They are all pretty much the same anymore. At least the ones you buy at the big box stores. Troy-Bilt, Craftsman, John Deere all the same junk they sell in different colors.
@@MrClarkisgod craftsman, Murry, Husqvarna (the cheapest one) , poulan and a few other are all the same tractor MN ade by mtd. John deere are still made by John deere as far as I know they're just not good anymore unless you spend $6000 or more. Troy built are just junk you can get 3 maybe 4 years out of one
@@danbartolini27 Stanley is taking over MTD so maybe they'll improve. Right now I wouldn't recommend anything they make. Some of the bigger names they purchased and now make are Yard-Man, Cub Cadet, Bolens, Garden Way, Murry, Troy-Bilt, and White Outdoor. They also do some manufacturing for Deere, Craftsman, and Toro. Personally I wouldn't buy any of them, and I recommend the better Husqvarna models, who also make the better Poulan Pro and Craftsman models.
I learned to check across a glass fuse with a meter in the most embarrassing way! I was fleet maintenance manager for a trucking firm. Bought an old Toyota wagon to run errands with and it stopped dead one day. I could not figure out what was wrong. Called a Toyota mechanic friend because I thought it was in the electronic ignition. He came to my house and replace a fuse! It failed at the end inside the metal cap end where you couldn't see it. He never let me forget it whenever he had the chance and I most certainly will never forget!!
The 318 was a legend because it had to be to save face. It was a fully new design from the ground up. Many purchasers of the 317 it replaced were burned by failures with the Kohler KT17 opposed twin engine that damaged Deere and Kohler's reputations. Onan was making retrofit kits for 317's as it took a while for Kohler to fix the KT's oiling issues, and Deere was impressed enough with the Onan engine that they used it for the new 318 and scored a huge win.
317 came with a onan in theblatter yours cuz the kohler 317 would burn up the one cyclender on hills.. u could get both tractors at the time but i would a 140 over bothvany day of the week .
I helped my stepdad put a Honda in his 318 a couple of months ago. It's fuel injected get twice the gas mileage and 30 to 40 percent more power. He loves it.
My parents took care of a small cemetery in the town I grew up in. I clearly remember them buying a brand new 316 in 1985. It replaced a tired 140. I remember it costing $5k. It was a ton of money back then for a garden tractor I thought. I spent a lot of hours on this tractor. Fell in love with them. When I bought my first house, I bought an older 316 from a friend of mine . This was around the year 2000. It was a low hour 1987 model. It only 300 hours. It’s former life was with the city, and didn’t see much use. I used it for years until I moved , which the new yard only required a push mower. The 316 was basically a stripped down 318. The guy I sold it to still uses it to this day. It had a snow thrower as well. Damn cool tractors. Wish I still had it!
Glass fuses fail open at the caps when they age. Taught me to always check them with a meter. The owner had to go nuts with how well you repaired his machine !!
Can't believe you filed the points with a points file and then pulled something thru them to remove the filings, just like they taught us in automotive school back in 70's. Your range of knowledge never ceases to amaze me. Small engines to army trucks. Great videos!!!
Guy I worked with (he recently retired) found 3M 1400 grit diamond paper. We use it on contacts for relays, safety and door circuits on elevators. We call it magic paper. It's about 7/8" wide and comes in rolls around 100' I think. Stuff is money. Doesn't take the silver off the contacts, just polishes the carbon right off. Or we use a dollar bill. Works like a champ.
Actually Wes, re powers are quite common in the 318 community. That is part of the beauty of this machine. It is so overbuilt, and lasts so long, that it is actually worth re powering VS the pieces of crap they sell now days.
@@jdraupp search before it will be cheaper than waiting till you must have it We put a Onan 20hp we got almost new out of a JD 420 It was very cheap and we ended up eventually needing it
My 83' 318 has been repowered with a Honda 20hp. Came from a landscape outfit that killed the onan. I'm personally not a fan of Onan engines anyway and was pleased it had the honda in it
"Not as roomy as you might think." Are you crazy, Wes? The JD Army, 318 Division is coming for you. I mean, I know you tried to recover with the "gonna be hard to let this one go back home" remark, but it's not enough. It's been fun watching your videos.
I have 2 of those. One I put a Kohler CH20 in for mowing. The other I was lucky enough to find a NOS shortblock for. Good to see this one will keep its original engine. There's something special about the sound of the Onan. They are legendary tractors for sure. From a time when engineering was simple and the quality was high.
The special sound of the Onan is the suck of the money leaving my pocket. If it's running it devours fuel and if it isn't the prices for parts are insane. One of mine has a Kohler in it as well and the amount of fuel difference between the two of them is insane.
@@ryanslaback9418, now you can understand why so many motorhomes use Onan generators. Very reliable but expensive to operate for any length of time. The one we used to have on our old motor home would really pull the tanks down if we had to boondock for any length of time without shore power.
An Onan legend? Junk from the start. Glued together intake manifolds. Pull the engine to change fuel pump on some models. Why do yo think Cummins stopped making them? And if you think it was EPA, nice try. Boat anchor was the real reason. Want a good tractor, put a Honda V twin in it. Now you have the tractor you hoped Deere would have built in the first place. Can't even get a fuel pump for many of the older Ohno Onans.
I had 2 of the 318's little brother, the 212, all manual, no hydraulics, 12 HP Kholer, 4 speed manual transmission with a granny low! Had the front snow blower attachment, with the wheel weights and tire chains, and was it's only job, in its later years, and still is to this day! Was passed down through the family, and still blows snow when needed! Great little garden tractors!
My dad bought a 10 year old one of these at the time over 20 years ago from a neighbor who was upgrading to a bigger model. They both paid $5,000. Since then, neighbor guy has been thru 3 more ‘tractors’ and , still to this day, look forward to cutting my parents grass every time I visit! This thing has run like a top for close to 40 years!
