What have you done to your Wheel Horse today?

[johnnymag3 2,520]

[ebinmaine 67,455]

Agreed

[peter lena 8,620]

@Thor27, on your wiring issue , you actually have a very good opportunity to build a stand alone wire harness , and eliminate the problem areas . exploded wiring schematic will show you what's  strong and what's a problem area . as you build and test , reroute and enhance the wiring routing and protection , increase engine grounding , to frame and related battery dash mount ground . dielectric grease and serrated washers . make each step , bombproof , pete    

[peter lena 8,620]

@Thor27  was at a recent  L/S ENGINE SWAP , TO VOLVO , stand alone wire harness made it simple , only engine operational electric power was there , with plug ins available to add , but not stop engine function . pete 

[cleat 5,934]

One of the first things I do to my 520's is to pull the wire harness and go completely through it on the bench cleaning and replacing connections as required.

Also this is the perfect time to add or eliminate circuits as needed.

 

Once this is done I rarely have an electrical issue.

 

 

 

 

[Gregor 4,846]

I always make complete new wiring harnesses for all the tractors I re-do. I've never had a problem.

[peter lena 8,620]

@Gregor, agree with you on that ,since I added additional grounding to virtually every contact point ,no more electrical issues. then I go on to refine / improve  mechanical linkage points , generally firming up and greasing each area , making them work with very little effort. another thing  I do is make a proven change working on one horse , common to all 3 , with very good results , pete 

[OldWorkHorse 3,045]

Got some new rubbers mounted up for the rear of the B-80 "FlowahPowah". Just need to get the fronts mounted and painted and she be back in business! 

[Gregor 4,846]

7 hours ago, peter lena said:

dielectric grease and serrated washers .

While dielectric grease may prevent rust and corrosion, it does NOT conduct electricity.

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

1 minute ago, Gregor said:

While dielectric grease may prevent rust and corrosion, it does NOT conduct electricity.

Have seen that mistake a lot. If you have no contact now, after the grease you will have non either.

[Tuneup 1,433]

I ran the C-125 restored a few years ago into the garage for an overdue oil change and the starter sounded like pure hell. Original starter but had replaced the bendix with the cheap eBay kit. Pulled the starter and noticed that the spring was a twisted mess. The washer had also worn to interfere with the gear. Did I actually put that washer on there?! $20 kits on eBay but was hoping I could be 'old fashioned' and find the parts at an old hardware store. $.18 washer and a #7 spring at Ace and she's just perfect with a shot of graphite spray. $1.57. God is good.

[SylvanLakeWH 25,547]

2 hours ago, Gregor said:

While dielectric grease may prevent rust and corrosion, it does NOT conduct electricity.

 

2 hours ago, Maxwell-8 said:

Have seen that mistake a lot. If you have no contact now, after the grease you will have non either.

I’m confused. I’ve used dielectric grease on my trailer light plugs for years and have never had a problem with connections. In fact they stay pristine and work far longer and consistently than with the corrosion I experienced before… I tend to agree with @peter lena’s advice…

 

Can you clarify what are you saying? Thanks!

[305 380]

Installed my new Bob Ellison seat on my Lawn Ranger

[ebinmaine 67,455]

35 minutes ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

 

I’m confused. I’ve used dielectric grease on my trailer light plugs for years and have never had a problem with connections. In fact they stay pristine and work far longer and consistently than with the corrosion I experienced before… I tend to agree with @peter lena’s advice…

 

Can you clarify what are you saying? Thanks!

Jimbo read this. 

 

Great info. 

 

 

"What is Dielectric Grease and How to Use It? | The Drive" https://www.thedrive.com/maintenance-repair/39173/dielectric-grease

 

 

[Gregor 4,846]

48 minutes ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

Can you clarify what are you saying? Thanks!

Dielectric grease is great for trailer plugs, lamp sockets, multi pin plugs, and other such connections. Keeps dirt and water out. Prevents corrosion. If you are using it in hopes of getting a better electrical connection, it may do that by preventing corrosion, but it does NOT conduct electricity on it's own. I use it quite regularly myself.

[Snoopy11 5,714]

4 hours ago, Maxwell-8 said:

Have seen that mistake a lot. If you have no contact now, after the grease you will have non either.

