My Name Is Pete And I Have A Serious Addiction

[DuchApl 13]

I uh feel your pain... I live in a trailer park and am known as "the crazy tractor guy" right now I have two sheds containing 4 tractors one out back under a tarp makes 5... parts under the house to build 1 or 2 more.. makes 7....in storage are 5 more..... wow am I up to 12 now damn they must be breeding. There are parts and manuals in every room of the house, pictures on my phone, pictures, manuals, and prints on my computer at work, parts at work, parts in my truck, I had a blood test the other day and it was SAE 30

My ex wife said it was either her or the tractors and I don't miss her at all. My Fiance says we need a bigger place so I can buy more (god I love that woman)

How many of those would it take to pull the house to greener pastures so all the Horses have room to graze? Know what - I've only been doing this about a year and I'm starting to accumulate a little pile of parts myself. Even broken, worthless stuff I have a hard time parting with. What's up with that?

[Jake Kuhn 1,554]

:text-welcomewave:

[can whlvr 993]

welcome,the way i see it you are bettering your life,your going to school,learning new trades,and bringing something back to life,thats not so bad,when your sneakin them in at 2 in the morning and changing hoods so the ol lady dont notice then your in deep

[DuchApl 13]

welcome,the way i see it you are bettering your life,your going to school,learning new trades,and bringing something back to life,thats not so bad,when your sneakin them in at 2 in the morning and changing hoods so the ol lady dont notice then your in deep

I actually considered having parts delivered to my neighbor so wifey wouldn't have a chance to grill me over the cost - but decided to man-up.

[DuchApl 13]

Thank's everyone for the warm welcome.

As I said earlier, I humbled by the quality of restorations done here - and the pride people take in doing it right. So, I debated whether or not to post a picture of my first attempt - but what the heck.

Mechanically, she's in fairly good shape now. Smokes a little on startup and sometimes under load. Tranny is leaking a little, but shifts through all the gears. Carb works pretty well now that it's back in adjustment. I'm going to pull the engine this winter and do an overhaul and a carb rebuild. Tranny is a little scary - hoping it's just a leaking drain plug or a bad gasket.

The deck was a real live disaster. New top bearings, new center shaft and a new center pulley (ouch). Still needs a weld where the adjusting handle attaches.

The fender pan is not a stock C-100 part. The original is in such bad shape, It's going to have to wait until I can teach myself how to do some body work. Judging from the condition of the fender (and bent seat springs) I suspect that at some point the ol' girl was rolled.

This is a working tractor, so as I removed something to paint it, I'd put it back on and resume mowing. The drawback is you can't paint parts like the frame or the engine without ripping it all the way down, and I ain't going back to a push mower - the property is just too large, and I'm just too old. I'll do a tear-down this winter.

This is the first of anything I've ever painted (and before I was finished, I had taken the hood back down to metal twice - the result of a nasty clear coat experiment.) Lots of cans of Valspar IH red. I don't really like the out-of-the-can finish (maybe I'm doing something wrong, but it always results in a lot of orange peel) so every part has something like 8 coats with lots of wet sanding between each round. The final coat was wet sanded from 600 through 2000 grit paper, then rubbing compound and finally polishing compound. I actually love the sanding part. Very therapeutic. Zen-like.

First sign of warm weather, I plan on a final once-over with an orbital buffer, and then a few coats of wax.

I haven't done the seat yet. I keep thinking I'll bring it to an upholster. But I'd have to do that under cover of darkness or risk the top of wifey's head blowing off. As a side note, wifey is really into knitting and offered to knit me a tractor seat. I passed on that - but a full-size tractor cozy would be nice.

As I get to the end of this project (yeah, there's still a lot to do) I can easily see why lots of guys here have more than one. Wondering what the heck I'll do with my time once this is finished. My goal right now is to have it complete by July 4th. Our little town has a parade each year and I'm going to show it off. And if they won't let me in, I'll paint it black with the words "Eat Me" on it, and crash the parade from a side street. That would be the only scene from "Animal House" I haven't actually lived yet - so I'm looking forward to that.

[JimD 3,345]

She looks nice, and :WRS:

[fabricator2009 48]

Welcom to Red Square.

[dgoyette 12]

I think it looks great for a first resto.

[HorseFixer 2,012]

That is funny I got a a kick outta reading it! (But no Truer Words Spoken) Lets see new stable, More tools, Horse hauler, Buy everything that says

Wheel Horse on it. I could have retired!

Thanks for sharing.

~Duke

[tunahead72 2,400]

Tranny is leaking a little, but shifts through all the gears. ... Tranny is a little scary - hoping it's just a leaking drain plug or a bad gasket.

