1976 Troy-Bilt Horse I

[arto98607]

Hello everyone,

Here's couple of photos of used tiller I bought less then two weeks ago for $200 from a local fellow advertising on the Craigslist.

He was done with gardening for personal reasons and wanted to sell the tiller as is, knowing there were oil leaks in both axle seals and an issue with the engine not running under load. He figured it would not have made financial sense for him to take it to mechanic and pay for repairs!

I have done following repair / service work:


1. Replace axle oil seals on both, drive and tiller axles.
2. New 140 GL4 gear oil.
3. New 30W engine oil.
4. Open up & clean the carburetor.
5. Reinstalled the governor spring correctly. It had been installed totally wrong by someone (it would never have run properly the way it was!).
6. Install fuel shut-off valve at the tank outlet.
7. Install 40 micron in-line fuel filter.
8. High and low speed fuel jet adjustment to get the engine run properly under load & idle properly.
9. Lube linkages & replace couple of bolts.

About $55 in parts and supplies so far, but several hours of work.


I agree with the seller; In my estimate a Dealer's shop would have wanted to charge him probably 3 - 4 hours for labor!



Took the tiller for the first test drive yesterday and it ran very well.

This thing is a beast!

I will probably swap these "standard" tires to lugged, or ag tires which I have already in my barn from another project.
My new additional, or second garden has southwesterly slope which will be great for growing conditions, but it's enough of a slope that I had to slightly push the tiller forward at times when in low speed gear.
No lack of traction when in high speed which is great for just weeding in-between rows.

This will replace my 1996 Troy-Bilt Pony Proline which is a great tiller, but does not have enough traction to handle the slope in the new garden.


Cheers,


PS. I use an old 48" Maschio tiller in my tractor at the end of the season for weed control etc.

 

[phoogles]

I have a question as we have the same tiller. I recently replace both belts thinking the problem I'm having was due to the belts. The tiller was gifted to me after my grandfather passed and I remember him yearly turning over his garden in preparation for the season. My problem is the tines and the torque they produce or lack of. They will engage and spin and even scratch the dirt but once they get a littler more then a quarter of an inch in the soil it stops. It seems that if the tines are below the wheels they just aren't doing anything . I can put it in reverse and it digs just fine just not sure I'm nimble enough to get the garden tilled in reverse. It seems to be going into gear without issue. The fast slow arm will sometimes pop down but even holding the arm up with one hand it still has no torque. The engine turns over without issue and throttle is fully operational. The forward reverse levers seem to work without issue a little more stuff for reverse but not really an issue. If you have any other questions that could help diagnosis just let me know. I just wanted an idea of something to focus on before ordering a plethora of parts and tearing things down. Any help is greatly appreciated. TIA
Chad

 

[RandyT]

Are the drive belts actually tightening up. Sounds like the belts are slipping under load. Or is it an issue with the tines stop turning but the wheels keep pulling.

 

[3Ts]

There is a youtube video that seems to address the same problem. The video is actually an engine rebuild but at 21:45 he takes it out and tests it and the tines won't dig. The fix is a simple one of adjusting the linkage. So, skip the first 21:45 minutes and check this out to see if it helps.

lets wrench on the troybilt rototiller - YouTube

 

[PsRumors]

I have a question as we have the same tiller. I recently replace both belts thinking the problem....

Make sure your tiller is supposed to have 2 belts. There was a change over from 2 to 1. I have bought quite a few Horse tillers that should only have one belt but had 2.