tranders 0 #1 Posted February 3, 2010 Was the 616Z a Toro design or WH ? Thanks! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wh500special 2,160 #2 Posted February 3, 2010 I'd bet on it being a Toro design. Toro has owned WH since '86 and the 600's popped up in '88 or '89. They did use the old deck shells (42"RD, 42"SD) but I think they were also available early on w/ Toro's nice 52-incher. After the decal change to include the Toro logo in '90 the series hung on for at least a year or two as Toro-Wheel Horse and then transitioned into being branded with only the Toro badge. These have an integrated dual hydrostatic transaxle that isn't known for being particularly long lived. Seems like over half of them I have run across have blown transmissions. I think they were available in three horsepower sizes: 12.5, 16, and 20. The bigger engines were Onan twins. I think the small one was an Onan too, but not sure. All were vertical shafts. There was supposed to be a fuel injected one too but I've never seen one. Nick857 is probably our resident expert on these mowers. I've never owned one, but would kinda/sorta like to someday. Steve Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MikesRJ 552 #3 Posted February 4, 2010 Definitely a Toro design. The 616-Z models were zero-turn gator type mowers, and manufactured between 1989-1996 under several different part numbers: 74021 (93-96) 74041 (93-94) 74120 (94-95) Y1-16OE01 (89) Y1-16OE02 (90) They had the Wheel Horse name on them but were not a brain fart of the Ponds. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nick 13 #4 Posted February 4, 2010 The 600 series was a very nice smaller size Z mower for its time. The models were 612, 616 and then 620. The 52" deck was available but my dealer did not recommend them because he thought the weight might be a bit much for the smaller Zs frame. My own tractor had the 38 high vac bagger deck. It sounds small but had a real nice cut, did a good job bagging and could mow as fast if not faster than a tractor with a 48" deck. The hydrostatic drives held up fairly well. What Ive heard on the blown units is at that time they had no safety lock to prevent trying to drive the mower while the parking brake was set. It it was done it could blow gears out the bottom of the drive units. Some people might also have tried using them as a tractor which wasn't a good idea. The problem with the transmission now is the units are not available singly but only as a unit with both left and right sides. So repairing with new parts would probably cost more than the mower is worth. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tranders 0 #5 Posted February 4, 2010 Thanks for the help. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