How much is "a little", and from where?

[DuchApl 13]

Tranny is leaking a little, but shifts through all the gears. ... Tranny is a little scary - hoping it's just a leaking drain plug or a bad gasket.

How much is "a little", and from where?

Just noticed a couple of drops on the barn floor. Been meaning to look where it's coming from, but haven' gotten serious about crawling around trying to locate it. Got any ideas?

[Rooster 191]

welcome,the way i see it you are bettering your life,your going to school,learning new trades,and bringing something back to life,thats not so bad,when your sneakin them in at 2 in the morning and changing hoods so the ol lady dont notice then your in deep

I actually considered having parts delivered to my neighbor so wifey wouldn't have a chance to grill me over the cost - but decided to man-up.

"My biggest fear is that when I die, My Wife sells my tractors for what I told her I paid for them...."

[DuchApl 13]

That is funny I got a a kick outta reading it! (But no Truer Words Spoken) Lets see new stable, More tools, Horse hauler, Buy everything that says

Wheel Horse on it. I could have retired!

Thanks for sharing.

~Duke

I forgot to upload a picture of the new plow I just got.

When I'm finished, those wheels will be a nice shade of gray.

[tunahead72 2,400]

Tranny is leaking a little, but shifts through all the gears. ... Tranny is a little scary - hoping it's just a leaking drain plug or a bad gasket.

How much is "a little", and from where?

Just noticed a couple of drops on the barn floor. Been meaning to look where it's coming from, but haven' gotten serious about crawling around trying to locate it. Got any ideas?

Sure, anything to help a fellow addict.

A couple of drops is probably minor, but it's best to keep an eye on it to see if it develops into something more major. Make sure you keep the fluid topped up in the meantime.

I would clean the outside of the trans the best you can, dry off any wet areas so you can tell if they get wet again later. Pay special attention to:

• The rear axle (both sides);
  
• The drain plug and the smaller plug in the top/rear area of the left axle housing;
  
• Behind the brake assembly (left side, can be difficult to reach & see);
  
• Behind the transmission drive pulley (right side, likewise);
  
• Around the gasket that seals the two halves of the trans case.
  

Once it's clean, you can drive it around for 15-20 minutes or so until the fluid is nice and warm, park it, and put a clean oil drain pan or something similar under the trans to see how much is collecting and where (a clean sheet of cardboard works well too). Then come back later and see what you have.

You say it's shifting well, that's a good sign. Any unusual noises or trouble getting it into any gears, or popping out of gear?

Have you changed the trans fluid since you got the tractor?

[otrelwood 32]

there is no cure ! i started with one 520 just to mow the grass and push the snow . then the single stage blower , found a deal on a 2 stage chucker, then i bought a 520 for parts to make the 1st one nicer , now with 3 520s we moved to the boys 400 suburban, and then a 1054 for him to work on while looking for a good hood for his 400,now there 2 1054s in the stable 2 d180s an 8, a C160-8 and my dads gt14 that needs to be brought home. Now my wife just rolls her eyes and mumbles when we hook up the trailer so the addiction just grows but there are worse things that can happen welcome to red square and enjoy

[DuchApl 13]

Tranny is leaking a little, but shifts through all the gears. ... Tranny is a little scary - hoping it's just a leaking drain plug or a bad gasket.

How much is "a little", and from where?

Just noticed a couple of drops on the barn floor. Been meaning to look where it's coming from, but haven' gotten serious about crawling around trying to locate it. Got any ideas?

Sure, anything to help a fellow addict.

A couple of drops is probably minor, but it's best to keep an eye on it to see if it develops into something more major. Make sure you keep the fluid topped up in the meantime.

I would clean the outside of the trans the best you can, dry off any wet areas so you can tell if they get wet again later. Pay special attention to:

• The rear axle (both sides);
  
• The drain plug and the smaller plug in the top/rear area of the left axle housing;
  
• Behind the brake assembly (left side, can be difficult to reach & see);
  
• Behind the transmission drive pulley (right side, likewise);
  
• Around the gasket that seals the two halves of the trans case.
  

Once it's clean, you can drive it around for 15-20 minutes or so until the fluid is nice and warm, park it, and put a clean oil drain pan or something similar under the trans to see how much is collecting and where (a clean sheet of cardboard works well too). Then come back later and see what you have.

You say it's shifting well, that's a good sign. Any unusual noises or trouble getting it into any gears, or popping out of gear?

Have you changed the trans fluid since you got the tractor?

Thanks! I'll be looking carefully for where it's coming from.

Changed tranny fluid first thing this spring. Fluid level appears ok.

