312-h Grandfathers gift

[David414 289]

Hey guys,

 

I need advice on how to continue on a refurbishing a 1991, 312-h, model 5112KE01 for my grandson.

I have a 1989, 414-8 that I restored and this is my first experience with a hydro and a tractor that is in much worse shape then mine was. I need some help. My grandson brought his first house and as a gift, I told him I would buy him any tractor he wanted at his local big box store such as JD, Husky, Craftsman etc. He said what he really wanted was a wheel horse like mine! He really likes that old iron. Great!  So I went shopping for a WH and unfortunately, a lot of them are really beat and abused. I found this 312-h in decent shape, 750 hours? if meter works,  and will strip it down and refurbish the tractor like new or better.

 

My grandson is in the air national guard reserve and will deploy to the middle east next month for his third tour of combat duty. I plan on getting the tractor ready for him when he returns three months later. Working in my garage, and its cold in upstate NY,  I can't paint until warmer weather, but want to do all the mechanical's now. Although we are separated by 500 miles, this refurbished tractor should last him long after I am gone. Its a good keepsake and passes the love of Wheel  Horse Tractors to another generation.

 

I changed the engine and transmission oil, new filters for air and trans, new choke cable and fixed assorted wiring issues. The engine does not smoke, starts right up, and the transmission, hydro, and engine do not leak oil, and all operate as should. At this point, I feel comfortable that the engine and hydro are good and can proceed with the mechanicals. The PO or PO's did a lot of half ass repairs or quick stuff, so going thru making everything correct.

 

I am stuck on a few things and need your help.

1. How do you remove the choke cable from the console? My 414-8 had a plastic tab that just pulled off, I cant do that with this. Please see pictures.

2. I removed the front steering components, the ball joints and tie rods are shot. Many good posts from Members on upgrading with after market parts. Shout out to ebinmaine about drilling out the egg shape 3/8" hole to 7/16". This will clean up a lot of steering slop. Removed the front axle and the Pin and Plate is broken. Will replace. See picture.

3. The PO, or multiple PO's , hacked up the wiring and with help from peter lena, 953 nut, and handy Don, I got the electrical system back in working order, except for the idiot lights.

4. Trying to improve the terrible sloppy steering it has. Please refer to the picture of the flanged bearing on the lower steering shaft, how do you replace this? Is it pressed on the shaft? How do you remove the lower steering shaft?

5.  I have a problem removing the sheet metal tower. I have no experience in removing the lift lever or the motion control lever. Without removing these two levers, I can't remove the sheet metal console? see picture. How do I proceed?

5. I removed the steering wheel, but I don't understand how to get the steering column out of the console. The bearing for the upper steering shaft is very loose and needs replacement. How do I proceed? see picture.

6. The linkage for the motion control lever is really sloppy. I cleaned up and adjusted the rods and the cam plate, so its much better, but there seems to be excessive play in the rod ends. See picture. Are these 1/4 x28 rod ends? Any thing I should look out for?

7. There is a handle on the shift cover plate, that when pulled back and up, disengages the transmission when cold starting. This rattles excessively.  Replacement for idler pulley and spring needed?

8. How to remove the PTO clutch lever? I can see a cotter pin but don't have access to remove it? The trunnion was rusted solid on the PTO clutch rod and the PTO plate would not move. Freed both but need to remove the PTO clutch lever due to excessive play in the housing.

 

I know this is a long list, but only I can only work on the 312-h on weekends, so much to do in a short time. And I know I will be back with more questions.

I greatly appreciate any help!

 

Thanks, David

[oliver2-44 9,767]

2 hours ago, David414 said:

4. Trying to improve the terrible sloppy steering it has. Please refer to the picture of the flanged bearing on the lower steering shaft, how do you replace this? Is it pressed on the shaft? How do you remove the lower steering shaft?

5.  I have a problem removing the sheet metal tower. I have no experience in removing the lift lever or the motion control lever. Without removing these two levers, I can't remove the sheet metal console? see picture. How do I proceed?

5. I removed the steering wheel, but I don't understand how to get the steering column out of the console. The bearing for the upper steering shaft is very loose and needs replacement. How do I proceed? see picture.

