Leaderboard

We put em in Thur and the Kids pulled em out this morning. What a great day. One of the big ones ... a 23" rainbow.

Is this why it’s called a twin?

Grazing Horses! Figured I’d empty out the horse barn and clean out a bunch of junk. Perfect opportunity for a group photo. Only missing the 310-8 mower tractor with bagger.

This is a pretty beat up 606 that we picked up at the Portage, WI show last year. The transmission needs to be swapped for a locked up one, because it’s still a good one. I’d like to keep the transmission for a good spare. The steering fan gear I’ve never seen with holes in it like this! As for the flowers, my SIL helped Rylee put the basket together for Mother’s Day. Apparently, it’s a “thriller, filler and spiller”.

And a plowing horse, a loader horse, a cultivator horse, a go get the mail horse, a crusing horse, a sprayer horse, and a towing horse. ...and a few spares just in case one is down.

The most important consideration is safety. The truck must have good brakes, suspension components and tires. The trailer's weight is another consideration. Check the towing capacity of the truck and double the weight of the trailer by time you outfit it for travel. Don't skimp on the frame hitch and trailer brake controller, they are vital to a safe trip. Air shocks and even air bags aren't the answer, a load distributing hitch will place the load on all four of the tow vehicles tires increasing the stability of the ride. In 1974 I towed a 30' travel trailer all over the country with a 1967 Oldsmobile 98. The Reese weight distributing hitch and antisway system made it a very comfortable safe ride. The trailer brakes were doing more than 50% of the braking which kept us straight.

Several hours in the saddle today 3.5 on the Electro 16 a bit over 2 on the C-175.. I know every one here thinks K341s are the best thing since sliced bread and Skippy... They are powerful but they are noisy and coarse. This one was rebuilt last year and I left off the balance gears. She has a buzzy vibration and the engine is loud even with a new quality muffler. Got on the C-175-8 out and a world of difference minimal vibration and much quieter. (I replaced her shaker mount with a flat plate used on 417 and 418. still smooth). Less tiring to use her on a hot day...even with having to shift gears

I have a blowing horse with cab, a plowing horse, a loader horse and a mowing horse. I really “need” a stick shift tilling horse and one more do everything horse. Of course a spare for when one is down for maintenance should round out the herd, I don’t want to have excessive stock.

Here is pictures of final assembly. Note I repurchased the 3 pt arms to hold my gym weight plates to add as needed. It had to rain overnight so can't try it out yet.

It depends on the towing capacity of your truck. What's it rated at? What does the trailer weigh? If the numbers are good then it's a matter of setting things up right. Rear spring assist doesn't hurt but DO NOT use coil overs, air bags, shocks, etc. to level things out. The tongue weight not only squats the truck it removes weight from the front of the truck. You need to get that back and the cheaters won't do it. With the trailer unhooked and level determine the ball height needed and used the correct ball mount. Make note of the height of the truck at both axles. For example, I towed a 30' Dutchman with my F-150. To add what some might say is insult to injury it had the incredible 300 CI straight 6. Once hooked up the truck dropped 2" at the rear axle and raised 1" at the front. I adjusted the weight distributing hitch and brought the front back down to normal and the rear got back 1" of the 2". I used 2 adjustable sway controls and adjusted them for until I was happy with the feel. As Richard said, make sure you have the correct frame hitch and a quality brake controller. This rig towed like it was on railroad tracks and the torque of that engine kept me moving just fine. OK, I'll grant you that I did use the slow lane going up mountain slopes.

I let all mine out a while back to graze too... (Pay no attention to the crazy looking old man in th background, you'll only encourage him, Lol). Nice looking herd, jealous of the loader, bucket list item...(been looking).

@Horse Newbie it worked. We got some rain here this afternoon. Yesterday, I filled in the gap in the masonry work for the dock and set forms and poured the end caps on it. Just about the time I was starting to trowel the end caps, the wind came up and was causing waves to splash into my not yet cured concrete. I covered one side by leaning the wheelbarrow into the lake and over the concrete - an effective breakwater, and piled some concrete blocks in front of the other end cap and covered it with a 5 gallon pail. Today, I pulled the wheelbarrow out of the lake and pulled the forms. Surprisingly, the concrete came out well. That project required me to cut 5 concrete blocks down in height and cut one cap block to length. Used the circa 1980 Craftsman circular saw with a diamond blade. When swapping back to the carbide tooth general purpose blade today, I took the time to clean out all of the concrete dust on the saw. I ended up going Greasy Pete on it. Pulled the blade guard and blade arbor out. Cleansed out the ancient OEM grease on the final drive gears and replaced it with Lucas green heavy duty grease.

