New to this hobby? What engine for my horse?

[eightlitermopar 3]

Hello all-

I don’t know where to start with this wheel horse thing, so I figured this would be the best place.

2 Weeks ago I honestly had never heard of a wheel horse, now I have one.

Attached is the picture of the wheel horse I acquired.

There was a partial serial sticker but no numbers were on the remaining part. From what I have seen on the internet, I believe it to be a Suburban 550 or 551?

I will give the short story. This tractor has sat for years as a project. Recently, the owner wanted to get it going, so a Harbor Freight engine was purchased just to get it moving. After some slight modification, the motor was in place. However, it was then discovered that the HF motor shaft turns counterclockwise; obviously the opposite direction needed to run the tractor.

The plan was scrapped, and now I have the tractor.

Anyway, I have a spare Tecumseh (part of anyway), and spare frame that came with the tractor. The engine turns over, but the original owner says it cannot be salvaged. I don’t really want to mess with it right now anyway.

So now my questions:

I would like to get this running as well. I like the idea of buying a complete engine, bolt on, and go. The frame appears to be originally set up for an electric start, but a pull start would be great for now.

I respect the original aspect of this new hobby. I have been into cars for years and I wouldn’t put a ford engine in one of my dodge cars, for example. So an engine just to get it going would not be permanent. I just want something reliable that my and my young kids could drive around on it.

So, what engines would work for this idea?

Any suggestions would be helpful. I am very new to this hobby.

Thanks!

[jdog_kustoms 82]

a pic of the other side would help tell what it is but it is a suburban 550 or 551 with wider rims front and rear looks to have potential thoe

[neil 2,410]

Welcome to redsquare , you picked the right place to get the information that you need . You have a great looking tractor and take my word for it it wont be your last wheelhorse tractor that you buy.

With regards to the type of engine to put in , i would see if you could get hold of a Kohler K91 pull start . dont get an engine that will not fit under the hood otherwise you will end up having to cut things about to get the engine to fit ,

Im sure other here will also give you some real good advice

[Coadster32 793]

It's a 61 suburban alright, 551 looks like to me. Anything under a 5.5hp will fit under the hood w/o cutting it. (might need a short spark-plug). K91 is really nice, but you might be waiting a while to actually get one..especially with a recoil. I've had a 4hp briggs on a beater suburban and it worked just fine. Tecumseh fits good as well. This tractor actually calls for a Lauson h55 motor. (Good luck on that also). Nice score though.

[Jake Kuhn 1,579]

:text-goodpost: yep that is a 551 that calls for a 5.5 hp tecumseh lauson,unless you want to keep it original you may want to get a kohler k91. Nice find Jake

[littleredrider 409]

Just found a K91 on craigslist for $40....

[wallfish 18,045]

:WRS:

That HF engine should have been fine. The shaft turns CCW while looking straight on at that side of the engine and I think all small engines run that direction. There may be an exception to the rule somewhere. That's the correct direction of rotation needed to drive the transmission.The transmission will reverse the rotation to drive the tractor forward.

All of a sudden, Utah is the hot bed for finding little round hoods. There's another new guy that just found a couple.

[dennist 139]

"I just want something reliable that my and my young kids could drive around on it."

IMO, I would just add, when your young kids are going to be having fun on it, possibly add some sort of front weight and have lots of fun!.

[eightlitermopar 3]

That HF engine should have been fine. The shaft turns CCW while looking straight on at that side of the engine and I think all small engines run that direction. There may be an exception to the rule somewhere. That's the correct direction of rotation needed to drive the transmission.The transmission will reverse the rotation to drive the tractor forward.

All of a sudden, Utah is the hot bed for finding little round hoods. There's another new guy that just found a couple.

So I am learning something new here. The engine for this rig is SUPPOSED to turn counterclockwise? This is looking at it directly at the pulley side. Like my friend, I too thought that the crank rotation had to be the same direction as the wheels? Is this wrong?

I'll post some more updated photos later!

