Wheelbearing 49 #51 Posted June 7, 2013 Well i'm an old fuddy-duddy, but when my onans wear out or quit, I will rebuild them. I like original. There will never be a Honda in my Wheel Horse or my 420 John Deere. Ya I rebuilt this one............. NOT worth it. I could have saved money just going strait to this solution. so much quieter. more power. its ok though you shouldn't have one this nice. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ken B 3,165 #52 Posted June 7, 2013 (edited) I'm with you Bob. My 520 only has 230 hrs on it. She still runs real strong but how many hrs will I get out of it? I'm hoping for 600, praying for 8 and begging for 1000. Personally, I don't have the cash right now to rebuild an Onan if I had to, if I did, I'd spend it on something else anyways! When my Onan pukes (not if, but when) I'll repower with just about anything EXCEPT an Onan or a chinese motor. Edited June 7, 2013 by Ken B 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chevydave 25 #53 Posted June 7, 2013 I got about 1200 hrs. out of my Onan, with alot of problems and several fixes. By the time I got it out of there, I wouldn't have spent another cent on it. Got the Honda a few years ago, I hit the key and go with no worries. My tractor is a worker, I mow 2 acres, snow blow, roto-till and recently got a grader blade. I count on it, I understand wanting to keep it original, in my case I felt a new motor was the way to go. Good luck with your re-power, with these tractors being so well built it like getting a new tractor that will use you old attachments. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
farmer 1,075 #54 Posted June 7, 2013 You gotta be honest, hoping to get 600-1000 hrs from an engine does sound woeful. I know modern agri diesel's are different animals, but 1,000 hrs is the oil service interval on some. (Deutz German) 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Torino 14 #55 Posted June 7, 2013 I have heard on the JD sites you should get 2000 hours on a well cared for 18hp Onan. Does the 20hp have problems that the others don't? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bowtiebutler956 650 #56 Posted June 7, 2013 Just thought I'd chime in, and say very nice work there Wheelbearing! You can't hardly beat a Honda in the "years of trouble free service" department, and your going to have power to spare! Matt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DoctorHfuhruhurr 137 #57 Posted June 7, 2013 Looks like a good fit. Even the color looks pretty close too. Are you going to create a small video so we can hear it? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sparky-(Admin) 21,741 #58 Posted June 7, 2013 Well i'm an old fuddy-duddy, but when my onans wear out or quit, I will rebuild them. I like original. There will never be a Honda in my Wheel Horse or my 420 John Deere. Original motors in older collectable machines makes sense when your talking about value. An RJ is worth more when the original motor is in it over one with a yank start Briggs bolted to the frame (for example). The 520's in my opinion are just common easy to find newer machines and have not become collectors items, so most guys own them for utilitarian purposes (mowing, plowing, towing carts), not for any collector value. I think anything that makes the 520 do "its job better" is a great idea. Heck, I would venture to guess the value of this 520 would increase after the Honda transplant is complete. Just my opinion of course... Mike............. 7 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fordiesel69 263 #59 Posted June 8, 2013 A Honda done properly will in my opinion make the tractor worth owning. The onan sounds good in person, looks good on paper, but frankly I would never own one. Not very durable and most do not make it past 1500 hrs without letting out a valve seat. The question is how will the honda age? A 520-H is not a collectors item, but rather that cadillac of all wheel horses. Its a shame a Magnum series twin was not chosen by wheel horse. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DoctorHfuhruhurr 137 #60 Posted June 8, 2013 It's not a collectors item now but may be in the future. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelbearing 49 #61 Posted June 9, 2013 So I set the motor up on some 2x4's I cut to 1.25" talled to get the pto lined up Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelbearing 49 #62 Posted June 9, 2013 So I cut 2 plates 5/8" thick to make the 1.25" gap. I tapped the top plate and welded everying together. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelbearing 49 #63 Posted June 9, 2013 The ignition is very odd. I had to power up a fuel solenoid. Then the ignition coil had to be grounded out to run. So I added another relay for the coil grounding since the onan was positively powered. The coil runs off a magneto so no power is need to run the coils. