Tranny parts needed!

[Teddo 56]

Greetings Everyone.  

 

I find myself unfortunately in a position many of you have been in: dealing with the dreaded hi-lo shift fork, so I just joined this forum so I could pass on my frustration.  I have a 78 C-121 which has a 103916 8 speed tranny.  I used the low range multiple times last summer pulling my boat in and out of the garage.  Never an issue. Last December we had a 2' snowstorm when the Horse quit.  Thought it was a head gasket but it turned out to be a stuck exhaust valve.  I parked it in the barn and went to Florida til May1st.  I just finished the total rebuild of the Kohler and it now runs great.  As I was doing the break-in run, I tried to put it in LO and was unsuccessful.  I tried several times after rocking it back and forth with no success so I hung it up, cussed a few times at the Horse and put it away.  I don't know what caused it but rather than damaging it anymore, I figured I was going to have to split the case.  So I'm looking for parts and this is where I get frustrated.

 

First, I thank everyone for all the knowledge they've shared on this site.  I've spent hours reading and watching repair vids whether or not they pertain to me.  I just love the "mechanics" of it all.  Thanks, @stevasaurus for all your work recording transmission teardowns.  Excellent work.  Looks like I’ll be watching those again.  My frustrations as I look for parts for the tranny teardown are availability of parts.  I've read many posts that say to just buy new parts but they were posted around 2018.  I’ve found a seal kit at Wheelhorse containing 4 seals: 2 for the axles, one for the input and one for the brake shaft.  Cost of 50 bucks.  Is this for real?  I tried finding each one separately and found the cost to be nearly the same.  Any ideas or responses?  Is this what seals cost these days? 

 

I also need the hi/lo shift fork which I cannot find anywhere, except used on ebay.  I see no sense in replacing broken parts with used ones if given the choice.  Are there no aftermarket manufacturers making these shift forks or am I just not seeing the sites online? I see no support of any kind from Toro.  No offering of parts for older machines or a suggestion of where to find them.    Can anyone direct me to somewhere I can purchase a new shift fork?

[Terry M-(Moderator) 2,251]

https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/forum/155-classifieds/
 

I’m sure others will chime in…but we have a classifieds section for selling and wanted..

good place to start.😎

[Pullstart 67,042]

, nice ride Michigander!

[8ntruck 7,877]

. Repeating what Kevin wrote, from another Michigander.

 

Toro does still have some Wheel Horse parts.  Unfortunately, they recently took down the parts web site for Wheel Horse parts.  You might have some luck in visiting your local Toro dealer and asking them to look up the part.  They will need the model and serial numbers for your tractor to help look the part up.  Toro is pretty proud price wise for OEM parts. 

[953 nut 60,348]

Today it seem that nobody has parts support for older equipment, just a throwaway society. We do have a vendor that sells good used Wheel Horse parts and may be able to help, give Lincoln a call, https://www.a-ztractor.com/

As for the seals you can get the seals from Lowell https://wheelhorsepartsandmore.com/product/oil-seal-kit-1/ for about half the price and he also has the gasket and other supplies like bearings and a shift lever boot you may need.

Edited June 12 by 953 nut

[stevasaurus 23,303]

Check out this post from one of my transmissioon threads.  This thread may help you also.

 

[Teddo 56]

Well, here's the progress I made:  I managed to find seals at several locations but could only find used shifting forks.  Then I thought about what 8ntruck said about Toro dealers may having something laying around.  It reminded me of another vintage project I did where a dealership had a part I needed stashed in the warehouse so I called a local deal and he gave me a list of dealers around the country that may have a fork somewhere.  The first one was only an hour to the south.  I called and low and behold, he had one.  So I shot down there today and picked it up.  He also had the axle seals, brake shaft seal, input shaft seal and case gasket.  So it was a productive day and I spent under a hundred bucks for everything.  Thanks for the quick response, everyone.

 

I think I'm going to get some other projects out of the way before I attack the beast.  Between the Kohler rebuild and the research on the tranny, I've eaten up a bit of time.  Thanks, stevasaurus, for the information. You have helped many Horse owners.   I have studied your tranny rebuild videos several times already just to see if I wanted to tackle the job.  IThey are in my email files so I can get to them easily.   Being  quite mechanically apt I think I can get the job done.  I study those "who have gone before me" to avoid pitfalls that can be avoided.  Thank you all.  Since I know everyone likes pics, I'll try and document the job!

  

[Ed Kennell 42,170]

On 6/11/2025 at 8:40 PM, Teddo said:

I tried to put it in LO and was unsuccessful.  I tried several times after rocking it back and forth with no success so I hung it up,

I had one 8 speed where I had to put a washer under the shift lever to keep the shaft raised a bit to engage properly.

[Teddo 56]

6 hours ago, Ed Kennell said:

I had one 8 speed where I had to put a washer under the shift lever to keep the shaft raised a bit to engage properly.

I'll give that a try before I rip into the tranny.  Thanks.  Good to know these little quirky details.

[stevasaurus 23,303]

Help will always be given at Red Square to those who ask.

 

I think Dumbledore said that to Harry Potter.  

[Teddo 56]

I here you, stevasaurus!  Thanks.  BTW-I passed on the list of vendors to oliver2-44.  He was also in search of the shift fork.  

