I'm Not Sure Why, But I Now Have a B-80

[BradKahler 217]

1 hour ago, Handy Don said:

Brad you are making great progress! 

To my eye, and agreeing with your assessment,  it looks more like the belt guard is mounted a bit higher than I'd expect which makes that gap to the guide bigger. Once you have the top tab where you want it and correctly spaced, then gently bending the bottom will get you home. 

And yes, in the interest of having the drive belt stop promptly when the clutch is fully disengaged, the close gaps are important. 

 

Thanks for the info.  Your comment about the belt guard position, reminded me about the mounting hole in the top bracket.  It has been enlarged and I'm not sure why.  I  think I'll take a closer look to see what's going on there.  I do know the bolt in the middle bottom line up without issue as did the two at the top rear.  Only the front hole had issues.  

 

Also, does the belt look a little loose?  The clutch is not pushed in so I would think the belt would be a bit tighter.  I'll remove the guard and take another picture.

 

Thanks.

[Handy Don 15,295]

On 12/15/2025 at 1:58 PM, BradKahler said:

Also, does the belt look a little loose?  The clutch is not pushed in so I would think the belt would be a bit tighter.  I'll remove the guard and take another picture.

I thought you got the picture with the clutch disengaged!  Definitely loose. The belt in the manual picture show the belt nicely snug. 

The trick is to have the clutch/idler arm still be tilted forward some when the clutch is fully engaged. If the arm is too vertical, then it cannot keep the belt taut. 

 

Some members have reported weakened or over-stretched clutch tensioner springs, so that’s something to keep in mind as well.

The larger hp WHs that I’ve seen use ⅝” drive belts and I’m sure you already know that belts wear on their sides and hence over time ride deeper in the pulleys, creating the erroneous impression the belt has “stretched."

Edited Friday at 04:47 PM by Handy Don

[BradKahler 217]

On 12/15/2025 at 5:33 PM, Handy Don said:

I thought you got the picture with the clutch disengaged!  Definitely loose. The belt in the manual picture show the belt nicely snug. 

The trick is to have the clutch/idler arm still be tilted forward some when the clutch is disengaged. If the arm is too vertical, then it cannot keep the belt taut. 

 

This is what mine looks like with the clutch pedal at rest (not pushed).  

 

 

On 12/15/2025 at 5:33 PM, Handy Don said:

Some members have reported weakened or over-stretched clutch tensioner springs, so that’s something to keep in mind as well.

The larger hp WHs that I’ve seen use ⅝” drive belts and I’m sure you already know that belts wear on their sides and hence over time ride deeper in the pulleys, creating the erroneous impression the belt has “stretched."

 

I'm almost certain the belt is worn.  I took it for a drive up and down my driveway this morning and it slips in 2nd and 3rd and maybe a little bit in 1st gear.  When in 2nd or 3rd, a slight incline will cause it to slip.  I ordered a Toro brand replacement belt last night and should have it before the end of the year.  I don't plan on adjusting the belt guard guides until the new belt is installed.  

 

[BradKahler 217]

Yesterday I finished up the electrical wiring and this morning I took it out for a test drive, mainly to circulate the diesel fuel that is currently in the gearbox.  Right now the diesel is being drained (drip drying!) and then I refill with diesel again and go for another drive.  The diesel is dirty but doesn't seem to have any debris of any kind mixed in it.  I'm  hoping one more run with diesel will be enough.

 

 

Getting the last bit of diesel out

 

 

 

While replacing all the wiring I went ahead and re-installed the old regulator along with a ground wire from the battery to one of the mounting screws.  The regulator does work.  The only odd thing I noted was as I brought the engine down to idle, the needle started bouncing back and forth rapidly.  I slowly brought the idle back up and I could got it to stop bouncing, however the idle speed was a little higher than I would like.  Is this a normal situation or does that mean only half of the regulator is working?

 

[pfrederi 19,295]

Idle speed for a Kohler single is 1250...

