Leaderboard

Interesting photo of the linemen putting new poles etc. at a new DTE (Detroit Edison) facility near us... Thought it was quite a cool image...

Finished setting up the 308 for plowing duty today. She’s going to spend her winter at my in-laws and I’ll use it to clear snow at their place. Just a 42” plow, don’t wanna stress out that little Kohler 8 under the hood . 50# outer and 25# inner weights with chains should get me all the traction I’ll need.

When My homeowner's insurance company changed hands a few years back, they did an exterior inspection. I did not allow them inside. They sent a report that I needed a railing around my front porch and a receipt from a licensed installer of the wood stove. I checked the specs for my area and found the porch was a 12" max step. Mine measured 13", so two wheelbarrow loads of dirt fixed that problem. I sent them a receipt from Ed's stove service with pictures of the stove with yardsticks showing the distance to combustible surfaces. My homeowners policy was approved.

Got the C-161 in the shop today for her winter maintainance in preparation for her new snow cab. New battery, new fuel lines & filter, fresh rec gas & oil change. Swapped a front wheel for one that holds air, stole the adjustable seat off the 417 & fixed one of the slide mounts & greased it up. I was planning on pulling the side cover & putting on the solid engine mounts until I totally destroyed myself with turkey & pie. Oh well, happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Found an old pair of diamond chains with V bars that seem to fit the rears pretty well. Gotta get a pair of chains for the front.

Replaced a noisy tension pulley. Bought the pulley from NAPA (7-05485). Gave it a few extra pumps of grease with a needle before installing...nice and quiet now.

Here is the surprise I had mentioned and the inspiration for my B-111 restoration - the original 1979 dump/garden cart!

Hey! I just processed three deer in a week and had no lost time recordables! New @Pullstart record!

Linemen get some of the coolest T-shirts.

That's old school, bucket trucks are the way to go, can't believe that is power co. people probably contractors. I spent many longggggggggggggggg days on poles and much taller ones.Bob

I just think some of the toughest work on these machine is plowing snow, reversing direction, hitting things, weighted wheels, chains. figure a big difference from cutting grass going pretty much in circles.

Been spending time moving things around today. The gray portable garage is out of the front lawn and over behind the new shop building. We used Trina's 867 Pigpen to pull my non running Ariens S16H across the yard to its new house. Pigpen is now setting comfortably in the newly relocated tarp garage.

@peter lena's favorite just arrived along with some dielectric grease... greased up the plows with the sticky red stuff and the trailer light connections with the dielectric... all set for winter!!!

One of my brother in laws did that for a living. I have the utmost respect for those guy's. Tough vocation with great pay, and they deserve it for sure.

We had the Mama Bear Fisher in our first house in Owen County, Indiana back in late 70's and early 1980's. That was best stove I have ever used or seen. I cut on a big beech tree for three years for wood. Beech is a tight white wood that was plentiful in Indiana forests ( several clothes pin factories used it exclusively in 1920's). Our home was made by a carpenter who put insulation under floors held up with chicken wire. House had electric heat in ceiling which we never used. All windows were double pane and everything highly insulated Believe it or not, we had to keep our bedroom window slightly open in the winter due to heat from that Fisher stove. I could put three logs from a the beech tree in the stove before going to bed and I would still have hot coals left in stove in early am. The Fisher stoves were well made and easy to keep clean. No blower fan on that stove as the radiant heat permitted the house. These stoves are not ceap ! Currently selling for about $2500.

Good video - but, me thinks @formariz might get a rash for your "misusin'" a wood chisel on cast iron !!

And tying to go to fast and shifting before the tractor is stopped.

I had to repair a punctured tire/tube that was liquid filled. I put a clean trash bag in my shop trash can, put some vise grips on the valve stem so it wouldn't go inside the tire, removed the valve and put the tire/wheel on top of the trash can to drain. Next morning there was hardly any fluid in the tube and I was able to break the beads, pull enough of the tube out to repair the puncture. Put the tube back inside and pumped the fluid back in with no problem.

https://www.redbubble.com/i/throw-blanket/Wheel-Horse-by-Caseoline/58767269.16D0B?country_code=US&gclid=CjwKCAiAyfybBhBKEiwAgtB7fsziWY1rGLzsC60CMzAS1wtxMJDY7cNBxK37G0o5kaDJAjVyY2eZqhoCkTkQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Only guy on the road with his priorities in order… When I was little, dad and I took the boat and went fishing on Thanksgiving several times. It was great since we had the whole lake to ourselves. Warm water courtesy of a power plant cooling reservoir. Went duck hunting too several years. eventually family plans moved earlier in the day precluding the continuation of that tradition. Steve

Front axle is located a bit further back on the GT-14 whereas the 953/1054 had the mounting point at the front of the frame. All the front end and steering parts are the same. The hood on the GT-14 is about 2 3/4" longer than the 1054. The dash casting and steering column and fan gear are also the same on both. GT-14 has a smaller diameter steering wheel but the 1054 wheel will fit right on.

