Saw a 1990 210-5 Saturday....

[TT-(Moderator) 1,162]

Saturday I went to the driver licensing center to get my passenger endorsement permit for my CDL (in preparation for a potential new careeer). The DLC is directly behind the last Toro/WH dealer in the area and I noticed a little 210-5 with a 37" SD deck sitting in "death row" when we were leaving.

I called them today and found that it was "donated" to them by the customer when the frame was found to be cracked and would cost too much to repair. The shop owner said he'd sell it for $100, so I went and checked it out.

I suppose it is worth $100, and the frame has only a very small crack near the rear of the left footrest. What I did see was the two lower bolts on the strap-steel braces for the front corners of the peerless transaxle were gone! This allowed the front of the transaxle to push upward, bending the rear axle mounting flanges on the "frame" in the process.

I guess the tractor was initially brought there because the drive belt wouldn't stay on -- and this would explain it all!

I'll keep you all posted if anything else "happens".

(Nope -- no pictures )

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,610]

So I take it these bolts vibrated loose. Does the 210-5 have a 10 hp Briggs?

[TT-(Moderator) 1,162]

I'm not positive, but I didn't see any pieces in the bolt holes to indicate that they broke off. I would guess that they worked loose, but that seems strange to me -- especially BOTH of them. (how often have you ever had a steel bolt EASILY come out of a threaded hole in 15+ year old aluminum? )

Yes, it does have the 10 horsepower Briggs & Stratton engine, and that nifty little "5 on the tree" shifter too. :(

[TT-(Moderator) 1,162]

Guess what I did today after my driving test ?????

[CasualObserver 3,411]

I can't think of a better way to celebrate passing your test! :thumbs:

[TT-(Moderator) 1,162]

It took me 4 days to decide if I wanted to spend the $100 on it or not.

I guess I did alright ????? :thumbs:

[modracer 1]

looks like well spent 100$ from what i can see. did you any other attacments with it?

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,882]

I like it!

[CasualObserver 3,411]

Karl... I hear another little one calling YOUR name.... here Is this close to you? You could have a small one of your very own! :thumbs:

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,882]

I saw that, if it weren't 390 miles from here, it would be sitting here now, but thanks for the heads up, it actually looks nice!

[TT-(Moderator) 1,162]

looks like well spent 100$ from what i can see. did you any other attacments with it?

????? ?????

I only got the mower deck, if that's what you're asking.

[kpinnc 14,652]

Good looking little machine there Terry!

Congrats on the test too!

Kevin

[TT-(Moderator) 1,162]

Thanks, Kevin!

The 210-5 is a little rough around the edges, but it only has 711 hours on the meter.

My brother-in-law will need a mower this spring and I thought this one would work good for him. I'm going to see if I can redesign the transaxle mounts so it's stronger, and do a little "cosmetic" work to it.

I really just wanted to get it off of "death row" before it got stripped and parted out -- I'm positive it's too nice for that. :thumbs:

[chevelletown 37]

TT Thanks for saving the little guy, It brings a tear to my eye to see such kindness

[TT-(Moderator) 1,162]

It was pretty easy to let all the Craftsman, White, and MTD tractors still sitting there when I left though.....

I think the little 210-5 may have even chuckled and flipped them off on the way out of the parking lot! :thumbs:

[baerpath 517]

I saw that, if it weren't 390 miles from here, it would be sitting here now, but thanks for the heads up, it actually looks nice!

Karl I tried emailing him I'll be 353 miles closer than you tomarow to it.

Duane

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,882]

Now that distance I would do for that tractor :thumbs:

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,610]

Terry,

Not a bad looking little tractor. Those little Toro Wheel Horse lawn tractors are good little units and were highly under rated and overlooked when they were made. It should make your brother-in-law a good mower.

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,882]

Duane, not to hijack this thread, but let us know if you're able to get that 800 on MTF. :thumbs:

[TT-(Moderator) 1,162]

Progress update:

Gas tank drained and refilled with fresh gas? -- "check".

Jumper cables hooked up to 1056? -- "check".

Fire in the hole? -- NO!

I dug in to the 210-5 again this afternoon.... it seemed like it was trying to flood itself when I was cranking it over, but it was also turning over funny -- sort of "bucking" against the starter. I finally "bit the bullet" and pulled the blower housing back off the Briggs to have a look around. (it was off when I bought the tractor. )

After I removed the debris screen and the flywheel nut, guess what I found?

(some of you guys are gonna guess this real quick, I'm sure)

Yep -- the good old sheared flywheel key!

It was only off by about 1/4 of an inch, but that's more than enough to throw the timing so far out that it wouldn't start. I have no idea why it would have sheared in this application, but that explains why the whole "nose" blew apart on the original starter!

I got a new key out of my toolbox and stuck everything back together. It was running in about 30 seconds and doesn't sound too bad. I think it has some dirt in the carb, and it definitely needs an air filter. I also picked up a new drive belt (and two more flywheel keys ) this afternoon when I went to town to replace the leaky heater control valve on my Dad's Explorer.

With any luck, I can take the "little feller" for a spin tomorrow.

Anyhow.....

I was messing around with the camera again and decided to try another video.

I can only save "movies" in Quicktime format and can't edit anything, so it's not very good. I'll post the link here, but you guys don't have to watch it.

The boring video of the 210-5..... and other junk.

[nylyon-(Admin) 7,882]

That sounds pretty good! Nice movie too.

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,610]

Congratulations, TT, on getting that thing running. The old sheared flywheel key trick will do it everytime. :thumbs:

[Rollerman 290]

Funny how you can overthink something & it ends up being a simple fix.

The vid was cool Terry...& the 210 sounds great.

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,610]

I was finally able to see the video (videos on dial-up is almost out of the question). The engine on the 210 sounds pretty good, no unusual or unwanted noises. Also, I love the walk-around with all the tractors, inside and out. I need to show this to my wife so she can understand that I don't have that many tractors. :thumbs:

[Rollerman 290]

I need to show this to my wife so she can understand that I don't have that many tractors.

Terry if she is still parking her car in the garage....you don't have enough tractors. :thumbs: