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Hi All! Figured it was time for an introduction, my name is Jeff. I live in Seneca Falls NY, the finger Lakes region of Upstate NY. Hence the title, at some point in time several years ago i left the group, no idea why, but likely just didn't have the time. In the early days of the internet I was a very active member on several Wheel Horse Yahoo groups...no idea if those even exist anymore. For me the addiction started back in 88 when my dad bought a new WH from a long closed chain home improvement store called Chase Pitken here in Upstate Ny. Fast forward to my early 20's and my first home. I needed a mower and something for snow removal, I found a well maintained 856 with a mint mower deck for $150. I was able to source a old crusty 42" front blade from Boermans WH dealer in Marion NY for a few bucks, and after some cleaning up...I was in business. That old 856 served me amazingly well for at least 10 years, Now don't hate me... but at this point I stumbled upon Cub Cadets, and ended up collecting, rebuilding, restoring, and heavily using them for several years. I had everything from an Original up to a 1912 Super Diesel. After tinkering with the cubs for a bit, I realized I really missed my old Wheel Horse and started the journey of going back to my roots. I've had a few short frame models, 656, 856, 703, etc... but I currently have a 85' 417-A with a 2 stage tall chute blower, 48" deck and 48" front blade, and a 84' C-145 Automatic with a 48" front blade. There's just something about this style/size of wheel horse (especially the hydraulic lift) that's really appealing to me. My 417A currently resides at my camp up in the Adirondacks for snow and firewood duty, and the C145, for which I recently acquired, will be used for driveway snow removal at home. I'm currently finishing up chemo and radiation treatments for cancer, and find tinkering on the C145 to be a stress reliever, when i feel up to it. I'm on my laptop right now, but Ill get some pics of my tractors off of my phone and throw them up here later. Thanks everyone, I'm glad to be here

the back up therapists , that are related , to major body repair are just , spot on detailing in getting you going with all types of recovering body function , already had 4 of them hands on , how to get your function , and inspiring basic how to , left print sheets , after lots of showing you to work with your body , leverage , hold areas , icing , showing you how to to get right into movement leverage advantage , correcting stance , re icing . after helping today , very easy to hit the bed , pass out . this service is part of the joint program, thats all they do is body joints , shoulders , hips , knees . , all my related body issues are all done now , glad I stayed after it , pete

Wanted score these seat pads while they were available. You never know when sources dry up. Had to try them on for size before packaging them back up and storing them for future use.

I decided to do part 2 of the Dino tractor a bit sooner than I planned. I took advantage of some mild weather a while back to get some more painting done. I usually tear things down to the nuts and bolts to repaint but I'm not doing that this time. In another thread about hub pullers I mentioned my fight with one of the hubs. I lost the battle but the war isn't over. I destroyed the center screw of the puller so going with a tougher impact wrench wouldn't do it. Fortunately I did get the left hub off so I could open it up from the correct side. I didn't plan on opening it but now I'm going split the differential so I can remove the right side axle snap ring. This will make it easier to get it on a press. First things first. I drained the old oil and it looked really good. I put some Motor Flush in it and spun the gears via the threaded brake shaft. Drained and repeat. Getting this thing opened up. I sure can't complain on the cleanliness of the innards and condition of the gears.

After the dust settled and all the RS members left. A solitude trail ride until September 2025

I had a download failure. @stevasaurus I forgot I even had this wrench until we were looking at some of yours the other day. I haven't used this thing since the days of adjusting timing by turning the distributer. It was perfect for this task. I got to the snap ring and got the axle/hub out. Now to find someone with a press. At this point could just replace the seal and reassemble but I really would like to get that hub to move. Nobody local had the correct woodruff keys. I found that Zoro was cheaper for a bag of 10 than elsewhere for just 2. Three day delivery as well.

Look what followed Moo-Wah home tonight. I traded a Jetski I can't ride anymore for this Special Aniversary Edition with 2 mowing decks ( 1 side & 1 Rear discharge ) & a Snow Bade. I wonder which club this 1 puts Moo-Wah in ....... Any who lots & lots to do now....Then tomorrow is wheel horse day all day. ( I know I said that before but the contractor we hired showed up the day I was supposed to be working on Ol' Cyclops So Wheel Horse stuff got pushed back a few days.. . & Now I really need the blade as I have 46 ft of new driveway.... The guys were really great to work with as I had a few conduits I wanted to put under the slab for future use they even dug the trenches... It has been a busy week. off to bed....

Did thay grease you up with Lucas green high temp grease, heard it good stuff get well soon.

Got me a parts tractor to make The Ugly Bruce a hydro lift.

Hey there guys, I'm not on here as much as I used to be. If anyone is interested in more info on our seats, feel free to email me at grnlark@gmail.com. I'd prefer not to post my phone number here, but happy to transition to text once emailed. Thanks, Matt 👍

There's a tire recycler business about 12 miles from me. They pull and stack "possible good tires" as they unload the the trucks. They also let you walk the outside of the huge 2-4 acre pile they are constantly working adding to and removing to grind. I visit one or twice each winter. to many crawly critters in those tires during the summer. I bring a chopping hoe with me to reach a little further to pull tires off the pile. It also keeps my hand out of unknown things inside tires. I was looking for 2- 23 x8.5-12 turf tires. didn't find them, but found 2 NOS tires. and one very lightly used one that still had some nubbies left. Prices have gone up, now $8 ffor the 2 smaller one and $12 for the larger one. I'm amazed that almost every visit I come home with at least one NOS tire. I guess businesses just change inventory and toss them (at the state mandated $5 recycling charge per tire)

Personally, I always remove them. Of course the 14 and 16hp engines have the worst low-RPM vibrations as a result, but I don’t mind. It’s a choice I prefer to live with to ensure my old Kohler engines stick around. Will all Kohler engines fail due to balance gears? Of course not. But I assure you that 100% of the balance gear bearings that do fail will cause catastrophic damage to an engine.

I'll take the over bet

Hope the mending goes as smoothly as your red and tacky heim joints!!!

Never liked the idea of the key switch carrying the full load of the starter, so added a start solenoid.

Distributor wrenches and crowfoots will get you out of a jam every time.

Always remember to count your fingers before AND after using power tools

No kidding, that trans looks great inside Bob !! The guy Jana bought the Horse from sells all kinds of Garden Tractors by his house. I know he did a lot of work to this one before she bought it. Maybe he opened and cleaned the trans, or as least changed the oil in it. That would have been around 2010. Nice wrench you have there.

For sure a big F on the OSHA test. I do keep my first aid training and supplies updated.

Here's what makes up a Kohler carburetor.

I use these flap discs to sharpen blades, but neve a flap wheel.

I'd choose option one - from what I've read no one seems to have issue with them gone - can I get them out without pulling the crank just driving the pin/shaft ?

YES. The problem with the balance gears is that a lot of them do not make any noise or excessive vibrations until you have destroyed the block because they let go. IMHO and experience there are three options. 1. Remove them. 2. Get new gears with new bearings with new shafts. 3. Find the company that sells the balancing plate kit and have it installed on the crankshaft. This must be done by a qualified machine shop.

Back in about 1992 my wife worked in a building that had a garden and mirrored glass at the front entrance. One day as she was leaving a humming bird flew into the mirror glass and fell down near her. She picked it up and put it in a small box in the car. After picking our son up from daycare she opened the box to show him. The bird had only knocked itself out, and now revived flew around inside the car. They drove hove a bout 15 miles of heavy traffic with the bird flying around. When they got home the parked in the garage, closed the door and let the bird fly around in the garage. I was tasked to catch the bird but never succeeded. Finely opened the garage door and let it fly free. Then there was the small owl that flew up my garage attic access ladder and sat on the wind turbine going round and around. But that’s a story for another day.

Just a general question to get a consensus - have a 416 8 K341 I'm going to assume still has the balance gears ( parts diagram says this engine has them ) - when I restored it 5 years ago had the head off was still on a standard bore with the STD on the piston - had minimal carbon in the combustion chamber and excellent cross hatch on the walls 1 owner tractor . The one thing that is always on my mind ...... balance gears - tractor runs perfect with no vibration or noise of any kind so the question : would you pull a perfect running engine to perform the surgery to remove the gears - something I've been contemplating for 4 years but my - "if it isn't broke don't fix it" always wins .

Sand blasted and primed some 48" mower deck parts.

Eric The Magic Bear

Thanks! Mike, right? We've met before. I used to live down the street from you on the corner of Washington and Illick. You probably saw me plowing snow back then with my CC 1811

Way over...

Great looking trailer !!! My general belief in Bearing Buddies on a used trailer. These tell me that the last time a bearing service was done was never. I have trailers with Bearing Buddies, but I still like to pull the bearings out every other year & do a compete inspection / service.

Pete, far be it from me, but do you read every thing you type before you post it ?? That is more then one sentence and a few breaths of air if you had to read that out loud. I doubt you really talk like that, but it really is hard to read and I do like what you have to say. It's just hard to get through sometimes...just sayin'. It does sound like you are OK. I'm not picking on you, but sometimes I give up trying to read one of your posts.

Thanks to @PWL216 I Got me a parts tractor to make The Ugly Bruce a hydro lift.

Your fabrication skills are awesome. Great job.

I’ve had a Badger airbrush for many years, always been a fantastic tool. But the tin plate lid of the spray jar has seen better days and I can’t source a replacement. Having had a coffee and a scone at my local tea room I found they had a huge supply of empty miniature jam jars, about the right size for my air brush. I didn’t like the idea of trying to modify the flimsy steel lid by fitting a threaded insert into it for the paint pick up. So I set out to turn a whole new lid from brass complete with an integral threaded boss to take the pick up pipe. Turning was easy and a dremmel tool cut the material away to create the female “thread” to fit the jar. Looks good and works a treat. I also bought me a piece of artwork. Sandra loves paintings in the house, usually from somewhere we have visited or that mean something to her. Well this time I got one that spoke to me. It's called "Winter project" and it's by a local artist who lives out in Derbyshire, our nearest proper countryside. I love that the old landrover has been pushed into a lean to garage for repairs over the winter. The owner just forgot to say which winter and it's rapidly becoming one with nature. The piece of rope securing the rear door is a typical farmer fix, if it can't be mended with a length of baler twine then it's too broke to fix lol. It's at the framers now but will be up in time for Christmas I think.

