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Betcha y’all didn’t know 211
wh500special replied to 953 nut's topic in non tractor related discussion
I had one. Mine was a 2013 Passat TDI. In the 85000 miles I had the car I averaged an honest 44 mpg. Because I am a weirdo, I keep a spreadsheet on my cars to track costs and maintenance, so this isn’t an approximation. On a long interstate trip, the car would get better than 50 mpg. It had an 18 gallon tank so had a range of 900 miles. I drove it from St Louis to Charlotte, NC on one tank. On another trip it went from STL to northern MN before filling. The car was a bladder buster. it was a largish car but only 140 hp which explains the great fuel economy. But it never felt underpowered. It had a lot of low RPM grunt so got off the line quick which made it feel a lot faster than it really was, but the acceleration really dropped off once the car hit 25 mph. Again, only 140 hp… VW got caught with wildly excessive tailpipe emissions by some researchers at the University of West Virginia who were comparing diesel autos for mpg and emissions. The VW results were so off the charts bad that they assumed their gross data had to be in error so they re-tested and got the same result. Assuming it was a fluke they got another TDI and tested it. Same results. uh oh. They reported to VW who ignored them and blamed their test methods. Others took note and started checking too and all found that VW diesels were clean when tested at the stationary test stations, but incredibly dirty when tested while on the road. Eventually the California Air Resources Board pressed VW on it and were also ignored. Federal EPA too. VW continued to break the emission laws for multiple years despite regulatory scrutiny. Eventually they finally agreed that something was amiss after the EPA notified them they couldn’t sell ANY cars - gas or diesel - in the US if they didn’t cooperate. Talk about motivation. The issue was that VW programmed the car to only operate the exhaust catalyst system when the car was on a treadmill being tested. Steering wheel inputs were used to deduce the car was actually being driven on the road and the emissions system was then shut down. In hindsight, that’s why that little tank of urea in the trunk rarely needed a refill. the net result was VW had to deal with the 385000 (in the US alone) law breaking gross polluters on the road. They applied two software flashes and gave owners some money as bandaids but still were thumbing nose at EPA. Eventually after their initial fixes were little more than window dressing they were forced to offer buybacks or cash payments and real fixes to owners who wanted to keep the car. I don’t remember the warranty terms, but I’m pretty sure the emissions system warranty were actually lengthened for those who kept them. At the time though, VW didn’t have a fix, didn’t know if they would have a fix, and nobody was telling what the trade offs would be. My assumption - given what I know about the complexity of a catalytic cleanup system - was that VW probably knew the chemistry set in the tailpipe was a reliability disaster so they elected to shut it down whenever the car was driving. I didn’t want to deal with that. I sold mine back to them. I seem to remember them not giving back the full purchase price but I think it was pretty close overall when factoring in the payment for the car, the two small payments that came with the intermediate (failed) software flashes, and the payment from Robert Bosch (software company who programmed the cheat in the ECU). In four years and 85000 miles the car cost me just the cost of fuel, insurance, a set of tires, and maintenance. Turned out to be a great deal overall financially, but infuriating when thinking about 85000 miles worth of emissions times 385000 other cars on the road. and there were fines. I think it totaled around $3 billion. Much of the fines were distributed through all 50 states and designated for emissions reductions. School systems upgrades busses, states used it for remediation, etc. VW also had to fund the Electrify America EV charging network. Exacerbating things, the software used to cheat also was applied in other manufacturers’ products across all of Europe and North America. Daimler Benz and Chrysler to name two. They complied much more readily when discovered and at least have plausible deniability. I’ll never purchase another product from VW. I didn’t buy that car to make a statement or be an environmentalist, but I did buy it expecting that it meet specifications or at least made a good faith effort to meet them. It didn’t because they made the decision to be criminals, likely in the name of durability or drivability. None of what they did was subject to interpretation or judgement, it was clearly wrong. I was sad to see my car go. I’m doubly mad that in one deliberate action VW doomed the future for light diesel vehicles in the western world. Diesel emissions are dirty, no doubt, but treatable. The take rate for diesel autos in the US was already low and VW killed the golden goose. On the upside, with diesel currently running $5/gallon and RUG at $4, the break even gas mpg compared to my 44mpg TDi is 36 mpg. That’s somewhat attainable in a similar sedan, so the advantage of diesel has pretty much evaporated. anyway, here endeth the sermon. Steve - Today
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yep. SS in the jungle for under $1 each. Threaded rod with any slack pulled into the back side would work fine IMO but I do like the way carriage bolts sit in the rims.
