Leaderboard

Unless you have a photographic memory, I strongly suggest you TAKE PICTURES of how the governor linkages connect to the carb and how the throttle and choke cables connect before you take anything apart. Not that I would have any reason for suggesting this.

Keeping RPM up is important for quality cut and in your case keeping the hydro fan moving enough air to keep it cool.

I’m gonna throw in with Oliver2-44. A wire feed welder, capable of using both flux core or Argon/CO2 gas shield, such as a Lincoln 140 or similar is probably going to work fine for anything you’d want to weld on a WH. That size can be run on regular 120 20 amp circuit.

I learned to weld on an AC Stick welder when I was a kid and have had a Lincoln 225 for over fifty years, it is my go-to for most jobs. About 30 years ago I bought a Lincoln Wire-Matic 250 MIG welder which is far bigger than I will ever need. I don't use it enough to feel proficient at it but its ability to tack things together rapidly is great. Once I develop a bit of muscle memory with it I love using it but seldom have that much welding to do. If I could only keep one of them it would be the stick welder, not because it is better, just because it is what I am most comfortable with. If I were buying one I wouldn't want to purchase the least expensive one out there, the price probably is reflective of the quality.

New shoes. There may have been some cussing involved during installation.

Hello all, Bought this low hour GT1142 out of NY. It sat for a decade after quitting (tale goes it ran put of fuel). Guy I got it off off got it running and left it just the way you see it. Plan is to do a rubdown with Penetrol... Anyways I digress---the back tires kept going flat so I swapped on some "Gladiator" brand tires that where mounted on Craftsman late model GT rims. Got them off @Sparky thank you very much. I had a Reese type hitch in stock with the old style plow brackets included that put plow just ahead of transaxle tubes---dont care only intention is dozing / brush pushing straight on. BTW... if you have one of these "light duty" Reese hitch setups and noticed it flexes and bends real easy MOUNT IT UPSIDE DOWN the hitch box then makes contact with regular drawbar and its much stronger. Look at my pics... yes you will need to drill your drawbar / any accesories as they dont typically insert far enough for pin before they hit case--but thats easy. Heres my curiosity---> Went out to my parts pile and grabbed a plow frame that was missing the angle arm and the rod that goes to quadrant... again dont care. Plow frame is longer than a short frame but shorter than a long frame---look where the angle bracket is under the right hand foot rest. Remember im using a plow mount that pushes plow forwards about 2". 48" blade is beat to heck... it also came off my parts pile. But pre-wrecked is perfect for when your going dozing. Did WH make a "mid size" plow frame for B's or am I cuckoo for cocoa puffs? Thanks for reading my "book" Tony 20241107_140719.mp4

I know a couple of people that have swapped them into their machines so I wanted to try and get as much info in here as possible to help others and get ideas on linkage and set-ups. So if you have done one, please feel free to post up pictures with how you did yours. If you have ideas, feel free to post them. I’m sure there are more ways than one to set it up. I’ll include a link to my transaxle build that I did for mine and my wife’s 1054. Thanks 👍 Transaxle thread

You don't have to take the mule drive apart to remove the deck, you just remove the mule drive.Then remove the belt from the deck pulley and the PTO pulley leave the belt on the mule drive. That's on a c series and 400 series and many others. What tractor are we talking about?

A little maintenance was needed. Next thing you know, it barely looks the same!

Always wanted a C-160 but could never find one that was in decent shape and 8 speed - when I found the 416-8 with the K341 in almost perfect shape except for sitting in a barn for years - that will do nicely - Very nice find -all the tin is straight doesn't look abused - a little TLC will be a good machine

