“Ol’ Red” 1979 Wheel Horse C-81

Well I fired up the Kohler today to test out the clutch.  I heard a funny noise coming from the starter gear so that's another thing on the to-do list.  

Anyway the clutch experiment was a great success.  Function was great and there is still room for the tensioner to travel more once I improve the spring situation to pull the belt tighter.  Two big issues I need to sort out now is to find a 4" flat idler with a nice wide flange so the belt doesn't come off and I could put on a simple keeper.  Plus at the end of the day this all needs to fit under that factory belt guard and the floorboard needs to go back where it is supposed to go.  

Things I need to acquire for toolkit:
-a cheap made in taiwan 9/16 wrench
-assorted nuts and bolts(I have some in stock)
-a cheap test light
-foot operated tire pump

Things I need to fix before next ride:

-funny noise coming from starter when it disengages (clean and inspect)
-clean out right front tire bead, a lot of mud got in there when I popped the bead
-motors idles and runs at full throttle great but engine dies when I quickly let off gas pedal and push in clutch, maybe I'm running a little rich

Mods I'm dreaming about:

-trans to frame bracing
-pull start
-clutch spring needs improvement
-adjustable idler pulley like creepycrawler
-dual throttle

Okay I made some more progress on my "to do" list:

Things I need to acquire for toolkit:
-a cheap made in taiwan 9/16 wrench
-assorted nuts and bolts(I have some in stock)
-a cheap test light
-foot operated tire pump

Things I need to fix before next ride:

-funny noise coming from starter when it disengages (clean and inspect)
-clean out right front tire bead, a lot of mud got in there when I popped the bead
-motors idles and runs at full throttle great but engine dies when I quickly let off gas pedal and push in clutch, maybe I'm running a little rich

Mods I'm dreaming about:

-trans to frame bracing
-pull start
-clutch spring needs improvement
-adjustable idler pulley like creepycrawler
-dual throttle

I cleaned out more mud than you would think from my right front tire bead:


I cleaned the starter bendix with some brake cleaner and then applied some fresh lithium grease.  Of course I fired up the K181 and after a short warm up the engine ran great.  I didn't hear the funny noise coming from the starter and I had some fun running a few laps around my house in the snow.

I adjusted the main jet a little lean and after the motor was warm I didn't have the issue where I let off the gas and the engine stalls, but I'm not calling that problem fixed quite just yet.

A couple low buck mods I'm thinking about working on next are making the clutch spring stronger.  The clutch pedal is really easy to push in now and building a pull start.

Looks like great progress! I hope the carb adjustment is what the DR ordered.

Well I accomplished a lot on Ol' Red today and took it for a snow romp!

Here's the factory clutch setup I was using where the spring rubs right on the brake rod for no good reason and the spring is pulling on the lever at an angle where there isn't much torque on it, hence the belt slipping I was experiencing at Tecumseh Trails.

Here is my improved version.  I made a bolt on piece to add more leverage and change the angle at which the spring pulls.  I'm using a trampoline spring I had on hand connected to a simple angle iron mount that bolts to the transaxle.


The spring pulls nice and straight and doesn't interfere with the brake rod.  

Now what about when I bolt on the rear rack.  Well I used the same hole centers as the rear rack so all I had to do was trim 1/4" off my bracket to make it work.

I picked up a new idler pulley at tractor supply to eliminate the problem of my clutch being at the very end of its travel.  CreepyCrawler gave me this idea a while back.  During initial testing a couple weeks ago I did have the belt come off the idler once.  Maybe I need a keeper somewhere.  I'm not sure.  The belt didn't come off the idler on the romp today.

I found a piece from the LT160's PTO linkage that I cut a piece out of to make a spacer.  I bolted the idler to the frame with a 1/2 bolt, aligned it with the engine and trans pullies, and had about a 1/8 inch to spare of room between the idler and the floorboard.  The bolthead is even closer.  I also made another little piece (for the third time) to effectively shorten the throw of the brake pedal because I'm a short dude.  Also a new hole to attach the side cover to the floorboard had to be drilled due to interference with the belt.

There's about a finger width of clearance between the brake rod and the idler.


The clutch pedal is a lot harder to push in now, which I'll have to get used to.  Plus the clutch pedal pulses with my foot off of it in neutral but I hear that's the norm for a modified clutch.  I had a really fun short romp in the snow in my yard to test it out.  The clutch didn't even think about slipping.

The starter is making that funny noise again.  It's not metal on metal, so I think it might be the built in slip clutch doing its thing.  A back-up pull start is coming soon.

So when the motor was under full load and I quickly push in the clutch and let off the gas, the motor stalled once.  I tried leaning the main jet out a hair.  I don't think it did anything.  I think this is just a design flaw with the carburetor.  I will try to raise the idle and tweak the mixtures to make the best of it.  AllisKidD21 recommended I pull the spark plug to check what's going on with the mixture.  The plug doesn't look good at all.  Looks like I'm running lean, with carbon buildup and oil in the threads too.  I changed it.

