A change of looks and use for my 312-8, but not for long..

[Stigian 1,234]

Morning all, for quite a few years now my 312-8 has been set up for pulling heavy trailers, snowplowing, that sort of thing..

 

 

 

Which all all fine and well until I sold my Raider 10 a while back as it was my only Wh that I could fit a cutting deck onto..

 

I guess you can guess which direction this thread is heading

 

So it was with a heavy heart (yes I really do feel bad about doing this to the 312) I started converting it to grass cutting spec... which as it turned out was not as easy as it should of been!!

 

 

The first parts coming off.. Battery and box.

 

 

 

Followed by the very heavy ballasted rear wheels..

 

 

 

Old and new wheels.. A cutting deck would never fit under the 'orse with the 26x26x12 fitted..

 

 

 

You can really see how wide the dirty silver wheels are compared to the new wheels.. I say new wheels, but the actually came off of a 1971 Raider 10 (or the remains of), are older than me and even say Wheel Horse on the tires!

 

 

 

Before the new/old wheels could go on the roll bar needed a little trim to remove the bit where the cutting deck needs to go..

 

 

 

This bit.

 

 

 

Plenty of space for the deck now..

 

 

 

It was whilst bolting the new wheels back on that I noticed the trans was making some rather nasty grinding/clonking noises!!!  You could feel the clonks through the wheel hubs... Not good!!

The trans is a 10 pinion diff model from a 71 Raider... Yep, the same one the wheels and tires came from.... If only the trans had lasted as well as the rubber!!!

 

With no option now but to swap the trans out as well, the strip down continued.. Wheel helps with the roll bar removal.

 

 

 

Old trans out..

 

 

 

Spare trans (C-125 I think) dug out from under the bench.. Just need to swap over the pulley, shifter sticks and the brake band... A couple of wheel hubs were also found in my spares, which was nice as I didn't fancy trying to remove the hubs from the old trans.

 

 

 

Normally trying to bolt on a trans that's balanced on a trolley jack is a real pain, but this time the trans bolted on very easy!!   Very kind of it

 

 

 

The battery box had to be moved from the front so the cutting deck belt pulleys could go back on...   I know it's going to be a bit more er... Interesting keeping the front wheels on the ground with the battery on the back, but it's such a big battery there wasn't anywhere else to put it... And as it's only going to be for a month or two I can live with it.

 

 

 

Welding it on...

 

 

 

To protect any bare metal Pete and Rob had some fun with rattle cans..

 

 

 

 

And this is how she looked at the end play yesterday.. I still need to dig out a few PTO parts, but the ol girl is almost ready to cut grass.

 

 

 

 

[Charlie Smith 142]

Looking good mate

Charlie.

[Stigian 1,234]

Thanks Charlie.. Not sure about it looking good, I think it looks much better with the big wheels on and the battery box at the front..  But when needs must

[Charlie Smith 142]

Well yes I guess it did look "better" with the chunky tyres and battery box. But the horse still looks mighty fine with out them.

Charlie.

[Stigian 1,234]

Ta muchly Charlie, I will feel much better when the 312 is back to off road lawn spec..

The strange thing is when I started converting it to grass spec there was no snow in sight and signs of spring on the way... Now we might get a bit of snow blowing through today and at the weekend

But that's one of the reason's I love Wh's, it will only take a few min's to take the cutting deck off and fit my snowplow/blade 

[Charlie Smith 142]

Oh I hope for more snow on the weekend get back out and have fun. This lot of snow back in January the horse never had any attachments on her. We just got a nice length of chain and a sturdy sledge. And took her over the fields and was towing everyone on the sledge with the horse. Must admit she coped well didn't have any wheel spins at all really.

Charlie.

[meadowfield 2,756]

Fab! Has the grass started growing darn sarff then? Still frosty and muddy here :D

[Charlie Smith 142]

Yep. All sunny and bright here. Still abit cold out though. But all the daffodils are starting to pop up along with lots of other flowers in the garden.