Since your ordering gaskets for the carb and breather order a new breather mesh filter. The old one will probable fall apart when you remove it ( they look like coarse scotch bite bad material) Inside the breather cavity are your 2 valve springs. Down in the bottom side/corner is a small hole (slightly smaller than 1.8" if I remember) that allows oil in that area to flow back to the crankcase. Clean that hole with a wire. You will probable want to clean that area out with some brake clean or similar spray solvent. If you not going to change your oil after this, plug that hole so your spray cleaner doesn't go into the crankcase and dilute your oil. (I use a whittled wooden match stick) Take a picture of that area before you clean it. It will give you a peek of how this engine was maintained. It will definitely have some black oil film/buildup. But if the Previous Owner did rarely changed the oil or never serviced this, it will have a black goo sludge at the bottom. (clean it out and move forward) While you have this open is the perfect time to check and adjust your valve spring clearance. (Kohler Service Manual says every 500 hours) Your K301 has adjustable tappets. Read the simple process in the Kohler Service manual. Since you've never been in one of these engines go to the Disassemble Section and read through it to help you visualize the internals before you pull it apart (But your only disassembling the breather and partial carb, so don't get overwhelmed.) Since your new at this, on the carb just plan to remove the 2 needles and the bottom bowl and float. SAFETY when you spraying cleaner through all the carb holes it can come out somewhere and spray back at you Wear safety glasses. You also want to wear disposable gloves since your going to get spray cleaner on your hands ( I buy the thicker mil black ones) Can you tell my wife is a medical person and preaches how absorbent the skin on your hands is! Don't try to remove the chock and throttle shaft which would require removing the tiny screws holding the round plates on. (the screws are staked and easy to break of removing them) If you throttle shaft has a lot of side to side movement (wear) get back with us and we can walk you through a simple repair and how to remove those tiny brass screws) When you remove the 2 needles, first count the turns it takes to completely close them to a gentle closed position. You will use this to reinstall them in the same position. On the long needle it is hollow but closed at the top and bottom. There are several horizontal holes in it that need to be cleaned with a tiny wire (i clip a wire off a wire brush and hold it in a vice grip) I hold the spray carb or brake clean straw against the holes and see that it blows out the other holes. Then take the carb body and spray cleaner through the 2 needle holes several times. Also take the spray straw and hold it against the small holes you see inside the carb throat. This is kind of awkward, but work at it to spray them out multiple times) If the carb bowl has some hard or gooey stuff in the bottom (old evaporated gas) soak it in lacquer thinner if you have some, or just spray and scrub with a stiff tooth brush multiple time (that stuff can get amazingly hard)

Yeah me either.

I to am learned and am more proficient with a stick welder. But I'm going to go against the grain. A flux core wire welder sure is easier to use on thin stuff and this WH hobby is all thin stuff. With a stick I can very can carefully weld 1/8" but anything below I blow holes in. I intermittently blow holes that I have to repair, trying to weld mower decks and smaller square or round tubing with my stick. I picked up a used Miller 110v (older heavy) suitcase wire welder that I am working to get proficient at. Around here there are a bunch of residential boat dock and pier welders. (Welder, clip board and a truck and their in business) They are welding 2-7/8 pipe, 4" red iron square tubing and purlins with wire welders. The better ones at least make 2 or 3 passes on the few heavier pipe welds.

I have done a fair amount of welding with one of these machines. https://www.harborfreight.com/welding/welders/easy-flux-125-amp-welder-57861.html Very good welder, flux core is a bit messy but some anti-spatter spray before you weld helps a lot. Have welded 20ga sheet metal through 1/4" with no issues. Note: Hobart flux core wire works better than the HF brand wires with these units.

Now where did I leave that dang chippin' hammer???

That was my first thought as well. I have the older version of HF 120V flux core welder. It's "rated" up to around 3/16" and that's pushing it. I won't use it for anything that thick that I need to depend on. For anything 3/16" or thicker I'll be using my 40+ years young Lincoln "tombstone" AC stick welder. Likely I'll keep myself at a usable skill level on both but if I HAD to choose it would be the stick welder.

Since Trina as for project pictures here ya go! And a few others.

Before our move to Florida in 2000 I had a Lincoln 225 and was was more than enough for what I needed. I don't know if I ever set it above 125 amps. I have an occasional need for a welder now but I don't need anything snazzy. 3/16" (maybe 1/4") would probably be the max thickness I'd need it for on down to lighter stuff like mower decks etc. Because of the limited usage I don't see me going with a multiprocess machine. Here's two that were handy to link to. Easy-Flux 125 Amp Welder Welders - Harbor Freight Tools A quick search really muddies things up. There are tons of 80-120 amp machines that seem to fit my needs but I know a lot, maybe most, of you guys have a lot of experience so I thought I'd run it past you. Based on my needs what do you think would be my best choice? Not brand but type. My first thoughts lean towards a light duty stick machine since I have some experience with them. .

Tore down the 875 some.Got the wiring and frozen cables out. Cleaned out Fluffy's nest and degreased the dash area.

You are correct. Like @oldlineman said, leave the belt on the mule drive and store it with the deck. The mule drive is only needed when using the deck.

The upper limiting factor on a K-series or Magnum engine so far as operating RPM is the cast flywheel. For a stock engine, that limit is 3600 RPM. When pullers modify an engine to go faster, the flywheel is the first thing they change. Point being, the internal components can tolerate much higher speeds. The lower end should be half throttle, or 1800 RPM. That is because the engine is both splash lubed and air cooled. Running less for extended periods result in both poor lubrication as well as excessive heat. Point being- these engines were designed to run literally thousands of hours at 3600 RPM. Your engine is actually happier at full throttle! So make sure the cooling fins are clear and the sump full of oil, and work that Kohler!

