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Finally , a plowable snow that got me some seat time. We got five inches Monday night that took me 3 hours to clean up the 5 driveways, stone road, and trails to the wood pile and the back woods. Then another 8inches fell Tuesday night that took another 4 hours to clean up today. It is drifting badly now, so there will be seat time tomorrow. Due to the cold and wind, I mainly used the 520 w/ heated cab and steel chains. The 312 had to plow his way out of his basement stall. All uphill. This is a testament to the traction of the rubber chains. This is on a grass surface and the 12 horse Kohler actually bogged down to the point of stall before the wheels lost traction. That's a 54" blade , 4 link worn rubber chains, and ~ 500 lbs on the rear wheels (including me).

Always good to get some seat time In This One Goes Out To @Bob Maynard!

The woods were magical today. The chocolate boys broke trail the whole way. One of them dropped into 2nd position for less than a minute but couldn't stand it and had to get out and explore. About 45 minutes and no other people or tracks.

Here's a video of my Mahindra Emax25 at work in my front driveway this morning.We got about 6 inches of dry powdery snow but a lot of it blew away due to the high winds we had.Thank God for the heated cab.I've squandered a lot of money in my life buying foolish things,but this Mahindra was one of my better purchases. FullSizeRender_(1).mov

Careful what you say about these rodents Richard. I am deeply indebted to all Whistle Pigs. Why, when I was a young lad we invited one to dinner nearly every week. I don't have them for dinner anymore, but they do pay my hunting rights on the neighbors farm.

That may be too much for a plow (plough) because of the huge piles of snow. You really need a 20 HP tractor with a two stage snowblower and a cab.

Do you think I need to get the snow plough out?

Let me first start with I’m not a fan of harbor freight tools. I consider them disposable. The vast majority of my tools are snap on, blue point and craftsman which were mine and my fathers, some of which 90 years old. I guess I’m a tool snob. However, I recently got this Harbor Freight 1000 pound lift table. So far it’s been great. It’s very stable and constructed very well. As I’m getting older, lifting heavy items can be problematic. Between chain hoists, roller dollies and now this item, I hardly ever have to put hands on any heavy item.

Clearing the winter storm from last night. Nicely arched snow throwing curtesy of a 1989, 414-8 with 1,400+ hours, 46" 2 stage Ber-Vac, with all AG tires and no chains. Rear tires loaded and 135 lbs. in the rear weight box. No slipping at all on an asphalt driveway with a 15 degree rise. What are you running?

Snow blade attachment ... manual angle but that’s ok, it’ll definitely be better than the pos John Deere!!! Hope everyone has been doing well!

Ok .... So I was thinking about putting a horse of some type on the 857 as a hood ornament. I found one trophy topper, because its cheaper then a real hood ornament, that I kinda liked. Turns out its cheaper to buy the whole trophy with engraving then just the top. 10 bucks shipped to your door. So you guessed it..... I ordered one. Now I am not sure what to do with it. Take it apart and use the horse top and the plaque on the 857 ? It already has the custom decal with my name on it. Or order one for each wheel horse tractor I get in the future ???