Charlie.

[Anglo Traction 761]

I remember you saying you had to sort the 312 for the Grass Ian. You make it look so straight forward in your posts   . ....................So in the Hot Summer that were going to get, maybe a couple of extentions on the Roll Bar iwith 'Dino Skin'  and you'll have a Fred Flintstone's Car Roof for shade  .   

 

Yeah Early Spring Flowers are out down here, but the 2 1/2 Acres of lawns are still like a soggy sponge. Lots of damage to repair first.....those pesky Wabbits.

.....Reckon we'll have to get the 'Emler Fudd' out soon.

[wheeledhorseman 579]

Fine example of 'Nip and Tack' surgery there Ian even if it was done with a heavy heart.

 

Couldn't help thinking of Optimus Prime and  'Transformers - mowers in disguise' as I was following your work. Maybe when it goes back again that's something a man of your engineering abilities could consider. Kind of a step on from the Tach-a-matic concept.

 

Shame about the tranny but the old Blue Peter principle of 'Here's one I prepared earlier' to the rescue eh?

 

Nice work pal 

 

I think there must be a 'hot spot' in The South East though - preparing to mow in February???

 

Here in South Central it was about 1 degree C today as it has been all week, still very muddy and the horses have pretty much destroyed much of the grazing so no mowing for a couple of months yet!

 

Andy

[pmackellow 12]

Another top job there Stigian, well done mate

[Stigian 1,234]

Oh I hope for more snow on the weekend get back out and have fun. This lot of snow back in January the horse never had any attachments on her. We just got a nice length of chain and a sturdy sledge. And took her over the fields and was towing everyone on the sledge with the horse. Must admit she coped well didn't have any wheel spins at all really.

Charlie.

 

Nooooo... No more snow please.. Saying that there are quite a few flake floating in the wind as I type this..

As much as I like snow and snowplowing on my 'orse, this winter I've not enjoyed the white stuff.. 

My wife is now self employed which means if we get snowed in she can't earn anything!!

When the snow settles on the lane here the post office bans delivery s as the lane gets very dangerous very fast!!

 

Ah... The joys of living in the middle of nowhere 

 

 

 

Fab! Has the grass started growing darn sarff then? Still frosty and muddy here

 

 

It has Mark, it's been quite warm and sunny here at times.. Warm enough even for me to take my hat off !!!

 

 

 

 

I remember you saying you had to sort the 312 for the Grass Ian. You make it look so straight forward in your posts   . ....................So in the Hot Summer that were going to get, maybe a couple of extentions on the Roll Bar iwith 'Dino Skin'  and you'll have a Fred Flintstone's Car Roof for shade  .   

 

Yeah Early Spring Flowers are out down here, but the 2 1/2 Acres of lawns are still like a soggy sponge. Lots of damage to repair first.....those pesky Wabbits.

.....Reckon we'll have to get the 'Emler Fudd' out soon.

 

 

Morning Richard, you might have a thought there with the "Flintstones ad-on", that or I could duct tape a big garden umbrella to the roll bar

The ground has finally dried out here, it's been soft and squelchy under foot for a long long time!

Only a couple of bunny's here, as they help trim the grass I don't mind them being about the place.. Fun to watch too when they go into "chase each other about the place" mode.

 

 

News flash.....

 

Here I am talking about cutting grass only to look out the window to see blizzard conditions!!!

I guess the weather forecasters got it wrong again!!   A bit of very light snow tonight they said!!

 

 

Fine example of 'Nip and Tack' surgery there Ian even if it was done with a heavy heart.

 

Couldn't help thinking of Optimus Prime and  'Transformers - mowers in disguise' as I was following your work. Maybe when it goes back again that's something a man of your engineering abilities could consider. Kind of a step on from the Tach-a-matic concept.

 

Shame about the tranny but the old Blue Peter principle of 'Here's one I prepared earlier' to the rescue eh?