6. The linkage for the motion control lever is really sloppy. I cleaned up and adjusted the rods and the cam plate, so its much better, but there seems to be excessive play in the rod ends. See picture. Are these 1/4 x28 rod ends? Any thing I should look out for?

7. There is a handle on the shift cover plate, that when pulled back and up, disengages the transmission when cold starting. This rattles excessively.  Replacement for idler pulley and spring needed?

8. How to remove the PTO clutch lever? I can see a cotter pin but don't have access to remove it? The trunnion was rusted solid on the PTO clutch rod and the PTO plate would not move. Freed both but need to remove the PTO clutch lever due to excessive play in the housing.

 

I know this is a long list, but only I can only work on the 312-h on weekends, so much to do in a short time. And I know I will be back with more questions.

I greatly appreciate any help!

 

Thanks, David

 

 

 

The steering shaft is held in place by that lock collar below the bushing.  Remove the set screw in the collar and start spraying penetrant in the hole.  Take a dremel or a drill with a wire brush and clean the steering shaft, collar, etc above and below the bushing.  With the shaft clean tap that lock collar down a little, up a little, repeat. You may need to cut a piece of wood to block the steering shaft up from the floor to get a firm tap/ hit on the collar.  But don't pound it  or you could accidently break the steering gear. 

Your a step ahead of me as, I never go my steering wheel off.   The metal steering bushing had egged/wallowed the hole out where it goes through the sheetmetal.  I cleaned it all up shinny  and scratched it with coarse sand paper.  Then I used the JB Weld dough in a stick and glued it in place with a nice thick fillet of the dough.  it's still holding about 5 years later.  

 

To repair that steering bushing since you  have the wheel off, some on here have bought a flanged ball bearing off ebay, and bolted to the sheetmetal , then lock it to the steering shaft.  Hopefully someone, who has done that will jump in here with a flange bearing part number.   You could also get a brass or steel flanged bushing from those gray Hillman draws at you local hardware store.  You also could replace the plastic bushings on those two other shafts with brass bushings.

 

I  restored a 312-8 for my son when he bought his first house.  He loves it.  Vinylguys patriotic Decals really look good on it. 

 

Edited January 17, 2021 by oliver2-44

[ebinmaine 67,703]

@David414 What an excellent and generous gift!

Please THANK YOUR GRANDSON for his service to our country. And all else that have given their time. 

 

Just as an FYI. If you want to "mention" someone in a thread to call them into it hit the "@", then type out their screen name. When you see it in the list you're creating at that time below/beside the "@" symbol tap their name. 

It puts the name in highlights as I did yours at the beginning of this post. Depending on their own settings it also sends an email to that person. 

 

 

 

10 hours ago, David414 said:

tie rods are shot. Many good posts from Members on upgrading with after market parts. Shout out to ebinmaine about drilling out the egg shape 3/8" hole to 7/16". This will clean up a lot of steering slop. Removed the front axle and the Pin and Plate is broken. Will replace. See picture

Thanks for that!

 

I just did what was common sense to me at the time. 

I ordered mine from McMaster-Carr. 

7/16 double male heim joints. I have a ton of jamb nuts and I'd be glad to send you 4 of them to contribute to the build. 

Just PM me your address. 

 

 

 

These are the joints I chose for the Cinnamon Horse. 

Permanent lubrication. 

I just checked them a few weeks ago and they're just as tight as new after 2 seasons of fairly steady hard usage. 

 

 

 

 

 

That axle pivot pin can be welded and repaired if you like....

[953 nut 55,335]

10 hours ago, David414 said:

Working in my garage, and its cold in upstate NY,  I can't paint until warmer weather,

I grew up in the Syracuse area (Kirkville) so I know what you are up against. You may want to build a small paint booth inside the garage that is insulated and can be heated with a space heater, even in the springtime it will help cure the paint better.

8 hours ago, oliver2-44 said:

I have a problem removing the sheet metal tower. I have no experience in removing the lift lever or the motion control lever. Without removing these two levers, I can't remove the sheet metal console? see picture. How do I proceed?

The metal console can be removed from the frame as a unit, it is bolted to the frame. The lift lever/rocker shaft are a tough nut to crack, there are two pieces on the rocker shaft that slip one-another and tent to be rusted together for life.  Part 19 slides over part 46.