I just Love those old 300 series John Deere’s! Back in the day, a long time ago in the land before time 🤣, I mowed our neighbors with his 316! I was about 7 yrs old snd that seemed like a big tractor to me! It was fun for me at that age!!
Wes I split the brake pedals to 1 on each side then added a rocking pedal for forward and reverse and kept the hand control . Much easier to drive. Then I made a front loader and a backhoe with stabilizers. I put hyd pump in the front for direct drive from the crank, A great mini yard earth moving machine.
That John Deere starter sound hasn’t changed in a long time. My dad bought a Deere garden tractor in the late 90s. I still remember the sound of the starter.
That's a pretty sweet little unit. Looks like it has been looked after really well over the years all things considered. I wonder if the owner checked that fuse, saw that it looked good, like you did, and figured that couldn't be the issue. I probably would have made the same mistake.
@@HouseCallAutoRepair i keep a little multimeter and a standard test light these days as well even though i'm no mechanic. But now thanks to this video i'm never going to trust a fuse again even if it passes a visual, lol.
Even without a test light I would have tried a second fuse before I called the mechanic. Takes a couple of minutes and saves a lot of trouble. Of course then I would have been stumped on why it wouldn't go into reverse so there is that...
It is amazing at the number of times over my decades as an electronics tech that I've run across fuses that looked good but had opened right next to the end cap. The stranger ones are those that had the end cap actually come loose but not enough to come off. Good catch!
If I had a nickel for every time a glass fuse lied to me…… This has happened with brand new ones, have to always check them under load. My father had a 317 at one point. The options you could get for them was crazy.
@@WatchWesWork having boarded horses out in Southern California, I can attest to horse ownership is right up there with owning a plane and boat. I'll take a tractor any day, Ford 545 :)
When I was a nerdy little kid I hung out in the small engine repair shop. Their bread and butter was early 90’s simplicity’s with $5k+ price tags. 25 years later I have 2 25 year old tractors that buzz around my yard
Ayy up Wes,The dog will be a happy one sniffing out all those mice,And I am so glad that the purists haven’t tarred and feathered you over the engine swap. They used to make John Deere Tractors about 25 miles from where I live in Doncaster England.And a great short vlog.I hope you and your family stay safe
Seen ya in SMA live stream the other night that's cool he wants to talk and help you out !!! Love his channel class act for sure . You have a great channel as well . Keep it up 👍
Went there and realized that I have looked at his videos many times. Actually have used them to get my vehicles repaired. You knocked code readers, you simply cannot do that. Wes has proved it many times. A mechanic must work with code readers or he's just not gonna be able to fix many problems in any car built after OBD came out.
@@garys9694 sorry you misunderstand me. There are too many so-called mechanics that read a code and immediately swap out the part the code refers to rather than do due diligence and prove the part is faulty before replacing it.
Those 318s are sweet little tractors, I bet she'd run circles around anything built in the last 20 years. And don't worry about the check valve o-ring...I'm pretty sure it's a universal shop rule that no matter how many o-ring kits you have for hydraulic jobs, you never have all of the right ones. Ever.
I could listen to that Onan run all day. I have owned several of these and they are an awesome machine. I’m glad you caught onto the reverse issue, I knew exactly what was up.
Those fuses will sometimes burn-out under the silver caps, and you can't see them, I figured a old-timer like yourself would know that Wes, lol, thanks for sharing.
Nice video; great change of pace. Shows the extensiveness of your knowledge - from rebuilding an old Cat and fixing an old Mack to putting the run back in a Deere. Shop floor looks mighty clean.
Oh man! When you rounded the corner heading toward the corn field I just new the GREEN bug had bitten you and that you were going to go show that yellow Challenger what a real Garden TRACTOR could do with that grain cart! Whew.....got to be careful of those Green Bugs and ego! 🤠
I had a small GMA glass fuse throwing an intermittent problem one time. You could measure voltage throughout the circuit, but it would flake out. I finally opened the fuseholder to do other diagnostic checks, then the end cap fell off of the fuse! Element was not connected on one end. Slide the cap back on you had continuity, it just couldn't supply current. That was a weird one!
And the UA-cam Emmy for best use of the word 'pilloried' goes to... Love the content. Misbehaving diesels or John Deere lawnmowers. Always good stuff to be found here.
We have an abundance of flies as well, but not so many JD 318s-we used ours until she would no longer operate. I have no idea how many hours it had on it when it was retired, but we sold it for parts after it sat in the barn ten years (implements too) and recouped more than half of our original purchase price. Great job tuning her up! ✌🏻🔧❤️
they are worried they might lose it if it storms, its cut it now or lose it later. It looks like the green stuff is mostly on the edges of the field where the field stays wetter when it rains.
Nice job fixing the mower! I'm glad you diagnosed the issue before I was able to comment that "somebody probably use dielectric grease on there and it's blocking the flow of electricity"
I used to run across fuse situations like that quite often. So much so that I usually just checked them with a multimeter right off the bat. I think that was one of the reasons things went to the plastic plug in style.
My neighbor had a new 318 in the early 1980s...I used it for mowing and snow removal (he had a blade). In about 1984, I worked for a company that had a 420. Ahh, the memories. That 420 could mow some serious grass fast.
Start them on a discussion of styled or unstyled. That will occupy them for several hours. Then boldly state that electric starters are the devil's work! Peter Santenello is doing a fascinating series on the Amish. Different groups explain what they do and don't allow. I don't understand why they can't use JDs, lol
Well, you know you exceeded the rpm's that the owner has ran it at for the entirety of its life. So they'll be a stern talking to after he sees this video. Also what was on the note under the edge of the hood that he made with the old label maker? Another satisfied customer you had with that life saving job well done. Because even though he may have mentioned the repower, it wasn't really what he wanted to do if at all possible for you to pull off a miracle bringing the faithful ole Onan back from lawnmower heaven. Good save Wes, and now your a Super Hero in the old gentleman's eyes too.
