The Free Quasi 16HP 169

JohnShaft · #1 09-17-2010, 03:16 PM

It's long but bear with me.

Well, I've spent parts of the last few days working on the 169 that my friend gave me.

One of the reasons it was free was that he was mowing with it and it 'seized up'.

Upon removing the hood and side panels it appears that what happened was that he must have kicked up some debris that bent the screen cover of the (on a car) would be the flywheel. It then came loose from a couple of the attaching screws, pieces of it flew out, and severed the wiring harness inside the frame on the right side. So the engine both physically and electrically stopped working.

I've picked out all the pieces of expanded metal and properly repaired the harness, replacing the missing battery while I was at it.

The tractor now cranks like it should.

It appears that the shorting of the ignition wire must have damaged the condenser as it just has a really weak yellow spark. The coil check out ok but has a cracked top so I'm replacing points, condenser, and coil just so everything is ready to go.

Napa should have my parts in about 3 pm this afternoon. I used all the Napa parts cross reference info y'all had posted here to order the parts. So for slightly less than $40, it should be ready to run.

The tractor ran well before the breakage so I don't see any reason it shouldn't happily run after the ignition tune up but we'll see.

Now to the 'quasi' portion of the show:

While I was stripping it down for these repairs, it became clear that the tractor had been 'refurbished' at some point in it's life. Hour meter painted over, engine label painted over, lots of brush marks in the top coat of the engine and some on the frame, etc.

Then, while cleaning the engine with some gunk and a hose, I noticed what looked like a '10' or '16' magic markered on the rear shield. AFTER it was clean, I noticed that someone had badly engraved another '10' on the rear engine cover. AND it appears (under the brushed on yellow paint) that this engine was probably originally a red colour.

To my untrained eye, it appears that someone changed the engine for a newer but smaller one sometime in history.

Does this sound logical to you guys as well? While this will be a working tractor, I have to admit that I was looking forward to putting all 16 horses to work. Is there anything I can check to make absolutely sure of my assumptions?

And if it's not the correct engine, what are my options?

From all I've gathered from reading the board so far, everything else appears to be appropriate to a 1974 169. It has the hydro kit on it and it looks roughly the same age as everything but the engine, it has the 169 style air cleaner assembly, etc.

Additionally, are there any things that you folks just automatically do to these tractors when you get them/fix them up? Dependability mods? Ease of use mods?

This will be used mainly for mowing a small acreage and already has a mower deck and 'the thing that holds it on'. (What is that called btw? lol)

But it would also be really handy to use it for spreading dirt for drainage leveling. Any suggestions for attachments or mods?

If we could use it for mowing, spreading dirt, and as a small loader that would be great. But I don't really know much about what is needed equipment-wise.

I'm a decent fabricator and this is definitely getting done on a budget so just heading out and buying new attachments is probably out of the question from the prices I've seen. But buying used might be do-able if I can get a fair deal.

Thanks for reading and feel free to dump as much info on me as you want.

_DX3_ · #2 09-17-2010, 04:42 PM

The only way I can think of to truly know what engine you have is to pull the head and measure the bore.
16hp = 3.75 inches
14hp = 3.50
12hp = 3.38
10hp = 3.25

It wouldn't hurt to take the head off anyway and clean up any carbon buildup and true up the head with sandpaper and a piece of glass.

CMA's129 · #3 09-17-2010, 05:23 PM

The thing the deck attaches to is called the Mule drive. I think the 10HP engine had a flat oil pan. The larger ones had the deep sump that sicks down below the frame. I might be wrong?
You've got yourself a great tractor there, But there is not to many new attachments you can buy to fit it. Just be patient and you'll find every thing you need at the right price used or with a whole other old cub with attachments thats how it all starts. have fun!

darkminion_17 · #4 09-17-2010, 10:31 PM

The 16 hp motors have 10 bolts for the head.the 10,12,14 have 9.

JohnShaft · #5 09-19-2010, 03:18 PM

Thanks for all the info!

Mule drive - gotcha. Heck, now I'm almost gonna sound like a I know what I'm talkin' about.

If it'll stop raining on me, I'll make sure the tune up worked as it should and count some head bolts.

And as soon as I can find someone who actually admits to selling factory Kohler parts around here and can get a new head gasket, I'll get the head off to clean and flatten it.

I read the head cleaning tutorial and couldn't believe what a dim bulb I've been all these years not thinking of using an old piece of glass or mirror for truing up surfaces. That's a great idea!

Oh, and did I read something somewhere about chamfering or countersinking the spark plug opening?

JohnShaft · #6 09-20-2010, 04:14 PM

Some pieces of good news for those watching my beginner tractor experience:

The ignition tune up was a success. The tractor will now start and run on starting fluid.

Sadly, the carb sat long enough that it wouldn't provide fuel on it's own so it's in the carb cleaner bucket as we speak.

Everything inside was good but kinda dirty except the needle and the rubber is separated from the body; so I'm hunting around town for a needle kit or, if not, a carb kit.

While I was there I popped the cover off the top of the head and BEHOLD: There were ten head bolts!

I don't know why someone marked it (twice?!) as a 10HP but it's a big relief that they were wrong. lol

I still can't figure out why it looks like it was red before someone brush painted it yellow. Any wild ideas? Or maybe someone in the '70s just felt creative and the next owner corrected it.

JohnShaft · #7 09-20-2010, 04:15 PM

Oh, and another quick question:

Why the heck is there a little white plastic fan mounted on the driveshaft?

It's worked it's way all the way back to the rag joint so I'm assuming it used to be somewhere else.

bsyphrit · #8 09-20-2010, 04:44 PM

that fan is there to cool the hydro unit and should be near to it

ljones · #9 09-20-2010, 06:08 PM

Like bsyphrit said it is there to cool the hydro, it is supossed to be all the way to the rag joint.

JohnShaft · #10 09-21-2010, 11:11 AM

Ok, that makes sense. Mine seems to have worked its way backwards and caught itself in the bolts for the rag joint, breaking off a couple of blades. Looks like it's time for a replacement.

On the good news front:

After the ignition tune up and rebuilding the carb (Thanks to Matt G. for the tutorial!) she is up and running like a champ!

I even took her for a couple of hot laps around the yard. Yeeha!

Now I have to delve into some hydro drive research because I only seem to have about 1/16th inch of 'Neutral' setting between Forward and Reverse.

It'll probably help when I learn how to drive it properly as well. lol

Now that it's running, I'm assuming these small engines are kinda like air cooled motorcycles where it is better to run them a little bit rich to minimize overheating?