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About a year ago I started to hear a rattle in my K341 thumper at 980 hrs. I replaced it with a used engine from @richmondred01 and the engine has been flawless. Now waiting for the grass to grow I decided to tear into the old one to find out what was going on and evaluate it's condition. First the original story: Got a Harbor Fright engine stand and modified it a bit to hold the Kohler. Degreased it and took the trim off. Got the pan off and engine pieces were laying on the edge of the block! Ended up finding 3 pieces of the piston skirt and what looks to be a balance gear needle Picture of the piston minus part of the skirt Crank and rod bearing surface look good! Engine was really clean inside. Didn't clean anything! Balance gear closest to the pan was really loose. Looks like I dodged a bullet!

A few mornings back I noticed water on the floor near the toilet. I soaked it up and mentioned it to the missus. Packing gland at the valve was tightened and it was monitored for the next 2 days with no luck.. Ferruie fitting at the tank was tightened and leak stopped. The kicker is I didn't do any of that.. The missus took care of it all. Man have I got a gem!

I can see the. CL ad already for something like this! Used engine for sale. Only knocks when it runs. It’ll get ya home, most likely! Trade for 40 lbs of bacon.

Had several days of rain, so I hooked up the roller and mashed down some bumps.

Last September when we went to the Two Cylinder show in Fairview, we drove through the Gloss Mountains. Tasha made the comment on how beautiful it was, so I told her we’d stop on our way home. But by the end of the day the wind was blowing 50 mph and we were tired from walking around the show and eating all the blowing dirt from the tractor pull. So we agreed to come back another time. Been through there a couple times since, but we were in the wrecker with no time to stop. Last night we decided that today would be the day we would go, it was such a beautiful day for it. We got some video of it as well with the new action cam, once I get my video editing software figured out I will have that up on my YouTube feed.

This is a topic of much debate, so thought id share some first hand experience with these gears and vibration. The 1277 'lawn duty' got a K341 swap late last fall, and although the extent of his work was blowing leaves and a neighborhood ride, have not been able to get this 'balance gear' thing out of my head. Great runner, no smoke, nice n quiet, but is there a ticking time bomb inside that could potentially destroy a good 16hp block without warning? Yesterday I pulled the engine back off, flipped it over, and went inside. The wear was SCARY! I could rock and wobble the gears all over the place, and the teeth were worn sharp- Gonna call this a real good catch! I popped one gear out, split the second with a long chisel, fished the pieces out, and slapped her back together. The result: there is absolutely, beyond a doubt, a noticeable difference in vibration across the board, most noticeable at about 2000rpm. Overall, not any worse than a non counterbalanced K series big block- 'bouncy' at idle and just fine right up to 3600, but if someone were to run this at 2 grand I believe it would get 'buzzy' and uncomfortable. Some of you guys are much more well versed with these and can chime in with your experiences, but after this back to back test, personally speaking, I will continue popping them out of my used engines with unknown hours/history, but if the time ever comes to overhaul a big K341, I would probably install new ones, just because of that 2000rpm range. Hope this ends up being some useful information for someone

Got the newly acquired 875 off the back of the truck and gave it a bath. Now to figure out what it needs and what I want to do with it.

I am going to fix it and put it on your REO!

Here's the pics of our metal shop adventure.... What we started with. What we ended with Everything in between

Sorry, I'm having a hard time understanding this statement.

Mowed the lawn today for the first time this year. Serviced the 314 and 42 inch recycler deck. I was able to get my tractor sun shade and one of the mid-grader blades installed on my 854. Also charged up battery on my 701 with the CBR-327 chain drive sickle mower.

End of last mowing season I thought..." Gee, that mower deck don't sound too good... must have a bad bearing.. " So I investigated today. Turns out that the idler pulley was rubbing on the deck because the plastic bushings were shot and the idler support bar all worn out. Got a new bar coming from Brian. I had a couple of the bushings and plastic washers I bought a few years ago 'in stock'. Lucky I found them! (But Brian has those too...) Last week I painted the rear wheels that I got from Lincoln with the first coat. Ya know how you always mess up that nice new paint job when you mount the tires? Well, I had what I thought a clever idea. I mounted the tires before the second coat. I then recycled some brown packing paper material and masked the entire-tire. Now I can do the second coat and touch up the boogered areas without having to 'hang' the wheels. I can just roll 'em around to paint them! Should work out nice. When paint cures I'll air them up and should be good t o go.

Going to pull the piston tomorrow and take a good look. Use the Handyman's Secret Crack finder, Carb cleaner. Pics to follow!

