C175 project "Amy"

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

So yesterday I picked-up a C175. She was rusting away as she was stored outside. She had a new to her Kohler K341. @squonk The previous owner indeed better had"LET AN ELECTRICIAN      CHECK his  SHORTS!"  as bad wiring shorted the battery out, and exploded/melted. She has a Sundstrand hydro pump with a Filter, is that normal? By the pump I believe it's a 1980. But you never now for sure as it's made in Oevel. Due to the bad wiring, the engine was in no running condition. But don't think the K341 has many hours on it. The hydro I don't know if it works. She was hard to push. So i lift up one wheel, so we could roll here one one wheel and the diff prevented the trans from locking up.

So first things to do:

1) get the engine running

2) replace the steering wheel, but don't think removing it will be very hard as it's already split in two.

3) replace the axleseals, the oil leak caused a lot of sandbuild up as she was mainly used on for leveling out a horse track.

4) clean all the acid and remove all the old wiring to do a full rewiring

5) replace the plastic seat pan with a metal.

6)...

 

I'm looking forward on my first C. 

It's also my first hydro, I don't know a lot about them and prefer actual gears. Simpler and need less maintenance (parts-shortage). 

But since I couldn't find another project WH and me hearing a lot of good things about hydro's  on the forum..  I finally took the shot.  

Edited May 22, 2021 by Maxwell-8

[squonk 40,950]

Sunstrand with a filter should make it a piston- piston version. Make sure you use correct filter. Wix 51410 or Napa1410 or equivalent. 

 

Letting the genie out of the wiring is the quickest way to find the bad spot! 

[WHX?? 48,642]

Looks pretty rough Max but we've seen guy's start off with much worse. Yes pull that fender pan off & get the crud cleaned off around the transmission. After her bath pull the drain plug and filter as Mike suggested. 

[Handy Don 12,052]

16 minutes ago, Maxwell-8 said:

But since i couldn't find another project WH and me hearing a lot of good things here on the forum..  I finally took the shot.  

Looks like you have your work cut out for you on this one to overcome the rust, abuse, and neglect. As long as the important bits are sound (engine, transmission, steering, etc.) I'm sure you will get a satisfying result. Wishing you the best of luck!

[SylvanLakeWH 25,426]

Love the Black Hoods!!! 

 

Looking forward to your progress…!

[roadapples 6,983]

Did you see a sundstrand tag? I thought these had Eaton 1100. Where's the filter?

[bds1984 1,428]

As longs as the engine is free, she'll run.  My C165 was in similar if not worse shape when I decided to give her a refresh almost 7 years ago.  The K341/M16 is one of the best engines Wheel Horse used (best single cylinder)!  

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

On 5/21/2021 at 11:02 PM, roadapples said:

Did you see a sundstrand tag? I thought these had Eaton 1100. Where's the filter?

I saw the sundstrand tag on it, And if tractordata is correct they used the sundstrand in the 1980 year. The filter is right below the pump on the transaxle.

I didn't knew that sundstrands came with filters, thought only the eatons 1100 came with it. But it's built in Belgium so anything is possible as they build Wheel Horses with the parts they got from the US, and that could vary from time to time. 

Edited May 25, 2021 by Maxwell-8

[WheelhorseBob 1,549]

Sundstrand shave filters, both of my c161’s have filters. 1978 and 1979 vintage. Good luck I’ll follow along!

[pfrederi 17,617]

Sunstrand Filter on the right side Eaton Left Rear...

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

16 minutes ago, pfrederi said:

Sunstrand Filter on the right side Eaton Left Rear...

Yep, on the front right side. a Pretty big filter (for European standards )

[Damien Walker 246]

Hello, I have a C175 (Eaton) which I rebuilt many years ago from scrap yard condition and it was pretty much in the same state as yours. After many hours of hard work, it is probably already time for a respray! I'm sure yours will smarten up just fine. The original Kohler 17HP twin had thrown a rod, smashing a hole in the crankcase and whilst I did manage to repair it, welding the crankcase was very difficult and I never quite solved the cracking on cooling issue. The consequence was that it had a permanent oil leak. I eventually replaced the engine with an M17 which has given excellent service (other than throwing the generator magnets off the flywheel).

