18 horse onan

[troutbum70 858]

Considering the purchase of an additional tractor. Tractor in question is a wheel horse 518 H, which I assume to be an 18 horse onan. The seller is not sure as he purchased it from an old fellow who wanted a smaller tractor. According hour meter it has less than a thousand, my question is what are the pro's or con's with the 18 horse onan. I understand parts for the onan are higher than say a kohler. And is onan still owned by hummin cummins? Tractor looks very nice in pictures, of which I am aware lookin good with pretty paint does not make it a dependable worker. Tnx for any comments on the onan.

 

 

[ericj 1,579]

The 518-H is a good tractor, but it has it's limitations. It comes from the factory with the weaker Eaton 700 trans, no Hydro lift. Make sure the trans is good. If it makes a whining noise it's probably is on it's way out. Try and get it hot and see if it starts to slip or slow down. the other thing is to do a compression check on the motor to make sure both cylinders are good. A easy way to do a preliminary check is to gently feel both pipe to see if both are getting hot. I bought a 724Z this year that I found the miss by feeling the pipes, then did a compression check and found the back cylinder dead. Guy dropped price fairly quickly after that. 

 

The 18 onan has the power to run any attachments that you would want to put with it and come back for more. if the price is right you can always up grade to an Eaton 1100 trans later or swap the 18 over to a 520 with a bad motor witch is what I've done  before. good luck

 

 

 

eric j

[ZXT 2,401]

Yes, Cummins still owns Onan.

[ebinmaine 73,015]

@Stepney here's some Onan info... 

[troutbum70 858]

5 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

@Stepney here's some Onan info... 

Okay tnx guys I am a little skeptical of the onan if it was a kohler I would be more at ease. I do wonder why the 518H use's the eaton 700 when I have a 417A which has the eaton 1100 with hydro lift. I also know where there is c160 with a kohler and I believe use's the eaton 1100. $460.00 for the 518 no attachments and $500.00 for the c160 no attachments, both look very good in pictures.

[ebinmaine 73,015]

1 minute ago, troutbum63 said:

Okay tnx guys I am a little skeptical of the onan if it was a kohler I would be more at ease. I do wonder why the 518H use's the eaton 700 when I have a 417A which has the eaton 1100 with hydro lift. I also know where there is c160 with a kohler and I believe use's the eaton 1100. $460.00 for the 518 no attachments and $500.00 for the c160 no attachments, both look very good in pictures.

There's going to be people that discuss one way or the other for the positives and negatives of either one of those tractors. Personally I would take a c-160 all day every day over  newer ones because of the simplicity of the wiring harness.

I can't give you an honest answer as to which one of those engines is really more Torquey which is what you need. But a 16 horse is more than adequate for most things.

[Darb1964 1,120]

I would go with the 16 myself if the tractors are in simular condition. I have a 5-18-h and a 520-h, both are nice running tractors but when you have trouble with the onan its expensive. That 16 single is hard to beat.

 

[chip61 666]

I have a 416H and a C160-if C160 is in good condition I'd go with that all day long because of the reasons already mentioned.

[chip61 666]

C160 should have a Sunstrand Hydro, but that is a very tough unit too.

[troutbum70 858]

Its main duty will be running a single stage snow blower, which I will be picking up from bigmike this weekend. I am sure the one lung 16 could handle the job, even with heaviest snow.