[Handy Don 15,295]

Progress!

37 minutes ago, BradKahler said:

This is what mine looks like with the clutch pedal at rest (not pushed).  

I see that the spring hasn’t got a lot of tension--the arm is tilted rearward pretty far. The pulley (on the other end) is likely nearly at the top of its arm’s swing. Plus belt slipping under load. I don’t see anything mechanically damaged. Correct new belt ought to solve all. 

 

32 minutes ago, BradKahler said:

The diesel is dirty

The mocha coloring is likely mostly from water/moisture. Not surprising. All but impossible to completely eliminate without opening the transaxle. Once filled with the appropriate gear oil, trace residual amounts in the transaxle are inconsequential. Please be environmentally conscious when disposing the drained diesel. 

 

35 minutes ago, BradKahler said:

needle started bouncing back and forth rapidly

Hooray that you won’t need a new VR.

When the stator’s output voltage at low RPM (going into the VR) is close to the same as the battery’s already stored voltage, the VR can “flutter” back and forth between trying and not trying to continue sending charging current to the battery. Normal. 

 

As @pfrederi noted, the recommended idle speed (check the manual for your engine) is often higher than many folks realize. I set my K181 to 1100 RPM using a free optical tachometer app on my phone (it’ll idle as low as 500 RPM, and sound cool doing it, but NOT recommended). 

[sqrlgtr 1,395]

1 hour ago, Handy Don said:

As @pfrederi noted, the recommended idle speed (check the manual for your engine) is often higher than many folks realize. I set my K181 to 1100 RPM using a free optical tachometer app on my phone (it’ll idle as low as 500 RPM, and sound cool doing it, but NOT recommended). 

 

Very good advice here, remember thes are aircooled and need the rpms at idle to stay cool .

[BradKahler 217]

19 hours ago, Handy Don said:

Progress!

I see that the spring hasn’t got a lot of tension--the arm is tilted rearward pretty far. The pulley (on the other end) is likely nearly at the top of its arm’s swing. Plus belt slipping under load. I don’t see anything mechanically damaged. Correct new belt ought to solve all. 

 

I was wondering about the spring.  Once the new belt is installed, if there are still issues I'll replace the spring.

 

19 hours ago, Handy Don said:

The mocha coloring is likely mostly from water/moisture. Not surprising. All but impossible to completely eliminate without opening the transaxle. Once filled with the appropriate gear oil, trace residual amounts in the transaxle are inconsequential. Please be environmentally conscious when disposing the drained diesel. 

 

The second draining of the diesel was much better.  It was still brownish but the diesel odder was still extremely strong, unlike the first go round.  Yeah, I recycle all used fluids.  Once a year the county has a free drop off day.  

 

19 hours ago, Handy Don said:

Hooray that you won’t need a new VR.

When the stator’s output voltage at low RPM (going into the VR) is close to the same as the battery’s already stored voltage, the VR can “flutter” back and forth between trying and not trying to continue sending charging current to the battery. Normal. 

 

As @pfrederi noted, the recommended idle speed (check the manual for your engine) is often higher than many folks realize. I set my K181 to 1100 RPM using a free optical tachometer app on my phone (it’ll idle as low as 500 RPM, and sound cool doing it, but NOT recommended). 

 

I have a digital tach (somewhere!) that I'll use to set the idle.  For the time being I bumped up the idle to stop the fluttering.

 

Thanks!

[BradKahler 217]

This afternoon I started filling the gearbox with 80-90 gear oil.  It took exactly 1-quart and started to overflow the filler port.  When I drained the fluids, I elevated the front of the tractor to about 40 degrees or so and let it set that way overnight.  I'm having a hard time there was still 1/2 quart of fluid in there somewhere.  

 

I was expecting to be able to add 1-1/2 quarts.  What if anything did I do wrong? 

