310-8 diesel conversion added video

[vtpsd 0]

I just bought a house this summer and this 310-8 was in the barn. I got it running, replaced a couple deck spindles and pulleys and used it for a couple months, but I had to itch to add an air cooled diesel after reading a few projects on here.

I assembld the materials to do the swap about a month ago, and today I had a chance to do the swap. Not to bad for one afternoon, start to finish.

Here it is ready to go to the shop with the new powerplant.

here is the stainless parts for the exhaust

the kohler removed

engine in place and starting the exhaust

the battery fits right under the seat and the bracket just needed a couple half in spacers to convert the tank bracket to a bettery tray.

here i had to make a spacer to get the pto clutch bracket to line up right. I just used a shaft adapter to convert from the 1" diesel shaft to the 1 1/8" pulley from the kohler.

here we had to extend the air filter out to clear the hood. I really didnt want to cut up the sheet metal on this tractor. It would be nice to paint it up nice some day and I dont like the look of hacked up bodywork.

stainless tig welded exhaust finished

hood closes with no modification to the tractor whatsoever

and all done before the sun went down. Even got the charging system and headlights working.

almost looks like it was meant to be there

back in the barn where i found it after some late night mower testing. So far it seems like its going to work great. Lots and lots of power and it definiatly turns faster than the kohler did. I cant wait to mow the lawn this week! Right now it is running a 50% blend of veggie oil and pump fuel.

i would be happy to take more specific pictures or explain what i did in more detail if anyone is interested in doing this. It is quite easy, having a welder helps for sure, but it could be done without too.

[Horse'n Around 22]

Wow, you did a incredible job on it and in record time too I bet it sounds as good as it looks too :woohoo:

[littleredrider 408]

I need to get the PTO stuff hooked up on mine. I want to use the snow blower on it this winter....great build, looks great too!!

[shorts 182]

nice job, looks like you have acess to a well equiped shop and some better than average fab skills

where did you get the stainless exhaust tubing and mandrel bends?

[312Hydro 473]

Very nice fabrication! I like the fact that you were able to not cut the sheet metal. Any vids of it mowing?

[vtpsd 0]

thanks guys! My friend cyrus helped me out with the tig welding. He and I have done several interesting projects.I decided the tig welded stainless exhaust would be a nice touch compared to my own mig welded mild steel exhaust. The rain cap really finishes it off

I just did the conversion yesterday, and got home after dark. I did a little test mowing and it worked very well. Maybe tomorrow night I can get a video of it in action. Makes a nice column of diesel smoke under load. I am looking forward to putting it to work :woohoo:

[Edjfleming 0]

Great job, I picked up a yanmar for a 1045 that I have but its too big. Now im searching for a 300 or 400 series to put it on. How much HP is your diesel?

[vtpsd 0]

its a 10hp china copy of a yanmar. I can tell you from my little time with it that it is quite a bit stronger than the 10hp Kohler and turns a bit faster as well. I actually don't think I will mow with it at full throttle because it seems a bit fast for the deck. That will take a bit of experimenting.

[mr.pipes 4]

Very nice fabrication! I like the fact that you were able to not cut the sheet metal. Any vids of it mowing?

I am glad you were able to make the air filter work without hacking up the hood also. It makes it look more factory than a replacement.

I would love to see/hear a video of it loaded up mowing if you have the technology.

Nice work!

[kadetklapp 1]

Does this have the electric start set up on it?

[vtpsd 0]

yes it does. It still really helps it to hit the decompressor once to take some of the load off the starter. A higher rated battery would probably be a good idea for it.

[littleredrider 408]

How did you mount the motor to the frame?? On my 520 there was a motor plate, didn't use it for some reason that I can't remember, so for now it's bolted right the frame...

Gonna have to look at it again since clutch hoop goes to it...

[vtpsd 0]

the original kohler was bolted right to the frame, so i just lined this one up with the pto in the right place, marked the holes and drilled the frame to fit the new engine.