This was from the good old days when lawn tractors were tractors. We had a couple of Cub Cadets from the 60's, a International Loboy from the 70's and a John Deer 430 from the mid 80's. All were built very well. Today Cub Cadet is owned by MTD and are mostly plastic instead of metal with a belt running the hydrostatic drive instead of a drive shaft.
Nice 318, wish it was mine. My wife's dad had one He bought in 1970 something and I used to love mowing with it. He didn't let anyone use it so I was honored he let me. He had a rototiller and cultivater attachment for the back he used in his garden, but I think he made those himself. Anyway loved seeing one on your channel.
Just got started on your videos. Your awesome. I wish I had your diagnostic skills, I’ll keep trying though, if it’s not broke I’ll fix it until it is. Thanks for the videos!
My brother has a 1984 430 J-D with the Yanmar diesel engine. He completely restored it (engine rebuild, new paint, seat, etc.) and uses it to plow and till his garden every year. The deck was wasted so he's limited to garden work. But, it's a beauty.
Dear Mr. Wes 👍👌👏 Very well done again and as always (work and video). Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing. Best regards luck and health to all of you.
I have one of those, damned fine tractor. Bought it when it was 2 or3 years old and runs great to this day. Yep, starter always sounded like that. Later models had Kawasaki engines in them. There's a repower kit out there with a 24 hp Honda that's pretty popular. Good fix Wes, those are just the start of too much electronics just to mow the lawn. Best regards from Indiana.
i had one of these for a short period of time. bought it for 700 with a broken rod and it still ran on one cylinder. rebuilt the onan and the mower deck. had the snow plow also and it did great in the winter. sold it for 1800$ without the plow. Ive sold off my garden tractor collection over the years and all i have is the diesel swapped Bolens HT20
We still have and use our 318 we also still have 1 of 2 400s and the original rototiller that was bought with them back in the late 70s, I believe about 77 or 78. These machines were purchased by my grandparents and they were very well taken care of.
Some corn varieties do a really good job of dropping moisture out of the kernel. But yeah that looks wicked green. Cost a chunk of change to dry it. Maybe they made a few test rounds to see what the moisture content was?
They really were the best. The power remote lift for the mower deck was sweet, like you said the electro magnetic clutch for the mower deck was cool too. Just the hydrostatic part was fun to drive. I want one now.
I work for a lawn care company we had two 318 with a cab and snow blower a plow and rear PTO for a tiller the one I really liked was the 322 that we had
I have a John Deere 111 from the same time. It's literally cheaper to have the engine rebuilt than to buy another used mower right now. I also had to modify the seat so it would adjust back farther.
I have an 83 111 that someone has put a 12 horse Briggs IC engine on. I got it for $225 and had to replace all the deck bearings and the pittman arm. I've been mowing for years with it.
I thought it was just the edge that was green at first. If they kept going after it was opened up, they must have somewhere that takes high moisture corn.
What no Onan motor oil, or transmission oil changes.? Must be up to date. For once glad this is a short video. Now off to host a CMP Rifle Match. Thanks W3.!
Many people don't know this. The tractors are built stouter and have heavier frames. MTD used to sell two versions of the same machine. They looked the same but the lighter one was nothing more than a typical riding mower. The Lawn Machine was tougher and would do much more. I bought a very used Lawn Machine that had the brackets for a snow plow still attached to the front. I used it several years until the Tecumseh engine finally just quit and became non-repairable. In first gear that thing would really pull as long as it could get traction Two cylinder, two carbs and basically like having two engines in one body! These new Chinesium "tractors" don't last long and break down quite easily. I bought a new box store Craftsman and it's nowhere near what the old one was. Deeres are great machines but on retirement pay I couldn't afford to even pay the taxes of what a new one costs.
I just saw a John deer 400 for sale for $3200!!!! Couldn’t believe that price for an old machine. I love my 1995 craftsman 22.5hp garden tractor. 6 speed manual upgraded to a 54” deck.
Good video! I was always a Wheel Horse guy myself. I had several, but my 87’ 418c hydro was a true workhorse. I bought it with 650 hrs and sold it with nearly 1500 for more than I paid. Still wish I’d sold the ex-wife instead!!
Wheel Horse Junkie here also…. 3 in my stable, my 416-8 is my main worker…. Love the power of my p216 Onan… many haters, but routine maintenance keeps mine ready for what ever I throw at it!!
My day loved his wheel horse. We lived on 1 acre lot back in Iowa. He was always mad at me for mowing the yard in 3rd gear. I just wanted to get done and go fast. I flipped the tractor one winter when my dad was out of town on business. My mom always would say wait till your dad gets home. Great times as a kid!
Even at 21 I knew the 318 was something special; decades ago I had the privilege of using one for 2 yrs on the estate of a wealthy man I knew. His actually came with a matching JD trailer / every implement available. Today I have a 345 all hydro w/p-lift, steering etc similar to this 318 all b/c of that 318. Honestly there's no comparison; the 318 is more of a tractor than my 345, though some of the 345 features are better b/c of todays tech. Anyway great video; hope to see more. Btw new sub.
For triple bonus points: paint it new holland yellow or case red. JD 'mower owner' heads will implode creating a tiny little black hole of angry despair.
