Commando 8 update

[71_Bronco 1,072]

Got to do some work on the Commando today. Nothing too crazy, but I do have some questions.

 

I pulled the seat from the seat pan, to prep for the new springs & seat (have the seat, springs are on their way). I did notice the front cross bar is broken, so I'll have to fix / reinforce that at some point.

 

Got the front rims cleaned and painted, have new bearings coming and the tires are waiting on the rims to dry.

 

Drained the trans, changed the shifter boot, and refilled with fresh 80w-90 gear oil. Below is a picture of what came out. I'm hoping a few oil changes will fix this. Maybe this winter I'll pull it apart. The trans shifts fine and locks into each gear without issue. Yes, I jacked up the front end to help it drain.

 

Changed the engine oil, was dark, but not black. Put in some new SAE 30, which I will change after a mow or two (to clean out the motor).

 

My biggest concern at this point is the exhaust. I had a short piece of pipe sticking out of the block that I'm trying to get out. Because it's so short, it's hard to get any tools on it. I've been spraying penetrating oil on it for the past week or so, but still no luck. Think I'm going to have to use heat.

 

I also broke my head light housing. The bulbs are corroded into place, and the glass for the old bulbs broke. Plus, one of the wires pulled out the bottom cause the wire was so corroded and most of the strands were broken already. I do have a good head light housing from my Bronco I can borrow, so all is not lost on that one.

[71_Bronco 1,072]

Forgot to add, I got the slot hitch freed up, moves up and down nicely. However, the lift cable is shot, one of the yokes is missing, so I'm going to need a new one of those.

 

Also, the cross pin is stuck, I cant get it out. I think it is fused to the trans case. I'll have to address this when I pull the trans out for rebuild.

 

Edit: I also put new tires on the back (old ones were cracked and had bad tubes). They are a little taller and a couple inches wider, but they fit (just barely). Looks really good though.

Edited May 18, 2019 by 71_Bronco

[71_Bronco 1,072]

Heres a pic of the broken seat pan. May just bolt or weld a small piece of angle or channel onto it to reinforce it.

[ebinmaine 68,874]

5 hours ago, 71_Bronco said:

Got to do some work on the Commando today. Nothing too crazy, but I do have some questions.

 

I pulled the seat from the seat pan, to prep for the new springs & seat (have the seat, springs are on their way). I did notice the front cross bar is broken, so I'll have to fix / reinforce that at some point.

 

Got the front rims cleaned and painted, have new bearings coming and the tires are waiting on the rims to dry.

 

Drained the trans, changed the shifter boot, and refilled with fresh 80w-90 gear oil. Below is a picture of what came out. I'm hoping a few oil changes will fix this. Maybe this winter I'll pull it apart. The trans shifts fine and locks into each gear without issue. Yes, I jacked up the front end to help it drain.

 

Changed the engine oil, was dark, but not black. Put in some new SAE 30, which I will change after a mow or two (to clean out the motor).

 

My biggest concern at this point is the exhaust. I had a short piece of pipe sticking out of the block that I'm trying to get out. Because it's so short, it's hard to get any tools on it. I've been spraying penetrating oil on it for the past week or so, but still no luck. Think I'm going to have to use heat.

 

I also broke my head light housing. The bulbs are corroded into place, and the glass for the old bulbs broke. Plus, one of the wires pulled out the bottom cause the wire was so corroded and most of the strands were broken already. I do have a good head light housing from my Bronco I can borrow, so all is not lost on that one.

 

 

You're headed the right way with changing that transmission oil. That should be fine. One of the things that a lot of us do is to run 2 quarts of diesel or kerosene in the transmission for a few minutes while you drive the tractor around. Clean things out nicely.

 

The exhaust being stuck in the cylinder head is one of the few things that is a bane of existence of a wheel horse owner.

 

If you could take a few pictures of that and post them it might be helpful. Heat will definitely help you to some extent.

