1994 520-H Revival

[jsoluna 231]

It appears the Wheel Horse bug has hit for real.  Stumbled upon this 520-H not even 5 minutes from our shop.  Really don't need another project to add to the list, but couldn't pass it up for the price.  It's pretty rough.  Almost 2k hours, single owner machine though. 

 

What I know so far:

 

Owner said "it needs a starter solenoid"....

 

Does not run.  Will crank (solenoid is fine) and has compression.  Looks like they hooked up the replacement ignition coil wrong and sent battery 12v+ to the ground side of the ignition module.  It's toast, as is the coil.  Pretty pricey way to start the revival, but it is what it is.  Followed proper procedure for testing both components and they are indeed bad.

 

Steering is extremely sloppy.  Most of it is in the tie rod ends, but a good portion of it appears to be in the steering gear backlash.

 

Has hydraulic leak near the rear somewhere.

 

Has previous owner wiring "fixes".

 

Loaded rear old school Goodyear treads.  

 

Deck shell looks newer than the rest of the tractor.  Maybe a replacement?

 

Has axle bracket installed.

 

Dash lights all come on at startup, but I will plan on going through the whole system.  Don't like having hidden gremlins and I enjoy the electrical challenge.

 

All in all, pretty excited.

Edited 5 hours ago by jsoluna

[ri702bill 10,211]

Nice start...

Not too many of us ever feel we "enjoy" the electrical challenge though....

Edited 5 hours ago by ri702bill

[lynnmor 8,135]

Looks like she was rode hard and put away wet.  That steering gear backlash might come out when you adjust the nut in front of the gear, that requires a cotter pin removal and a 3/4" wrench.  If it is severely worn a washer behind the nut will give more adjustment and still have cotter pin engagement.

You might find a complete kit of ignition parts on eBay for way less than OEM, they are aftermarket but some have had good success.

[Ed Kennell 43,293]

47 minutes ago, jsoluna said:

Deck shell looks newer than the rest of the tractor.

Looks like a $400 48" er.

[jsoluna 231]

1 hour ago, lynnmor said:

Looks like she was rode hard and put away wet.  That steering gear backlash might come out when you adjust the nut in front of the gear, that requires a cotter pin removal and a 3/4" wrench.  If it is severely worn a washer behind the nut will give more adjustment and still have cotter pin engagement.

You might find a complete kit of ignition parts on eBay for way less than OEM, they are aftermarket but some have had good success.

Thanks, I'll look into that steering gear and see what I can find.

 

Found a few kits on eBay that are clearly aftermarket copies, any experience with a particular seller?  Or is it like most of these things, where it's luck of the draw?

Edited 3 hours ago by jsoluna

[jsoluna 231]

Definitely rode hard and put away wet.

[8ntruck 8,229]

I wonder if Pertronics makes an electronic ignition kit for the 20hp Onanz.

[jsoluna 231]

1 hour ago, 8ntruck said:

I wonder if Pertronics makes an electronic ignition kit for the 20hp Onanz.

It is already "electronic ignition" technically - it's transistorized breakerless.

 

Its a simple design, reluctor wheel on the crank and a module that serves as the hall effect sensor and ignition coil control source.  

 

I think what makes it expensive is that it's all proprietary Cummins/Onan stuff.  I'm sure you could make your own system using a separate hall effect sensor and control module like GM's HEI or Ford's TFI.  The time/money fallacy comes into play there though.  By the time you get the hall effect setup dialed in right at the crank, you could probably just have bought the proper setup.  Still might be a fun project to pursue at some point.  Might help keep these old Onans alive longer.

Edited 19 minutes ago by jsoluna