Love the 318! My dad had JD140, still does. We used the 140 to plow the driveway when it snowed. had a power angle snow plow. But with the 140, it was tough to steer with the plow up due to the weight of it and I love(d) to plow snow. Well, me being a youngster, it was really hard for me to steer. My dad bought a 318 mainly because of the power steering for when plowing snow. The plow and the mower deck are interchangeable between the 140 and 318. My dad passed away in 2017. My mom used the 318 until the PTO clutch started giving her problems. So, she went out and bought a Cub Cadet! I told her that I'm sure dads rolling in his grave for as we never had anything but John Deere. Both the 140 and 318 still run. The snow plow is on the 318 and is really all it's used for. The 140, well my dad pretty much retired it once we got the 318 only because he wanted to preserve it. I still go down and start them up, drive them around the yard now and then. And they are not called lawn mowers, around my parts, they are called Garden Tractors. Have a great day!!
I had a murray with a Briggs twin from around 2000. I have an acre and a half of rough yard with 25 trees, roots, 20 degree hills and tons of leaves to pickup in the fall. The engine on the Murray was exceptional, unfortunately the deck and frame were not and after 4 years my son and I were fixing it every time we took it out. When the steering tower cracked off the frame I retired it and purchased a used JD X500 with a 14 bushel power bagger. I was sold. It carted my heavy self up the mountains in my yard, it manuvered great, the differential switch was the bomb, the K72 transmission held up under very demanding use. I used it for at least 10 years. Only had to weld some minor cracks on the deck and replace the idler wheels and drop links for the deck. I have pain issues. I sold the X500 for close to what I paid for it and purchased a brand new J.D. X580 Power steering, power deck lift, same dependable Kawasaki FS730V vertical twin and K72 transmission. The only flaw with the X500 was the hood and seat splitting. JD fixed it with the X580.
Those glass fuses has tricked me too. Bought a couple to replace them all on my old Citroën. Brand new and about 75% of the fuses in the package came broken but looked perfect. I guess their made of finest chinesium. Also. That fly invasion came to Sweden too. Had them absolutely everywhere in the workshop. Never seen it before, but you said it. 2021... I never worked with hydrostats before, but I have a neigbours Cub Cadet ca 2011 here. Won´t go any direction. I guess I have to check if it has something similar of a problem.
OMG! I was going to the "New Wave" clubs in 1985! You are Ten years younger than my second wife! ;-) You are awesome Wes! You still know WAY more than I do. And I am considered pretty knowledgeable.
This is the legend that allows John deere to turn out expensive crap now. Living on there resume
100%
This plus they once made reliable farm equipment that you could service yourself.
They are all pretty much the same anymore. At least the ones you buy at the big box stores. Troy-Bilt, Craftsman, John Deere all the same junk they sell in different colors.
@@MrClarkisgod craftsman, Murry, Husqvarna (the cheapest one) , poulan and a few other are all the same tractor MN ade by mtd. John deere are still made by John deere as far as I know they're just not good anymore unless you spend $6000 or more. Troy built are just junk you can get 3 maybe 4 years out of one
@@danbartolini27 Stanley is taking over MTD so maybe they'll improve. Right now I wouldn't recommend anything they make. Some of the bigger names they purchased and now make are Yard-Man, Cub Cadet, Bolens, Garden Way, Murry, Troy-Bilt, and White Outdoor. They also do some manufacturing for Deere, Craftsman, and Toro.
Personally I wouldn't buy any of them, and I recommend the better Husqvarna models, who also make the better Poulan Pro and Craftsman models.
I learned to check across a glass fuse with a meter in the most embarrassing way! I was fleet maintenance manager for a trucking firm. Bought an old Toyota wagon to run errands with and it stopped dead one day. I could not figure out what was wrong. Called a Toyota mechanic friend because I thought it was in the electronic ignition. He came to my house and replace a fuse! It failed at the end inside the metal cap end where you couldn't see it. He never let me forget it whenever he had the chance and I most certainly will never forget!!
Wes: Sweetheart of a tractor.
Sad Oliver noises.
“torch bearing mob of JD 318 purists”...
Love it...!
Thank you sir...
Problem: Refuse to spark
Solution: Re-fuse to spark
Nicely put.
I didn't want to give that a like but I had no choice. Well done.
AvE is that you?
Underrated comment right here
Ha Ha Haaaaa.... 😎
Built back in the day when JD actually made a quality product.
People said they were junk at that time and Deere wasn't making quality equipment like "back in the day." Same whine...different year...
Nice LAWN MOWER!! Haha sound like a bunch of Corvette owners there 😂
HEY NOW! I am a Corvette AND JD owner. 😂
Lmfao Eric O 🤣
W e w I l l s e n d y o u t o j e s u s.
Funny seeing SouthMain here! I love your channel Eric. I can’t stand when people call my JD 214 a lawn mower 😂😂
I’m still driving mine. My dad got it back in the 80’s. An I’m still mowing lawn with it.
The 318 was a legend because it had to be to save face. It was a fully new design from the ground up. Many purchasers of the 317 it replaced were burned by failures with the Kohler KT17 opposed twin engine that damaged Deere and Kohler's reputations. Onan was making retrofit kits for 317's as it took a while for Kohler to fix the KT's oiling issues, and Deere was impressed enough with the Onan engine that they used it for the new 318 and scored a huge win.
317 came with a onan in theblatter yours cuz the kohler 317 would burn up the one cyclender on hills.. u could get both tractors at the time but i would a 140 over bothvany day of the week .
I have an example of both engines in a 317 I am trying to get the onan one to work but most of the electrical system is fryed
I helped my stepdad put a Honda in his 318 a couple of months ago. It's fuel injected get twice the gas mileage and 30 to 40 percent more power. He loves it.
What did you guys do with the old engine
My parents took care of a small cemetery in the town I grew up in. I clearly remember them buying a brand new 316 in 1985. It replaced a tired 140. I remember it costing $5k. It was a ton of money back then for a garden tractor I thought. I spent a lot of hours on this tractor. Fell in love with them. When I bought my first house, I bought an older 316 from a friend of mine . This was around the year 2000. It was a low hour 1987 model. It only 300 hours. It’s former life was with the city, and didn’t see much use. I used it for years until I moved , which the new yard only required a push mower. The 316 was basically a stripped down 318. The guy I sold it to still uses it to this day. It had a snow thrower as well. Damn cool tractors. Wish I still had it!