[David414 289]

12 hours ago, oliver2-44 said:

 

 

The steering shaft is held in place by that lock collar below the bushing.  Remove the set screw in the collar and start spraying penetrant in the hole.  Take a dremel or a drill with a wire brush and clean the steering shaft, collar, etc above and below the bushing.  With the shaft clean tap that lock collar down a little, up a little, repeat. You may need to cut a piece of wood to block the steering shaft up from the floor to get a firm tap/ hit on the collar.  But don't pound it  or you could accidently break the steering gear. 

Your a step ahead of me as, I never go my steering wheel off.   The metal steering bushing had egged/wallowed the hole out where it goes through the sheetmetal.  I cleaned it all up shinny  and scratched it with coarse sand paper.  Then I used the JB Weld dough in a stick and glued it in place with a nice thick fillet of the dough.  it's still holding about 5 years later.  

 

To repair that steering bushing since you  have the wheel off, some on here have bought a flanged ball bearing off ebay, and bolted to the sheetmetal , then lock it to the steering shaft.  Hopefully someone, who has done that will jump in here with a flange bearing part number.   You could also get a brass or steel flanged bushing from those gray Hillman draws at you local hardware store.  You also could replace the plastic bushings on those two other shafts with brass bushings.

 

I  restored a 312-8 for my son when he bought his first house.  He loves it.  Vinylguys patriotic Decals really look good on it. 

 

 

12 hours ago, oliver2-44 said:

 

 

The steering shaft is held in place by that lock collar below the bushing.  Remove the set screw in the collar and start spraying penetrant in the hole.  Take a dremel or a drill with a wire brush and clean the steering shaft, collar, etc above and below the bushing.  With the shaft clean tap that lock collar down a little, up a little, repeat. You may need to cut a piece of wood to block the steering shaft up from the floor to get a firm tap/ hit on the collar.  But don't pound it  or you could accidently break the steering gear. 

Your a step ahead of me as, I never go my steering wheel off.   The metal steering bushing had egged/wallowed the hole out where it goes through the sheetmetal.  I cleaned it all up shinny  and scratched it with coarse sand paper.  Then I used the JB Weld dough in a stick and glued it in place with a nice thick fillet of the dough.  it's still holding about 5 years later.  

 

To repair that steering bushing since you  have the wheel off, some on here have bought a flanged ball bearing off ebay, and bolted to the sheetmetal , then lock it to the steering shaft.  Hopefully someone, who has done that will jump in here with a flange bearing part number.   You could also get a brass or steel flanged bushing from those gray Hillman draws at you local hardware store.  You also could replace the plastic bushings on those two other shafts with brass bushings.

 

I  restored a 312-8 for my son when he bought his first house.  He loves it.  Vinylguys patriotic Decals really look good on it. 

Jim, thanks for the posting. Beautiful job on your tractor!

 

[David414 289]

I understand that the tower can be removed as one piece, I did that on my 414-8. But this 312-h has two levers, one for the motion control, the other for the hydro lift, how can I disconnect these levers from the tower? Do they come out with the tower sheet metal as one unit? 

@953 nut

[953 nut 55,335]

7 hours ago, David414 said:

this 312-h has two levers, one for the motion control, the other for the hydro lift, how can I disconnect these levers from the tower? Do they come out with the tower sheet metal as one unit?

    I didn't look closely when going through your posted pictures, figured it was a manual lift.. Looking over the PDF for the IPL (Illustrated arts List) it looks like you can drive the roll pin (#53) out to remove the shaft.

 

[Handy Don 12,250]

3 hours ago, 953 nut said:

. Looking over the PDF for the IPL (Illustrated arts List) it looks like you can drive the roll pin (#53) out to remove the shaft

 

Be sure to brace the shaft against something strong and solid before trying to drive the pin. You don't want to bend or break anything else!  

Just today I had to get the parking brake knob off a '95 520 which is plastic with an embedded brass collar on a ¼" shaft unsupported for about 3"--something easy to screw up.  I ended up taking off the footrest so I could brace it with a piece of plywood notched at the top to fit the knob (with a relief hole drilled to accept the pin as it came out) and with a hole drilled to fit over the ¾" footrest support bar almost directly under the knob. Took longer to prepare than to drive the pin. BTW, used a 3/32" punch.