UPDATE I think I finally got things straightened out. We'll see what happens over the next few days.

No update, just a bit of a tease.. sorry, not sorry

308-8 was my first Wheel Horse. I used to flip a lot of mowers years ago. I have a friend who then, and still does most of my engine repairs, I would bring him something to work on and he would ALWAYS call it junk and say " when are you going to bring me something good to work on ? ". I would say that I did bring him good machines. I said I bring you JD's, Cubs, Ariens, Snapper... what do you call good ? He said "bring me a Wheel Horse". I had never seen one in person before. Then I was buying newer machines because they are easier to resell.Then one day I seen an ad for a WH 308-8. Went to go look at it. Loaded it up on my truck and brought it over to my friends. He was so excited about it. We unloaded it and he told me stories of one he had many many years ago. He started telling me about all about how easy they are to work on, how easy the deck comes on and off, how well built they are and how durable they are. From that day on I was convinced that I had been buying junk. I still will buy the junk if I think I can make money on them but I would never keep any of them. I also would never bring one home that would need as much TLC as I have with some Wheel Horses. So as of today I have 3 Wheel Horses in my garage. Several that have come and gone. I have no use for any garden tractor as I live in the city and have a postage stamped sized yard. So why are there 3 in my one car garage ? Because I love them and appreciate the quality and style of these machines. If I had a bigger garage I would have more. Side note... My 308-8 had the all red grill, no black. Was there any reason for that one year change?

Normally I'd agree. We'll usually get all the major dirt and most of the grease n oil off before I open the cases. I didn't take the time because my focus was simply on making the video, not completing the rest. This particular one will be dismantled, cleaned and each case half painted individually (easier) before reassembly.

Too brittle and 'shattery' for my liking. Sharp pieces go flying. I hope you are wearing the required PPE when you do this!

I have a screwdriver and one of these already. So I'm set there.

When I was young, strong, and agile, I used to climb radio and TV antenna towers for the older guys in the radio club. I used to enjoy that. Now that I'm older, weaker, and FRagile, I believe in "Terra Firma". The more FIRMA, the less TERRA !

My daughter is a nurse so we are celebrating Thanksgiving today. I thought I'd do a couple simple tasks to prepare to take the transmission over to my good friends shop. I saw last knight on a YouTube the removal of the gear shifter pivot screw/retainer; simply losten the lock nut and screw it out. Simple huh..Not this one! I backed it out and found that it was broken. How on earth that happened I don't know. I was able to ge a 1/16' inch bit and drilled into the part still in the shifter. I put the bit in a bind and reversed it out. The good Lord helped on that one.

I had a Fisher Mama Bear stove for years in my basement and it easily heated my 1000 square foot bungalow. Unfortunately it had no CSA or UL stamp so insurance company said it had to go. I use a Harman pellet stove now and it works great but nowhere near the same heat output.

It's a late 70s Fisher Papa Bear. That's a prize possession up here in wood burning country! 🪵🪵🪵🪵 Likely same size or even larger but long and narrower. Takes a 32" stick if you're so inclined.

Hey, that looks like a smaller version of the Alaska Stove that's been heating my house for 60 years.

I have nothing to add to the thread. Wife did the cooking. ...and it was great.

My 75 C160 Automatic has a VERY loose engine piston. Rather than let it run to catastrophic failure I'd rather swap it out and get it rebuilt. I'd been figuring my best option I had here is the KT17 on a 417A. Got that 417A and the C160 Auto in the basement workshop. Did some measurements. It would be possible to use that twin engine but would take some serious sheet metal mods along with moving the battery and rewiring. Trina and I talked over our viable and easier options. Best bet for now is to swap the engine outta Cinnamon Horse C160-8 and send another K341 in for rebuild.