They are awesome machines, Aaron. Another will come your way.
Glass fuses fail open at the caps when they age. Taught me to always check them with a meter. The owner had to go nuts with how well you repaired his machine !!
I think he's already a local legend
That is good to know was trying to work out why a car had no spark as everything looked fine ill have to put a meter to the fuses then
That is one nice lawnmower
Can't believe you filed the points with a points file and then pulled something thru them to remove the filings, just like they taught us in automotive school back in 70's. Your range of knowledge never ceases to amaze me. Small engines to army trucks. Great videos!!!
My dad was a points nazi.
Guy I worked with (he recently retired) found 3M 1400 grit diamond paper. We use it on contacts for relays, safety and door circuits on elevators. We call it magic paper. It's about 7/8" wide and comes in rolls around 100' I think. Stuff is money. Doesn't take the silver off the contacts, just polishes the carbon right off. Or we use a dollar bill. Works like a champ.
Actually Wes, re powers are quite common in the 318 community. That is part of the beauty of this machine. It is so overbuilt, and lasts so long, that it is actually worth re powering VS the pieces of crap they sell now days.
It's good that at least one community understands that an engine wears out and sometimes replacing with an original just isn't going to happen.
@@bruwin I will scour the earth to find a rebuilt Onan when mine needs a replacement.
@@jdraupp search before it will be cheaper than waiting till you must have it
We put a Onan 20hp we got almost new out of a JD 420
It was very cheap and we ended up eventually needing it
@@captainamer71 great idea.
My 83' 318 has been repowered with a Honda 20hp. Came from a landscape outfit that killed the onan. I'm personally not a fan of Onan engines anyway and was pleased it had the honda in it
"Not as roomy as you might think." Are you crazy, Wes? The JD Army, 318 Division is coming for you. I mean, I know you tried to recover with the "gonna be hard to let this one go back home" remark, but it's not enough. It's been fun watching your videos.
Yeah, the lawn mower guys will be all over your shop with pitchforks
I have 2 of those. One I put a Kohler CH20 in for mowing. The other I was lucky enough to find a NOS shortblock for. Good to see this one will keep its original engine. There's something special about the sound of the Onan. They are legendary tractors for sure. From a time when engineering was simple and the quality was high.
You make it sound like it was made in the 50s lol.
The special sound of the Onan is the suck of the money leaving my pocket. If it's running it devours fuel and if it isn't the prices for parts are insane. One of mine has a Kohler in it as well and the amount of fuel difference between the two of them is insane.
@@ryanslaback9418, now you can understand why so many motorhomes use Onan generators. Very reliable but expensive to operate for any length of time. The one we used to have on our old motor home would really pull the tanks down if we had to boondock for any length of time without shore power.
An Onan legend? Junk from the start. Glued together intake manifolds. Pull the engine to change fuel pump on some models. Why do yo think Cummins stopped making them? And if you think it was EPA, nice try. Boat anchor was the real reason. Want a good tractor, put a Honda V twin in it. Now you have the tractor you hoped Deere would have built in the first place. Can't even get a fuel pump for many of the older Ohno Onans.
I had 2 of the 318's little brother, the 212, all manual, no hydraulics, 12 HP Kholer, 4 speed manual transmission with a granny low! Had the front snow blower attachment, with the wheel weights and tire chains, and was it's only job, in its later years, and still is to this day! Was passed down through the family, and still blows snow when needed! Great little garden tractors!
I have a 216 just like yours and a 312 good tractors
Love to see the variation of different things you work on. From small cars to trucks, trackers, heavy equipment. Keeps things fresh. Great videos!
My dad bought a 10 year old one of these at the time over 20 years ago from a neighbor who was upgrading to a bigger model. They both paid $5,000. Since then, neighbor guy has been thru 3 more ‘tractors’ and , still to this day, look forward to cutting my parents grass every time I visit!
This thing has run like a top for close to 40 years!
I enjoyed this video. I work on lawn equipment for a buddy that has a business, but never worked on a John Deere.
The Lord has blessed you with many talents. Don’t take them for granted!
I just Love those old 300 series John Deere’s! Back in the day, a long time ago in the land before time 🤣, I mowed our neighbors with his 316! I was about 7 yrs old snd that seemed like a big tractor to me! It was fun for me at that age!!
I'll bet you would have loved to have power steering at that age, eh?
@@billbaillie3702 yes that sure would’ve been nice 😊
Nice lawnmower you got there, Wes
been waiting on your sat morning upload, thanks Wes!
I built a 420 from parts because of my childhood running 318s for my neighbors. Absolute TANKS.
Wes I split the brake pedals to 1 on each side then added a rocking pedal for forward and reverse and kept the hand control . Much easier to drive. Then I made a front loader and a backhoe with stabilizers. I put hyd pump in the front for direct drive from the crank, A great mini yard earth moving machine.
You forgot to mention you also equipped it with a cabover sleeper. 😂👍
You need to make some vids of this thing and post them up on youtube so we all can see how its done!
Yes I want videos of this
Did it still cut grass?lol
That John Deere starter sound hasn’t changed in a long time. My dad bought a Deere garden tractor in the late 90s. I still remember the sound of the starter.
That's a pretty sweet little unit. Looks like it has been looked after really well over the years all things considered. I wonder if the owner checked that fuse, saw that it looked good, like you did, and figured that couldn't be the issue. I probably would have made the same mistake.
You are right in what you say. With this video I learned to get the test light out and go on and probe it.
I have... Numerous times, until I learned to use common sense, and a meter!