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelbearing 49 #64 Posted June 9, 2013 Here is the Honda regulator. You can see where I installed it. Again little odd wiring. Two stator wires to the regulator off the motor no big deal. Then I hooked the main power feed wire back up to the white wire on the tractor. But then I had to put positive key switch power to the regulator to make the regulator work. 20amps of power. I believe the onan was 15amps. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelbearing 49 #65 Posted June 9, 2013 The top pto bracket needs to be changed. I put this on there hack so I could go mow the lawn. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelbearing 49 #66 Posted June 9, 2013 I mowed the lawn. This thing is absolutely what I should have done a long time ago. It sounds awesome very throaty. Very quiet at idle. So quiet I can here the hydrostatic pump running. At speed the mower deck is louder than the engine. My spindle bearings are a little shot. Sounds like a large x mark zero turn lawn mower or close to my fathers JD 455. Very powerful!! Does not slow down in tall grass at all. Charging system works perfect. Still pulls grass into the cooling intake. just like the onan. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Butch 194 #67 Posted June 9, 2013 You mow your lawn with chains and weights? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelhorse84 87 #68 Posted June 9, 2013 The dreaded grass in screen! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelbearing 49 #69 Posted June 9, 2013 wheel weights always. But the chains I've been lazy too take them off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dsholler 54 #70 Posted June 10, 2013 Do you have enough clearance or will you need to modify the hood? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bowtiebutler956 650 #71 Posted June 10, 2013 Very nice work, and I really like your engine mount plate. Looks solid! I looks forward to seeing it with its hood back on it. I don't have a Honda V-twin on any of my GT's, but I do have one (GX620) on a 10kw Porter Cable generator, that's a fantastic engine. Matt Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Red-Bovine 325 #72 Posted June 11, 2013 I did the Honda GX630 (20+ HP) conversion on my 520H. I purchased the kit from Repower Specialists out in Oregon. The kit includes an adapter plate that raises the motor to the correct height. There is also a sleeve included for the crankshaft to increase the diameter to 1-1/8" for the PTO. I did not like the muffler included in the kit because it interfered too much with the PTO linkage, so I replaced it with the Honda VRM6 muffler kit. I did need to modify the PTO bracket that bolts to the motor, but that was simple, and I did need to cut out a little of the hood to allow room for the bigger Honda muffler. I really like the conversion and would recommend it to anyone sick of repairing Onan valves. I like the oil cooler and the easier oil filter access and the aircleaner is super easy to get to. There are several ways to hook up the throttle and choke making that simple. Repower makes the wiring simple and the whole conversion took about a day and a half. I highly recommend them. Their GX630 kit was $1995.00 with free shipping and good instructions and support. Red Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattd860 162 #73 Posted June 14, 2013 Hi Bob. Great work and I can't wait to check it out in person!! I didn't notice if you were able to get all the dash gauges working. What is the status/plans of those? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wheelbearing 49 #74 Posted June 14, 2013 Hi Bob. Great work and I can't wait to check it out in person!! I didn't notice if you were able to get all the dash gauges working. What is the status/plans of those? Gauges, Ya lol. Nothing with the vacuum wheel horse power gauge. I always thought that was gay anyways. Rpm I might be able to use one of the stator wires to make it work, but I haven't tried it yet. fuel gauge kind of works. and the voltage gauge I'm having issues with some times it works sometimes it doesn't. I was thinking of buying some after market gauges to replace these ones. These gauges are kind of cheap. but I did work on the exhaust last night and the hood fits now. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mattd860 162 #75 Posted June 20, 2013 I got to see the tractor in person yesterday and it's amazing! The motor sounds great and runs so smooth. Wasn't sad at all to see the old Onan sitting all by itself in pieces Great job!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