So, what boat are you going to use that on???

Then on our way home we decided to detour about 20 miles north and check out Alabaster Caverns State Park, the actual caverns are closed through the end of March due to hibernating bats, but we were able to check out some of the hiking trails there as well.

Its raining out so cant paint, so started making couple tie rods for the 1257Heavy.

Dear All, On Dennis Thornton's suggestion (thank you Dennis, good idea!), I have written up my 518H Power Steering Conversion into a pdf. It reaches just to 8 pages long and so is quite detailed. I have included photos where I can, but words are also necessary, particularly as I have documented the project after completing the build. I should have taken photos en-route but didn't because I was never certain that it would all fit together and work until the final engine start! I'll know better next time! Obviously I have had to add a disclaimer - you modify your tractor at your own risk, but I will help as best I can via this forum if anyone wants to have a go. It seems a complex project at first glance but it's not really, it is about as straight forward as it can be. Please let me know if there is anything that I could explain better in the instructions (e,g, hose lengths and fittings required - difficult for me to document now - sorry!) or if you find any errors that need correcting. Wheelhorse 518H Power Steering Conversion Step by Step.pdf

Get it running, don't change anything!

Don't you scare my Tecumseh !!

I'm under the impression it's the general policy of this site as a whole to NEVER recommend disabling or removing a safety switch. In particular if you have any kind of hilly terrain, anyone but yourself running the tractor, children anywhere in the area, other hazards that shall remain unnamed, it's a bad idea to run an implement without a safety mechanism.

For sure it's a quick simple fix! They seem to move much more freely then the stock tie rods plus ones that were on this 1257 are about 50+ years old and the socket was badly worn. So figured I'd seen alot of people upgrade the stock tie rods don't think I'll have to worrie about these anytime soon

Definitely wanting a set of those! 👍👍

Looks like it's turning pinkish to me. Prolly a repaint in the past. Tape lines on the belt guard. uneven spray on the flywheel screen and bolts. Paint on the extra pulley on the right. Engine supposedly knocks. You can test the hydro somewhat with another tractor and a long belt. If the trans works, replace the Kohler with a Kohler.

Lubricating brakes if they are noisy, why didn't I think of that? Oh yeah, because I went to college and understand how friction brakes actually work. The grinding noise you can hear right now is Henry Ford spinning in his grave. Lol Mick

Trina and I took a trip up to Augusta today to have our friend help us with a few metal working projects. Here's pics of the plow blade (skid steer blade) I got from the jungle site. This is HARD metal. Our friend has been at this job doing commercial truck building and repair for decades. Never seen the Piranha metal puncher smash a bit. This is the scrap bucket... Here's the machine. We ended up using a plasma cutter to start the holes and air tools to finish to size.

Last time I bought a tractor with an engine that "needs rebuilt", it needed the points cleaned.. I wouldn't write it off before looking it over!

Drop the tailgate, run a strap to a tree from the tractor then punch it chewie!

In an attempt to stay on my personal schedule I was able to make paint fly yesterday and today. Yesterday I sprayed white on the rims and seat, unfortunately I have to call a mulligan on the rims. I'm extremely unhappy with the way that they turned out. I messed them up pretty bad. Oh well, "pobodies nerfect" The red that I sprayed today went much better. Every thing except for the sheet metal as a nice coat of red paint on it.

drop by my place, we can lift it out with the Hilo or tie it to something heavy and you can drive off

K have a bead on this critter A C141 Auto(hydro) with wheel weights, 44in deck, and snow blade. Thinkin it would fit the bill for a TLB setup, but I'm not the expert!

So @WHX24 keeps pokin the bear about everything he has done with my old 1045, the thing he never revealed was i got this beauty on trade. Someone took a lot of time painting this tractor and Jim figured he would just restore it. No way! there is a story here and captured in the neatest patina I've seen. so with a stop at the ranch of @Bear G I scored a set of rear wheels for this old girl that were perfect. All i needed to do was paint a set of fronts to match. So i oiled her up, put in the new shoes and saddle and here she is. What do ya think @Achto is Jim gonna complain about letting this one go too? Thinking i might have to change from Wheel Horse Estates South to WHX 2nd Hand Pony Ranch

@Ed Kennell sorry it took a few days but heres your close ups

I would buy her one of those T-Shirts that cover up the plumber's crack. Maybe for Christmas??

If I go get it ill be sure to go equipped with my tow strap to hook to mrs vehicle! Little Horse vs Jeep tug-o-war!

