What have you done to your Wheel Horse today?

[TonyToro Jr. 2,012]

Good Ole Rusty’s repower is 90% complete. Today we put the muffler on and welded it. And was able to drive it around for the first time in 4 years. Tommorow going to put the original saw tooth tires on it. And sometime soon hook the charging system back up, and make a 2” receiver hitch for it. 
We still don’t know how much horse power this engine is since there’s no tag or stamp on the block. Is there anyway else to tell?

[kpinnc 14,848]

54 minutes ago, TonyToro Jr. said:

We still don’t know how much horse power this engine is since there’s no tag or stamp on the block. Is there anyway else to tell?

 

 

Many have a casting just over the PTO shaft, but many 10 and 12hp have "K301" because both used the same casting. 

 

Not sure if K321 have anything that absolutely identifies them or not- other than the previously mentioned "Kxxx" casting. 

 

16hp engines have an extra head bolt. 

 

Otherwise, you have to remove the head to verify. 

 

 

 

 

[TonyToro Jr. 2,012]

10 hours ago, kpinnc said:

 

 

Many have a casting just over the PTO shaft, but many 10 and 12hp have "K301" because both used the same casting. 

 

Not sure if K321 have anything that absolutely identifies them or not- other than the previously mentioned "Kxxx" casting. 

 

16hp engines have an extra head bolt. 

 

Otherwise, you have to remove the head to verify. 

 

 

 

 

All this one has stamped in it is HF-4

[rjg854 12,326]

@richmondred01

13 minutes ago, TonyToro Jr. said:

All this one has stamped in it is HF-4

 

[kpinnc 14,848]

39 minutes ago, TonyToro Jr. said:

All this one has stamped in it is HF-4

 

Well then unless it has 10 head bolts (16hp) the only way to know is to remove the head and measure the piston. 

[Lane Ranger 11,507]

21 hours ago, AlexR said:

Painted a hood.

 

i did the same thing today!  I had one already painted and measured it to fit and got it all ready to install snd it didn't fit!    It was probably a C model hood and i had a B.80.   So I ended up painting the B-80.

 

 

Edited yesterday at 08:57 PM by Lane Ranger

[AlexR 2,129]

47 minutes ago, Lane Ranger said:

i did the same thing today!  I had one already painted and measured it to fit and got it all ready to install snd it didn't fit!    It was probably a C model hood and i had a B.80.   So I ended up painting the B-80.

Haha I probably could have used that hood, this hood is for a 72 Raider and it was beat up, I spent quite a bit of time on it.

 

Well now you got to start another project you got a painted hood 

[8ntruck 7,971]

About the only thing I've done with a Wheel Horse lately is to climb up on my C-195 roller to hang up the soaker hose i picked up today.  

 

The yard is starting to get shaggy.  Going to have to mow soon.

[cleat 7,392]

With the drought we have been experiencing I think the last time I mowed (with the exception of the septic weeper bed) was around the middle of July.

[Blue Chips 51]

With a ton of other projects going on, I haven't been able to spend as much time as I would like to explore this forum or work on my 522xi or my recently-acquired GT18, but I'm trying to squeeze in some time here and there.

 

In between other tasks, I'm 'rejuvenating' the mower deck that came with the GT18. One of the steps involved repairing the anti-scalp wheels and gage/adjusting plates.

 

The axles for the anti-scalp wheels were both badly worn. Here's one of the old axles after grinding off the weld and popping it out of the plate:

 

 

I ordered some high-strength shoulder bolts, which I welded onto the old gage/adjusting plates. Also some new wheels.

 

 

The dimensions of the shoulder bolts worked out very well. I did had to shave about .020" off the hub of the plastic wheels to get a perfect fit without having to extend the shoulder of the bolts. The wheels spin freely with the lock nuts nice and tight against the shoulder. To lubricate the axles, I sprayed the axles and the inside of the wheel hubs with dry graphite lubricant. It's messy stuff to use, but after it dries it doesn't attract dust. 