@@HouseCallAutoRepair i keep a little multimeter and a standard test light these days as well even though i'm no mechanic. But now thanks to this video i'm never going to trust a fuse again even if it passes a visual, lol.
Even without a test light I would have tried a second fuse before I called the mechanic. Takes a couple of minutes and saves a lot of trouble. Of course then I would have been stumped on why it wouldn't go into reverse so there is that...
It is amazing at the number of times over my decades as an electronics tech that I've run across fuses that looked good but had opened right next to the end cap. The stranger ones are those that had the end cap actually come loose but not enough to come off. Good catch!
My brother was given a 314. My neighbor got rid of a 318 in favor of 400. We worked on that a lot.
If I had a nickel for every time a glass fuse lied to me…… This has happened with brand new ones, have to always check them under load.
My father had a 317 at one point. The options you could get for them was crazy.
That farmer knows exactly what he is doing. That combine costs $500k plus. Good job Wes👍👍
My neighbor the farmer has one. He swears by it! 😉
He might be right! Cheaper than a horse, that's for sure...
@@WatchWesWork having boarded horses out in Southern California, I can attest to horse ownership is right up there with owning a plane and boat. I'll take a tractor any day, Ford 545 :)
When I was a nerdy little kid I hung out in the small engine repair shop. Their bread and butter was early 90’s simplicity’s with $5k+ price tags. 25 years later I have 2 25 year old tractors that buzz around my yard
Ayy up Wes,The dog will be a happy one sniffing out all those mice,And I am so glad that the purists haven’t tarred and feathered you over the engine swap.
They used to make John Deere Tractors about 25 miles from where I live in Doncaster England.And a great short vlog.I hope you and your family stay safe
Good job on that green and yellow lawn mower Wes.
Seen ya in SMA live stream the other night that's cool he wants to talk and help you out !!! Love his channel class act for sure . You have a great channel as well . Keep it up 👍
Don't think I'm familiar with that channel. SMA?
@@garys9694 South Main Auto. Great channel with a proper mechanic/ diagnostician rather than a code read parts swapper.
@@ohboy2118 yes sir 👍
Went there and realized that I have looked at his videos many times. Actually have used them to get my vehicles repaired. You knocked code readers, you simply cannot do that. Wes has proved it many times. A mechanic must work with code readers or he's just not gonna be able to fix many problems in any car built after OBD came out.
@@garys9694 sorry you misunderstand me. There are too many so-called mechanics that read a code and immediately swap out the part the code refers to rather than do due diligence and prove the part is faulty before replacing it.
Those 318s are sweet little tractors, I bet she'd run circles around anything built in the last 20 years. And don't worry about the check valve o-ring...I'm pretty sure it's a universal shop rule that no matter how many o-ring kits you have for hydraulic jobs, you never have all of the right ones. Ever.
I could listen to that Onan run all day. I have owned several of these and they are an awesome machine. I’m glad you caught onto the reverse issue, I knew exactly what was up.
Those fuses will sometimes burn-out under the silver caps, and you can't see them, I figured a old-timer like yourself would know that Wes, lol, thanks for sharing.
Nice video; great change of pace. Shows the extensiveness of your knowledge - from rebuilding an old Cat and fixing an old Mack to putting the run back in a Deere.
Shop floor looks mighty clean.
Oh man! When you rounded the corner heading toward the corn field I just new the GREEN bug had bitten you and that you were going to go show that yellow Challenger what a real Garden TRACTOR could do with that grain cart! Whew.....got to be careful of those Green Bugs and ego! 🤠
I had a small GMA glass fuse throwing an intermittent problem one time. You could measure voltage throughout the circuit, but it would flake out. I finally opened the fuseholder to do other diagnostic checks, then the end cap fell off of the fuse! Element was not connected on one end. Slide the cap back on you had continuity, it just couldn't supply current. That was a weird one!
Must be a treat for you to work on something that doesn’t have the rockers and fenders rusted thru. 😁
And the UA-cam Emmy for best use of the word 'pilloried' goes to...
Love the content. Misbehaving diesels or John Deere lawnmowers. Always good stuff to be found here.
We have an abundance of flies as well, but not so many JD 318s-we used ours until she would no longer operate. I have no idea how many hours it had on it when it was retired, but we sold it for parts after it sat in the barn ten years (implements too) and recouped more than half of our original purchase price. Great job tuning her up! ✌🏻🔧❤️
My dad has a 420. It was his dad's before it was his. That thing has an insane amount of hours on it. Still mowing grass to this day.
I'm glad I wasn't just imagining that the corn was green. They must love running their dryer.
they are worried they might lose it if it storms, its cut it now or lose it later. It looks like the green stuff is mostly on the edges of the field where the field stays wetter when it rains.
The corn around us, it’s super green but it’s right where the moisture needs to be, the corn getting picked in this video probably never saw the dryer
Flies always do this at this point in the year. The weather is getting cold, and they are seeking warm spots. Good job getting the tractor going.
These tractors of this era were well designed and built with strength. I have a 400 that is still running today.
I'm pretty happy with my 60's Cub Cadet 125 - these still have an active following as well.
I grew up on those, i keep thinking back to them while people praise the JD here. The cubs were built even heavier!
Nice job fixing the mower! I'm glad you diagnosed the issue before I was able to comment that "somebody probably use dielectric grease on there and it's blocking the flow of electricity"
I used to run across fuse situations like that quite often. So much so that I usually just checked them with a multimeter right off the bat. I think that was one of the reasons things went to the plastic plug in style.
My neighbor had a new 318 in the early 1980s...I used it for mowing and snow removal (he had a blade). In about 1984, I worked for a company that had a 420. Ahh, the memories. That 420 could mow some serious grass fast.
"... I can see the torch-bearing mob of 318 purists storming the shop.." XD XD never change Wes!!