After rebuilding the cylinder the pump started leaking. Not real bad but leaks down when loaded. I ordered another pump so I can have a spare while I tear this one down and rebuild it. I removed the cutting blade and cut it down to 2" wide from 3 1/2" wide and reinstalled it with the cutting edge angled down. I tested it and it does try to cut as it should but the red clay is too dry and hard. Rain is coming so I will be able to test it with more favorable conditions.

Gave the shed a much needed cleaning today. As things go sometimes I get carried away with fabricating things and drop tools and material all around me which turns everything into well.. a mess.. Anyway, so much room for activities now. Still could use some cabinets and/or shelves.

Be careful! Snoop-Don might just move in! I tried to start a chicken farm once... I failed miserably. I think I planted them too deep.

I had the air lift that @wallfish referred to installed on my 2000 1500 Silverado(no coil springs) 23 years ago and they are holding up fine. My only regret is I did not get the on board compressor. I tow a 30 camper and use a weight distribution hitch.

Thanks for the replies. I forgot to mention that I replaced the seals already. The shafts felt solid also. The clutch seems to work normally. I also jack up the front when draining. I only drove around the yard. I'm just going to take it apart. I'm concerned about the noise and don't want to risk damaging a shaft if I haven't already. There was a bit of water in it and there might be bearings that are rusty. I have a couple good 4 speeds and put one on for now.

I'll have my bucket o hood parts at the show If he still needs one Jim.

You' ll end up breaking the hi lo fork anyway if you don't take it apart.

Airbags most certainly are an option, and I would 100% look in to those. Air shocks are a joke. I had a pair on my trucks, and even with them pumped to their max rated pressure I was still able to hit the bed sides on the tires. Coil-over helper shocks would be better, which is what I have now. I would do both. Also, for that much weight behind that small a truck a load distributing hitch is a must. It will help put some of that tongue weight back on the camper's suspension. I must ask though, being that the truck is used, what condition is the puppy in? I mean, it's probably a full grown dog by now.

All engines with carburetors have the potential of deposits causing performance issues. Tractors are often abused by sitting for long times, dirty gas cans, dirty gas tanks and no maintenance on fuel lines and filters. Just a little dirt is no reason to dispose of a tractor but it does give us buying opportunities from those that don't know. The problem isn't an Onan issue, it is just the usual abuse, no engine is designed to run on dirt.

Your C-160 Auto is a Sundstrand model 90-1140 (if original, that is). Here is an easy...not messy...way to pour in the oil or ATF. Email is daveoman@windstream.net.

Yup. My dad had prostate cancer. Ive been on a 6 month cycle of blood tests - one of them PSA for a long time. So far, so good.

I’m lucky enough to have one of those 418-C’S you speak of, bought it from the original owner about a year ago. Approximately 700 hrs on the clock.

Could be a dark and lonely place...

Love it when something actually works out! So made up this hub puller using a flywheel from a honda gcv160 engine(they don't have cooling fins). This was from a scrap engine off a walk behind mower. I intended to use a 4 ton bottle jack for the press but needed the back plate and didn't have anything suitable and didn't want to buy a plate. So I marked off the wheel hub holes and drilled out the matching pattern on the flywheel. Used 3/8 rod so it would be a pass through on both the flywheel plate side, and for the hub. Used washers and nuts to lock it down. 3 ended up being enough. I went slow and watch for oddities. I did let this thing soak for 2 weeks hitting it with penetrating oil 2-3 times a week. In the keyway hole and the lock bolt hole. I'm sure that helped. It broke free pretty easily and came out the rest of the way just fine. Total cost was about $15. Already had the jack so didn't count that. Just the rod and hardware. It was nice that the rim of the flywheel helped to lock in the base of the jack. Made slipping out a non-issue. Hope this helps someone out! This has been a great thread so wanted to keep it going!

I think, had I not dealt with this exact condition up close and personal, to the point of pulling my hair out, I may well have missed it too. However, my experience meant I knew exactly what else I was looking for.

I tow an older Starcraft 25' camper with all the weight distribution hitch and trailer brake. Make sure when set up that the trailer is level on hitch. That trailer probably has dual axles, and you must keep them as level as possible so as not to overload one set of tires and create blow-out problems. Seen many going down road with one axle carrying the entire load.