 

 

Another little task was to clean up the GT18 headlights. I polished and waxed the lens, which was pretty dull and a bit yellow. I think it came out pretty good. The reflective plating of the headlight reflector was rather deteriorated in places, so I cleaned it up and sprayed it with Rust-Oleum "Cast Coat Aluminum" engine enamel...some kind of ceramic coating. It's quite reflective, seems to adhere well, and it appears to be quite tough, so I might not spray a clear coat over it...haven't decided yet. I also installed some very bright white LED bulbs. I might try some other LED bulbs later, as I have quite an assortment left over from experimenting with lights on another vehicle project. I just ordered more of the clips that secure the lens to the reflector, but they're on backorder, so I might not see them for a while. In the meantime, four clips will have to do. If they never show up, I guess I can make some new clips from strips of spring steel (anneal, bend, temper).

 

 

Tomorrow I'll be busy programming our new standby generator and backfilling the trench I dug for the propane line, so won't be able to play with my toys tractors.

 

Edited 20 hours ago by Blue Chips
fixed grammar error

[ebinmaine 73,408]

5 hours ago, Blue Chips said:

With a ton of other projects going on,

 

Busy is good. I'm glad you found this site. Stick around. Your write-ups are top notch. 

 

I hope you'll take the time to run down to Jim's Meet n Greet Saturday. 

It'd be neat to put a face to the name.  

[Blue Chips 51]

3 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

Busy is good. I'm glad you found this site. Stick around. Your write-ups are top notch. 

 

I hope you'll take the time to run down to Jim's Meet n Greet Saturday. 

It'd be neat to put a face to the name.  

Thanks, Eric. I'll know more about this coming weekend by Friday. 

I'll be posting more repairs, mods, etc., as time permits. 

[pfrederi 18,776]

9 hours ago, Blue Chips said:

With a ton of other projects going on, I haven't been able to spend as much time as I would like to explore this forum or work on my 522xi or my recently-acquired GT18, but I'm trying to squeeze in some time here and there.

 

In between other tasks, I'm 'rejuvenating' the mower deck that came with the GT18. One of the steps involved repairing the anti-scalp wheels and gage/adjusting plates.

 

The axles for the anti-scalp wheels were both badly worn. Here's one of the old axles after grinding off the weld and popping it out of the plate:

 

 

I ordered some high-strength shoulder bolts, which I welded onto the old gage/adjusting plates. Also some new wheels.

 

 

The dimensions of the shoulder bolts worked out very well. I did had to shave about .020" off the hub of the plastic wheels to get a perfect fit without having to extend the shoulder of the bolts. The wheels spin freely with the lock nuts nice and tight against the shoulder. To lubricate the axles, I sprayed the axles and the inside of the wheel hubs with dry graphite lubricant. It's messy stuff to use, but after it dries it doesn't attract dust. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You do not want the anti scalp rollers to spin freely, they only turn when the directly contacting the ground.  If they are spinning just moving through the grass the will wear out.  Wheel horse used a couple mountings that put enough drag on the roller to keep it still unless it made firm contact with the ground.  I have used wave washers to do the same thing.

Edited 11 hours ago by pfrederi

[Ed Kennell 42,414]

21 minutes ago, pfrederi said:

I have used wave washers to do the same thing.

Mower deck roller stop spring - Implements and Attachments - RedSquare Wheel Horse Forum

[Blue Chips 51]

2 hours ago, pfrederi said:

You do not want the anti scalp rollers to spin freely, they only turn when the directly contacting the ground.  If they are spinning just moving through the grass the will wear out.  Wheel horse used a couple mountings that put enough drag on the roller to keep it still unless it made firm contact with the ground.  I have used wave washers to do the same thing.

 

You made an interesting point, which I think has merit. I've always adjusted mower deck height and wheels so that the anti-scalp wheels/rollers are not rolling directly on the ground, but I see your point about not wanting the anti-scalp rollers to keep on spinning after each brief ground contact. I have an assortment of stainless-steel spring washers that I got from McMaster-Carr a few years ago (they called them curved disc springs), and I think I'll go ahead and swap a couple of them for the flat washers that I added between the plates and the roller hubs. It should be a nice improvement to the deck, which (if the parts diagram for the model 78363 mower deck is correct) never had any kind of spring washer or other drag device for the anti-scalp rollers...just one ordinary flat washer and a nut. My other Toro deck never had a drag device either, but as I said, I think your suggestion is a good idea, which I will implement. 