Here is my 1989 312-8. I restored the mower deck, new brake, new solenoid, ignition switch, LED headlights, new belts and a little touch up paint to the body. Love it!

I'm not familiar with that particular deck, but I don't think you'd have to take anything off the deck to install it on the tractor.

That's what I love about this site. You get answers, supported by logic and experience.

As long as your max speed is properly adjusted you do want to mow at WOT. It won't hurt the engine. Same for most any of the PTO driven attachments. One exception is a sickle bar mower. I run that tops at 1/2 throttle, sometimes less.

OK, so, I had to have an MRI scan on my prostate because my PSA score was up. That took place on Saturday last, simple enough job. They told me it would be a couple of weeks before I heard from them. I got a phone call today telling me they wanted to take biopsies of my prostate. Bit of a surprise because I wasn't expecting to hear for another week or so. I will get an appointment in the next week or so to go in for this procedure. I can't lie, I'm pretty apprehensive about this. Maybe the speed of the appointment is just a coincidink, I hope so. But we are used to things moving at a snails pace in the NHS and suddenly I'm on a rocket powered gurney. So on we go, another thing to deal with. Getting older sucks....

I vote with @Achto for a decent quality flux core unit of around 125A. It is worth learning and practicing and the anti-spatter spray really does work! If the budget and interest allow, the HF 140 Flux/MIG leaves the option of moving up to gas and thicker pieces if you choose (I did) for not a lot more money--you can lease the gas tank if you don’t want to own one. I used Forney flux core wire (their welders are also well reviewed) and .030 copper coated for MIG work.

That must be the one I have on loan from Joel Dan. I can weld better with it than the cheapy I bought from him. Pics when I get out to the shop. Isn't that the same one your brother has? I have to fab a front receiver for the new SxS and I'll just tack it together and bring it Dan for final. I like the one Joel has now but that means argon and all that. I doubt if Bob wants to go that route tho. You mean you have one?!?!? ... I wish! I just used my cousin's Lincoln tombstone to weld bucket hooks on the big tractor and no ... you do not want to see pics ... This is the one I always like but way beyond what I would need. I guess it's like horsepower ... way too much till you need it ... https://www.harborfreight.com/unlimited-200-professional-multiprocess-welder-with-120240v-input-57862.html

@Greg Cullison agree with @gwest_ca on choices , personally like the PRE FILTER TYPE . got mine on line , pete

I just can't believe how small that is!

That reminds me I need to get a replacement brush for mine.

Another one for stick. I'm just posting the links as examples. I would go with a mid range price wise. Arccaptain seems to come up a lot and reviews decently. But I'm looking more for welder type than brand but any recommendations there are welcome too.

I have never given any thought to pre-oiling a fuel pump, the second the engine starts oil is being slung around everywhere. Some YouTube videos have information of questionable value just like some answers posted on Red Square.

Finishing up some painting on the C101 - soon to be a C-121 Gen start engine. Still quite a bit to do but almost there.

Oh yeah, you're well on your way

50 year old Horse

Agree that it looks better. I bought 2 of his stacks -for my 753 & 953 They do sound great too. I asked & he did say that he's considered making a smaller scale stack for RJs & Suburbans.

Hi there, wheelhorse lovers! :-) I am a new user from Belgium. This morning I acquired a 227-5 tractor with a running motor but with lots of work to do from electric system to mechanics, and from tires to painting to make it closer to its initial shape... It is my very first tractor, I know nothing about mechanics but I love learning new stuff! Some pictures from today over here : https://photos.app.goo.gl/tnjxLEikxUZUTBfT6 I will keep posted as I progress on working on it! First issue : find the exact model, parts and blueprints, as the model R217K503 is not listed on the Toro model search form. R217K502 is listed but not 503. Are there other people from Belgium over here? Cheers, Olivier

Noticed there is oil coming from the top right bolt of this component. Anyone know what this is? Bolts werent tight so I snugged them down EDIT: Figured out it's the camshaft cover. Another gasket to potentially replace! Will keep an eye on it.

Year/model thing. My 1975 Hydro has the whole fender tilting BACK to reveal a half tool box where the dipsticktube sets. (A manual transmission would have a whole tool box because there's no hydro pump.) If ONLY the SEAT tilts FORWARD then it would be a 1976 or 77.

1985 310-8

Hello all, I have hijacked EB's account for the calendar. @stevasaurus gave me a good Idea for the cover of the calendar so along with the great pic's of tractors can you also get some project pics. If you have something that is in pieces whether it is a transmission, engine, or a whole tractor spread out send pics please. It has been great so far; I love seeing all the photos. Thank you all Trina

Thanks, Trina!