[mrc 817]

hi David414,  nice to see a young man serving his country! 

                      here are a couple of tips:

                    1  the choke cable is generally held on by a jam nut behind the upper dash.  

                    2 looks like the throttle cable end is buggered up. time to invest in a 'Z' bender. quite cheap.

                    3 the seat/rear fender pan support always breaks at the back mounting holes. on hydro wheelhorses i weld a 3/16 piece of metal on top of the hydro pump support  bracket and then the black seat/fender pan bracket has a 'middle' support area.

                    4 why wh ever went to the column mounted motion control lever is beyond me. i think most in the club would agree. fortunately you can purchase a "matts foot pedal kit".   he is one of the vendors on this site. i have two  hyrdo wh tractors  with the eaton tranny. both i have the foot pedal kit. sooo nice! takes an afternoon to install. i generally just cut the column mounted lever out of the tractor and throw it in the scrap pile.

                    your grandson is a lucky young man!

                    regards mike in mass. 

[Jrblanke 857]

David. I think it is fantastic that you are doing this for your grandson! Once you have finished the work, print out this thread and give it to him so that he can see how much time, effort, and research you put into this. I think he would be honored. I know I would be if my Grandpa bothered to put so much time and thought into something! Fantastic thread! Made my day. 

[David414 289]

Steering issues. I removed the entire upper steering shaft from the console by removing from the bottom of the tractor. Loosened the console sheet metal and removed the  battery tray bolts which created enough clearance  to wriggle the shaft downwards thru the frame rails and out the tractor.  I have read posts where members cut the steering shaft or destroyed the collar to remove this shaft. Did so without harming either item. My question: I have seen prior posts where some members used flanged mounted bearing support on the upper steering shaft? Can anyone supply part # and source, not the Toro bushing.

I removed the flange bearing on the lower steering shaft. Please see picture. Is this good or bad with that ring in the bearing? Can this be replaced with a much better ball bearing support rather than the Toro sheet metal bearing? Any source and part #?

Thanks, David

 

[David414 289]

Lower steering issues.

I removed the steering support from the lower steering shaft,  please refer to pictures. The hole going thru the support, where the upper steering shaft inserts, is this normal? It looks out of round? Does the hole go straight through the support as shown in the picture? Any suggestions, or its ok to use as is?

Thanks, David

[David414 289]

Hood stand issues. 

I am trying to remove the entire hood stand from the frame, and my problem is the hydraulic lines. I have no experience in hydro and I am unsure how you go about removing the lines that are intertwined in the hood stand. What is the proper way to disconnect these lines, and from where should I do it? The cylinder has the easiest access, while underneath the battery tray where the hydro valve is is very, very tight. Does oil come out when the lines are disconnected? Should I drain the transmission first? I am concerned about breaking a fitting so I am reluctant to go forward. Or is it best to just leave lines alone and don't remove the hood stand?

Thanks, David

 

[ebinmaine 67,703]

19 minutes ago, David414 said:

Lower steering issues.

I removed the steering support from the lower steering shaft,  please refer to pictures. The hole going thru the support, where the upper steering shaft inserts, is this normal? It looks out of round? Does the hole go straight through the support as shown in the picture? Any suggestions, or its ok to use as is?

Thanks, David

Do you have any way to measure if that's out of round? Looks pretty good from here.

 

[Handy Don 12,250]

17 minutes ago, David414 said:

Hood stand issues. 

I am trying to remove the entire hood stand from the frame, and my problem is the hydraulic lines. I have no experience in hydro and I am unsure how you go about removing the lines that are intertwined in the hood stand. What is the proper way to disconnect these lines, and from where should I do it? The cylinder has the easiest access, while underneath the battery tray where the hydro valve is is very, very tight. Does oil come out when the lines are disconnected? Should I drain the transmission first? I am concerned about breaking a fitting so I am reluctant to go forward. Or is it best to just leave lines alone and don't remove the hood stand?