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Or the numbers on the tach itself are changed. I would guess rpm can be verified with a hand held tach?
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Worked on the wife's Dodge Dart. Installed new headlight connectors and bulbs, and changed out the oil and oil filter.
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I’ve thought of using threaded rod cut to the proper length and then put a nut on either side of the square hole in rim, tightening up to make like a stud. Then sliding the weight on the rod, and tightening a nut on it. Maybe some 1/2” acorn nuts? That would look pretty cool!
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Ed Kennell started following Retired
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Congrats. Jim and Mike. Best wishes for health and happiness. Enjoy every day, you earned it.
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Yes, it will be a surprise. But there has been sone talk about it a while back by my wife.
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702854boy started following Red Heads over by Indianapolis
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Would anyone be able to pick up a set of red heads that are for sale on marketplace and mail them to me? Pm for more details
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I just picked up 9" carriage bolts today $3.18 each, plus nuts and washers (almost $40 out the door). Threaded rod is a relatively cheap product to trial and get the correct measurements so you only do that once.
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What have you done to your Wheel Horse today?
sqrlgtr replied to Ed Kennell's topic in Wheel Horse Tractors
That 9 pin doesn't look to healthy. -
Hopefully I will get to mount them in the morning. Still need to figure out how long carriage bolt I will need.
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What have you done to your Wheel Horse today?
ML3 replied to Ed Kennell's topic in Wheel Horse Tractors
Making headway on the 416H. So far everything going pretty well but of course now its time to address the dreaded 9pin...... -
Thank you for the advice!! 🙂
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Thank you! I didn’t realize this thread existed. I may have just gotten lucky. Looking at a 1991 312-8 tomorrow with a deck and 500 hours for $750. Won’t need a trailer since it’s closer and there’s no snow thrower. Wish me luck!
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We also have a section for hauling help https://www.wheelhorseforum.com/forum/15-haulin-help/ that could be worth a shot. Best of luck
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Great advice! I’m looking to have a class 4 hitch installed. I know I could do it myself but I’m not a mechanic just handy and I’m too worried about something happening. I think my best bet is to wait for hitch installation and hope the tractor hasn’t sold. Thanks everyone!!! I appreciate all your help
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A good point. If you have the correct rear frame, you could add a Class 2 tow hitch for around $100 and the electrical wiring kit for around $30 (tow up to 3500 lbs, 350 lbs at the tongue).
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That's what I used to bring my C-195, 48" deck, and a snow plow home
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@sqrlgtr You do know that we are going to need pictures of those weights installed don’t you?😂😂
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Ed Kennell started following Wheel Horse 314-8
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A 5X9 U-Haul trailer with ramp is about $30/ day.
- Yesterday
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@stevasaurus I would love to see this yellow horse you speak of! I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a factory painted Wheel Horse that wasn’t red or gray?
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The 314-8's are great tractors. That two stage blower is heavy, even with the assist spring. Make sure the steering is greased up good and front tires pumped to max. I'd also recommend adding rear wheel weights and chains to the winter setup.
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to clear this up tractor that broke is a 1275 had 4 bolts holding it together. bolt broke and popped a hole in the left gear case. parts tractor is 10350 8 ser# 904251 I have not taken this transaxle apart yet. just trying to figure out if i can transplant the diff and axles to the 1275 gearcase. I do still need a left gearcase. I may have found some on ebay but have not contacted the seller. thank you Ken
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Seem to remember you could keep it but would have to give up the warrantee on the car to do so.
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