I've had a ton of fun pouring hours in Ol' Red again.  The paint is drying on the parts I fabbed up now.  Here's my updated to-do list.

Things I need to acquire for toolkit:
-a cheap made in taiwan 9/16 wrench
-assorted nuts and bolts(I have some in stock)
-a cheap test light
-foot operated tire pump
-spare idler pulley and bushing

Things I need to fix:
-motors idles and runs at full throttle great but engine dies when I quickly let off gas pedal and push in clutch when the engine is under full load, I need to adjust the carb to make the best of this situation.
-paint wore off on rear rack, paint with truck bed liner

Mods I'd like to do:
-trans to frame bracing
-pull start
-dual throttle

You are running rich, black carbon on plug is the effect. It's not too rich from the looks of it. If it was running lean then it would be white or tan in color. These carbs run lean at wide open throttle because the jets are set at cruising speed by the governor. If you up the governor or delete the governor then you would normally readjust the jet to the new set speed which is usually more fuel. Which means at the lower or old cruise speed would be rich while the new full throttle speed is correct in fuel/air mixture.

Very Good Looking!!!!!!!1

I like the updates looks to be upgrading a already great machine, have you considered a pz30 carb? I think it would be awesome on your tractor if you don’t mind losing your governor, would give you more power and should stop your dieing after deceleration issue https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F192663872354

@Creepycrawler Switching to a different carbuetor design is definitely the solution here, but I just spent $500 rebuilding this engine a year ago, so I don't really want to take the governor out the equation here.  If I put on that carb I would have to get a tach with one of those red lights that you can set to go off when you hit your rev limit.

I could see myself putting a carb like that on a clone motor someday.  Then I'd save this K181 for something else.

On another note, did you need to install any additional belt keepers when you put that idler pulley on the tension side of your drive belt?  I currently just have two keepers on the motor and the factory one on the clutch pulley.

I understand about the carb thing, I don’t have any keepers on mine but it’s also really widewith a nice tall lip I’d have to look through my pics to be sure but I don’t think I do

Well I got bored in the shop today.  I did some reorganizing then I figured what the heck I'll pull the hood off and start brainstorming this dual throttle.  I actually did it using the same concept @MightyRaze uses on his oppys.  I was actually messaging @Creepycrawler about a similar idea of mine, but I actually went ahead and put his concept he had drawn out.  This was extremely simple to do and it's another thing off the to-do list.  The hardest parts were extending the arm that the cable gets fastened too and drilling out the hole on the cable clamp to hold two cables.

Lovin it... When you get the opportunity, you should set the dash to quarter throttle and see if it does the stall on taking to foot off.  Or..... is that what you were doing in the video?  It kind of appeared to be doing that.

@MightyRaze In order to perform that test the engine needs to be under a heavy load.  Hard to take this thing on a romp right now with 20" on the ground.  However did you notice in the video how I almost stalled it?  I think adjusting the choke and the dash throttle saved it there.  Usually I stall it once or twice during a cold start.  The three Kohlers I have around like to be started with some throttle.

Here's my updated to-do list:

Things I need to acquire for toolkit:
-a cheap made in taiwan 9/16 wrench
-assorted nuts and bolts(I have some in stock)
-a cheap test light
-foot operated tire pump
-spare idler pulley and bushing
-spare clutch spring (trampoline spring)

Things I need to fix:
-motors idles and runs at full throttle great but engine dies when I quickly let off gas pedal and push in clutch when the engine is under full load, I need to adjust the carb to make the best of this situation.
-paint wore off on rear rack, paint with truck bed liner
-paint exhaust with black stove paint
-dial in dual throttle set up

Mods I'd like to do:
-trans to frame bracing
-pull start
-replace ammeter with 2" tachometer

I did notice. It seemed to almost go down to nothing there. I also noticed the governor hunting on the foot off the gas petal.

That's really Cool!!!

I would check the timing/points. If the timing is too low then it would stall after load when coming down to idle. I would add 1 degree or 2 just to see if it makes a difference. When driving it and you don't feel the power stroke hit or is running real smooth under acceleration , then the timing is usually low. You should feel the power stoke hit gentle and strong but not like a sledge hammer, when accelerating. The hitting hard like a sledge hammer on acceleration (ofcourse) is detonation (too much timing). The couple of degrees of timing changes the vacuum in the manifold and makes a world of difference in carb tuning. That's an old motor, points? Check the gap, if the gap is right, then close the gap a couple thousands (I think) to add 1 or 2 degrees of timing to the motor (this makes the points open sooner and adds a little advance in timing). Or if it is the whole points assembly with bolts and slots, then shift it some to add some timing. If it is upgraded to a points-less coil, then the hold down bolt holes need to be slotted sideways to shift coil to the side to add timing.