 

Your biggest problem will be the plastic rear fender and it would probably be best to fit a steel one from either an earlier C series or from a 3,4,500 model. I did take a mould from mine but I am not confident I could finish this off and produce fibre glass copies from it..let me know if you are interested though and I could have a look at it.

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

10 minutes ago, Damien Walker said:

Hello, I have a C175 (Eaton) which I rebuilt many years ago from scrap yard condition and it was pretty much in the same state as yours. After many hours of hard work, it is probably already time for a respray! I'm sure yours will smarten up just fine. The original Kohler 17HP twin had thrown a rod, smashing a hole in the crankcase and whilst I did manage to repair it, welding the crankcase was very difficult and I never quite solved the cracking on cooling issue. The consequence was that it had a permanent oil leak. I eventually replaced the engine with an M17 which has given excellent service (other than throwing the generator magnets off the flywheel).

 

Your biggest problem will be the plastic rear fender and it would probably be best to fit a steel one from either an earlier C series or from a 3,4,500 model. I did take a mould from mine but I am not confident I could finish this off and produce fibre glass copies from it..let me know if you are interested though and I could have a look at it.

Bought me a parts Wheel Horse 300 sereis half a year ago,  so I have a steel fender for it. Would be a cool idea, remaking them with fiber glass, heck I may try it myself as we do have some experiences on boats.

Edited May 23, 2021 by Maxwell-8

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

Any tips on cleaning up the acid? Or just yank all the old cables out and power-wash the crap out of it.

[Damien Walker 246]

Power washing should do the trick but any problem will be in the joints between panels so probably best to strip down. A thorough soaking in washing soda (ie a mild alkali) would neutralise any acid too. Though mild, washing soda is probably not good for the new paint soagain a thorough power wash would be necessary. Bon chance!

[Pullstart 62,653]

As Damien mentioned, you should find a way to neutralize the acid 

[953 nut 54,880]

On 5/21/2021 at 8:45 AM, Maxwell-8 said:

remove all the old wiring to do a full rewiring

          Looks like anything reused would end up giving you trouble in the future.

[Damien Walker 246]

34 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

          Looks like anything reused would end up giving you trouble in the future.

 

Yes, anything that has suffered water or acid attack might turn out to be a reliability hazard. My C121 is still on it's original wiring but it has been dry stored for the last twenty years or so. My 518H however was badly neglected by the po and took a lot of effort to resolve. It suffered corroded and broken connectors, a malfunctioning ignition switch and rusted up microswitches all due to water ingress. If in doubt, replace!

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

Got 'Amy' on an dolly so I can move her around the shop. because that hydro is impossible to push around. 

 

So I took her outside to deal with the battery acid.  Got some soda crystals in hot water to neutralize the acid  and after that I power-washed the crap out of it.

 

Edited May 25, 2021 by Maxwell-8

[WHX?? 48,642]

40 minutes ago, Maxwell-8 said:

hydro is impossible to push around

Should be a tow valve on it. 

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

I took out all the old wiring and sprayed some starting fluid just to see if the K341 would fire up.

 

Let me tell you, we Europeans are not used to such a big displacement per cylinder. She fired right up and for the spilt second she fired, it sounded awesome! 

Kohler baby!   

 

[WHX?? 48,642]

Be careful with the sniffing salts  not too much. It can wash the cylinder walls. Instructions to open the tow valve are on the sticker in the lower right of the pic. Good luck reading it tho. Heck of place for a sticker that gets rubbed off! 

[Maxwell-8 4,275]

17 minutes ago, WHX24 said:

It can wash the cylinder walls.

I know, but thanks for the reminder, would naphtha be better?

 

18 minutes ago, WHX24 said:

Instructions to open the tow valve are on the sticker in the lower right of the pic. Good luck reading it tho. Heck of place for a sticker that gets rubbed off! 

Haha, indeed, can't read a thing on it.

[WHX?? 48,642]

4 minutes ago, Maxwell-8 said:

I know, but thanks for the reminder, would naphtha be better?

I got chastised once for trying to get a motor running on it but have since just switched  to carb & choke cleaner to get those fuel pumps primed. 

[oliver2-44 9,601]

7 hours ago, Maxwell-8 said:

I know, but thanks for the reminder, would naphtha be better

I just use gas in a hand pump oil can