The 867 rides again

[MarkPalmer 81]

I finally got around to my own project this summer, finishing up the 867 I got this spring and she’s now running and driving very nicely. I fully rebuilt the K181 that was seriously trashed by the lower end of its dipstick falling in to the crankcase, replaced tie rods and steering support, re-sealed transaxle, added new seat, re-enforced the fender sheet metal to support my weight without flexing, and removed many decades of petrified grease. I am going to put new needle and thrust bearings in the RM367 mower deck over the winter as I tried it out and it was a bit loud. Not a show queen but I didn’t intend it to become one. I just repaired it enough to continue doing what it has seemingly enjoyed doing for the past 45 years, being a reliable worker.

-Mark-

[RCTruckDaddy 8]

That's a great looking tractor. I picked one up this summer at a yard sale for $50 with a broken rod. I havent even checked it out yet. It's a real barn find.

[AMC RULES 37,124]

Looks great, nice work Mark.

[neil 2,409]

Real nice Tractor

What a little Gem

[Tankman 3,518]

Excellent work! Looks as strong as it was meant to be!

Nice project!

[squonk 41,010]

There have been a lot of broken Kohler rod stories. I have a k341 torn down. The rod looked great to the naked eye. The piston end was a little egg shaped but it could have been bushed. A friend of mine builds racing engines for go-karts and said he could check the rod's metal with a special dye and light. He said the rod was filled with microscopic fatigue cracks.

On to the deck. Please take pics. I have a deck that's going to need the same thing. I haven't figured out how to get the needle bearings out of the spindle housing yet. I will probably take it to that same friend to see if he can do anything with it.I'm going to look at an 856 next week. Maybe that deck will be ok and I won't have to bother. :hide:

[Jake Kuhn 1,554]

Thats one nice looking tractor! :bow-blue:

[MarkPalmer 81]

There have been a lot of broken Kohler rod stories. I have a k341 torn down. The rod looked great to the naked eye. The piston end was a little egg shaped but it could have been bushed. A friend of mine builds racing engines for go-karts and said he could check the rod's metal with a special dye and light. He said the rod was filled with microscopic fatigue cracks.

On to the deck. Please take pics. I have a deck that's going to need the same thing. I haven't figured out how to get the needle bearings out of the spindle housing yet. I will probably take it to that same friend to see if he can do anything with it.I'm going to look at an 856 next week. Maybe that deck will be ok and I won't have to bother.

I'll take some pictures of the deck. It's amazingly easier than it looks to get the spindle shafts out. I haven't removed the needle bearings yet, that's today's project. I'm guessing you tap them both out from one end then put the new ones in from both ends. I discovered there are supposed to be small seals underneath the lower bearing, but it looks like both of mine broke apart many moons ago.

-Mark-

[stevasaurus 22,683]

Man, I like those short frame square hoods. Very nice Mark. :)

[MarkPalmer 81]

It turns out the RM367 mower deck spindles are absurdly simple to rebuild. The top cross shaft does not have to be removed to do it. With the gear covers, blades and cups removed pull the snap ring from the top gear. You can then move the shaft up high enough to pull the woodruff key out, then push the shaft down and out through the bottom of the deck. I had to use a punch to pick out what little remained of my oil seals, then from the bottom of the deck I used a 11/16†deep drive socket and big hammer to drive both needle bearings out at the same time through the top of the deck, they drove out with little fuss. Upon reassembly one bearing will have to go in through the top and the other the bottom to get the spacing, they each go about 1/8†from the end of the housing. Then just drive the new oil seal in to the bottom. I got 4 new needle bearings, 2 thrust bearings, and the seals for about $60.00 with shipping, not bad at all considering what you have to pay for some of the single spindle assemblies for some mower decks. My cross shaft bearings seem to be in good shape and I’m not replacing them, but they don’t look like they would be too big of a hassle to replace either if needed.

Needle bearings in housing:

http://sphotos-a.xx....280495326_n.jpg

Use 11/16" deep drive socket and play whack-a-mole to drive bearings out:

http://sphotos-b.xx....963547883_n.jpg

Video of Beth puttering around on 867 in back yard, this was her dad's tractor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBiHJ9uJEg4

-Mark-

[earlleecliffton 38]

:scared-eek: :scared-eek:

[kpinnc 11,866]

I can only wish my 867 had been that nice to start with. If it had, I would have done just what you did- clean it up, fix whatever needed it, and use it as intended.

Congrats on such a nice little tractor!

[Fun Engineer 859]

Very nice job Mark

[squonk 41,010]

Where did you get the parts from? What are the part numbers?Is the deck quiet now?

[MarkPalmer 81]

Where did you get the parts from? What are the part numbers?Is the deck quiet now?

I got the parts from www.rcpw.com but you can shop around at any place that carries Toro parts.

Thrust Bearing original PN 1534: order Toro # 99-3836 (2 required)

Needle Bearing original PN 1508: order Toro # 252-6 (4 required)

Grease Seal is a standard CR or SKF # 7410, you can get these at auto parts store or ?, I found some on E-Bay (2 required)

I don't have my deck all back together yet to see if the new bearings helped quiet it down, and truthfully my old bearings didn't seem to be worn all that much. I suspect it will be a little quieter and I have the peace of mind knowing the bearings are new, but I think these decks with the gear drive will always be a little noisier than others. My deck was worse for wear around the scalp roller supports as the rollers seized to the shafts and spun a lot of the metal out of the supports so I have to do some welding there. I also have to put some weld beads on the shafts for the small support tires and grind them round again so it might be a couple weeks before I know how the deck works.

-Mark-

[krazy_horse 59]

Nice tractor and thanks for listing the part numbers and how to on the gear drive mowers.

[MarkPalmer 81]

I forgot to follow up on this, mainly as I have been having so much fun mowing with the 867 since fall has come and the grass is growing gangbusters. The new needle and thrust bearings significantly quieted the deck down and were easy to install. It runs quieter than I thought it would. I welded up some new supports for the anti-scalp wheels and made some new shafts for them. I sharpened up the blades, and this RM367 cuts excellent- literally fairway reel mower quality- I'm really impressed with it, it blows away the 44" tri-blade deck on my Cub 682. I really like how the little 867 zings around things with this mower- what a blast to run!

-Mark-

[welderman85 53]

very nice tractor i like the short frame square hood tractors

[Rollerman 290]

Very nice 867...for me the post 65 short frames are the cleanest, nicest looking Horses made & the 867's are top notch.