 

I also wanted to add that the previous owner(s) of this deck not only had the anti-scalp rollers adjusted too low, but must have had a lot of the weight of the deck on them, judging from the one-sided wear on the axles.

Edited 9 hours ago by Blue Chips
Added postscript.

[peter lena 9,331]

@Blue Chips  like the smooth SLIDING roller wheels , the NO  GRAB  effect is much better than  tractive type , which is quickly  overtaken , by the  regular angular  side slide deck movement , also like the multi holed bracket and welding . a regular  thing for me  is to  study what's going on , definitely make a change to a REPEDITIVE PROBLEM . using that as a baseline , not  repeating  what's failing , has more often than not , ELIMANATED THE PROBLEM , another thing I do  is to make up  / use  a  lighter  version of a  trouble spot , maybe a  softer  wire  , to  plan out  a fix ?   often refer to a roller stool  look see , for an exact  look at fault  , everything  I experiment with , stops the issue , like doing that  . @Tony Toys   looking at the  plow frame , that steering quadrant  mount / and related is a GOLD MINE  FOR  MOVEMENT EASE , the squeeze lever , spring  runs the entire show !  shoulder bolts  at swing points , heim joints at lever rod ends , so smooth / easy , pete   

[JoeM 8,505]

Extended my parking brake latch on the xi loader. Was a PIA to set it especially on the hill with the machine leaning. (not to mention my Billy Bass girth bump as an issue too) It's Ben Dover thing. 

[JoeM 8,505]

13 hours ago, Blue Chips said:

One of the steps involved repairing the anti-scalp wheels and gage/adjusting plates.

 

that is a top notch repair! 

I guess people just don't know how those wheels are supposed to be used. 

 

Done the same, not nearly as fancy, used grade 5 bolts from Rural King, I think they were 5 inch and the majority of the roller runs on the smooth area of the bolt. I just cut off the unused thread. 

On the last set I just left the bolt head on and welded it. 

 

 

The 60" decks are a little differ but the job is kind of the same with a little hacksaw work.

60 inch swivel type anti scalp repair

 

 

[702854boy 89]

On 9/6/2025 at 11:17 AM, ebinmaine said:

The hitch pin came RIGHT OUT!!

You should go buy a lotto ticket ASAP.

[Blue Chips 51]

43 minutes ago, JoeM said:

Extended my parking brake latch on the xi loader. Was a PIA to set it especially on the hill with the machine leaning. (not to mention my Billy Bass girth bump as an issue too) It's Ben Dover thing. 

 

Good idea! The little stub of a handle on the parking brake isn't exactly ergonomic.

[Blue Chips 51]

22 minutes ago, JoeM said:

14 hours ago, Blue Chips said:

One of the steps involved repairing the anti-scalp wheels and gage/adjusting plates.

 

that is a top notch repair! 

I guess people just don't know how those wheels are supposed to be used. 

 

Done the same, not nearly as fancy, used grade 5 bolts from Rural King, I think they were 5 inch and the majority of the roller runs on the smooth area of the bolt. I just cut off the unused thread. 

On the last set I just left the bolt head on and welded it. 

 

Looks like a good strong repair! That should keep your rollers anti-scalping for many years to come.

[702854boy 89]

On 9/6/2025 at 3:58 PM, ML3 said:

 

Are you wanting to get rid of that tractor or snowblower or both?

[ML3 1,807]

3 minutes ago, 702854boy said:

Are you wanting to get rid of that tractor or snowblower or both?

I haven't decided yet. 

[OldNoob 19]

I find your perfect weld repair disturbing 

[ebinmaine 73,408]

12 minutes ago, OldNoob said:

I find your perfect weld repair disturbing 

 

Me too. My welds look like ......

Something not welding....