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your knowledge!

eightlitermopar

[stevasaurus 23,274]

Welcome to Red Square...yes, the engine turns in the opposite direction from the wheels when going forward. Nice find BTW. Of course we want more pictures. :) :)

[wallfish 18,045]

In the Wheel Horse configuration, the crankshaft on the motor is turning in the opposite direction of forward travel of the tractor. CCW looking at the PTO pulley. You can turn the drive pulley on the trans by hand and shift through the gears and the axels will spin forward. Maybe it was in reverse when your friend checked it out.

[horse700special 2]

NICE FIND. My son has the same tractor as yours. The Lauson is awaiting a rebuild (probably a looooong wait). We put a HF 6.5 on it and it fits fine, bolts even lined up perfect. Only thing is the plastic air filter cover, the edge of the hood will ride on it. We added a couple washers to the bolt on the front of the hood for space. We also removed the shroud and painted it red.

[Rooster 192]

As most have told you , that had a Tecumseh/Lauson...the big advantage being that is was an electric start.

You already have the HF engine, put it on there and get the thing moving!

PLEASE DO NOT CUT THAT HOOD!

You will regret it later!

[eightlitermopar 3]

As most have told you , that had a Tecumseh/Lauson...the big advantage being that is was an electric start.

You already have the HF engine, put it on there and get the thing moving!

PLEASE DO NOT CUT THAT HOOD!

You will regret it later!

I promise you I will not cut the hood.

I took the pulley's off the old parts motor I had, and I have started putting them back on the running motor I got this morning. I went to HF and bought one. there is a large pulley on the outside and a small pulley on the inner. I suspect the small pulley is the drive pulley. How do I figure out which kind and size of belt I need?

thanks! I will be asking a lot of questions on here.

Eightlitermopar

[Foozerush 40]

Nice round hood.... I agree put that HF engine in that and get some seat time...... Then look around for the engine you really want in it. Then you will have that HF engine to put in the next WH you get, trust me you will want another!! I'm working on getting a third one for my heard!! Welcome to Red Square!!! Fooze

[wallfish 18,045]

The engine drive pulley should be 2.5 inches OD. The original size pulleys require a 29 in long x 1/2 in wide belt.

A second pulley is used for attachments but it's the same 2.5 in size. Not sure what the PO was doing with a larger pulley but you won't need it if you are just driving around. If you don't have the belt guard, you will need to make little 1/4 inch rod "fingers" to guide the belt around the engine pulley. This way the belt will stop turning when you push the clutch pedal. If the belt does not stop, the gears will grind.

[bowtiebutler956 650]

:WRS: That's a fine looking Horse you have there! Your kids will love it!

Matt :flags-texas:

[eightlitermopar 3]

Thanks for the help guys. I have a few things to get done before I drive it, but I will post a bunch more pictures later.

I will be going with the HF motor just so I can drive it around. I won't get to it until next week on my next day off.

I also have a random question; Has anyone ran a centrifugal clutch on one of these motors? I have heard that getting the clutch to work just right can be an issue, especially if it has sat for a while. I am just thinking out loud, but will try the original clutch set up before I try modifying any of that route.

thanks again!

eightlitermopar

[Coadster32 793]

I've seen a centrifugall clutch work on these as well. It takes the shifting out of the trans, and runs more or less direct drive. Just like anything else, not without a little doing though.

[eightlitermopar 3]

Hello there! I am reviving an old thread. Life has been busy, but my little boy is ready to get this little horse going….so he wants to work on it during the winter.

 

I am not doing anything to this horse than can’t be reversed, so we are just playing right now.

 

So here is my question for now.

 

1) I installed a HF 6.5 horse predator motor. Right now it has the original belt drive set up, but I want to replace the PTO (engine crank) pulley with a centrifugal one.

 

It obviously will remain belt driven, but which one should I get?

 

I will be using this little horse for fun, but it may also do some work around the yard (pulling small trailers, pushing dirt, etc)

 

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

 

Eightlitemopar

[eightlitermopar 3]

Edit: I hope that question makes sense...

 

Just to clarify....

 

I still hope to be able to use all the gears, but the centrifugal clutch on the crank will allow me to engage and rev the engine without the "jerk" of starting off. With little kids in a trailer or something, that could be rough

 

eightlitermopar