Hi all, I’m starting a thread to document the rebuild of my 312-8. I believe it’s a late 80’s model. It has sat outside the last few years and has several issues that I’ll be fixing. I’m not restoring this for show, but to use it for snow/dirt plowing, for pulling things around the yard, and for retrieving firewood from my woods. Here’s the list of things I plan to fix: 1) Obviously the paint is faded and chipped and metal is rusted in some places. I want to stop the rust before it gets bad so I will repaint everything from the frame up. 2) The tractor runs but has some issues. The main reason I started on the rebuild is the it was very hard to start after sitting for a week. It would start with starting fluid but not on its own. The fuel pump was replaced with a new mechanical and I even tried an electric pump and it still struggled. I found that the head gasket was leaking near the exhaust so I’m hoping it starts better with that fixed. Probably a warped head but I haven’t checked it yet. The engine bore and crank measured good per the specs, but on the high end of bore taper spec. Most machine shops are booked out for months so I will probably not bore out on this rebuild since it still meets the spec. Another issue I think the governor needs adjusted as I believe it was over speeding. Maybe that contributed to the head gasket failure. 3) The steering is loose. Planning to replace the top bushing on the stem. I’m having issues getting the steering wheel off. I got the pin to move so I think I’m close . The bottom block that the steering stem goes into is egged out. I’m planning to drill it to 7/8” and press in a bronze bushing to get it tight. 4) I pressure washed it after the engine was out and noticed the dust boot on the transmission shifter basically turned to dust. I drained the diff and it was full of muddy oil and clean water. Hopefully the water was only in there from when I washed it since it the water under the oil looked clean. I did flush the diff with diesel and refilled with gear oil. I’ll change it again after an hour or so of running. It looks like I might have a seal leaking at the input pulley but I’ll clean it for now and see if it leaks later. There’s so much gunk on the diff it’s hard to tell. 5) Several electric issues. The engine won’t turn off when the key turns off. I’ll try to clean the switch and see if I have any luck but it might need replaced. The hour meter stopped working around 1200 hours. The voltage meter doesn’t work either. 6) The front wheel bearings are shot. I haven’t taken them apart yet but I hope the axle shaft portion of the spindle and wheel is still good. There’s a ton of side to side play. 7) Traction is an issue with the turf tires. My soil type is clay and rarely freezes so it’s a sloppy mess in the winter and spring. I’m planning to go with fluid filled ag tires and some type of wheel weight. I would like metal weights but they are a little expensive so it might take a while to find a deal. I’ll start with fluid and see where that gets me.

I vented the belt guard and made a housing that connects to the cab collecting all the heat that is pushed across the rear cylinder. The temp. stays 30- 35 degrees above outside temp.

Interesting how this thread went from snow plow shoes to boots.....

Well we are getting a few inches of snow here in western NY. Great reason to fire up the 857 and clear the driveway !!! have I mentioned that I am really starting to like this tractor ? Small and mighty. Steering radius is great, can turn around in the driveway without having to do a 3 pt turn. Pushes all the snow with ease. Since I never used a plow blade before not sure how you guys set them. If I try and plow the sidewalk the blade will get stuck in the cracks. If I raise it up then I dont get a clean pass. Did I mention I am liking this little tractor more and more?

Whew, Sure glad I reread the title Tranny Fan. I thought Jay was looking for a Fanny Fan.

My Harbor Fright lift table is the best money I have ever spent!

How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?

Phil is less reliable than your average weather forecaster if that is possible.

Was wondering how this thread got to two pages in just 4 hours.... ...I'd end up with a boot in the @$$

Squirrel!!!!

You might wanna check with Jim to see what brand of shoes his "snow plow" wears ... now I must .

I am outside most of the day at work. Walking through heavy snow. I wear The Original Muck Boot Company Arctic Sport Boots. I stay warm, dry, and they are very comfortable. I can walk through a creek up to my knees in them to and stay dry. Worth every penny I spent on them. You can also get them with a steel toe if you wanted. Believe that model is the " Chore"

Also, I figured I’d open this thread and have a discussion on @stevasaurus’ winter clothing selection. I’m a shorts and boots guy in the summer. Or flip flops. Pretty much not much changes in the winter, but my shorts get longer.

About a foot in southern NH. Neighbor, where I store the Simplicity in winter, had to go to work for 9 so I went over around 8. The neighbor from the other side was already 3/4 done with that drive with his Kubota. So my Simplicity got plowed out by the Kubota. He at least left me the dignity (and swat time) to blow my own drive. Gave my phone to the boss for some photos but dogs playing were a far more interesting subject than me blowing snow. Report from Augusta is only about 6". Wheel Horse will need to wait a couple weeks to clear the roof snow.

@HorseFixer Now that's what I'm talkin' about!!! Thanks. That's what I remember about this forum that drew me in. I miss all the videos of the modifications you made to the impellers to see how far you could chuck the snow. This one with Miss Hula Shaker is great. Just what I needed to shake off the winter doldrums. And speaking of threads that I miss, we haven't seen much out of @buckrancher I hope that Brian is doing okay and working on some mysterious project for this years WHCC show.

