Love My Wife! Working on the 502 last night.

[Pullstart 63,267]

So I told my wife I'm sorry that the WH bug bit me, that my cheap tractor project might not be so cheap when finished..  she just told me that if I keep the grass under her clothes line mowed, she doesn't care what I do with the tractor!

 

it was my 3 year old daughter's turn to help daddy work on the "old red tractor" while the 5 year old drove around the hydro simplicity and picked raspberries tonight.

 

We pulled the Kohler K141 for further teardown and future complete rebuild, made an adapter plate with some aluminum bar stock and mounted up the tiller's Predator 6.5 horse.  It runs and moves, I think I'll have to play around with the pulley size as my tiller pulley that fits the 3/4" shaft is a bit too small to make the mower deck work.

 

so, now up to date on the 502... I'm looking at some steering upgrades.  Every joint shows it's fair share of slop and I'll be looking to clean that all up so I can mow without running the next two neighbors over trying to make a turn.  I was reading about the differences in the 62 and earlier models vs 63 and later and I believe it's got to do with the front pivot linkage having two live steering arms rather than a link to the left spindle area then back across to the right?  What would need to be done to use the 63 and later steering technology on the 502?  Is the work worth it or should I just focus on cleaning up my slop and enjoying that improvement?

[Wheel Horse Kid 105]

Always great to hear that the family is getting involved in the project! Good luck as you finish it up!

[Pullstart 63,267]

Thanks Taylor, they're a huge part of life and my "little monsters" always love to help daddy... especially when we get dirty.

 

I've been looking through the manuals and can now identify the true differences in the steering design with left and right side ball joints in the later models (found on 604/654/704 steering parts lists) - what all is needed to upgrade - would the overall value be what I'm looking for with a tighter radius?

 

As mentioned, every single joint from the steering gear to the spindles has slop and I'm sure just tightening that up would help... is it worth the work to change what's there?  I have no intention to race or make this handle like a race car, I just want to improve my yard work experience.

[Jake Kuhn 1,561]

Great to hear your family is into the hobby! For steering upgrade you will probably need a lot of stuff. I know for sure you need the newer style front axle and the newer style frame, not sure exactly what else you need. I can take some pictures in the difference of my 702 and 854 steering for you later. Hopefully I remember. LOL

 

Jake

[Pullstart 63,267]

I'm thinking that's enough to tell me it's better to tighten up what I have, I don't have the intentions to do any frame swaps right now. 

 

I'm wondering if shortening the steer arms on the knuckles would help me get what I'm looking for, or if I'll end up finding the steering stops that way.

 

Thanks!

[KC9KAS 4,741]

Glad to hear about the Happy Wheel Horse family!

Getting dirt working on the tractors is fun!