[Teddo 56]

I'm not sure whether or not to start a new thread as I update my progress-still feeling out the forum.  So far, everything I've read in the forum is pretty accurate, in that the hardest part is getting off everything so you can split the tranny.  Namely the hubs, brake "drum" and input shaft pulley.  The input shaft pulley and brake drum slid right off.  The wheel hubs...well, that's a different story.  I've had a puller on it 8 days now.  7 days ago I parted with 30 bucks for Kroil and they've been soaking in Kroil via the set screw hole in the hub.  I've tried pulleying on it each day applying some propane torch heat for 45 minutes and these things haven't even thought about moving.  I'm pulling from the rear of the hub and hammering on the turn bolt of the puller.  The tranny rebuild may be an hour or less but getting to it is another story!  It's true!  Patience may be the big key.  I'll let it set 1 more week, keeping the holes full of Kroil and try it again.  If it doesn't come off by then I'm blowing the thing up!

 

Notice the plumber's putty I put against the back of the hub, trying to force the Kroil out the other way.  The Kroil came out the back side rather quickly.  You can also see it seeping out aound the outside face of the hub but it ain;t budgin' yet.  Hubs are now black!  They've been rather hot.  They are a PITA!

[mrc 960]

i like how you are pulling from the rear of the hub.  may i suggest using an impact gun on the forcing screw.  

 

good luck

mike

[stevasaurus 23,303]

Not my favorite option, but it works and saves days of dispair.  Take a cutting wheel and cut a slot along the axle on top of the hub.  You want to do this to the hub on the left side of the trans.  If you have to brake the hub, do the left side...you can then separate the trans.  You can then take out the bolts holding the differential together, slide the end cap and bull gear out of the way, remove the "C" clip on the left axle and then the right axle.  That right axle will then come out with the right hub still atached.  This way you only need one hub from a vendor (like A to Z).  

[Teddo 56]

That is an option, I know.  I'm lacking the 1 1/2" socket which I'm hoping to borrow tomorrow.  I have the two sizes on either side of it.  I don't get many turns on the puller.  It gets torqued up fast and then I try the 4lb on the screw.  I am wondering now if the keyway has gotten a bit deformed over the years.  It sure doesn't take much to create a situation, if you know what I mean.  Thanks for the suggestion.

[Teddo 56]

stevesaurus, that doesn't look like a favorite option for anyone, does it!  But it would save days of frustration.  Yuck and more yuck. Incidently, my hubs are different than the ones shown in your pic.  The hub area where the bolt holes are not indented.  It is a flat plane of 1/2" steel moulded to the cone of the hub.

[Teddo 56]

I've even considered poking a hole in each axle seal, putting it back together and running it for a year or two.  Seems a leaky seal helps with the extraction of the hubs.  

[rick 257]

 

I remember I pulled a hub from an axle that had been seeping for a long time.  It came off easily.

[stevasaurus 23,303]

I have a feeling that the problem is not that the hub is rusted to the axle, but that the woodruff key is wedged in the keyway of the hub.  If so, those hubs will still be there after 2 years of leaking seals.  Hubs 1 / Teddo 0  

   Any Wheel Horse hub for the 1 1/8" axle will fit.  I would line one up before I broke one of the hubs.  Somebody may just give you one for nothing.  Use the classifieds.  Teddo 1 / Hubs 0  

 

BTW, I would use this thread for the rest of the information and pictues of this journey.  It will help more people if all is kept together.  

[Ed Kennell 42,170]

If the top edge of that key has turned up and hooked the hub, you may want to try pushing the hub further on to the axle. May work it back in place.

 

Of course this means drilling and tapping the axle.   Do not pound on the axle.

Edited June 28 by Ed Kennell

[Teddo 56]

I've got the same feeling the problem is the key. Is the only alternative to cut the hub off?  I couldn't get either one to move.  I might as well move back over to the left side if I'm wasting my time.  Where is the best place to put a stick of TNT so this thing won't give me anymore issues.  Damn, I wish I would have discovered this problem before rebuilding the Kohler.  Ed, I'm not sure what you are saying when you say to drill and tap the axle to push the hub on farther.  The hub faces are already flush with the end of the axle. Use like a ring spacer and force it on farther? Thanks for the input, guys.

Edited June 28 by Teddo
spelling

[Teddo 56]

Incidentely, when I stick a lube straw in the keyway slot, it goes in a half to three quarters of an inch from the outside end of the shaft, if that means anything.

[stevasaurus 23,303]

You can see the cuts I made in the picture of the destroyed hubs, but you only need to do the left side.  In you above post, you are hitting the woodruff key.  I haven't tried this, but you might be able to drill into the keyway and into the woodruff key itself.  A very carefully placed 1/4" drill just may be the ticket.

   I'll be back on in the late morning.  

[Teddo 56]

Thanks for your reply.  I understand it's the key and I assumed that was normal distance in.  If I drill into the keyway slot from the end will this render anything unusable besides the keyway?  A 1/4" drill is larger than that keyway slot, for sure.  Would tapping on the key with a small flat punch in the set screw hole have any positive effect?   

[953 nut 60,348]

3 hours ago, Ed Kennell said:

top edge of that key has turned up and hooked the hub,

I have run into this problem and think this may be the problem on your hub because the oil is running out on the inside. I used a 13/16 drill bit and slowly drilled through the key, It was a bit hard at first because of the curved surface of the key but this weakened the key enough that it yielded to the puller.