That is what I used on "Hot Wheels", trophy topper of a mule because the 953 was such a great pack animal!

From what I've seen in the forum lately, you better get out there before it melts!

Don't long term store the snow machines .Groundhog Day 2021: Punxsutawney Phil forecasts six more weeks of winter - The Washington Post

Spent the whole day cleaning snow . Helped my neighbor out with his quarter mile steep driveway. I didn’t know he took some videos and made some funny narrative IMG_5312.mov

None. Now Phil's cousin Beaver.....he can chuck some lumber.

@pullstart @WHX24 Maybe these would suffice?

Besides around and wrenching, do you have any other hobbies? I used to do a fair amount of fishing, but putting an 18' bass boat in and out of the water by myself, got to be too much of a struggle, so I sold the boat. Walking to the good spots was even more of a struggle. With older farmers retiring, young ones coming up, they don't seem to want you on their property so much anymore, to get to ponds. Corporate farms REALLY don't want you on their property, and there are very few lakes in my part of the world. Now my fishing poles just hang around, and collect dust mostly. I used to have 30 or 40 more. My brother just bought a cabin on the river, so I gave a lot of poles to him.

They seem to be slowly disappearing in the country. Could be due to the ammunition shortage. They are appearing in the big cities.

Avoid kicking the cat, that'll just cause more trouble!

As you know we tend to travel off topic from time to time.

Both. Different value system and, often, very different social and economic situations. IMHO, not unlike the gulf between the "50 percenters" and the "1 or 2 percenters". It is very hard to think outside your own realm. Gentrification means our village of mostly "middle- and working-class" folk now includes families of great wealth. That effect of that difference, too, can be stark and hard to grasp.

@D_Mac I tilt my blade top as far forward as permitted by the adjuster pin holes and springs... that way the blade drags and skips over joints instead of biting them...

ATV Plow skids. Make a couple of hoops to hold them on. Work great! https://www.amazon.com/s?k=atv+plow+skids&gclid=CjwKCAiAjeSABhAPEiwAqfxURfUwnIKJ3vtH43SQ5ktZdbbwpSKHH5FKJazj6HteMSIScXhd7aONxhoCCtkQAvD_BwE&hvadid=177637085410&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9005158&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=12584320407615563393&hvtargid=kwd-2812256287&hydadcr=7467_9586261&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_5wz3npilfi_e

Actually double shot of chocolate!

Thanks guys. It was quick. We all can only hope it's like that when its our time.

When I was still using snow blowers, I drilled my pin hole open to 1/4" and replaced the cotter pin with a 1/4" Allen head bolt and a Nylock nut.

Looks like the engine is nice and clean which should make this easy to locate. There is a small hose that goes from the cover plate over your valves to the back of the air cleaner which could be the problem. ( part # 11 on page 12) Check the area just below the carburetor to see if the oil may be running down there. Crankshaft oil seals and oil pan or bearing plate gaskets hardly develop a leak. Here is the parts manual for your engine.

Hi all, Working on a restoration on my 312-8. It’s been in my family since new but has been outside for a few years and needs some work. I’m hoping to get things fixed and use it for yard work and getting firewood out of the woods. I’m sure I will have questions as I go. Thanks

I have a couple that were covered so completely with oil, dirt and leaf debris that i can't imagine that much air ever got to the cooling fins. I would think that with cold air temps you should be okay but that's just my opinion.

That it is Randy and it does drift there. I use the 312 to back in trailer loads of wood. I could use the 520 , but It is easier to back in with out the cab. The old neck only has about 5 Degrees of rotation. I have always been able to get out, but my back up plan is my neighbor with his FEL on a 4WD Kubota. He watches me plow (his is one of the 5 driveways I plow) with the 520. I think his best day will be the day when I have to ask for help from his Kubota.

I appreciate you not getting all technical on that....

Winter storm today! Finally some good seat time Lots of plowing soon.