I love big block Kohlers but yes, the 14 and 16hp are called "thumpers" for a legitimate reason. Only smooth big block I have is my 310-8. It has the shorter stroke on the crank and a very quiet valvetrain. V twins are not as smooth as opposed twins, but still much smoother than a thumper. I can see why so many twins were sold in the later years, along with higher backs and arm rests on big fat seats and soft grip steering wheels.

Internal leakage in a 29 year old hydro system is certainly not unusual. to not have leakage after 29 years would be very lucky. Has nothing to do with eh Eaton pump it is either the lift cylinder or the control valve.

Stick another flower pot under the hood...... " Flower Power " or as @ebinmaine would say.... " flowah powah "

Thanks all for the input. Haven't had the chance to compare with the others, using both 48" decks but will look at the B80 tomorrow as I was thinking about using parts off this one or leave it as is and use as spare. I think that the spacer is too large in width. Posting another photo with the spacer off. Shaft looks okay to me.

Where?

I've had no more trouble with aftermarket belts from Napa or TSC than I have had with genuine OEM. Right now I think it's a TSC blue that I'm running and it's been on there for quite a few years now, still just fine.

You forgot the all important grader blade Horse.

or you have guests that would like to drive around...

What Richard said above is true for the Kohler 10, 12, 14 hp engines. The Kohler 4, 6, 7, 8 hp engines gap at .025. When in doubt, go into our "Manual" Section / Engines / Kohler. The information is there.

Order them and install them. something like these. Mine used the space for the rubber stops. Shop around as there will be different quality and different bells and whistles. https://www.sdtrucksprings.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=31029&msclkid=32c85e24d1601600b7033cadd6c23dd2&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=SC - Air Bags (B)&utm_term=4582008550965100&utm_content=Air Bags (Air Lift) I did suspension airbags on 2 Chevy 1500 Express vans (no coil springs on those either ) because we started to carry more weight in them. I'm not sure I'd be comfortable using them to tow a big camper on a 1500 vehicle but they work great for handling the heavier loads inside the vans.

All the flushing in the world will not fix a bad or rusted bearing. You will only ruin the shaft in that bearing. With what you stated you had coming out and the rust issues on the shift rails, opening this up is the correct thing to do. If this is your first time, here is a thread with videos.

K301 is finally buttoned up to the level of the head with its nice grade 8 bolts. and fresh exhaust valve. Two flywheel magnets reattached with JB Weld. This afternoon (I have a Ham exam at 1), it will be lowered into the frame. Sadly, not ready to start as the starter spring is junk and has to be sourced out at Ace. And, so goes Saturday.

Probably a 425 high compression engine before emissions neutered them.

Found this YouTube video, you can see he just replaced the bushings & bolts on his, but it does show the back hood mount on top of the motor, mine didn't come with one so now I know what one looks like at least!

455 Rocket?

I think that is one someone allowed the pulleys to wear through the shaft. Them did what they had to so it could be used. I have one around, that I picked up with some other stuff that is about halfway cut through.

The Oldsmobile could tow at highway speeds going up a mountain grade if I were fulish to do so, but then I would have too much momentum built up once we crested the peak and there was no need of burning up the brakes. Anyone who is about to embark on a trailer towing vacation needs to watch this first.

When you open it up, you will be surprised with the amount of damage, I did a 4 speed recently that was very noisy while flushing - almost all the gears were severely pitted and the axle needle bearings as well. Did you notice the seals leaking after flushing? Plan on replacing them too... Bill

Many of us have used WD-40 and 0000 Steel Wool to expose some of the RED while retaining the patina look. do a couple square feet at a time and be sure to blend it in with the sections already done. Pardon the picture quality of lack thereof, camera was cold and the lens fogged up.

Just to dot the i's and cross the t's.... Once you have the belt off, make sure the bearings in the mule are good and there is no wobble or grinding. Make sure there is nothing rubbing the belt as it routes to the deck. Confirm that the driven pulley on the deck is not damaged. Can you give get a picture showing how the replacement belt tracks on the mule pulleys?

My Chevy, being a 22 year old is a “classic”. Hope you all don’t mind me posting it in this “vintage” thread… Anywho, I washed it for the first time in a long time… It could be in better shape I’m sure, but I still think it looks good for a classic… especially the interior… Pics 2, 6, and 9 was before I wiped down the interior with West Coast Customs Auto Detailer… good stuff .

Agree. Survivor going on 4 years here. Cancer sucks