875 Wheel-A-Matic

[702854boy 1,161]

A couple of weeks ago I bought an 875. Ad said it didn't run but might run if had gas and a good battery. All it came with was a mower deck. I had kind of had a thread in transmissions but I figured I'd give it its own thread to record what all I've done to it. When we got it home, we stole the battery out of a different tractor and shot some brake clean into the carb and it popped off. Hooked up a temporary fuel tank with a pop bottle amd it kind of ran. I cleaned out the jets for the carb, got it its own battery, rewired it, put a different fuel pump on it, and it ran! After I got it running, within the next few days I changed the engine oil on it and threw a different deck on it just to see how much I liked mowing with it. A couple of days after that I got a Napa 1410 filter and changed the atf in the tranny. Now I just need to get the cam plate changed out and all of that adjusted and it'll be a pretty good little tractor. I'm just not if the linkages are hooked up right as it looks like it will rub on the one screw, as shown in the pics. So if anyone has any help for that it would be appreciated.

[Bar Nuthin 3,388]

All of my Automatics are newer than that ('73-'76) but none of them have that long screw with the spring.

Just a small flat washer between the tension plate and the support block - and a lock washer between the tension plate and the screw.

 

 

 

 

But they also use a use a tension spring at the control, so maybe that's the difference, I dunno.

 

Edited September 19 by Bar Nuthin

[rmaynard 17,614]

I'll take a look at my 875 today and see what it looks like in that area. With the wear mark, it sure looks like something is wrong.

[squonk 48,236]

@Bar Nuthin The piston piston linkage is different than the 875 Wheel a Matic.

 

@702854boyI have some pics in this thread. and I have to take mine apart again to adjust the tension today. You can see a slight groove in mine as well. I did have a broken frame before these were taken and it made everything shift position. Also looks like your tension plates are worn out. 

 

 

 

Edited September 19 by squonk

[rmaynard 17,614]

Here is my 875.

Mine has about a 3/16" gap.

[oldlineman 1,814]

Maybe check frame as Squonk said, might be the reason.

[702854boy 1,161]

I just went out and checked the frame and it doesn't appear to be broken but it looks like it had been repaired before in the past but it almost looks like an actual Wheel Horse fix and not some guy in his backyard because the paint matches the rest of the tractor and the welds are better than those that I've seen from owners fixing the f plate. I'll upload some pics later.

Edited September 19 by 702854boy

[squonk 48,236]

My control is only about a 1/16" away from the screws but mine are non factory allen head screws.

 

[squonk 48,236]

1 hour ago, 702854boy said:

I just went out and checked the frame and it doesn't appear to be broken but it looks like it had been repaired before in the past but it almost looks like an actual Wheel Horse fix and not some guy in his backyard because the paint matches the rest of the tractor and the welds are better than those that I've seen from owners fixing the f plate. I'll upload some pics later.

Here's the thread on my broken frame:

 

 

[Pullstart 71,403]

Nice ride Howard!

[702854boy 1,161]

There is a small Crack in the left side of the frame but it looks like its old and not from me. It also looks like the f plate has been repaired before but the plate is wheel horse red or appears to be so could the plate have been in between the f plate and the tranny before and then they moved it and thats why my screw is hitting the linkage as I mentioned before?

[702854boy 1,161]

I went through the carb last night because it has been barely running even with full choke and this is what I found 

After going through it and cleaning it up the engine now runs very smooth and is able to throttle up without needing choke

[sqrlgtr 4,124]

Could the bushings in the cam control be wore enough to let move to the rear and rub the tension screw? just spit balling here.

[702854boy 1,161]

7 minutes ago, sqrlgtr said:

Could the bushings in the cam control be wore enough to let move to the rear and rub the tension screw? just spit balling here.

I think they are pretty tight still but there is a slight crack on the frame where the f plate attaches

 

On 9/24/2026 at 5:10 PM, 702854boy said:

 

 

 

 

[702854boy 1,161]

Today after school and work I am planning on finding somewhere I can tear the tractor apart to check if the F plate is square to the rest of the frame and go from there.