Thanks, David

 

Hi David. I have only limited experience on hydros, but what I know is:

- removing the hydraulic lines from the cylinder will release oil

- there is a single oil reservoir that serves the transaxle, the hydro pump/motor for motion, and the hydro "charge" pump for the lift cylinder - it holds about 5 quarts - and that oil circulates throughout the hydraulic system

- the drain is a ¼" Allen screw in the bottom of the transaxle; the fill is via the dipstick tube (lots of advice here on how to handle the drain/fill process)

- the hydro is very sturdy, and there is an oil filter (again, lots of advice about timing and what to use) but it is intolerant of contamination -- if you do decide to open lines, be sure to be very careful not to let dirt or moisture in anywhere

 

I just worked through a 520 hydro and chose to work around the hoses and tubing rather than disconnect anything (even though it made the painting and some other tasks a bit harder). In my case, everything seemed to be working so I decided not to try to fix something that was not broken. I'm sure others here with more experience have less trepidation than me about this system so I hope they'll chime in! 

Edited January 18, 2021 by Handy Don

[Handy Don 12,250]

39 minutes ago, David414 said:

I am trying to remove the entire hood stand from the frame,

forgot to answer this question

The hoodstand panels labeled "312 hydro" are separate from the side rails that have the hoses passing through. You should be able to get the hoodstand off without removing the side rails. This is what they looked like removed from an '88 518-H.

You will have to disconnect the lift control body from the interior panel bracket in the hoodstand but you can do that without removing the hoses.

Edited January 18, 2021 by Handy Don

[Handy Don 12,250]

18 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

Do you have any way to measure if that's out of round? Looks pretty good from here.

 

One of our members went agressively after play in his steering and wound up lining this casting with very thin shim stock before replacing the shaft. If you do that, be sure to leave a way for the grease zerk to get grease into the shaft.

[David414 289]

20 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

forgot to answer this question

The hoodstand panels labeled "312 hydro" are separate from the side rails that have the hoses passing through. You should be able to get the hoodstand off without removing the side rails. This is what they looked like removed from an '88 518-H.

You will have to disconnect the lift control body from the interior panel bracket in the hoodstand but you can do that without removing the hoses.

My big problem is removing the two levers going thru the console, the motion control and the hydro lift. I see from the parts diagram, they have roll pins to punch out. Did you experience problems removing the pins and how was the re-assembly? Worried that I cant get them back in place. Fighting 30 years of rust, corrosion, abuse, neglect, and half ass repair jobs. It isn't easy!! LOL 

[Handy Don 12,250]

3 minutes ago, David414 said:

My big problem is removing the two levers going thru the console, the motion control and the hydro lift. I see from the parts diagram, they have roll pins to punch out. Did you experience problems removing the pins and how was the re-assembly? Worried that I cant get them back in place. Fighting 30 years of rust, corrosion, abuse, neglect, and half ass repair jobs. It isn't easy!! LOL 

Roll pins are both amazing for what they do and d****d difficult to service. Sigh.

I posted earlier on removing a roll pin on the parking brake lever. They take patience (measured in days, unfortunately) to let penetrant get in there-heat can help. Good bracing or support is critical. If it is a roll and not a Spirol, you can sometimes use a thin wire or pin drill to clean out the center hole through it and get penetrant in deeper. Once they're out, I have made sure to use a drill to carefully clean the holes and apply anti-seize sparingly with a toothpick--and they've gone back in without issue.  I usually use a C-clamp as a press after starting it by tapping with a small hammer (the steering wheel Spirol is a tougher one--that I brace and just hit in with a punch). Keep at it and you'll win!

[Damien Walker 246]

Hello David (from equally cold UK!),

 

I'm just coming to the end of the restoration of a 518H....sadly it has taken ages for various reasons. The construction is broadly similar, though slightly different, to your 300 series and my experiences are similar. To try to address each of your questions:

1. How do you remove the choke cable from the console?  I didn't. I removed the whole lever unit with the cable attached. The knob pulls straight off and the lever unit unbolts (or was it rivetted) from the dashboard.