[702854boy 390]

You didn't do anything wrong, Wheel Horse just designed these trannys to hold less than what we think they need so a lot of guys just take the shifter or one of the seat bolts out to fill them up with 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of oil instead of just the one.

[BradKahler 217]

20 minutes ago, 702854boy said:

You didn't do anything wrong, Wheel Horse just designed these trannys to hold less than what we think they need so a lot of guys just take the shifter or one of the seat bolts out to fill them up with 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of oil instead of just the one.

 

Well, since I bought two quarts, I might as well add the extra 1/2 quart. 

 

Thanks

[sqrlgtr 1,395]

46 minutes ago, BradKahler said:

 

Well, since I bought two quarts, I might as well add the extra 1/2 quart. 

 

Thanks

I find easier going through the shifter hole myself, of course you risk breaking the shifter set screw if it hasn't ever been removed or has been years since removal . I would rather be a tad to low as overfilled myself just my .

[BradKahler 217]

The new drive belt came in yesterday and it's now installed.  I adjusted the belt guides as shown in the pictures below and went for a test drive, it's like a totally different machine now.  When I push in the clutch the belts stops turning almost immediately and there is no belt movement until I put it in gear and release the clutch.  

 

The left front tire wouldn't hold air so I replaced the inner tube so the tractor is now a working, usable machine.  Later this week I'll put the dozer blade back on and see what I can do about the quadrant arm where it interferes with the brake pedal.  

 

The engine smokes a little on startup but clears up after a few minutes.  I'm hoping that issue clears itself up as I start using it more regularly.

 

 

[Handy Don 15,295]

2 hours ago, BradKahler said:

the tractor is now a working, usable machine

Ain't it a treat when it just works? 

My neighbors never really noticed when I was mowing the lawn with the WH, but boy they have REALLY noticed what it can do with wet sticky snow that is too heavy for easy shovel and seems to quickly jams the two-stage snow blowers.

[Handy Don 15,295]

On 12/20/2025 at 6:41 PM, BradKahler said:

Well, since I bought two quarts, I might as well add the extra 1/2 quart. 

The LSD Six-speed transaxles had a 1” NPT extension on their filler opening so they’d accept two quarts without having to fill from the shifter opening. 

[BradKahler 217]

35 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Ain't it a treat when it just works? 

My neighbors never really noticed when I was mowing the lawn with the WH, but boy they have REALLY noticed what it can do with wet sticky snow that is too heavy for easy shovel and seems to quickly jams the two-stage snow blowers.

 

All things considered, the minor over hall went pretty smooth.  Nothing was really difficult, just little quirks that are unique to the Wheel Horse.  I appreciate all of the help that's been provided, sure did make things easier

 

As for the snow blower, I live in central Kentucky and I can count on one hand how many times a snow blower would have come in handy in the last 17 years.  However, I will likely end up moving back to the Nebraska or Iowa area in a few years so it may come in handy yet.

 

 

[BradKahler 217]

36 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

The LSD Six-speed transaxles had a 1” NPT extension on their filler opening so they’d accept two quarts without having to fill from the shifter opening. 

 

I have seen pictures of transaxles that had pipe fittings on top and was wondering what model they were, now I know.

 

Thanks

 

[sqrlgtr 1,395]

1 hour ago, Handy Don said:

The LSD Six-speed transaxles had a 1” NPT extension on their filler opening so they’d accept two quarts without having to fill from the shifter opening. 

One of the quick ways to id which trans ya got. Is there others that come with the ext. the LSD's are all I can think of but may have been a bunch others???

[Handy Don 15,295]

1 hour ago, sqrlgtr said:

One of the quick ways to id which trans ya got. Is there others that come with the ext. the LSD's are all I can think of but may have been a bunch others???

Only the “LSDs” had the extension on the lower left rear “fill” port. The extra oil was essential since there is more internal metal-to-metal friction on the LSD diffs. I recently learned that the LSD 8-speed (5073) in some Raiders had a top fill where a dipstick would go on later models.