Wheel Horse 718-Z

[davem1111 1,932]

38 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said:

 

I try to be also.  Typically after every mow I blow off the manchine with my blower, and shoot the hose under the deck, and scrape the clumps off.

 

I wish I could say that I do that too, and after repairing several decks, I think next summer I'll start.  Typically in the past, I only cleaned the deck when I sharpened the blades, which is still after about 3-4 uses.  I think that's not too bad - I haven't seen any "new" rust on the ones I use. 

[ebinmaine 63,095]

10 hours ago, davem1111 said:

 

I wish I could say that I do that too, and after repairing several decks, I think next summer I'll start.  Typically in the past, I only cleaned the deck when I sharpened the blades, which is still after about 3-4 uses.  I think that's not too bad - I haven't seen any "new" rust on the ones I use. 

You'll likely be just fine keeping that pattern.  

 

There are decks with garden hose attachment points on top. 

From my reading I'd say the position of the attachment is paramount to them working appropriately, if at all.  

 

 

@Snoopy11 Great work so far!!

 

[sjoemie himself 2,918]

36 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

garden hose attachment points

 

You gave me an idea @ebinmaine..

Would'nt be too hard to make somekind of 'manifold' to direct the streams of water where you want it. Or several garden hose attachment points..

[ebinmaine 63,095]

Just now, sjoemie himself said:

 

You gave me an idea @ebinmaine..

Would'nt be too hard to make somekind of 'manifold' to direct the streams of water where you want it. Or several garden hose attachment points..

Trial and error with appropriate checking in on the underside of a mowing deck would show you what works... 

[Jeff-C175 7,195]

From what I've read those washout ports don't seem to work all that well.

 

I think you would need one for each blade area.

 

Even then the areas that are prone to clumping would still need scraping.

 

I've thought about making a pipe with three nozzles pointing up that I can slide under the deck, but the hose underneath works OK.

 

Be sure to let it dry out before putting away.

[ebinmaine 63,095]

5 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said:

 

 

I think you would need one for each blade area.

 

Even then the areas that are prone to clumping would still need scraping.

 

 

 

Agreed on both points above.

 

The advantage to installing your own port is you can put it wherever it needs to be, the most.  

 

 

[Snoopy11 5,713]

3 hours ago, Jeff-C175 said:

From what I've read those washout ports don't seem to work all that well.

The one on my Z355E doesn't work worth a crap...

 

Don

[Snoopy11 5,713]

...and the type of silly ridiculous nonsense incoherent bull crap that drives me completely bananas...

 

Tape that is hiding....

 

 

Hiding a connector that once went to the seat sensor...

 

 

35 feet of wire loop that should have only been 3 inches...

 

 

A wire that goes to nowhere... was once used for "Accessories" according to 312-8 wiring diagram...

 

 

My educated guess on this wire is that it goes to ground magneto when the switch is turned off. It also had a connector in line for the seat sensor...

 

 

What exactly this wire goes to...

 

It comes out of the plug that returns from the magneto. My educated guess is that it is the low oil pressure switch wire.

 

 

Don

[Snoopy11 5,713]

HAHA... nope, I figured out what is going on here.

 

The red wire in the 2 prong plug is a return from the wire that originally went to the stator. I didn't realize that the stator along with the 3 prong plug that went from the stator to the regulator is actually still on the engine. I never considered that since it is now running an alternator... My mind was thinking that the original charging system was gone bye-bye...

 

I do have concern about the charge wire due to open connections. I didn't realize what was hiding under electrical tape...

 

 

Don

[sjoemie himself 2,918]

2 hours ago, Snoopy11 said:

doesn't work worth a crap

Not having ever used one of those connectións.. I'm assuming that one runs the blades while rinsing the deck right?

 

29 minutes ago, Snoopy11 said:

Tape that is hiding.... incoherent bullcrap

Ah yes, the pleasures of undoing a PO's tape clumps.. erm.. wiring

[Snoopy11 5,713]

1 hour ago, sjoemie himself said:

undoing a PO's

Tape clumps and wiring isn't the worst of it though. I had the impression that all of this was taken care of... I guess not...

 

 

 

 

 

Nice clumps of magnet... could have easily screwed up this engine... only a miracle that it is still running...

 

Don

 

 

[sjoemie himself 2,918]

Glad you pulled that engine yet? 

[Jeff-C175 7,195]

Dahellizdat? A beez nest?

 

[Snoopy11 5,713]

23 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said:

Dahellizdat? A beez nest?

