I Don't Know What I Am Doing

[bo dawg 518]

Update: Charged the batt., found loose wire at points, cranks and will run at half choke with decent engine speed, slight miss. I AM SO CLOSE TO IT RUNNING! What shoulld I do? Take it to mechanic to fix it?

sounds like the carb may need cleaned and change the spark plug and points (or check gap) and may run out ok! The wires you found loose make sure they are fixed and secured. But if you are not sure about doing that I still would hire it done.

[DMK855 15]

Firemart, that is a little bit of a haul for me, but I could still prob. make the trip to help if you get in a bind. Like others have said, your 200.00 limit may not have you cutting grass!!

I would work on the carb. and try to get it running and then work your way through the other problems. You are very fortunate to have someone like S O I (and others) to help guide you through your little problems.

Also, if you change your mind on the tractor and decide to let it go, keep me posted!!

[firemart 0]

Firemart, that is a little bit of a haul for me, but I could still prob. make the trip to help if you get in a bind. Like others have said, your 200.00 limit may not have you cutting grass!!

I would work on the carb. and try to get it running and then work your way through the other problems. You are very fortunate to have someone like S O I (and others) to help guide you through your little problems.

Also, if you change your mind on the tractor and decide to let it go, keep me posted!!

Thanks. I think I will try Seafoam tomorrow. I'm telling you; it is on the verge of running great just by using B-12 carb cleaner. Maybe it's just dirty. If I let it go, since you are local, you'll have first shot at it.

[BAMA BOY 0]

I FEEL YOUR FUSTRATION FRIEND. I SET FIRE TO A TRACTOR TODAY :D

[Buzz 502]

I FEEL YOUR FUSTRATION FRIEND. I SET FIRE TO A TRACTOR TODAY

We need details man............. and . Was it an accident or a moment of uncontrollable rage ? Please don't leave us hanging :ychain:

[Buzz 502]

Firemart, after reading all of the posts and your replies I'm going to offer my two cents. Cut your losses and run. Run to the nearest big box store, Sears, farm store, or anywhere that they sell new riding mowers and buy one. You could be cutting your grass this afternoon. I don't mean you any disrespect but you admit that you lack the knowledge and the skills to get these old tractors running and to keep them running. Most of us enjoy working on these old machines and the challenges of keeping them going. Clearly you do not. You want and need to get the grass cut now! So like I said go buy a new one, everyone is running them on sale with easy payment plans. It will be cheaper in the long run. You can either keep your Wheel Horse and learn to work on it at your leisure, or sell it to someone who would enjoy working on it. It's time to quit procrastinating. The grass is growing................... RUN

[Kelly 1,033]

Very well said Buzz, fixing these tractors is not for everyone, know your limits.

[HankB 16]

Do I keep trying to fix it myself and continue to waste my home time?

Or, do I pay someone who-knows-what to do it?

Or, give up?

The answer to that question depends on what is important to you. It seems to me that the main thing between you and getting this tractor working is time. At present you lack the skill and knowledge to quickly diagnose and fix problems. With sufficient time and help from others on this board, you could learn what you need to know. But...

Does working on this interest you? Do you enjoy learning about how it works and fixing what you find wrong? Since you mention time, It occurs to me that there are other things you enjoy more and perhaps there are family obligations which come first. If that's the case, then Buzz' and Kelly's suggestions seem to make the most sense. (Though I would consider looking for a good used - ready to mow - tractor before buying a new one.)

Here's an alternative to paying someone to perform the work.

Sell the tractor to another member with the understanding that after they get it working, they offer to sell it back to you. Both transactions should be at fair market price. If you decide the price of the repaired tractor is more than you wish to pay, then you can walk away from it and the new owner is free to do with it as they see fit. If they deem that it is not worth the cost to repair, then they can part it out and there is no loss to them. If that's the case, then it also makes little sense for you to try to repair it yourself. If there is someone interested in that sort of deal, then it gets you to the point where you have a working tractor at a reasonable cost. Keeping a tractor running seems likely to be easier than restoring one that could have multiple problems.

Just a thought.

[firemart 0]

Agreed. Today, I have decided that it is time for me to move on. I think the starter flywheel is broken now. Last thing I heard was a click when trying to start it today.

It's like taking one step forward and two steps back for me. It went from running good at half choke yesterday, with no smoke and good engine speed to this today.

Someone else can do more with this than I could ever hope to do.

It's going up in the classifieds as soon as I finish this.

Thank you all for your time, your advice, and your help. :D

[jpmcleod 4]

Wish I was in NE Alabama. I would help solve your problem. I would restore it and keep tabs on my labor and materials. I would then award you the chance to buy it back. Considering I just got back from Lower Alabama, I'm not going away for a while. I hope someone in driving dictance gets it and completes the project. I think the C-120's are great machines.

I believe that a "raggady" ride beats a "walk" anytime. In your case it would be pushing a walk behind mower.

Good luck anyway. Your posts have been most interesting. We all tried to help but failed.