[vtpsd 0]

the front mount holes were just about over the brace for the steering, so I drilled and tapped those holes because there was not room for a nut on the underside. The rear two holes are just throughbolted.

[vtpsd 0]

Here is a video shot in the dark and rain last night with a very cheap camera

At least it sort of gives and idea of how it sounds. My lawn is a very rough rocky mountain lawn, so its very hard to hold the camera still

[Gerry w 2]

Here is a video shot in the dark and rain last night with a very cheap camera

At least it sort of gives and idea of how it sounds. My lawn is a very rough rocky mountain lawn, so its very hard to hold the camera still

AH Vermont in the summer!! Been raining two days now up here in the North of ya!

Tractor sounds bad-a**! Really nice job on the rig, love the fact you didn't chop up anything! Good luck on the new house as well! Are you going to remove snow with it this winter?

Gerry

[vtpsd 0]

Thanks Gerry. The new house has been a lot of work getting ready for winter, but I love it. 15 acres and a log cabin is just what I wanted. There is a single stage snowblower that was also in the barn along with tire chains. It looks like everything is there to hook it up, but I haven't looked to close yet. I dont have any pavement, so I am not sure how much I can use the wheel horse, but I will give it a go. I have a 3/4 ton chevy with a plow for the real heavy moving. :woohoo:

[kadetklapp 1]

Very nice. Aside from the initial financial layout (momma doesn't want to blow $700 on a motor for this "old nasty tractor") the only thing holding me back is fabricating a way to attach the pto drive, as I have zero fabrication experience, no welder, and not a whole lot of common sense as it relates to moving parts fabrication...

[vtpsd 0]

its actually not very difficult to fit the pto. I believe there is a bolt on solution if you can find a main drive pulley that fits a 1" shaft. The kohler had a 1 1/8" shaft so I used a shaft adapter which is nothing but a 1/16" think sleeve that slid over the diesel shaft and into the wheel horse drive pulley. I used the original key and I did have to grind a few thou out of one side of it to get it to sit in the diesel keyway. A new proper fitting key would have been better, but I didn't have one at the time. The bracket for the pto clutch needed two new holes drilled in it and a spacer behind it to space it out about 5/8 of an inch. We used some scrap aluminum, but a stack of washers would work just fine too.

[kadetklapp 1]

Excellent, thanks for the info. Not sure what the difference would be on my old twin Briggs.

I'm pleased that you are able to run a 50% veggie mix. I do a little bit of biodiesel making and so that is interesting to see with no modifications. Good news.

[vtpsd 0]

your briggs might be a bolt on..Just need to measure the shaft. I know there is some wheel horse tractor that had a 1" shaft. I am sure many others on here would know what.

I actually ran it initially on a mix of 50% new synthetic ATF and filtered dewatered WVO because I wanted to hear the engine run and didn't have any diesel fuel at the house. It ran just fine, a bit smokey but well.

[massey 111]

Nice job on the conversion. I like the air cleaner extension and especially the 50% Bio mix. :woohoo:

[kadetklapp 1]

your briggs might be a bolt on..Just need to measure the shaft. I know there is some wheel horse tractor that had a 1" shaft. I am sure many others on here would know what.

I actually ran it initially on a mix of 50% new synthetic ATF and filtered dewatered WVO because I wanted to hear the engine run and didn't have any diesel fuel at the house. It ran just fine, a bit smokey but well.

Excellent. :woohoo:

[SALTYWRIGHT 859]

NICE JOB..ON MINE I PUT ANOTHER BATTERY ON THE OTHER SIDE. I HAVE BEEN VERY HAPPY WITH MINE. IT REPLACED A 17 H/P. AND HAS MORE POWER NOW.

I ALSO PUT A CRANE ON THE BACK THAT IS HANDY. RUSS :woohoo:

[Wheel Horse Kid 104]

What a great idea! Looks very nice!