Greentored 3,220 #4951 Posted May 29, 2020 (edited) On 5/27/2020 at 1:56 PM, D_Mac said: Well here is what I did and learned today. I decided my lawn need to get cut so instead getting the ole push mower out I said why not use the new Wheel Horse? Remember I live in the inner city my lawn takes 15 mins to push mow it so the ole 16 hp K341 might be a little over kill but " why not"? When I took the C-161 Automatic for its test drive after I brought it home I wasnt so sure about driving it with a stick. Seemed a little funny. So while mowing my small little yard with the 16hp 42" deck with the automatic stick I was like " THIS IS FANTASTIC !!!" I might be converted. It did take me a little longer to mow because I did have to get the push mower out to get to places the 42" deck couldnt reach but, this could be habit forming. Now I am thinking of putting a mulching kit on it. So I learned Automatic is SWEEEET, and BIGGER is always better. That 16hp Kolher is awesome. I dislike an automatic in a tractor almost as much as in a musclecar, but youre right- its the only way to fly for cutting grass, especially if going back n forth around a lot of obstacles. Have one in my recent 1277 lawn duty bomber, and when i discovered a weak hydro, it almost got an 8 speed I had sitting here. It now flies with a strong hydro out of a C120. Same for a musclecar- nothing like smashing gears with a 4 speed, but if you want to play and race a lot and not be picking up driveline parts, auto is the way to fly. Edited May 29, 2020 by Greentored 2 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lee1977 7,432 #4952 Posted May 30, 2020 1 hour ago, 19richie66 said: Looking nice Bob. Hope all is well my friend. We don't get much snow in NC, you would be better off with a grader blade. What snow we get usually don't last over a day or two. I would guess you will get even less than we do. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LandoCommando214 82 #4953 Posted June 1, 2020 Today I decided to investigate what my gut was telling me a knock from the motor sounded like. This is a new to me C-160 that I've mostly restored, with the exceptions being no engine rebuild and no tranny rebuild. To me, this "knock" sounds more like a tapping noise at the cylinder head rather than a pinging sound. I've maybe only put two hours on this tractor, and wasn't exactly sure if this is what a K series Kohler just normally sounded like, as this is my first Wheel Horse. Eventually, I just knew something wasn't right because it got louder as the engine warmed. I thought this could be spark knock, so I decided to order a new plug, set of points, condenser and wire. These parts should arrive on 6/1, so today I thought i'd take a minute to check my valve clearances and rule out any slop that may be causing this sound; here's where things get interesting... As I pulled the valve cover assembly off, I noticed the center stud was loose, so I had to grip it with a pair of channel locks to remove the nuts. Ultimately, I found that the breather assembly had been taken off before by the previous owner and installed incorrectly, with the filter retaining plate up against the valve springs (item 4 below was assembled first, right up against the springs): Here's what the plate looks like. This was pretty frustrating to find. I thoroughly cleaned everything and reassembled to see if this plate was causing the sound I've been hearing. Unfortunately, the sound is still present. Still gets louder when the engine is warm. This engine doesn't burn a drop of oil, so i'm hoping the bore and rings are OK. Does anyone know what my next steps should be? Could this be an unrelated issue, suggesting the new ignition parts may still fix the noise? Do I have excessive wear between my crank and rod? Sloppy valve guides? I'm afraid this engine could be damaged badly. Here's a link to a video of the engine running when warm. How does this sound?? https://photos.app.goo.gl/NHvW65G3sTFCEnWR6 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