2. Steering! It's an elegantly simple design dating from the early days of Wheelhorse and since wider tyres and larger engines have been fitted, it has become increasingly difficult to steer. Additionally, with the bare greased gears out in the open they get covered in grit. It is near impossible to clean, even with a pressure washer and they wear, eventually. For my Commando 7, I rebushed everything (yikes, it must be 30+ years ago) including putting bronze bushes where there previously were plain steel holes and she remains in fine fettle. For the 518H, I considered the 520HC geared steered but that is not easy to come by over here (though I did purchase the swept axle and spindles from the US) and so I have decided to add power steering. Unfortunately this remains untested at this time due to delays with the rest of the project and getting the engine going, but I am confident at this stage! I have included a photo of the steering unit which sits behind the engine, roughly where the open steering gears used to be. It  mounted in very easy with a flat plate welded to the sides of the lower console unit. I intend to write an article on this conversion eventually so watch this space. Steering unit is a Danfoss OPSM with Power Beyond.

 

The ram is actually off the later 520xi...someone was kindly dismantling theirs here, but a standard lift cylinder would do just as well. - see photos. I still have to create a proper track control rod - current version is M12 studding.

.

4. Trying to improve the terrible sloppy steering it has.  Flanged bearing on the lower steering shaft. Yes, complete dismantle, remove the horizontal shaft and then unbolt the bearing.

5.  I have a problem removing the sheet metal tower. I have no experience in removing the lift lever or the motion control lever. These and the steering wheel are a complete $%^&*! Much as I am a dedicated Wheelhorse lover, this is very poor for maintenance. My solution was to remove the whole assembly including the steering wheel and berate the roll pins with lump hammers and punches. A simple grub screw in the fittings into a recess in the shafts would have been a much better system. I should have re- engineering mine but (foolishly) have refitted nominally as the original.

5. I removed the steering wheel, but I don't understand how to get the steering column out of the console. See 5 above. For the top bearing, all associated with my power conversion, I simply welded a steel tube bored out to 3/4" to fit the steering column through. See photo from underneath. It's well greased!. I did this initially to keep the steering column in line whilst if fitted the Danfoss unit. It all fits well in the space available so I have left it as a simple plain steel tube - there's plenty of surface area. I think this idea would work for you...better than the original plastic bush.

6. The linkage for the motion control lever is really sloppy. My motion control was completely shot. Additionally, it interfered with the top of the Danfoss unit and so I shortened it and it is now supported in a new 3D printed bearing bolted to the battery floor. All the ball joints were fine in my case and just needed properly reassembling....the arm on the control yoke is not strong (I have another that the weld has broken on, so you might take the opportunity to strengthen this is you feel it wise.

7. There is a handle on the shift cover plate, that when pulled back and up, disengages the transmission when cold starting. They do jump about a lot (does on my C175) but the last tractors didn't have them fitted and my 518H doesn't have it. I think you are supposed to 'de-clutch' for starting and also when left for a while. Clearly they decided it wasn't really necessary. You could remove this and just leave it as a spring tensioned idler. A quick look at the relevant parts manuals would illustrate the differences (sorry I don't have a copy!)

8. How to remove the PTO clutch lever? I can see a cotter pin but don't have access to remove it?  Similar to the access (not) available for the roll pins in the motion control and lift levers....I just dismantled everything around it and then extracted the cotter pin with a big pair of pliers.

 

On your hydro concerns, I think it best to drain the system and dismantle - it's all fairly trivial stuff. If you do this, it's best to fit blanking plugs into the cylinder and onto the pipe fittings to stop the ingress of dirt. Access to the valve can be difficult, so again, I dismantled as much from around it as possible, disconnected the hoses and the cylinder end and removed the valve with the hoses intact. Not an easy machine to work on.

 

On the sloppy steering, as mentioned on my Commando7, I just bushed everything, mostly with bronze oillite bearings which meant boring out to a larger size...well worth doing. I even fitted a bearing tube complete with bronze bushes for the clutch cross shaft. They weren't cheap machines but they did do a number of things rather cheaply. If it looks as though it should have a bearing and it doesn't, I'd fit one!

 

Final power steering ram photo to follow.

 

Good luck.

[Damien Walker 246]

Second power steering ram photo.....hmm, it's not allowing me to upload as I've breached the 16Mb limit...I'll try again later.

[Damien Walker 246]

Photo of my power steering ram from the right hand side