Nj minds think alike!
 

Steve, you sound like me with my 24 yr old Craftsman. On my second deck. Fixed this, fixed that, then just ordered a new one last fall. Replaced the smoking engine with a used one 5 years ago. It took a shit! Went to PowerEquipmentDirect and bought a Briggs & Stratton Professional Series™ 540cc 19 Gross HP OHV. Just replaced the transaxle too. Duct tape here, epoxy there and even added a 12v headlight, horn and LED tail light.

I’m going to have it at my funeral service!
Jersey Jeff

Planned-Demic

You got a horn and tail lights? Are you making beer runs when the wife is away????

(I'm jealous now)

Steve,
Funny that I would run across this article. About 6 years ago I bought this 216 from the mid '80s. Single cylinder, old tech but I love the "variactor" Variable speed drive in any gear. This is right after I bought it before any cleaning or maintenance. Since then, new tires and rear wheels, several belts and fluid changes. It does the job very nicely.
I'm told by the tractor-pull guys that the Kohler 16hp is the favorite engine for that hobby.
Verne
Attachment 166838

Nice old tractor Verne!

Yesterday I decided to be nice and ordered some new rear tires for the old 185. Only I have come to learn that this series of tractors is cursed with a tendency to weld their rear rims to the axles after 31 years or so of use. I removed the snap ring, fully expecting the wheels to slide right off like the manual says...yeah right. This is the reason they went to bolt on wheels on the more recent tractors.

And of course there is no ledge or collar to attach a gear puller too. Most people try a torch on the back side of the wheel hub but that rarely works and damages the transaxle seals. Other method is drilling two holes in the rim face and using a harmonic balance puller with the bolts through those holes. That rarely works, too. And if you hammer too much on the rim face or axle you can pop the internal snap ring off inside the case, requiring the entire transaxle to be rebuilt. Another method is to weld a short collar onto the rim hub and then try to use a gear puller. Not very effective either. It seems the consensus from owners is disassembling the transaxle, pulling the axles, and then using a hydraulic press to press to axles out.

So my only choice is to see if my lawnmower guy can dismount and mount the new tires while they are still on the tractor.

Here's a photo of me doing my biblical Samson imitation while my wife Delilah laughs in the background. No, this didn't work either, and the Temple of John Deere is still on four wheels.

Yikes! That can't be fun. My rear tires were filled with Calcium Chloride to make them heavy (for plowing, I guess). Of course, that stuff rusted the rims and the tires wouldn't hold air very long. I bought a set of mounted tires/wheels and the swap was easy. That was a couple years ago. Just last week I mounted new front tires. Each front wheel is held on by one snap ring (no keyway), just two roller bearings pressed into each wheel.


I guess you've found the JD Tractor forum. Those guys have helped me with several maintenance issues. I'm still having a problem getting the parking brake to hold. If I need to get off it on a hill, I have to shut it off and put it in gear or it'll roll away.


Verne

Whats the JD forum address?

I called the service dept at the local JD dealer this morning. He laughed and said they do this all the time. (replacing tires while the rim is permanently attached to the tractor). They charge $89 an hour and have to slice the old wheel off to do it.

He's booked up for two weeks though. So I aired the tires back up and Ill wait til the new tires show up in a day or two. Got them from walmart.com for $54 each. Cheapest place around for the specific Carlisle Turf Master 18x8.5-8 tires it uses. JD sells them for $75 each.

This is the one I use.


http://gardentractortalk.com/forums/...tractor-forum/


Verne

With the kids home from school, my senior and I are making the push to knock out his Corvette before he heads off to the Coast Guard Academy in July. Should have it on the road next week!

Great way to get quality time with him before he's on his own.

Blair

Congratulations to your son heading off to the Coast Guard Academy. That's awesome.