Just purchased a 308-8

[snrusnak 2]

Hello, new member.  I just picked up a 308-8 real cheap in decent shape.  I really didn't know anything about these tractors (and still don't know a ton) but my main mower started acting up last weekend and with grass growing by the hour this time of year I thought it'd be good to have a backup mower.  I decided to buy a cheapo riding mower on craigslist or marketplace and my wife came across this tractor for similar pricing.  I figured this may be a better route long term vs a cheap modern disposable unit.

 

I went to look at it (was told it had a couple minor issue) and found that you have to jump the starter solenoid to get it running which is not a huge deal, I assume the solenoid is bad or possibly wiring/key ignition cylinder.  I was also told the PTO engagement had an issue and you had to put pressure on the clutch/brake assembly (whatever the proper term is) and as I looked closely I noticed the pin was not properly installed.  I spent about 10 seconds fixing the pin and the PTO engages fine now.  It also had a slight miss to the engine that developed just in the few minutes I test drove it and after getting home found the spark plug was very loose.  Tightened it up and it purrs pretty good now.  Seemed like a solid little tractor so I offerred him a little less and he accepted.  I went back to pick it up yesterday and brought it home.

 

I can't read the label behind the shifters as it's sun faded so not sure what year it is but from what I see online looks like the 308-8 was only made from 86-88?  I put a new spark plug in it and changed the oil and I tried to mow a small patch of grass and it really didn't seem like it was cutting at all.  I will say the grass was not high and I think the deck needs adjustment.  I went and put some new blades on it though (the old ones looked like bullnose counter top edging....) and matched up the mule belt length at the parts store as it was looking pretty rough.  While all the deck spindles and mule sheave bearings are not perfect they all spin free and the deck tensioner seems to be in working order.  I want to make sure it's going to mow alright before investing any real money.  I did grease all the deck and front end (and steering shaft) zerks and tested the PTO after doing all that and the belt change and it engages but for some reason it just seems like the blades aren't spinning very fast (can't even really hear any difference other than the initial momentary bog of the engine during engagement).  The friction material on the PTO has some thickness (not sure what it's like new but it seems to be holding and not slipping) and I made sure the belt is routed properly based on other pictures I've found online.  And I'm using the larger PTO sheave to get more speed on the deck.  With the newer mowers that I'm used to the blade noise is really loud.  Does this seem normal that I can't hear the blades?  I thought maybe since they are such small blades they don't make as much noise.  I forget what deck it is but it's small, like maybe 42" or so.  It has 3 blades, the middle one is larger than the 2 side blades and it's a rear discharge.  Once it dries up I'll do a test mow and see how it does.  Pretty much everything works on the mower, even the lights lol.  Only thing that doesn't is the parking brake.  It's old, used, and not perfect but it is pretty functional and not beat to heck and back.  I'm pretty excited about it.  I attached a couple pictures.  Ignore the huge greasy mess, the guy for some reason was spraying the whole area down with WD40 when he couldn't figure out why the PTO wasn't engaging.  I already cleaned it up and cleaned the friction material up best I could with some brake clean.

[ri702bill 9,022]

Welcome!! You may a bad bearing(s) on the deck spindles. Remove the belt between them, they should turn freely with no play.

 

Look this over - all sorts of great stuff compiled by members.

 

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,528]

Hard to tell, but the second picture the belt seems loose to me that would certainly cause the deck blades to not come up top speed.  Looks like you got a good deal!

[SylvanLakeWH 27,633]

[snrusnak 2]

Hey thanks for the welcome.  Sorry that second pic was just to show how the belt is routed (deck was off at that time so the belt is disconnected).  I have the belt tensioned to where it has roughly 1/2" of deflection with "medium" pressure between the PTO and mule drive sheaves.  As said the bearings on the deck and mule drive aren't perfect but they spin freely so I don't think that's the issue.  Havne't been able to test again as it won't stop raining.

 

I swapped the solenoid with a known good one off another mower and it still didn't work.  So may be a wiring or ignition cylinder issue.  I may just buy a new ignition for $10 on amazon as an easy try or may break out a wiring diagram and actually diagnose it...

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,528]

Wiring diagrams are in our manuals section, all may be downloaded for free.

[ebinmaine 70,900]

 

 

 

25 minutes ago, snrusnak said:

I may just buy a new ignition for $10 on amazon as an easy try or

 

Please do NOT use cheap electrical parts. 

It'll come back to haunt you.....