Maybe the Claas with the corn head will keep them at bay? JDs, no telling. They'll show up in a convoy of Johnny poppers!
Start them on a discussion of styled or unstyled. That will occupy them for several hours. Then boldly state that electric starters are the devil's work! Peter Santenello is doing a fascinating series on the Amish. Different groups explain what they do and don't allow. I don't understand why they can't use JDs, lol
Wes the Wizard, great video. Love to watch you troubleshoot. Nothing Runs Like a Wes!
That is a Great LawnMower!
Well, you know you exceeded the rpm's that the owner has ran it at for the entirety of its life.
So they'll be a stern talking to after he sees this video.
Also what was on the note under the edge of the hood that he made with the old label maker?
Another satisfied customer you had with that life saving job well done.
Because even though he may have mentioned the repower, it wasn't really what he wanted to do if at all possible for you to pull off a miracle bringing the faithful ole Onan back from lawnmower heaven.
Good save Wes, and now your a Super Hero in the old gentleman's eyes too.
It said something like “check the oil”.
This was from the good old days when lawn tractors were tractors. We had a couple of Cub Cadets from the 60's, a International Loboy from the 70's and a John Deer 430 from the mid 80's. All were built very well. Today Cub Cadet is owned by MTD and are mostly plastic instead of metal with a belt running the hydrostatic drive instead of a drive shaft.
Nice 318, wish it was mine. My wife's dad had one He bought in 1970 something and I used to love mowing with it. He didn't let anyone use it so I was honored he let me. He had a rototiller and cultivater attachment for the back he used in his garden, but I think he made those himself. Anyway loved seeing one on your channel.
Just got started on your videos. Your awesome. I wish I had your diagnostic skills, I’ll keep trying though, if it’s not broke I’ll fix it until it is. Thanks for the videos!
My brother has a 1984 430 J-D with the Yanmar diesel engine. He completely restored it (engine rebuild, new paint, seat, etc.) and uses it to plow and till his garden every year. The deck was wasted so he's limited to garden work. But, it's a beauty.
I always learn something from your channel. I have a similar problem with my reverse and now I know how to fix it. Thank you for sharing!
Nice garden tractor . The older John Deere garden tractors are worth there wait in gold. You can literally almost rebuild the whole thing. Great Job 👍
Dear Mr. Wes
👍👌👏 Very well done again and as always (work and video).
Thanks a lot for making teaching explaining recording editing uploading and sharing.
Best regards luck and health to all of you.
I was checking my new 318 and it popped off twice and then nada. You have given me a good starting point. Good info, thx.
Amazing as always, the flys definitely approved 🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰🪰
Lawn and Garden tractor! Still have mine from 85, 1700hrs
I have one of those, damned fine tractor. Bought it when it was 2 or3 years old and runs great to this day. Yep, starter always sounded like that. Later models had Kawasaki engines in them. There's a repower kit out there with a 24 hp Honda that's pretty popular. Good fix Wes, those are just the start of too much electronics just to mow the lawn.
Best regards from Indiana.
I have my 92 model think it is bought new trailer and tractor 6 grand back then
He repower them with vanguards now cuz theycwere having issue with the hondas . Small engine ware house sell the kits
i had one of these for a short period of time. bought it for 700 with a broken rod and it still ran on one cylinder. rebuilt the onan and the mower deck. had the snow plow also and it did great in the winter. sold it for 1800$ without the plow. Ive sold off my garden tractor collection over the years and all i have is the diesel swapped Bolens HT20
My “rich” uncle had a Dear John. My “poor” dad settled for a Craftsman.
And a man with CLASS would choose an Allis Chalmers/Simplicity
We still have and use our 318 we also still have 1 of 2 400s and the original rototiller that was bought with them back in the late 70s, I believe about 77 or 78. These machines were purchased by my grandparents and they were very well taken care of.
Some corn varieties do a really good job of dropping moisture out of the kernel. But yeah that looks wicked green. Cost a chunk of change to dry it. Maybe they made a few test rounds to see what the moisture content was?
They finally gave up after picking half the field.
Yeah that was my thought, it looked drier on the edges
I wondered the same, that or opening up fields and sorting out the equipment for when it’s go time
They really were the best. The power remote lift for the mower deck was sweet, like you said the electro magnetic clutch for the mower deck was cool too. Just the hydrostatic part was fun to drive. I want one now.
Darn it, I was hoping to see you drop a Mopar 318 in that 318...seems appropriate after all ;)
I work for a lawn care company we had two 318 with a cab and snow blower a plow and rear PTO for a tiller the one I really liked was the 322 that we had
I have a John Deere 111 from the same time. It's literally cheaper to have the engine rebuilt than to buy another used mower right now.
I also had to modify the seat so it would adjust back farther.
I have an 83 111 that someone has put a 12 horse Briggs IC engine on. I got it for $225 and had to replace all the deck bearings and the pittman arm. I've been mowing for years with it.
I appreciate that you edit the tractor to be in front of the lettering on the thumbnails. It really is the little things.
Wes has a by golly points file. That would be a nice one to own and I'm not a green guy.
That’s a beautiful Lawnmower
still waiting for the "cheese eating friends" shirt. aka "max is NEVER wrong..."
We put an 18hp Onan engine like that in our Bolens 1250. She's still our top garden tractor!
I thought it was just the edge that was green at first. If they kept going after it was opened up, they must have somewhere that takes high moisture corn.
Love how supportive your comments always are. Definitely a great community around you. Just don't bring up dielectric grease...
Lol
whats wrong with di-electric grease
@@M.TTT. everyone bitches at him in the comments for using it lol
What no Onan motor oil, or transmission oil changes.? Must be up to date. For once glad this is a short video. Now off to host a CMP Rifle Match. Thanks W3.!
Working on a craftsman the other day someone goofed all the switch wires up on. Diagrams exist on the internet please use them lol. Good work Wes.