Sometimes I have to "double clutch" to get it into a gear. In other words, depress the clutch pedal, try to ****. If it won't go in, let up on the clutch and re-clutch - always goes into gear on the second clutch. I've never tried shifting on the fly - I always shift when the tractor is stopped. It's never popped out of gear.

[tunahead72 2,400]

Pete,

How did your old fluid look when you drained it? Milky/bubbly or rusty at all? Either of those would indicate water had gotten inside the trans, probably through the shifter area, you'll want to make sure your shifter boot is in good shape, replace it if necessary.

The "double clutching" is a fairly common ailment, I have to do that on both of my tractors occasionally to get it to slide into gear nicely. I don't know what it indicates exactly, but I don't think it means anything serious on its own, I'm hoping others will chime in here.

And you're right to shift ONLY at a dead stop, never while moving.

[DuchApl 13]

Pete,

How did your old fluid look when you drained it? Milky/bubbly or rusty at all? Either of those would indicate water had gotten inside the trans, probably through the shifter area, you'll want to make sure your shifter boot is in good shape, replace it if necessary.

The "double clutching" is a fairly common ailment, I have to do that on both of my tractors occasionally to get it to slide into gear nicely. I don't know what it indicates exactly, but I don't think it means anything serious on its own, I'm hoping others will chime in here.

And you're right to shift ONLY at a dead stop, never while moving.

Fluid was not milky or rusty-colored - no indication that water was in the housing. As far as I know, the previous owner kept the tractor in a shed. But the shifter boot was trash, so I recently replaced it.

Really glad to know "double clutching" is common and not an indication of some impending disaster.

As a side note, when I got the tractor, it was missing the drive belt cover, and shifting was impossible. I had to actually shut the machine down, shift, and then start it up again. But the minute I found a pulley cover, it was as if I had located the holy grail. Not sure of the physics involved, but running it without the belt cover is impossible. I figured double-clutching was the price of admission.

[Rooster 191]

The belt cover actually helps stop the belt .

Belts can be tricky, sometimes if a belt is stretched too much, the extra slack "slapping" around can cause it to pull on the pulleys.

In the same brath a brand new belt can be stiff and sticky & will sometimes be tough shifting until it gets some time on it.

The reason a tractor doesn't shift is due to pressure on the gears, something is still "engaged" either the pulley has some pressure on it or the gears are just engaged into each other. If you use the brake to stop the tractor, that can leave the tranny in a bind, sometimes just a little roll backwards will disengage the gears, or just the physical act of releasing and pushing the clutch along with re-engaging and disengaging the input "juggles" things around enough to let the tranny catch slack enough to shift.

If it is extremely hard shifting, you could have a worn shaft or gear that gets hung up, but most cases there is really nothing wrong in the transmission.

[DuchApl 13]

The belt cover actually helps stop the belt .

Belts can be tricky, sometimes if a belt is stretched too much, the extra slack "slapping" around can cause it to pull on the pulleys.

In the same brath a brand new belt can be stiff and sticky & will sometimes be tough shifting until it gets some time on it.

The reason a tractor doesn't shift is due to pressure on the gears, something is still "engaged" either the pulley has some pressure on it or the gears are just engaged into each other. If you use the brake to stop the tractor, that can leave the tranny in a bind, sometimes just a little roll backwards will disengage the gears, or just the physical act of releasing and pushing the clutch along with re-engaging and disengaging the input "juggles" things around enough to let the tranny catch slack enough to shift.

If it is extremely hard shifting, you could have a worn shaft or gear that gets hung up, but most cases there is really nothing wrong in the transmission.

Good to know, Rooster and thanks for the detailed explanation!

[Kelly 1,029]

:WRS: and I know how you feel, I have about 35 keepers right now, and another 60 or so parts and running sellers, heck I bought one off CL tonight just because it was cheap and I didn't want it to go to the scrap yard, i've had around 200 Wh's in the past 5 years, you could have a bad habit, at least she knows were you are and what your spending your money on.

[DuchApl 13]

and I know how you feel, I have about 35 keepers right now, and another 60 or so parts and running sellers, heck I bought one off CL tonight just because it was cheap and I didn't want it to go to the scrap yard, i've had around 200 Wh's in the past 5 years, you could have a bad habit, at least she knows were you are and what your spending your money on.

Amazing. And I thought I had it bad. 200 in 5 years? I just realized what I have is not an addiction, just merely an obsession.

[CasualObserver 3,408]

I just realized what I have is not an addiction, just merely an obsession.

Give it time.... give it time. :D

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,300]

:WRS:

Mike........