said, If it becomes parts, the gear reduction steering, seat pan, wide rear rims, and some other parts have value to me.

North sky this evening.

I think Cecil Pond was not too enthusiastic about his offspring having to swim upstream against a rising tide of planned obsolescence lawn equipment. While they would face some hard decisions along the way just as Cecil had it was becoming obvious that bowing out while the company was thriving made the most economic sense.

Painted some 42” and 48” mower deck belt gaurds. The 42’s (smaller set) are Rustoleum Regal Red and the 48’s (larger set) sprayed with Rustoleum Farm IH red. Today outside in full sun the Ih red looks to have a little more orange tint to it. I go back and forth on which flavor of these 2 shades I like the best and have come to the conclusion they are so close it just depends what day of week they where made to which shade is the darker of the two. Both were sprayed over gray primer and clear gloss sprayed on them soon as last coat of red was applied.

C-85 I bought awhile back has always had two leaky fronts. Been stored in the shed up on blocks so the rubber wouldn’t get ruined sitting flat..well today I decided to tube em both. I hate tubing the small tires ! This old HF tire changer comes in handy still. But now it’s done and the big test will be to see if they stay “up”.

Thanks for the quick responses! I meant to respond earlier. I am looking forward to it, but I i gotta make the time cuz I dont really like choking it out to shut it down. I'll update as I go through the wiring, but I did briefly go through all wiring/grounds i could see. Specifically the dark blue one, for grounding purposes. I'm planning on eliminating some more length of the wiring related to the little idiot lights as I take out the battery tray, etc to see wiring and eliminating pinch points. I dont want to eliminate any safety switches! I haven't taken time to really look into it yet with my teenage kids always taking up my wife's and mybtime and wheel horse $. 🙃 I do have an exact model/year (93 73401), (part donor/maybe future project/high hr but does run 314h) unfortunately, that one has an obvious corroded rusty bad terminal on the switch,vbut it actually "ran last year " 😄 (po has a push button installed) @gwest_ca you rule! I actually thought that they both had the same part number, then I realized I clicked on the same link twice 😅 Thanks for keeping me straight!

I've been wanting to replace my mulching cover, due to it being broken at the corners, and the PO hacking it. WHX?? was kind enough to sell an extra one he had (including the mounting bolts/nuts which I didn't have). Today I used rust reforming primer and GM Red spray paint on the rusty areas of the deck. After it all cured I added a little weatherstripping to the back edges of the cover and installed. My mild OCD is doing better now. Once my son in law has the time he's going to 3D print me another one for the spare parts shelf.

Went out for a test drive.

I had the same thing sort of on my 953. There was no screen on the tank and the shut off valve got clogged. It looked yellowish and gummy but it was actually real fine rust particles. Well no way I was removing the tank so I tossed a little chain in the tank and with a long screwdriver I swished it around. Then flushed the tank. Then we have these real strong magnets that came with a dialysis machine maintenance kit at work. They are used to catch any metal that may have gotten through the water filters. They are about the diameter of a dime. I placed one of these near the tank outlet to catch any fine rust. 2 years and no more clogs.

I believe I have it figured out. It may have been the battery tray drain hose. The battery tray has a hole in it and it just points straight down, above the pulley in the middle of the deck. Looking at another post on the 520H(https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/topic/115709-520h-battery-tray-drain-tube/) while a different tractor, my battery tray looks identical and the pictures from Cleat seem to show that hose extending quite a ways away. Perhaps mystery solved!

Out side of swapping in a carb you changed everything except maybe the condenser? For the heck of it check the connection at the switch and the wire to the coil. I had my 1267 at the show a few years back and the screw that holds the coil feed wire at the switch vibrated loose and it died. Maybe a little heat build up there from a bad connection?

Just because it is clean doesn't mean it works right. I've cleaned my problem unit 6 ways from Sunday, there is just something wrong in the body of it. Also, check the condition of the inside of his fuel tank. I have had debris block the tank outlet of dirty tanks too. If it just restricts flow instead of cutting it off it can take a bit for the problems to start, and then they improve after it sits and this catch up. With the mention of debris in the filter and carb this is a possibility. Also pull and inspect the sediment bowl if there is one. I've had similar situations develop in there, up in the top where you can't see. Nothing filters fuel going into the sediment bowl, it just gets screened coming out, so there are passages in there that can also become blocked. Also, what is he using for a fuel pump? That tank isn't high enough to gravity feed.

Thanks guys. Sounds like the general consensus is probably the expansion valve. I’ll tear into it at some point and hopefully that’s the whole of it. Our former AC guy at work would put the vacuum pump on our big systems and run them all day and sometimes overnight before recharging. He was big into pulling out all the moisture. Easy enough to do, so we’ll do that. THANK YOU all! steve

those are some great notations on the small variations between the 1962 and 1963 models, @ACman

OK, my bad.... The hood stand may be from a 1963 or 1964 model. Still makes it a FrankenMutt.