7 seconds in and I know what the problem is: the rear 'baby moon' hubcaps are on the wrong side.
Thanks for helping me avoid my own work for 18:04!
I’ve got a 1978 316 with the dual remotes. Bust damn tractors built.
Amen! NOT NOT NOT!! a lawn mower! OR lawn tractor!! (I’m a small tractor enthusiast)
Also is that a Yamaha g2 in the background?
'tis!
Many people don't know this. The tractors are built stouter and have heavier frames. MTD used to sell two versions of the same machine. They looked the same but the lighter one was nothing more than a typical riding mower. The Lawn Machine was tougher and would do much more. I bought a very used Lawn Machine that had the brackets for a snow plow still attached to the front. I used it several years until the Tecumseh engine finally just quit and became non-repairable. In first gear that thing would really pull as long as it could get traction Two cylinder, two carbs and basically like having two engines in one body! These new Chinesium "tractors" don't last long and break down quite easily. I bought a new box store Craftsman and it's nowhere near what the old one was. Deeres are great machines but on retirement pay I couldn't afford to even pay the taxes of what a new one costs.
@@WatchWesWork I have one with a short in the harness somewhere… gotta tear into that mess one of these days
I just saw a John deer 400 for sale for $3200!!!! Couldn’t believe that price for an old machine.
I love my 1995 craftsman 22.5hp garden tractor. 6 speed manual upgraded to a 54” deck.
Good video! I was always a Wheel Horse guy myself. I had several, but my 87’ 418c hydro was a true workhorse. I bought it with 650 hrs and sold it with nearly 1500 for more than I paid. Still wish I’d sold the ex-wife instead!!
Wheel Horse Junkie here also…. 3 in my stable, my 416-8 is my main worker…. Love the power of my p216 Onan… many haters, but routine maintenance keeps mine ready for what ever I throw at it!!
Those German descendant ex wives, a love hate relationship, I know the feeling :)
My day loved his wheel horse. We lived on 1 acre lot back in Iowa. He was always mad at me for mowing the yard in 3rd gear. I just wanted to get done and go fast. I flipped the tractor one winter when my dad was out of town on business. My mom always would say wait till your dad gets home. Great times as a kid!
Even at 21 I knew the 318 was something special; decades ago I had the privilege of using one for 2 yrs on the estate of a wealthy man I knew. His actually came with a matching JD trailer / every implement available. Today I have a 345 all hydro w/p-lift, steering etc similar to this 318 all b/c of that 318. Honestly there's no comparison; the 318 is more of a tractor than my 345, though some of the 345 features are better b/c of todays tech. Anyway great video; hope to see more. Btw new sub.
Just cause i feel like starting a war, i'll call it lawn mower everytime
Your hill to die on!
For triple bonus points: paint it new holland yellow or case red. JD 'mower owner' heads will implode creating a tiny little black hole of angry despair.
Right to repair lawnmowers…!
What a cute little _Lawn Mower!_ 😉
I have a 316 the thing is a tank! They don't make them like this anymore.
Love the 318! My dad had JD140, still does. We used the 140 to plow the driveway when it snowed. had a power angle snow plow. But with the 140, it was tough to steer with the plow up due to the weight of it and I love(d) to plow snow. Well, me being a youngster, it was really hard for me to steer. My dad bought a 318 mainly because of the power steering for when plowing snow. The plow and the mower deck are interchangeable between the 140 and 318. My dad passed away in 2017. My mom used the 318 until the PTO clutch started giving her problems. So, she went out and bought a Cub Cadet! I told her that I'm sure dads rolling in his grave for as we never had anything but John Deere. Both the 140 and 318 still run. The snow plow is on the 318 and is really all it's used for. The 140, well my dad pretty much retired it once we got the 318 only because he wanted to preserve it. I still go down and start them up, drive them around the yard now and then.
And they are not called lawn mowers, around my parts, they are called Garden Tractors.
Have a great day!!
It's a very nice modular lawnmower.
Yes, I'm wearing an asbestos suit in an underground bunker at this time.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
G A R D E N T R A C T O R
@@M.TTT. L A W N M O W E R
@@Monkeh616 im gonna have an aneurysm!! lol jk
I had a murray with a Briggs twin from around 2000. I have an acre and a half of rough yard with 25 trees, roots, 20 degree hills and tons of leaves to pickup in the fall. The engine on the Murray was exceptional, unfortunately the deck and frame were not and after 4 years my son and I were fixing it every time we took it out. When the steering tower cracked off the frame I retired it and purchased a used JD X500 with a 14 bushel power bagger. I was sold. It carted my heavy self up the mountains in my yard, it manuvered great, the differential switch was the bomb, the K72 transmission held up under very demanding use. I used it for at least 10 years. Only had to weld some minor cracks on the deck and replace the idler wheels and drop links for the deck. I have pain issues. I sold the X500 for close to what I paid for it and purchased a brand new J.D. X580 Power steering, power deck lift, same dependable Kawasaki FS730V vertical twin and K72 transmission. The only flaw with the X500 was the hood and seat splitting. JD fixed it with the X580.
Those glass fuses has tricked me too. Bought a couple to replace them all on my old Citroën. Brand new and about 75% of the fuses in the package came broken but looked perfect. I guess their made of finest chinesium. Also. That fly invasion came to Sweden too. Had them absolutely everywhere in the workshop. Never seen it before, but you said it. 2021... I never worked with hydrostats before, but I have a neigbours Cub Cadet ca 2011 here. Won´t go any direction. I guess I have to check if it has something similar of a problem.
OMG! I was going to the "New Wave" clubs in 1985! You are Ten years younger than my second wife! ;-) You are awesome Wes! You still know WAY more than I do. And I am considered pretty knowledgeable.
The flies are from the field, the combine took their home!