One hub down, one to go. The side you have removed the hub from is the side that will face down when you split the transmission. If the other hub won't come off with the puller you could pull that axle, the differential and the clean axle with the transmission right side case. Once it is on the bench the differential can be opened and the snap ring removed from the right axle then the hub can be pushed off in a press. Better to remove the hub if you can but there is an option.

Trophy 🏆🏆.

I could leave it so that every time I saw it to remember the the fun that I had.

Not sure what drove WH to go all red for 1986. I like both the all red and the black/red like mine. I also think the all red was only offered on the 308 and the 310, pretty sure the 312 was black/red.

Trina would be proud of you there. One of her "points of interest" with cooking is to make a food the flavor of ... THAT FOOD! It's a crazy concept to many folks.

I tried it once......not for me. This super fine specimen of body is made for staying on the ground! I will say they earn their money. I moonlighted one year for extra cash on a line project. Those climbers can keep a ground guy pretty busy.

Neat! Because Maine is the most heavily forested state in the US and with our weather being... strong... We have a constant active grid renewal schedule. I've never seen that many people up on the poles at once though!

If it makes you (or Caz) feel better I really use the wood chisel on a paper gasket... So it's ... Kinda... Wood. Ish....?

Just to haul me around the countryside The black on the surface isn't paint that I can tell. I'm not sure what it is. The pulley on my '34 Hercules 3.5 HP Hit and Miss looks the same way. I assumed it was something picked up from belt use. I'm stiil not sure. It could be that. The way the old one separated, it looks a little thicker to me than paper, but I guess depending on the process, it could be. The new one is in good enough shape I can see it was made by Rockwood, but I could find any information on that on the interweb .

When you look down in the shifter hole the top of the 2 shift forks should look like a square, centered in the hole. If one side is offset use a large flat bladed screw driver to align it.

I'll second that... I replaced the bases with nifty angled washers that Dan gave me. They are for getting a nut or bolt to lay flat on c or angle iron.

Reminds me of my Walbro carburetor tool. Also works for fine tuning Tecumseh's

If you are rebuilding your snow thrower, many models from the 60's, 70's and 80's, use the same bearings for the chain drive shaft. ST-323, 6-0200, 6-0201, 6-0202, 6-6212, 6-6213, 6-6214, 6-6215, 6-42ST01, 66-42ST01, 76-42ST01, 86-42ST01, 86-48ST01, 98-42ST01, 06-37SB01, 06-37SX01, 06-42ST01, 06-42ST02, 06-42ST03, 06-42ST04, 06-42SY01, 06-42SY02 and others. The bearing part numbers are 107743, 100908, 101702, 101781, or 1968. If you have checked, you probably found that replacement bearings from Toro cost you around $60.00 each. These are the bearings that are inserted into the 3-bolt flanges that hold the shaft on either end. They look like this: The inside diameter is 3/4", and the outside diameter of the widest part of the outside is 52mm or 2-1/32" +/-. This is called an insert bearing, and the outer housing is curved so that when inserted into the flange, it's allowed to self-center. Here it is in the flange To replace both of these bearings will cost at least $100 with shipping if you buy them from Toro. If you search for this bearing online, you will find that a 3/4" inside diameter insert bearing is available, but with an outside diameter of only 47mm, or a little under 1-7/8", which is too small to properly fit into the flange. Here is my solution. I purchased insert bearings with a 7/8" inside diameter. This bearing has the proper outside diameter of 52mm. I also purchased bronze bushings with a 3/4" ID, and a 7/8" OD. I removed the 1/4-28 x 1/4" set screws, and pressed the bushing into the new bearing. Then I drilled and tapped the bushing, and inserted two new 1/4-28 x 5/16" set screws. My total cost for two new bearings, which now is a perfect fit for the flange, was $30.00 which included shipping. On my snow thrower, the outer bearing (closest to the chain) was attached to the shaft with a 1/4" roll pin. Since these bearings only come with set screws, I rotated the shaft so that the set screws avoided the holes in the shaft. There is really no need for a roll pin at that location. 7/8" Insert bearings - UC205-14, $5.63, Bearingson.com 3/4" x 7/8" x 1-1/4" SAE 863 Bronze Sleeve Bearings, #2868T172, $2.51, McMaster & Carr 1/4-28 x 5/16" Black Alloy Steel, Cup Point Set screws, $.11 each, McMaster & Carr All the prices are plus shipping. Hope this helps someone to get their snow thrower running quietly and smoothly again without having to spend an arm and a leg on Toro bearings.