 

Nice work pal 

 

I think there must be a 'hot spot' in The South East though - preparing to mow in February???

 

Here in South Central it was about 1 degree C today as it has been all week, still very muddy and the horses have pretty much destroyed much of the grazing so no mowing for a couple of months yet!

 

Andy

 

Howdo Andy, I could do with a bit of "nip and tuck" surgery myself. lol..

Yeah it is a shame about the trans, but always one to look on the bright side, I now have a trans that I don't mind cracking open to see how it works.

Yep there must be a hot spot in the SE, there has been a lot of grass cutting going on in the area and a lot of people saying they need to cut their lawn.

 

 

 

 

Another top job there Stigian, well done mate

 

Thanks Paul.

[Don1977 605]

I battery box could have stayed on the front. You just need 1/2" spacers behind the arm to space them out from the frame.

[Stigian 1,234]

Thanks for that Don. I did think about it but there would just not be enough space at the front to fit the pulleys and the rather chunky battery box bracket..

 

 

Well, the 312 is all up and ready for a bit of grass cutting... Only one problem.....

 

[Charlie Smith 142]

Get the good old snow blower on her..I've got mine out and ready just in case it hits hard...... hope it doesn't as I won't be able to use my old horse. The sisters in hospital for a few days due to bad liver.

[Stigian 1,234]

Sorry to hear about your sister Charlie, I hope she picks up soon.

 

I'd love a snow blower, but for me the price they sell at in the Uk is too much for something that would get used once maybe twice a year..

[Charlie Smith 142]

Thank you very much. And yes agreed. Wouldn't be so bad if we lived in Canada or somewhere like that... Then they will be worth the money.

Charlie.

[meadowfield 2,756]

It's a horse! A bit of snow will be fine, now get cutting that grass!!! :D

[Stigian 1,234]

I don't mind the snow Mark, it's the freezing temperature and wind out there at the mo..

 

It's one of those strange snowy/ sun showers kinda days

[meadowfield 2,756]

A few flurries here, but probably not enough to be any fun...

[Stigian 1,234]

Well, yesterday was the day to finally get the 312 out for a bit of grass cutting... I should of known that it wouldn't be easy!!!

 

Soooo..

 

312 ready to go, jump on it and try to start it..... The engine turns over but that's all!!   Here we go I thought..

Quite a while later after checking every electrical connection, giving the safety switches a prod, and even running a separate earth lead (ok, it was a jump lead) from the battery the the engine produced nothing more than a turning over but not firing engine..

 

Coffee and think time me thinks..

 

Armed with a mug of Nescafe's finest (you can't beat the original) the "what did I take off and put back on to swap the trans over" thought process started...

 

Seat.... Fender pan... Fuel tank... Wheels... Roll bar.... Er......Hang on....  Fuel tank...... Fuel tank...... Fuel tank......  Fuel tap!!!!!!   Doh!!

 

Yep, I had forgotten to turn the gas on 

 

 

 

With a now working engine it was "get the grass cut take 2" time..

 

I climbed on, fired the engine, put the trans in reverse and nothing! No movement in reverse or any of the forward gears!!!    "Bother" or words to that effect may of been expressed a little louder than normal..

 

Off I climb, checking that the drive belt hadn't decided to jump off... It hadn't... It was while I was lying underneath the machine I had a thought...

 

After a struggle to get up off the floor I climbed aboard again to find what I had guessed.. The hi/low lever was neither in hi or low!!   Why didn't I notice this before I ended up on the floor? 

 

Soooo.. Engine running, hi/low lever firmly in Hi, and reverse selected lifting off the clutch produced backwards movement..

 

First gear worked as well, and the 312 emerged into the daylight..

 

 

 

I knew the PTO linkage needed a little adjustment which only took a few min's..

 

Climb on again, fire the engine up and engage the PTO... Cool it works... Let's see how it cut's grass... Cutting deck lowered, first gear selected and the Hi/Low lever in Hi, clutch up and nothing!!   No movement in any gear again!!  