Did that with the headlights on the truck... switch went bad... but after seeing corrosion in the harness... I thought to myself... wonder if I clean the harness and apply some dielectric grease... maybe it will start working.... (boy was I wrong)

 

I will say, dielectric grease is the best thing for spark plug wires where it goes onto the spark plug itself. Apply a little to the top of the spark plug... and next time you go to remove plug wire from the spark plug itself... you won't risk breaking the wire...

 

I might be stating the obvious here, if so please feel free to ignore me. I learned this after using racing coils on my L-157...!

 

Don

 

 

[Snoopy11 5,714]

1 hour ago, 305 said:

Installed my new Bob Ellison seat on my Lawn Ranger

What year do you have there, dear sir? Looks very familiar! 1967... my best guess from that picture!

 

Don

[SylvanLakeWH 25,547]

Well, went for a quick ride on the newly restored C 85 and kapow, bam, boom, burp... She puked oil from behind the cover and died... Small stream of oil mid-way up... ...

 

Me thinks I will be pursuing my dream of an electric rebuild or, HF, or does someone still rebuild these puppies and sell them on here? I recall seeing someone's ad...? 

 

JUST... 

Edited May 27, 2021 by SylvanLakeWH

[Gregor 4,846]

25 minutes ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

She puked oil from behind the cover and died

May as well pull the cover and have a peek. Ya just never know.

[SylvanLakeWH 25,547]

10 minutes ago, Gregor said:

May as well pull the cover and have a peek. Ya just never know.

I will… I will…  just bummed that she came together so well and then… 

[ranger 1,750]

On 5/26/2021 at 11:11 PM, SylvanLakeWH said:

 

I’m confused. I’ve used dielectric grease on my trailer light plugs for years and have never had a problem with connections. In fact they stay pristine and work far longer and consistently than with the corrosion I experienced before… I tend to agree with @peter lena’s advice…

 

Can you clarify what are you saying? Thanks!

I think what people are saying is, if you use this grease on new/clean connections etc, it protects them from conditions that cause corrosion etc, and subsequent issues. Applying it to already compromised components does nothing to improve the situation. Using a compound that IS electrically conductive in connectors could easily cause other issues, especially with modern technology, e.c.u.’s, bulb failure warnings, etc.

 

Doug.

Edited May 28, 2021 by ranger

[squonk 41,079]

10 hours ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

Well, went for a quick ride on the newly restored C 85 and kapow, bam, boom, burp... She puked oil from behind the cover and died... Small stream of oil mid-way up... ...

 

Me thinks I will be pursuing my dream of an electric rebuild or, HF, or does someone still rebuild these puppies and sell them on here? I recall seeing someone's ad...? 

 

JUST... 

richmondred01. Be aware.8 HP cranks are getting tougher to come by.

[OldWorkHorse 3,045]

Just got the old saw tooth wheel horse tires off the rims put a coat of paint on the inside. Looked pretty good for as old as they are but either way there off so hit them with paint. Gonna let that dry and try and mount the tri rib tires here shortly. 

[Racinbob 11,063]

Been doing several things to the 854. As some of you recall I did a pulley swap a while back to get a tad more speed. I have decided to put a mower deck on it so I went back to the original pulleys. This is the 854 I picked up at the 2018 big show and it came with the deck but it wasn't mounted because there was no mid mount hitch on the tractor. I didn't have a spare hitch so I found one on Ebay, painted it and slapped it on. 

 

 

Notice where the oil drain is. I thought it was odd coming out on the right side but I didn't think much about it. That is, until I went to install the PTO foot pedal. Ain't gonna work that way. So I'm in the process of rerouting it now. 

 

I was having issues with it starving for fuel at about 1/4 tankful. I figured it was the fuel pump and a full tank was needed to let gravity help. I cleaned it up and found that the valves in the kit weren't right. The diaphragm was bad so with hopes that was just the issue I only replaced that. It didn't help. I had two electric pumps on the shelf and I decided to use one on a temporary basis so I could remove the vacuum pump and contact Then and Now to see what's going on. I whipped up a cover for the pump hole. 

 

 

 

I did this so I didn't have to drill new holes since it's temporary. You can also see a starter solenoid. I had rewired the tractor shortly after I got it and paid the bucks for the original style switch because I kinda liked the sound of it starting without the 'click'. Let's face it, a solenoid is better. 

 

 

Now it's a run to the hardware store for a couple parts, finish the oil drain, remove the vacuum pump and mount the deck. I'll put her to work and I'll address the fuel pump kit issue in the next couple days. 

 

[OldWorkHorse 3,045]

Got the new tri ribs on and began the paint process on the B80