Definitely not a 701 guard. It has the smoother face like one, but not nearly wide enough.

The newer Wheel Horses with the two cylinder Kohler Command engine all had electric clutches tied in with the No-Mow in Reverse switching. To my knowledge none would have had the thrust bearings in the engine.

Better check the Spec Number of the Command Pro 18. They did not have ball bearing crank shafts. More like KT and Magnums only some came with a thrust crank shaft. (had some sort of radial thrust bearing),. most has a "non-Thrust crankshaft.

Belts we use are measured on the outside circumference. Belts shrink with age so a new old belt will measure a bit short. Industrial belts are measured at the internal cord location which allows shaft speeds to be accurately determined. A or 1/2" wide belts add 2" to get the outside circumference. B or 5/8" wide belts add 3" to get the outside circumference.

The Kohler Command is a much newer engine so the hour meter reading is probably inconsequential. Wheel Horse began using the Command engines in the very late 1990s and continued to use them up to the end of production. They have a fairly good reputation and the newer replacement engine may be the seller's justification for the higher asking price.

I too was leary of Onans, but now I have two 416H's and a 416-8. Personally I would go with the 416H. All of the problems you read about are relatively easy to fix. With some minor wiring modifications you can prevent burnup issues with the notorious 9 pin connector. 400 hours is nothing. Buy it and run it, you won't be disappointed.

Had the same problem on my wife's Ford product. The damper that controls the airflow (defrost, heat, cooling) has a default position of defrost with heat. It is operated by vacuum and the bean counters at Ford decided that a small check valve on the vacuum line to the comfort control system would work as well as a vacuum reservoir. If the check valve isn't functioning properly when you accelerate rapidly or go up a steep hill the vacuum produced by the engine reduces to the point that the damper previously mentioned goes to the heat / defrost default position until vacuum is restlored. We had the wife's car to two Ford dealers who tested everything in the refrigerant system but didn't know a thing about the vacuum problem, the good old boy who services our vehicles knew exactly what the problem was when I asked him and once the check valve was replaced the problem went away.

I've been using lacquer thinner for a few years. Seems to work good and lasts well. I do NOT use the heat cycle. I do have the thinner in a separate smaller vessel and surrounded by water in the machine.

What is your preferred solution to use in your ultrasonic?

Do you have a picture of the other side showing the belt guard? Looks like that left rear wheel has an axle and or brake seal leaking bad. Its a plus that it has the Kohler engine. But has the front of the hood been cut/butchered/destroyed to fit the air Cleaner

Do yourself a favor - inflate the tube(s) to about 5 PSI a day or two before you actually need them to be sure they are OK... do not destroy the packaging in case they need to be returned. I inflate the tube, place it on a flat surface and place a small piece of plywood or cardboard on top. Record the height from the surface to the top of the board with a tape measure. Check the distance the next day - you may see a change.. Yes on the talcum powder - it lets the tube wiggle into its happy position when you inflate it.

Picked up this front deck mount about 1 month ago and the 42" deck on the way home from @Pullstart's plow day. Finiched getting it all mounted up and working today. The instructions want you to cut out a notch on the RH belt cover in order to clear the drive belt. Don't think I'll be doing that for now. Mows pretty good, but will get a little getting used to. Also need to get a hydro to install it on. Way too wet to mow due to all the storms that past few days, btu wanted to to make 1 pass around the garden to check the cut. IMG_9702.mp4 IMG_9703.mp4 IMG_9706.mp4

They kind of nailed it. I wonder how much information from a site like RedSquare it took to make that summary?

only one I know of that Shaun (guy on the Senior) imported, he didn't bring it this time on account of now fetching a GT and D-200 with loader

A rubdown with Penetrol. It was thirsty and will get another...

Got a couple BIG loads of firewood brought up from down back of the barn. I've never tried to stack as much wood in the trailer as I did today. The first load is taller but has shorter length pieces. The second load felt heavier. I figured for sure that tractor tire traction would be the limiting factor. Nope. The ole beast Cinnamon Horse C160-8 just kept on ah-chuggin'... I was very pleasantly surprised at how well that went. Second load:

Got some logs pulled outta the forest today.

312-8 after mounting a 42” deck.

The 312 got a bath today! Interesting story about this tractor is that I never intended to own it but it came non-running in a package deal with a c-165 I was in search of. It eventually got repowered when I swapped one from a 12 Auto. A huge limb fell across its hood so that's been pounded out. No Purple Heart ceremony for that yet but it's got character and surprisingly my "preferred" machine depending on what I'm doing.

Out getting some fresh air still had 3 more tucked away

Zach cutting big brother @Coulter Caleb’s lawn with “Hidalgo” (Caleb’s 520HC)—man I feel old!😅 in the most blessed way possible🙌🏻

I didn't wanna go off on Plunge's thread ... ahhh to hell with him he'll get over it ... tellem EB made me do it...

See Dick that's why I gave you the extra $$ not for helping with scoring me a shirt from the show but for all your help on red square! Thanks again!