Note the correction above. Some folks feel the vibration changes unfavorably. It's something you should be aware of. Absolutely. That's how @Pullstart and I both did the removal.

I use the flap wheels and wire wheels on my guard free extended shaft grinder. Much easier to work larger parts.

My dad has one of those on his 312-8. Came with the tractor to counter balance the Trac Vac unit.

Our latest shop offering for Christmas! Super poseable Christmas Recon Elf! A highly trained North Pole operative ready to infiltrate and collect intelligence for Santa! With hyper realistic range of motion and with multiple hand and grip types he can get into all kinds of situations!

Been snowing all night plowed about 6:30 but has added more... lost half a tree up against the house. Been using the Charger 16 with the big plow (56in) from a D series..This heavy wet stuff is about all she can deal with actually drags the engine down before I spin out. Sorry no actionvpics my photographer avoid the out side when it snows Power off since 3:15 am

Maybe some photos will provide a little inspiration for you. Served my father well for over 40 years , and it's mine now and not going anywhere anytime soon. This trailer hauled every Wheel Horse that we sold or serviced. He bought it used and always said it was the best $100 bucks he ever spent

Here was my method…

Finally done with fall clean up!

I copied this from livescience.co By Ashley P. Taylor published November 25, 2021m There's a story that Benjamin Franklin thought the turkey should be the national bird instead of the eagle. In a 1784 letter addressed to Sarah, his daughter, Franklin wrote: "For my own part I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country. He is a bird of bad moral character. He does not get his living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead tree, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the labour of the fishing hawk; and when that diligent bird has at length taken a fish, and is bearing it to his nest for the support of his mate and young ones, the bald eagle pursues him, and takes it from him. . . . the turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America." Just think gang, We could be protecting turkeys and eating bald eagle's for Thanksgiving!

Hi im working on a 551 and have the motor apart somewhat. The question I have is I took the flywheel off to check the points and when I opened it up there’s no condenser there! Doesn’t look like there’s enough room for one either. Does this model have it somewhere else( I don’t see it by the rectifier either). Any advice? thx

Wishing you a speedy recovery Pete.

I've had the Baldor for about thirty years, took it in trade for doing some electrical work for a guy who had inherited it and had no use for it. Gotta watch for dangling hoody laces around anything that rotates. @Ed Kennell, somehow I don't think your extended shaft grinder would pass OSHA inspection, they just don't know what a useful tool looks like.

I am 74 and have driven vehicles with a clutch all my life. However, there are those who have only driven automatics. Many of them have a difficult time getting the feel of "clutching". It's not a matter of just taking you foot off the pedal and expecting the tractor to start to move smoothly. Feathering the clutch is a learned technique. Having said that, clean pulleys and a proper belt, along with proper adjustments, make all the difference in the world.

Where art thou making such a Cool Score???? Do tell .....as I could use a couple of those <sigh>

Ignore it.

I made some good progress on rehabbing a pretty tired and worn 1963 dozer blade and getting it set to go on the 854. I’m going to experiment with plowing this winter instead of using the walk-behind blower. The last couple of years the blower was needed only a couple of times while I had to push-shovel a lot of 3-4” snowfalls that were quite wet. This frame/blade came to me through @ebinmaine. The angle lever and rod as well as mounting brackets were already gone before he got it. The ’63 42" dozer was a unicorn. Last frame with a foot release for the angle lock, first frame with cast iron ends on the trip springs. It mounted via two separate angle iron brackets with ¾” shoulder bolts for the frame pivots. Here’s the OM and IPL, if you are curious! Since I don’t know if this is a long term relationship, I prepped and painted only the face of the blade. At some point in its life, the lower blade must have worn past the wear edge because a PO layered in a new 4” band of sheet steel to rebuild the lower edge and then attached a new wear strip. Not a bad piece of work, but s/he never painted it! You can see the new band extending above the bolted on wear edge in the picture. I’m too lazy to want to have to bolt/unbolt the frame to mount the blade so from @wallfish I got one of the newer “inside” brackets. I’ve adapted the frame by adding a ¾” rod through the frame end holes and used a 1.5" spacer bushing on each side to keep the frame centered on the bracket. I drilled and cottered the spacers to the rod so it’s a reversible adaptation. I’d previously added a front attach-a-matic to the 854. It usually holds a front weight that helps me feel secure on the uphill parts of my property. But I was concerned about possible interference with the old-style “triangle” frame. Whew, it just misses! BTW, as many of you know, the nuts on the bracket bolts are a close clearance. The perfect use case for my recent birthday present--a set of Craftsman Pro ratchet/open end combo wrenches! The solid lift link (I’ll add a picture after it’s painted) is 10.5” on center for the ⅜” holes and it’s bent to have an offset of about 1” outboard at the plow frame. It attaches in the second from the end hole on the rock shaft arm. I’m waiting on a rod and Heim ends to build the angle actuator rod and finish the angle control lever. More pics and measurement progress then!