It looks like dirt, until you poke your screwdriver in it... then you realize, it is ground up magnet with other materials mixed in. That cylinder that you are looking at Jeff... it was completely plugged... no airflow at all going through the cylinder fins. Not even compressed air would go though.

 

Look at the picture of the inside of the flywheel, that looks like dirt, but it is really ground up magnet.

 

 

 

Check out the magnet material:

 

 

 

 

This machine was a ticking time bomb... still have lot's of cleaning to do, but it's already 200% better...

 

Don

 

 

Edited November 20, 2022 by Snoopy11

[Jeff-C175 7,195]

5 minutes ago, Snoopy11 said:

time bomb

 

  !  To paraphrase what Mark said: " Ain'tcha glad y'all pult dat engine? "

 

Wow...

 

How's the stator test? OK?

 

Edited November 20, 2022 by Jeff-C175

[Snoopy11 5,713]

28 minutes ago, sjoemie himself said:

Glad you pulled that engine yet? 

Well, if I hadn't, this machine would have surely come apart. The pieces of magnet that were riding on the flywheel were bound to come loose eventually, not to mention all the other pieces everywhere. I'm certainly happy that I pulled the engine... not exactly thrilled with what I found. I guess I shouldn't ever take things for granted...

 

I've never seen cooling fins completely clogged before...

 

Don

[Snoopy11 5,713]

Just now, Jeff-C175 said:

How's the stator test? OK?

 

Stator is garbage... it got pretty beat to death by all the magnetized grenades getting flung around inside the flywheel. I wouldn't use that stator without expectation of further issues.

 

Engine runs an alternator, so I'm okay in the charging department.

 

On a different note, I got the wiring straightened out. VERY clean.

 

 

Don

[sjoemie himself 2,918]

All joking aside, it really s#cks when you think something is fine until you dive into it and it turns out to be not so fine 

 

Are the parts that desintegrated still for sale or will you be looking for another engine?

[ebinmaine 63,095]

1 hour ago, Snoopy11 said:

I've never seen cooling fins completely clogged before

That's just proof that you haven't taken apart enough old tractors yet.  

We've had more than one here.  

 

[Horse Newbie 6,859]

9 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

The advantage to installing your own port is you can put it wherever it needs to be, the most.

Yeah, but what are you gonna do with all those left over “trial and error” holes?

[ebinmaine 63,095]

Just now, Horse Newbie said:

Yeah, but what are you gonna do with all those left over “trial and error” holes?

Attach more hoses? 

[Snoopy11 5,713]

Guys, I just wanted to clarify something... @Evguy brought this machine down to me after getting it running and charging... I don't necessarily feel that he is responsible for what I have found on this machine thus far. He did some work to it, and I took it from there.

 

I just wanted to say that for the record. I hold no hard feelings at all. 

 

As far as the parts that disintegrated @sjoemie himself... the magnets on the inside of the flywheel are no longer needed. I did not know that the stator was still on the engine, or that the magnet material was still present on the inside of the engine. I just feel that it was paramount that they be removed to avoid destroying the engine. There is already an alternator on this engine, so I am good to go in that department. The engine runs just fine.

 

What all I dug out of the engine:

 

 

You thought that was it, didn't you?

 

 

And last but not least:

 

 

Progress...

 

 

 

Don

[Jeff-C175 7,195]

4 hours ago, sjoemie himself said:

assuming that one runs the blades while rinsing the deck right?

 

Yes, exactly.  The idea is the water flying off the blades at mach speed will 'pressure wash' the underside of the deck.  It does take the looser stuff off but doesn't do much for the clumps that tend to build up, and those are the bad things. Takes a long time for those to dry out and longer time for acidic rust to form.

 

When I do mine with the hose I put a brick on the seat switch. An OSHA approved brick of course! 

 

 

[Handy Don 10,594]

2 minutes ago, Jeff-C175 said:

 

Yes, exactly.  The idea is the water flying off the blades at mach speed will 'pressure wash' the underside of the deck.  It does take the looser stuff off but doesn't do much for the clumps that tend to build up, and those are the bad things. Takes a long time for those to dry out and longer time for acidic rust to form.

If the deck wash hose thing was used after every mowing session it might prevent buildup but I agree that once dried stuff has cemented itself into the corners one of these hose deck wash ports isn't gonna get the job done.

[Jeff-C175 7,195]

7 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

If the deck wash hose thing was used after every mowing session it might prevent buildup but I agree that once dried stuff has cemented itself into the corners one of these hose deck wash ports isn't gonna get the job done.

 

Even in one session my 48 builds clumps in 4 places.  Low pressure zones is my presumption.  Except at the chute, where the clippings are 'thrown' at the rear side and stick there.