I usually go back and forth a couple times on tuning the carburetor and timing to get the right combo to work, since they go hand in hand. In the video and reading your posts, I see the signs of it. Like the spark plug showing it's running slightly rich, low timing would not give it a chance to burn completely and clean the cylinder. The stalling when coming down to idle from a load, low timing would cause the vacuum signal in the manifold to drop to where it would not pick up gas from the carb and then stall. And the video of it starting, when the engine catches it doesn't speed up and then slow down on it's own, it just catches spinning slow and stabilizes by speeding up. Adjusting the carb with no effect, probably from a low vacuum signal. I would think you went over everything like a million times and didn't find anything wrong too.

Just a thought, I could be wrong though. Oh, the noise on startup means there is a bushing chattering somewhere on a shaft and needs greased.

@prancstaman I just had the starter out to grease the bendix.  I did not take the starter apart because I couldn't get the nut off the end of the shaft.  I didn't want to get aggressive with it for fear of wrecking my starter.  That's a good point though.  Could be a dry bushing inside.  It felt good when I turned it by hand, but the bushings could be dry.

So the engine shop set the points and I have never had the cover off since I've had it.  That's a good thing to check.  They put new ones in it.  I should have at least checked them.  I usually adjust them with a feeler gauge but there is a way to do it looking at the timing mark on the flywheel too.  I'm going to check that soon.

It's good to have such a knowledgeable person in the forums.  Seem to learn something all the time.

Well I checked out the points and spark plug gap.  They were very close to spec.  I took a look at the manual for the K181 and realized that I'm the idiot who skimmed through the manual and didn't see that the settings for the Kohler carb vs. the Walbro carb that I have are very different.

Here's the specs I was using:


Here are the correct specs for my Walbro carb:


No wonder I was running so rich.  The Kohler purrs like a kitten now and the throttle response is so much better.  I even have it on video.

@MightyRaze You're right about using the dash throttle as a cruise control.  Works great for cruising up and down my street.  I love it.

Excellent!  Glad you figured that out.  Those specs are pretty different!  I like how responsive the throttle is now!  I also realize before when I was asking if the foot throttle was returning right was just the governor compensating.  Now it runs nice.  I bet that ole K181 has a bit more power now that the governor isn't trying to compensate.

This morning I hardwired in a harness for a battery tender.  This tractor sits for long periods of time so this is a good idea.

I've recently acquired a lot of goodies to finish off my to-do list:

OEM style ignition switch, truck bed coating for the rear rack, high heat paint for the exhaust, a pulley for the pull start, and a test light for the tool kit

I'm doing some research and I've just about found a tach that can work and I have a design in my head for the trans/frame bracing

Here's my updated to-do list:

Things I need to acquire for toolkit:
-a cheap made in taiwan 9/16 wrench
-assorted nuts and bolts(I have some in stock)
-foot operated tire pump
-spare idler pulley and bushing
-spare clutch spring (trampoline spring)

Things I need to fix:
-paint wore off on rear rack, paint with truck bed liner
-paint exhaust with black stove paint
-paint bracket for dual throttle
-replace key switch with OEM style switch

Mods I'd like to do:
-trans to frame bracing
-pull start
-replace ammeter with 2" tachometer
-***NEW***a spare unlocked 8 speed trans that I can put in for general use so I can use the tractor for work and not tear up mine or my friend's lawns

Do you park this rig in the light during the day? Maybe a solar powered battery tender. Harbor freight sells them for under $30 I think. I'm trying to make one for the past couple years. Got everything soldered together, just need to take it outside to see what the voltage will be in the sunlight.

My dad has a pretty cool solar system on his pole barn at his farm, but if I kept this in a remote shed somewhere I'd strongly consider one of those solar battery maintainers.  I keep Old Red in my garage so I'm not worried about that now.

So after doing some research on WheelHorseForum I have found this tach https://www.ebay.com/itm/131996046818 which uses one of the AC wires coming from the stator for the tach signal.  You can calibrate the unit too.  I couldn't resist at that $40 price so I ordered it.

Thats pretty cool man, I never seen one that looks period/factory correct like that one

Thanks for sharing that tach Carl. Now I want to buy one. Or maybe 2.

Well the exciting new tach has been shipped!

Yesterday I re-wired the tractor for the third time and installed an OEM style key switch.  I also removed my ammeter and planned how I'm going to wire the tach up.  It's pretty easy most of the wires I need are right next door on the voltmeter and I just need to run a signal wire to the regulator.  I also labeled the wires this time around to make troubleshooting down the road quicker and easier.

Ooo, looks pretty clean and neat up in there, and those labels are a good call too. Nice job Carl!