More loud words may of been mumbled as I started to wonder if I swapped a very worn/making nasty grinding sounds but still working trans for one that didn't work at all

 

 

Doing my best to deplete the worlds coffee and tobacco supplies by this point I ended up back on the ground again.. At least the grass was a lot softer if slightly damper than the Workshack floor..

Lot's of prodding, poking and checking bit's you can't see with the wheels on, my fingers found that the grub screw on the trans pulley was very loose!!

 

And thus the 312 ended up looking like this..

 

 

 

Sooooo.. With grub screw tightened, a slight oil leak from both axle seals noted and the wheel bolted back on I thought "let's see what happens this time"..

Woo-Hoo we have movement again..   PTO engaged, cutting deck lowered, 1st gear selected off I trundle around the garden finally cutting grass at last...

 

Feeling that the problem was finally sorted at last I got a bit more adventurous and tried 2nd gear.... Er... No drive in 2nd, 3rd, 1st or reverse again!!    (Insert "on the verge of tears and climbing into a bottle" emoticon here)

 

 

And then the penny dropped (with a bit of a dull thud as it landed on the lawn), shouldn't there be a key holding the trans pulley onto the shaft .  I'm sure I put one on as the key was taped to the shaft so I would remember to put it on!!

 

Only one way to find out, take the pulley off the trans and have a look... Of course life is never that easy (it certainly wasn't yesterday) and the pulley wouldn't come off with the roll bar in the way.. And the roll bar won't come off with the seat, fender pan and gas tank in the way!!

 

To cut an already very long story slightly shorter, I managed to unbolt the roll bar and wiggle it back on to the right a bit giving me enough room to get the pulley off.. Guess what.. Yep, no key in the key way!!

 

Very puzzled at this point as to why the key was missing when I knew I had put it on, another key was found on the old trans..

 

 

Ahhh... Now I see what has happened..   When I put the pulley on I lined the key way in the pulley up with the key in the pulley shaft and gave it a little tap to slide the pulley in place..  Hang on, the pulley still turns on the shaft

Pull the pulley off to find the key I had just put on the shaft had vanished!!!  Five mins later I had found the key in the grass under the trans.. Quite lucky to find it again as they are quite small key's to drop in long grass..

 

Let's try this again paying close attention to what's going on... Ah, I see.... If your not careful pushing the pulley on the shaft, the pulley can push the key out of the shaft!!!  That's what must of happened when I put swapped the pulley over from the old trans to the new!

 

 

When I got up yesterday the plan was to start cutting the lawn at about 10am by which time the sun would of dried the back lawn...   

 

At 3.45pm the lawn cutting finally started!!!

 

 

By the end of the day I was (and still is) knackered, but I did end up with a Wheel Horse I can cut grass with even if it does have slight oil leaks from both axle seals (I will have to keep an eye on the oil level) and no Hi/Low lever as my welds on it broke and the lever snapped off, and of course a cut lawn 

 

 

 

The 312 handled the long dense grass with no problems, I just need to rake it up and find somewhere to put all the clippings now.

 

 

 

 

A fun way to spend the day eh 

 

 

[meadowfield 2,756]

I bet you loved it really

[Anglo Traction 761]

Shame you didn't Video all that Ian. You could have speeded it all up like a Benny Hill Clip................ Don't you just love those 'Troubleshooting against the Clock' days. 

..........At least it's a Runner/Mower now.

Oh !, and I've also been seen before, searching in the Grass for various mechanical bits............ now have very powerful magnet and a Stud Detector to hand for the next time 

[wheeledhorseman 579]

Must have been a very trying day but I guess you can claim to be an experienced 'field service technician' now on your CV.

 

Andy

[dsholler 54]

Instead of fooling around with the 312, you should have spent the day figuring out how to attach the deck to the beast 

... (BTW, what do you call the fabulous 6 wheeler? )