My Sons Score for the weekend

[dmoore 774]

Great job!

[rjg854 11,356]

That is what is so great about  even though to one person it may seem the horse has died, and is no longer useable, to someone who knows how to do some repair and maintenance and just general TLC, there's still a lot of life left in that tractor 

[Burnerman 758]

2 hours ago, rjg854 said:

That is what is so great about  even though to one person it may seem the horse has died, and is no longer useable, to someone who knows how to do some repair and maintenance and just general TLC, there's still a lot of life left in that tractor 

After working on it I think this tractor was owned by a business or school. It was stored in an oily shop or garage. It looks like maintenance was done and the tractor got used. I think the carb was all that was wrong with it. 

[peter lena 8,600]

fantastic pick up! good luck with a thorough go over , and operational function , looking at all of the pictures just shows typical neglect , i would bring the finish back with a quick penetrating oil  on a rag rub down , the rest of test and run and fresh lubrication and fuel , i wish i was you , pete

[Burnerman 758]

We put the new blades on and mounted the deck. Picked up the fan from the local guy and put that on. Cuts beautiful but a tad short. I gotta level the deck. My son then got stuck mowing down by the lake so he washed it. 
I’m so glad we could save this. 

[peter lena 8,600]

BURNERMAN, I AM GLAD YOU SAVED IT TOO! try this , wipe that down with some penetrating oil on a clean rag , watch that paint come to life, i have lightly buffed and recovered paint after that, another thing you can try that would also help out you engine is RISLONE ZINC ,additive, https://www.amazon.com/Rislone-4405-Supplement-Concentrate-Treatment/dp/B0075559UY   amazon has the best price , add a couple of ounces to your fresh oil , and feel the engine smoothness and response. use this in my 3 kohler's  and the smooth effortless change has been terrific, worth a try , good going , pete 

[WHNJ701 4,165]

Glad it worked out, nice save!!

[Burnerman 758]

Peter, I’m going to add that zinc additive to all my engines now, thanks.
 I’m going to check the valve adjustment and carb float height. It seems to flood out a cylinder when first started then it’ll clear out and run great at full throttle once warm. I’ll give the carb a full going over with a new float after checking the valves since I’ll have it off. 
 We checked with the scrapyard and it was brought in by a private owner.
 

[Burnerman 758]

Update. Replaced the ignition module, resealed the intake manifold, put on a non-accelerator pump carb and all is good in Onanville. Lol. Repaired the oil pressure switch wiring that got caught in the flywheel too. Cleaned up the tins and cleaned out the fins. Compression is good and valve seats are tight. Hopefully she’ll be good now for many more years. 
Has anyone replaced 520 gauges without pulling the steering and hydro levers?

[Bill D 1,916]

How was the flyball spacer?  Do you have the one with the tab?  Have a metal one handy if you can find one.  Also consider installing a a remote oil filter kit and ventilating your belt guard.  Keep the valve seats happy and tight.  Just my thoughts.  Bill

[Burnerman 758]

I didn’t pull the timing cover. I don’t have issues with the governor right now and I’m hoping I don’t. I’m not sure how much I’m gunna invest in this Onan. Is there anyway to know if the engine has a metal spacer or plastic from the numbers? 

Edited November 19, 2020 by Burnerman

[WheelhorseBob 1,549]

Just saw this, we have a local scrap yard I need to visit soon. I’m gonna tell them to let me know if the see any horses! What a great score!

[lynnmor 7,303]

8 hours ago, Burnerman said:

 
Has anyone replaced 520 gauges without pulling the steering and hydro levers?

 

If you warm the dash with a hair dryer, you can wrestle the gauges out and in.

 

Your flyball spacer should be a plastic one with a tab and might not give you problems.

[Zeek 2,286]

Looks like you got yourself a good deal for $150!

[tom2p 2,394]

On 11/18/2020 at 8:52 PM, Burnerman said:

 I’m not sure how much I’m gunna invest in this Onan.

 

???

 

You replaced the coil and ignition module (why ?)

 

compression is good - valve seats are tight 

 

sounds good to me 

 

 

It's a 470 hour Onan 

 

Onan horizontal twin is an industrial quality engine ;  in addition to powering Wheel Horse, Case, and John Deere garden tractors they have powered thousands of generators and welders

 

they run for decades - often go for 3000 and sometimes 4000+ hours 

 

[Burnerman 758]

I’m not to sure those hours are accurate anymore. I had to replace the module to get it to run. In the process I found a thick layer of oily dust on the inside of the cooling tins. The starter and the pto clutch disk have been replaced also. I have no history on this machine. It could’ve been beat on with low oil for years. Who knows. 
 I know Onans are good engines but more for stationary service. Parts are expensive and not the easiest to get.

 If this tractor performs well now I’ll keep it going but any other major issues and I’ll repower it. 

[Bill D 1,916]

Don't give up on it yet! Based on the pictures I think the hours are accurate.  My P216 has 636 hours on it and when I changed the flyball spacer from plastic to metal I could tell someone had the flywheel off before, probably to change the module.  Did the module have the plastic insulator under it? Starter could have failed from excessive cranking caused by a bad fuel pump. The PTO clutch probably wasn't tight enough causing the disc to wear out prematurely.  Oil in the tins and on the cooling fins is indicative of lack of care when performing oil changes.  Oil from the filter runs down inside the engine instead of draining out via the built in funnel.  It is then blown all over the inside of the shroud and across the rear cooling fins.  If the oil was changed every 25 hours the build up would be severe after 18 oil changes.  My P216 had lots of built up oil and debris inside as well.  Lift the front end when changing the oil filter to keep any oil from the filter running down the built in funnel and out of the motor.  Better yet, install a remote oil filter kit to prevent any chance of future oil and debris buildup and to improve cooling across the rear cylinder.  Drilling vent holes in the belt cover would help as well.  That engine should have tons of life left with a little TLC.  Bill

8 hours ago, Burnerman said:

I’m not to sure those hours are accurate anymore. I had to replace the module to get it to run. In the process I found a thick layer of oily dust on the inside of the cooling tins. The starter and the pto clutch disk have been replaced also. I have no history on this machine. It could’ve been beat on with low oil for years. Who knows. 
 I know Onans are good engines but more for stationary service. Parts are expensive and not the easiest to get.

 If this tractor performs well now I’ll keep it going but any other major issues and I’ll repower it. 

  

[Burnerman 758]

Bill, I haven’t given up at all. It’s running pretty well right now. The insulator was under the module but the module has never been replaced by the date code. I’ve got the blower hooked up to it and we’ll see. What happens. 😁

[Bill D 1,916]

I think it would be a good idea to install the remote oil filter kit.  There is one on eBay right now.  If you don't want to spend the money, at least ventilate the belt guard.  Good luck with it.  Hopefully you don't need the blower too much this winter. Bill

[Burnerman 758]

So I should update. I ended up replacing the ignition module and coil, resealing the intake manifold, new carb and it runs great. 
it mows and blows my yard and driveway and 4 others in the neighborhood. If I didn’t have this beast I could never do it.