He's Back..... Roadtrip Today for a Senior !!

[AMC RULES 37,125]

Gives new meaning to "creeper" gears.

[KC9KAS 4,741]

Magnetos will knock you on your butt!

They really have some kick to them! Found this out on an old Wisconsin powered water pump some 35 years ago!

[farmerall 23]

Nice tractor.

Wisconsin engines are pretty simple and easy to work on. I would clean the points in the mag and see if you have spark. If that doesn't work try replacing the condenser. If the carb is clean and the engine has compression give it a pull to see if it will fire. I did this to get my Wisconsin engine running.

[grnlark 479]

Every Wisconsin I've ever had on Beaver tractors religiously started on the first pull. They are great running motors. Thats a big boy Wisconsin though right? I'm assuming its either a AEN or AHN?

[Wheel Horse Kid 105]

Welcome back and AWESOME Senior!! Man, is that thing in great shape! Great Score!

[fireman 1,021]

Great looking tractor..... I noticed on the left rear wheel that there appears to be an extra support strap inside by the hub of the wheel, is that something of an extra support?...

Herb

I don't know what that's there for. Doesn't appear to be any problems with any of the other spokes and it's only on the one side.

Steve,

Thanks for the heads up on the tractor creeping. I will watch out for this!

Matt,

The engine is an AEN.

I hope to fire up the engine this weekend after I read through the service manual and double check everything. I'll post a video if I get it running and driving.

[Coadster32 793]

Wow!! That thing looks awesome!!! Congrats on the purchase. I'm with John, I might have crashed on the way home looking at it in the rear-view mirror. When the wife says pull the trigger, you went big!! Good for you. It's definatly in a good home. :handgestures-thumbupright:

[Ken B 3,164]

I can't wait to see and hear it run. I wonder what type of power it will have in comparison to my 62 Economy? They are about the identical size and hp.

If you still have that green sulky it would look pretty nice painted red and hitched up to the Senior.

[fireman 1,021]

She Runs!!!

I finally got to spend some time working on it. Checked the oil, cleaned the plug, and added fresh fuel with ethanol eater mixed in. Wrapped the starter rope and gave it a yank. It coughed on the first try. Second pull it coughed a few times. Third pull she turned right over and ran nice and smooth. No smoke at all!

Here is quick video of it running (click the pic!):

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,300]

Sounds great Jeff! I see you took Steve's advice (wh500special) and chocked the wheels. If I remember right you live on some sloped terrain.

Mike..........

[fireman 1,021]

Here is another video of me driving it down the driveway (that kid is my son acting goofy!). What you don't see, because I edited the video and because it was too long and got blurry when my wife zoomed in, is me shifting it into third gear and letting out the clutch a little to fast. This thing popped a wheelie and took off like a rocket! They say it's top speed is about 10mph. I barely had the throttle half way open and I can believe it'll do all of that and more.

(Click the pic!)

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,300]

So you'll be the fastest tractor at the Friday nite cruise in PA right!

Mike............

[Wheel Horse Kid 105]

Man, it runs and sounds good!

[Ken B 3,164]

That sounds very cool Jeff?

Is the cruise Friday or Saturday night at the show? I thought it was Saturday? I hope it is Friday night as I have to leave Saturday afternoon.

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,300]

That sounds very cool Jeff?

Is the cruise Friday or Saturday night at the show? I thought it was Saturday? I hope it is Friday night as I have to leave Saturday afternoon.

The cruise is Friday night. There is no Saturday night for the show. Its over after the raffle Saturday afternoon around 3pm.

Mike............

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,330]

yeah buddy !!! very nice !!!! you owe me a ride on that bad boy...

[fireman 1,021]

After working on Steve's Senior I decided to do a couple of things to mine. I had to do a little "front-end alignment" work to it. I think at one time the previous owner must have hit one of the tires into something substantial because the steering was real tight and it wasn't the steering box. While I was doing that I pulled the hubs apart and re-packed the bearings. The original throttle lever was missing. I purchased an exact replacement that it came with used at the show last year. After checking out Steve's Senior I noticed that it was also missing a little connector at the other end of the throttle cable. So tonight I went down into the shop and turned a new one out on the lathe then added the appropriate holes and thread. Mounted the new/used throttle lever. I'll finish routing the cable and hook up the connector and spring later this week.

New/Used Throttle Lever

Steve's Cable Connector

My New Connector

[stevebo-(Moderator) 8,330]

Very nice work Jeff. Looks like the same part.

[dclarke 4,032]

Nice work Jeff. :thumbs:

[fireman 1,021]

After looking at the piece zoomed in, I think I need to sharpen my tool bit and slow down my auto feed speed on the lathe. Looked good by eye.

[Horse Fanatic 49]

Wow, what a great find, that's in wonderful shape! Congratulations. Sounds good too.

[fireman 1,021]

Got the throttle cable all hooked up tonight. I'll bring it outside tomorrow and make sure it's adjusted properly to give me a full range of rpm.

Edited December 13, 2012 by fireman

[fireman 1,021]

I finally got around to working on the steering box itself. After a ton of research, I have found that not only are parts for it no longer available, but nobody makes any reproduction parts for the single pin Ross steering boxes. They do make them for the double pin which are used in all the old 40's and 50's military Jeeps. I happen to find a complete used steering box identical to mine from an older Economy tractor. The only difference is the length of the long tube and long steering shaft. I only really care about the steering box itself and the parts inside. Once I took it apart and found out that the pin that rides on the worm gear was worn, I set out to find a solution. After consulting my friend the machinist, he suggested to just add material to the worn spots with my mig welder, then grind it to match the angle and taper. I did that but still didn't like the feel of the steering. Also when you adjust the pressure on the worm setup, which is done with the steering wheel in the middle of the turning range, there ended up being play when you turned it away from center. I remembered during my internet research that I had saw an article about this as a problem with the Jeeps and that there was a fix available. Someone came up with an adjustment screw that had a spring loaded pin in it that replaced the stock one. This would provide a constant pressure and enough travel in the pin to compensate for the play. My problem is the way that the steering box is mounted on the Senior. It only leaves about 3/4" of a gap between the steering box and the transmission. The spring loaded replacement sticks out about 1.5" from the steering box and I don't have the room. So I came up with a plan to drill a blind hole in the two parts that normally would contact each other, and place a stiff spring in between creating the same solution as the aftermarket fix that is proven to work. Low and behold it worked out fantastic and should make the steering box function and feel 200% better. Here is a series of pictures depicting what was done.

[evanloock 221]

Excellent post on a problem on many Seniors. Mind posting the manufacturer's part numbers for the bearings and bronze bushings? I also see you have a pipe plug where mine has a grease fitting installed. Might want to put a fitting there to allow for adding grease in the future.