I've had a couple of them where I've had to put slices into the pipe and break those slices inward with a large punch and Hammer and turn those sections out.

 

[71_Bronco 1,072]

I'll take a couple pictures in the next couple days.

 

Made a little progress today, didnt have much time, but did get some done.

 

Got the front tires mounted on the rims and back on the tractor. Now I can easily roll it around. Waiting on the new bearings to come in, but can swap those at any time.

 

Also got the new headlight bucket in, with the new LED light bulbs. All wired up and nice and bright.

 

Little wins, but progress none-the-less.

[Sparky-(Admin) 21,547]

Nick.

  Don’t bother trying to unscrew that exhaust nipple. I cut a couple slices in the one on my Commando and it comes out real easy after that.

[rjg854 11,574]

  That's the easiest way I've found also.

[71_Bronco 1,072]

Sparky, I was thinking about doing something like that. Do you have any leaks where those cuts are? Or does it seal fine?

 

Thanks!

[953 nut 56,165]

When I use a sawz-all on a piece of pipe like that i cut all the way through the pipe outside of the lock and try not to cut any of the threads in the block. Once both cuts have been made a couple of sharp blows with a hammer and chisel on the pipe near the cuts will break it free.

[ebinmaine 68,874]

47 minutes ago, 71_Bronco said:

Sparky, I was thinking about doing something like that. Do you have any leaks where those cuts are? Or does it seal fine?

 

Thanks!

It'll seal just fine Nick.

Note that in the picture he had just a couple slight grooves on the internal threads.

You do definitely have to be careful not to cut too deep.

 

On the pipe I had I used a similar method but only put one cut and then used a large punch to crush the pipe next to the cut on the trailing edge of the thread direction.

Then I took a big pipe wrench which further crushed the pipe and it spun right out of the hole.

[71_Bronco 1,072]

Got another update. Finally got to the hardware store to get the correct bolts I needed to mount the seat. Got it all on, and picked up a pair of belts for the deck. Not sure how well these will work though. Tractor supply didnt carry 3/8 × 37, and this was all Napa had.

 

The tires are Kenda K502 Terra Trac tires. The backs are 23-10.50-12, and have 10 psi, fronts are 16-6.50-8 and have 12 psi. Definitely give it a little better look.

[ebinmaine 68,874]

I can't answer for those belts cuz I don't have a mowing deck but I really like those tires. Nice choice.

 

[71_Bronco 1,072]

Another quick update, stealing a few minutes here and there when I can to work on her.

 

Got the old nipple out from the block. Heated it up and drowned it in pb blaster (love this stuff) and it finally came out. Had to keep going in and out, unscrewing it a little further each time, but finally got it.

 

Also mounted up the new muffler from Jim Kemp. Looks really good. Cant wait to take some decent pics of it this weekend, out in the grass where she belongs.

 

I should be able to fix up the mower deck pretty quickly, as it just needs belts, wheels, and a quick once-over. The spindles are smooth and not noisy (at least not as they sit now). I'll have to see how it does on the tractor this weekend, but getting pretty close to mowing-ready.

 

Oh, I did end up getting some Toro blades off Amazon for $53 shipped for the pair. They should be here tomorrow (friday).

Edited May 24, 2019 by 71_Bronco

[71_Bronco 1,072]

Got to mow with her today, finally!

 

Got the deck mowing ready. It is in rougher shape than I thought, but I was able to get it functional. Got the new blades on, new belts on, and the new height wheels. I'm going to have to do a full tear down on it at some point and really go through it if I dont find one in better shape.

 

Had trouble getting her started when I was finally ready. Turns out the needles were way out of whack on the carb, but got it all fixed up.

 

Mowing was really fun, and I loved it. The muffler from Jim Kemp was quieter than I expected, and sounded really good. Took way less time than the push mower, but I did notice it was a little harder to mow right up to objects with the WH.

 

I was in a hurry to finish getting it together and mow before a party, so I didnt take any pics. I will later this weekend though. She looks really sharp.