It’s even got good cast wheel weights! I’d say if the hydro will spin a tire when chained to something stupidly heavy in forward and reverse, and if it doesn’t smoke too bad, it would be a great candidate!

Live bacon is an option.

I'm fairly sure 10 and 12 horse would be interchangeable. Others, correct me if I'm wrong there. I'm not at all a fan of aftermarket carburetors so I would highly recommend that you do rebuild one off of a parts tractor that is an original Kohler carb. Use an original Kohler branded rebuild kit. You can get them off of the internet from a million different places once you figure out the part number using the search on this site. My general procedure is to soak them for two or three days after I disassemble as far as possible. I don't normally take the main jet screw out of the bottom because they can be just plain downright stubborn and it's not that big a deal from my experiences if it's left in and just cleaned from every angle possible. After you soak it for whatever time is necessary grab yourself two full cans of brake clean. Spray every galley/hole/orifice in there backwards forwards in out up down left right and sideways. Reassemble. Hope for the best. Don't get discouraged if you have to repeat it all over again after you just got done.

Yes. If you ever plan use the mower it will prevent you from cutting your foot off.

@peter lena if you type “@“ then start typing a name, you could tag the person you mention, without just hoping they’ll see it.

I have to agree with Mike on this, as long as the transmission is good, repair or replace the engine. Stay with Kohler or it won't be worth much more than you already paid for it.

You said you have 6? This could be lucky number 7!

Thats Ryan's deal not mine. 3 kiddos is enough.

I have an idea on how the pump will mount. Now to make it happen!

Truth be told Mike not sure if I like the wheels ... maybe just a little too much pop for the patina? Take it you didn't like the crack of the square pan seat every time you sit on it either! Since these like pics Mike .... The 1045 .... a go to tub puller for spring clean up & mutt rides! Cindy loves it easy on easy off. I think... no I know I got the better end of the stick!

That is a unique tractor and is a good runner. Just remember Mike dibs to get it back you knock up the missus again! Not really sorry as to letting it go a 1045 was just a couple a tractors higher up on the bucket list. I shoulda dickered a little harder with ya Mike and said the bug fogger has to go with it! I would have never restoed her in a million but I gave it to Ryan who was whining like a school girl that he didn't have any round hoods to show. He threatened to resto it so I ney ney Jose and got it back. It did need some new bearings in the rear end so hopefully you took care of that. Sides I was up to my earballs in with a 857 and the 867 that needed new axle needles. Story behind the find is it was CL score believe it or not. Seller was 1hr+ away but when talked on the phone he mentioned he has two 854's so off I went. I didn't even bother to quobble about his asking price when he said he had a '67 LR he'd throw in with the deal. Top it off he threw in a NOS square pan seat cover that went on Cindy's 702. Turned out the guy was a collector and had 30 some horses that he sold and these were his last three. So got the whole herd home and Dan took custody of the 2nd 854 which turned out to be a 753 which is a good candidate for resto. @dclarke took custody of the LR. Now that's one tractor I wished I wouldn't have let go but she was a project. We had both tractors running in an hour. Had a plow on it that got parted out to get Dan a working plow.

I said the other day, I would not buy another tractor, unless it was a 16HP, or a Black Hood. Well, it's not 16 HP, but the hood looks black to me. It popped upon Facebook. 8 minutes after it was posted, I was messaging the guy. 45 minutes, and $150 later, it was on the trailer, headed home. He said he must have sold it too cheap. His phone was blowing up, but I was the first to message him. Complete with mower deck, snow plow, and owners manual. "Ran When Parked" I'm just not sure how long it's been parked. Motor turns free, without any funny noises. The guy said he had the motor rebuilt at one point, by a shop I am familiar with, and trust. I dunno. Might be a good thing, might not. I don't know if the seat/fender pan is plastic, or fiberglass, but it's cracked, and will need some attention. The rest of the tin looks very good. I think the deck is pretty bad. I was not interested in it for mowing anyway. Tire is flat, but in a few days, I'll have extras. This will get towed to my storage for now. I am NOT opening up another project right now. Too many going on already, and all the parts will probably get here at the same time.

In my opinion it looks too nice to part out. I'm sure some member would love to purchase it for a project.

Brake fluid, seems to work on people’s cars!

Reminds me of the stone fences on the Aran Islands in Ireland... I was fortunate enough to visit about 30 years ago... Centuries in the making... it is a beautiful place... the soil is from composted sea weed brought up and dumped by the farmers over the years... Notice the “gate” - they just knock down the wall, move the animals, put wall back up... don’t waste wood on a gate...