 

This Redsquare site has several great vendors that can supply you with quality OE or aftermarket parts.  

 

 

 

Remember this:

7 hours ago, snrusnak said:

  I figured this may be a better route long term vs a cheap modern disposable unit.

 

 

Absolutely correct. 

Remember why you bought a very good quality machine. 

 

 

 

25 minutes ago, snrusnak said:

 

may break out a wiring diagram and actually diagnose it..

 

 

This is the way. 

Every time.  

 

A 12 volt test light is your friend.  

 

 

[midpack 975]

That's a 36" rear discharge deck. I used one for a while. 

[gwest_ca-(File Mod) 11,266]

The decal below the front of the seat may be the ID decal with model and serial number on it. That is where they started out in 1985 and eventually moved to under the left side of the seat on the fender pan.

Post all the numbers off the engine decal including the serial number and we may be able to identify.

[snrusnak 2]

Thanks for the additional input.  I have been searching the manuals section and found appropriate wiring diagrams.  There is a wealth of knowledge here for sure!

 

I checked out redhorse and they have a lot of parts that I'll likely eventually need but I didn't see the ignition for this particular unit.

 

I can't read the ID decal between the seat and the shifters as it's so sun faded.  I will see what info I can find on the engine.

[ebinmaine 70,900]

2 minutes ago, snrusnak said:

parts

 

Brian Badman is an excellent source. 

 

His handle is 

@76c12091520h

 

 

[MainelyWheelhorse 1,053]

@snrusnak Welcome, As a fellow 308-8 owner, as far as your starting issue goes have you checked the 15A fuse on the right (PTO) side. If it’s not the solenoid, it could be that the key switch, like you mentioned or possibly the safety switch for the PTO lever. Once I adjusted the PTO lever on my 87 after intermittent starting. it starts no problem.

[snrusnak 2]

Thanks again for the input.  I checked the fuse today and it was good.  I haven't spent much time on it but did get it to mow today so I now know it'll function and can dig a little deeper into the issues.  It actually mows pretty nice when it's working, I only mowed a few strips and figured a few things out...

 

I think the PTO clutch was (maybe still is) slipping but it wasn't extremely obvious.  I noticed that with the deck in the up position the blades would slowly get to a higher speed and you could actually hear them.  When lowering the deck they'd slowly lose speed especially once you hit some grass.  I adjusted the lever that pulls the PTO in just about 3 or so turns and it then worked after that.  I did notice though that there seems to be a slight gap at the bottom side of the clutch/friction material to the bell when pulled in even though there's no gap on the top side.  I figure this isn't normal so will need to figure this out.

 

I was mowing in 1st gear high range and when going up a pretty mild, maybe medium at best hill it started to struggle eventually to the point it was about to die so I had to clutch in.  Is this normal?  I'm surprised at the low power but maybe it's normal.  I'm used to a 23hp kawasaki commercial zero turn so maybe I'm just spoiled (which I did get working prior to needing to mow today, hooray!).  I know this will never mow like the newer one but I would have thought it'd have enough power to mow up hill in 1st gear high range.  Do other people have to use low range when mowing up hill?  Maybe there's something else going on...

 

The first time I tried to mow the transmission drive belt jumped off.  Only happened the one time, I'll keep an eye on it.  It looks like there's a little metal bar that acts as a guide to keep it from jumping off the pulley up at the front off the engine.  I think I can adjust or bent this to stop this from reoccuring, but I also probably need a new belt too (as I mentioned prior the previous owner felt it necessary to soak everything with WD40...).

 

Last thing that is probably most concerning is I noticed the more I ran/mowed that the I started sort of hearing a "squeaking" as it was running, seemed like it might have been correlated with the engine firing.  Maybe it was one of the belts or the PTO clutch but it was sort of rhythmic with the firing of the engine.  I found that very odd.  I ended up stopping and considered it a success knowing with a little TLC it'll be a decent little mower/tractor.  I didn't want to keep running and tear something up.  What worries me is with the engine bogging down going up hill I feel like the belts are not slipping, which may indicate a more serious issue?  Maybe it is with the PTO clutch/bell/bearing unit as I mentioned above it seems slightly uneven as far as the gap when pulled in.  I decided to see if the mule belt was warm and it was actually right about the point of too hot to hold my hand around it.  I'm not sure this is normal or not.  The belt is at some odd angles on the sheaves so feel like it may be normal but not sure.  Should the PTO bell assembly get hot during operation?  I may have something slipping here...