Help with Possible Purchase 1986 16hp Onan powered Horse

[recman330 8]

Looking at possibly purchasing a well serviced and maintained... 1986 16hp Onan powered Horse with a 46" mowing deck.  Asking price is $775.  I have 2 questions I was hoping someone could give me their view on.

 

1)   Is this a fair price?  (I believe its probably a good price)

 

2) Will my 76'  B80 dozer plow and also slot hitch work on the new Horse?

 

See attached pic, as I am not sure of the model name for this one.

Thanks all for any help you can offer

[Forest Road 594]

Is that a 516? If so don't buy it.

2 reasons

1 - The Eaton 700 hydro is junk. They don't hold up nearly as well as the Eaton 1100.

2 - Personally I'm no fan of Onans. Too many well documented failures concerning the valve seats.

For that price you should be able to find a Kohler powered 14 or 16hp hydro.

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[recman330 8]

Thanks for the input...not sure of model...but from another picture it is not a hydro but a manual

[Racinbob 10,864]

It's really hard to tell from that picture and it doesn't expand well. I was thinking it was a 416-8 (8 speed) then you confirmed it with the post you just added as I was typing this

It looks like it's in pretty nice shape. If it is nice and is good mechanically then I'd say that's a fair price. You'll find that to be a 48" deck, not 46". If the dozer blade was truly for a 76 B-80 it will work perfectly.

I'd prefer Kohlers but I wouldn't shy away from an Onan.

Edited May 15, 2015 by Racinbob

[dcrage 623]

According the the spreadsheet on "Wheel Horse Manufacturing in what years" an 1986 416-8 would be a Kohler -- 1989 was the first year for an Onan -- That would probably mean this tractor is 3 years newer than what you thought -- Or it got an engine replaced

[Racinbob 10,864]

Good catch Dave. I did think about that and looked at the D&A sheet but I had yet another gray hair moment and looked at the 96   Recman330, there's a tag on it that will have the actual model number on it (not the hood decal number). Any chance you can get that from the owner? In any case, the snow blade will still work fine.

[chex313 123]

Is that a 516? If so don't buy it.

2 reasons

1 - The Eaton 700 hydro is junk. They don't hold up nearly as well as the Eaton 1100.

2 - Personally I'm no fan of Onans. Too many well documented failures concerning the valve seats.

For that price you should be able to find a Kohler powered 14 or 16hp hydro.

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What are we talking for a full valve job tho...$200?? That does seem overly costly. Get another 1000 Hrs? Just asking...

[boovuc 1,090]

I blew the picture up and adjusted it somewhat. It is a 400 series and it is an 8 speed. Nice replacement seat on it. Can't tell with certainty if it is a Kohler or an Onan. I'm leaning on it being an Onan looking at the muffler and heat shield. 

The mower deck is a side discharge 42".

Your B80 plow will bolt right up to this without modification if your B80 plow is a stock Wheelhorse plow for long frames.

[Forest Road 594]

What are we talking for a full valve job tho...$200?? That does seem overly costly. Get another 1000 Hrs? Just asking...

Onans are famous for chucking valve seats. Especially on WH due to the placement of the belt guard. It's very common on the 20hp. Unfortunately it's typically not as simple as just doing a valve job.

If it is an 8 speed it might be worth a look. The WH 516 w Eaton 700 was hydro drive with a manual lift. Lack of hydro lift is easiest way to tell difference between 1100 & 700.

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[ericj 1,578]

if it was truly a 516 it would have the same dash tower as a 520 and this one surely does not, it has the 300, 400 style hood on it. everybody give the onan a bad rap. the valve seat issue is not really that big of deal to me. i can repair or have repaired a valve seat for less that $ 200.00 and have several motor done/ so i'll take all of your bad valve seat motors that you want to give me cheap because they're junk and repair them and have a good running motor. the majority of my heard is onan powered. onan failure is not a design failure as much as a lack of maintenance failure on the owners part. i've seen a lot of kohler singles blown up with holes in the block or spun and broken rods over the years, just make sure you keep the oil changed and proper level and blow and wash the block off regularly and the motor should be fine and i would recommend a compression test before buying the tractor although i have bought many and did not do the compression test till later     

 

 

 

 

 

 

eric j    

[boovuc 1,090]

I hear you Eric and I love my Onan's over every other twin except the KT Kohlers which also have a bad rep. My thing is this:

 

On the Onan, I'll discount value because there is a greater chance of an engine issue over a Kohler Magnum twin/single or the Kohler K series in these 300/400/500 series.

If there is an issue, you have time and money fixing it regardless of how much money it costs. It is still money AND, time which is more valuable to me than money on my weekends. The Kohler's seem to take more abuse before bowing up and some just survive a tortured existence. 

For many with one tractor, (strange people these one tractor owners are), downtime is a bi#@h. And I'm going to go way out on a limb on this statement that "most" if not a greater majority of people won't take the time to blow the grass out of their engines fins and tins after use. (A lot of people don't change the oil/filter/air filter on a regular basis). 

You know me Eric! I'll gobble up a low hour Onan motor in a second to keep on my bench. My opinion is 'if" I'm going to buy a Wheelhorse tractor and I wanted a twin, i would "value" a Kohler Magnum more in the purchase price than the Onan. I value the Kohler 16 horse single higher than a high hour Onan. I value the Onan's the same or higher in value than the 14 horse single Kohlers. So I look at the price the owner is asking and take these statements into helping to price it. And this is just me. Lord knows most people walk away from the KT's but I just like them as you do the Onan's. 

 

I'm still looking for a spare for my two Onan powered tractors. It may be awhile or maybe not at all until I find a low hour engine that isn't priced more than a whole Onan powered tractor is going for. It's just me my friend and I do have my quirks! 

[papaglide 542]

That's a nice looking tractor. The snow blade will fit, the slot hitch will fit as well. I put a slot hitch on my 416. Do you think that it's a fair price?

As far as the Onan thing. My 1996 416 had an Onan twin in it that needed to be rebuilt. I hemmed and hawed wether or not to put the money into it. I decided to put the money into it. About $700 later I ended up with a new 20 horse Onan wearing the 16 horse skins on the outside. It doubled what I paid for the tractor.

My point is this: I paid $600 for the tractor, probably high BUT I liked the tractor and wanted it so I paid for it. I paid $700 for a new motor. Now I have a $1300 dollar tractor that blows away any box store tractor and a motor that should last about a 1,000 hrs.

If you like the tractor, don't want to keep hunting, have the money to purchase it and now know that you may have to put money into it, then you should buy it. A lot of people hunt for the "right" deal, the cheapest deal and that is fine. If I see a tractor that I like, even though it may be over priced to some, but I think that it's a far price, I will buy it.

[recman330 8]

Thank you all for your responses and help. It's greatly appreciated. I would have responded sooner but have been down and out with a back injury. Hope to see some of you at the big show ...got to get my back in shape for that