What have you done to your Wheel Horse today?

[ineedanother 2,800]

13 minutes ago, adsm08 said:

 

Yeah. Like I said, I'm a little stumped.

 

So it's a hydro, which means no mechanical link between the wheels and the crankshaft. So the engine doesn't necessarily feel the load of that 500 lbs of gravel directly. This also makes a slipping belt less likely to be the culprit.

 

The PTO belt on the other hand is directly on the crank, and the full load of the blades goes on the engine. The deck spindles all feel good and free when turned by hand, but the blades could be sharper.

 

I also hear the engine start spitting when it acts up. I hear the thing miss and crackle at least twice, and it boggs out. But the governor is holding the throttle wide open when this is going on too, so probably not a governor adjustment issue.

 

My two 8 HP units though are gear drive and don't slow when the blades aren't cutting correctly, they push through and smoke the deck belts.

 

Wife found a 312-8 that needs a fuel pump and two tires for $175 tonight. Maybe it just needs a Magnum re-power.

Run it for a few minutes with it bogging and then shut it down and feel around for the heat. It almost has to be in the mule drive or deck bearings unless it's a belt dragging on something. There's gonna be heat somewhere IMO.

[CRF857 547]

12 hours ago, peter lena said:

@CRF857   been road testing  steering  heim joints for years  , never had a failure  , also on my  plow blade  swing arms , pto  lever  shaft to mule  drive , greatly enhances any movement , pete 

Have used heim joints for decades. Have some of various sizes in a drawer. Running low on them so I use them judiciously.

Also have various types and sizes of the rod ends. Quick disconnect and regular.

Have used the quick disconnect many times and not had a problem. They do make it easy to reset toe in, especially if one end of tie rod is not adjustable. 
Plus they were free. Former place of employment scrapped them as overstock since no one was buying replacements. The mechanically minded employees snatched them right up. If they lasted forever on a lift truck , they will do well on a garden tractor.

 

[peter lena 10,013]

@CRF857  pto lever dod end , unscrew trundle , go right over original threads with a  3/8 x 24 die nut ?  clean up threading , lubricate , screw a  female heim joint  right on , have this set up and others on 3 horses , refer to this area as a GOLD MINE for  functional improvement  , also a great  spring  pull point  to stop pto cone linkage buzzing ,  years in use , pete

 

[Bill D 3,094]

10 hours ago, ineedanother said:

Run it for a few minutes with it bogging and then shut it down and feel around for the heat. It almost has to be in the mule drive or deck bearings unless it's a belt dragging on something. There's gonna be heat somewhere IMO.

Check the thrust bearing on the end of the PTO.   If those start to seize up it will cause problems as well. 

[adsm08 4,999]

23 hours ago, ineedanother said:

Run it for a few minutes with it bogging and then shut it down and feel around for the heat. It almost has to be in the mule drive or deck bearings unless it's a belt dragging on something. There's gonna be heat somewhere IMO.

 

Nope. I had her run it around mowing for a good 10 minutes tonight after dinner. Every bearing in the system was the same temp, and not even warm to the touch. Hottest pulley in the system was the drive pulley on the engine. It sure was chucking grass though.

 

We are almost out of L&G fuel, and I'm not really home tomorrow, so we'll have to wait until Friday to do anymore.

[adsm08 4,999]

12 hours ago, Bill D said:

Check the thrust bearing on the end of the PTO.   If those start to seize up it will cause problems as well. 

 

And how does one go about checking those?

 

I am not particularly familiar with this style PTO setup.

[Bill D 3,094]

21 minutes ago, adsm08 said:

 

And how does one go about checking those?

 

I am not particularly familiar with this style PTO setup.

Does the PTO look like this?  If so, the bearing on the end that connects to the clutch hoop fails.  Under load it won't spin easily.  If it feels rough, change it.  I'm not familiar with the 1075, so if it has a different PTO I apologize for the confusion. 

[ineedanother 2,800]

23 hours ago, adsm08 said:

 

but the blades could be sharper.

 

Wife found a 312-8 that needs a fuel pump and two tires for $175 tonight. Maybe it just needs a Magnum re-power.

I'm leaning toward these. Sharp, clean blades would be my first and most frugal thing to rule out though.

[adsm08 4,999]

3 minutes ago, Bill D said:

Does the PTO look like this?  If so, the bearing on the end that connects to the clutch hoop fails.  Under load it won't spin easily.  If it feels rough, change it.  I'm not familiar with the 1075, so if it has a different PTO I apologize for the confusion. 

 

It's similar to that style.

[Brockport Bill 2,454]

On 9/8/2026 at 6:23 PM, peter lena said:

@CRF857   been road testing  steering  heim joints for years  , never had a failure  , also on my  plow blade  swing arms , pto  lever  shaft to mule  drive , greatly enhances any movement , pete 

If you have photos of those would love to see them.

[Lee1977 7,750]

9 hours ago, adsm08 said:

 

And how does one go about checking those?

 

I am not particularly familiar with this style PTO setup.

Another thing to check on the PTO if it's cutting is the C-clip on the out side bearing on the short shaft.  If it comes out of the groove you can't keep it adjusted.

I have replace the c-clips and the short shaft and out side bearing a couple of times on my C-120 in the last 49 years.

[peter lena 10,013]

@Brockport Bill   went over to threaded rod , heim joint ends , on my  plow , years ago , REPEDITIVE  PROBLEM, SWING QUADRANT ,is also  key , also  use ,a spindle type bolt , no threading, flat washers , make up  perfect  LUBRICATED  SWING START ?  elastic Lok nut  , lets you dial it in . my lever swing squeeze , functions like a rifle bolt , smooth / easy  / solid . check out  my  IMPROVE   PTO LEVER ACTION , site , once I started this GOLD MINE , I just  kept on going ! pete