Just bought my first

[Freebyrd1 0]

It needs a little work but that will wait till spring, I'll be using it soon, I live in the middle of the snow belt. Just got it home I'm sure I will have some questions to ask all of you good and knowledgable Folks on this list. I'm trying to post a picture, not sure how.

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[HankB 16]

:) and welcome to the fold. That looks like a great first Wheel Horse. I have a '97 314-H which is a more recent version - post Toro. I can tell yours is pre-Toro because it as maroon stripes on the hood. Updates between the two include hydraulic lift and Kohler Magnum engine rather than Kohler K

Looks like you figured out how to post a picture. Many of us use a picture posting site to host pictures and then post here.

Fire away with questions when things come up!

-hank

[racinfool40 202]

:USA: looks like a great start and if the folks on here can't answer a question. It never existed !!!!!a great bunch on here and don't be afraid to put your input also!! :)

[Horse'n Around 22]

Thats a great looking WH. Now be warned, you've that youve been bitten by the Wheel Horse bug, now comes the adddiction... before you know it you will be bringing more of them home by the truckload What a great addiction it is too

Congratulations on your find and

John

[tgranthamfd 28]

:) Looks like a good first one.

[JimD 3,345]

:)

[Freebyrd1 0]

Thanks all, I do have a question now. After I got it home and tried to start it I found a leak in the head gasket, no problem bought a head gasket and put it on, every thing looked good under the head so I put it back on and checked the compression, 100 lbs. Is that good? The bad thing here is that it was started and running good when I bought it, I never noticed a leak.

[Roger from southern Iowa 1]

:) Glad to have you!!!

[HankB 16]

Thanks all, I do have a question now. After I got it home and tried to start it I found a leak in the head gasket, no problem bought a head gasket and put it on, every thing looked good under the head so I put it back on and checked the compression, 100 lbs. Is that good? The bad thing here is that it was started and running good when I bought it, I never noticed a leak.

I can't speak to the leaking head gasket other than to suggest proper torquing of the head with the replacement gasket. (Both torque spec and order of the bolts.) How to do this is detailed in the engine manual you can download from the Kohler site.

This engine probably has a compression release for easier cranking. That would be signified by the label "ACR" somewhere on it. That means that you don't get a good compression reading by cranking it. That said, 100 pounds of compression doesn't sound bad. If you gave it a visual inspection and didn't see any evidence of blow by on the piston head, scoring of the cylinders, problems with valves, etc., you're probably OK. You can do a cylinder leak down test to confirm, but if you have no other reason to suspect problems, I wouldn't go looking for them. (My $0.02.)

-hank

[Freebyrd1 0]

Thanks Hank, I think at this point I'll do the basics, change rear end greese, gas, and oil, points plugs and just a general clean up. Do you have any other suggestions. My goal is to make it through winter with out breaking down in the middle of it. I do see what some on the list are talking about with the addiction, I've been looking at more already.

[HankB 16]

Thanks Hank, I think at this point I'll do the basics, change rear end greese, gas, and oil, points plugs and just a general clean up. Do you have any other suggestions. My goal is to make it through winter with out breaking down in the middle of it. I do see what some on the list are talking about with the addiction, I've been looking at more already.

I do have a couple more thoughts.

- check the drive belt. If it needs changing, that's going to be a lot more fun now than when the temperature plummets. (Unless you have a heated shop sufficient for working on it.)

- Look under the foot rests. Both my '97 314-H and recently acquired '85 310-8 had significant rust under them and also on the side covers. Might as well wire brush off the worst of that (if it's the case with yours) and shoot it with some rust preventative primer. That will at least hold it in check until you can do a proper restoration.

- Make sure the charging system is up to snuff. If you have a voltmeter, check voltage when running and if it's not higher than the battery before you start the engine, you might have a charging system problem. Might as well make sure that's ready for the rigors of cold starting. I do presume you have a lever on that to release drive belt tension so you don't have to drive the hydro with the starter motor. If you don't have a voltmeter, run it with the lights on. If the battery holds charge while you're using it for fall chores, you can be confident it will be ready for cold weather.

And yes, you will definitely need another so that when you start restoring this one (if you decide to do that) you will have something to fall back on.

best,

hank

[Freebyrd1 0]

Thanks, I'll be doing all of that. Yes I do plan a restore after the winter. I'll post the picks after and probably have more questions during.

[Retired Wrencher 4,908]

:) HI Free Welcome and enjoy your new hobby as they have said it is additive. Gary B............

[Freebyrd1 0]

:) Can some one give me some direction? I can't get it started, it turned over but stopped, cleaned the key switch now it won't turn over, when it was turnning over it seemed to have no spark. What should I look for?

[HankB 16]

Can some one give me some direction? I can't get it started, it turned over but stopped, cleaned the key switch now it won't turn over, when it was turnning over it seemed to have no spark. What should I look for?

Since it ran and you did some stuff and now it doesn't it would make sense to review everything you did. Look for a wire on wrong or poor connection or perhaps something you accidentally knocked off.

Were you having trouble with the ignition switch? Have you checked to see that it is still working?

Also don't rule out an unrelated malfunction. My 314-H just stopped starting last week. I had removed the LED display while troubleshooting so I reinstalled it to find that the neutral switch had quit. I now need to start it by jumping at the solenoid.

I'm puzzled that you would lose spark (implies cranking) and now you seem to describe it not cranking. Is the battery fully charged?

Do you have a wiring diagram and voltmeter?

-hank

[Freebyrd1 0]

The hole thing seems crazy, hear is the story. I bought it, the guy I bought it from charged the battery and started it (loved the sound) he drove it to the trailor and it ran perfactly, got it home and tried to start it, at that point I noticed the head gasket leaking (wouldnt fire while turning) pulled the plug off the key switch just to look at it looked a little dirty but not bad slid the plug back on to the key switch installed the new battery and turned the key, (nothing) reached in and moved the wires and it started to crank. That being said, my buddy is a much better mechanic than I so we bought the head gasket and installed it, after that it cranked a little then stopped, we took the key switch out to clean it, put it back and nothing, jumped it across the silonid and it cranked but no spark. That is pritty much it, it's driving me nutz. Hope you have some words of advise. Thanks :)

[TerryJW 0]

:) Nice tractor

[Wheel Horse Fan 3]

Check your grounds.

Check your PTO switch, did you engage it by accident?

Check your fuses.

Find the electrical schematic and just work your way around the wiring with a multimeter.

Start at the battery, then go to the solenoid, then to the key switch then the PTO switch then to the next step.

[Freebyrd1 0]

Thanks for the help as I move forward with what is turning out to be a project. We do have it running now, the head gasket is a success, found the electrical problem at the coil dirty connections, replaced the key switch any how. Now we have to attack the seals on both sides of the rear end. Obvious leading. I'm sure I came across a topic relating to changing the seals with little effort. I'm going to try and find it but if any one knows the drill please let me know. Thanks again, this site is great it provides a wealth of knoledge. :)

[MikesRJ 552]

:USA:

Whatever you do, don;t buy a second one!

They get amourous real quick and start to multiply ... :)