Engine ideas

[gravelymay]

Not yet, waiting for the carb first. Was bidding on two acutions lost the first auction, but won the second one, it should be here in a couple of days and I'll bring it all back into work to get it turned down and running. Probably do the build in the spring, give me a chance to find a gravely with a already dead engine, or give me a chance to blow this one up brush hogging 15 acres

Still working on the 15 acres ??:thumbsup:

 

[db556]

There is nothing to brush hog its all snow!

Though I found on the engine I need a new governor kohler removed the normal governor and replaced it with a stepper motor / electronics.
So back to fleabay I go.

Though I've noticed that 6.6hp L8 is a gas hog! The 8hp on the 5240 sips gas in comparison I've done everyone's sidewalks in the entire block three times on the same tank of gas with the 5240 and I only done my driveway 1 1/2 times with the same amount of gas in the L8.

 

[Oneaxepony]

The Gravely 6.6 & 7.6 HP engines are gas hogs but they produce tremendous low RPM torque - much more than most modern engines of similar HP. So they have their advantages & disadvantages...

 

[gravelymay]

Hi Guys
we have talked about the old Model L so long.
I through I would add another man's Idea on repower.
of a 5665 walk behind .

Bob did the best write up that I have ever seen.


Repowering a Gravely Tractor

Hope you enjoy it.

Thanks Bruce g

 

[Oneaxepony]

What a nice write-up! Glad you could help this person out, Bruce.

Hi Guys
we have talked about the old Model L so long.
I through I would add another man's Idea on repower.
of a 5665 walk behind .

Bob did the best write up that I have ever seen.


Repowering a Gravely Tractor

Hope you enjoy it.

Thanks Bruce g

 

[Oneaxepony]

Hi! You know ! Gravely snowblowers are the best you can find on two-wheels. This is a good reason for fit a new engine on old Gravely. You cannot find a better . I seen a 12 hp Gravely Blow snow over 40-60 ft. away. I take a pict. But Not easy! you can fit any snowblower front end on Gravely because same rotation. I fit a Toro snowblower on my Grillo . I use quick-hitch adapter I join pics. Good Luck and Happy New Year Everybody. Oldmech

We are in the Winter doldrums so I'd thought I'd pose a question to all you experts out there. In Oldmech's post (above) there is a picture of his Grillo with a Honda engine. It looks like any normal Honda (or clone) you would see. If you've ever used a dedicated snowblower with a 4-cycle engine like my MTD, you know they come with Winterized engines. That is, there is no air filter and there is a small shroud over the muffler and carb to preheat the air. So my question is - if an engine like the Honda is going to be used at sub-freezing temperatures, should you Winterize the engine?

 

[oldmech]

Hi! I use my Grillo 107d Gx 340 Honda with old Toro front end snowblower for now two years. With No problem.
Honda make good snoblowers . They use a single foam element air breather on Honda GX engine.
Mine use a two elements (foam and paper element ) air breather. Foam element is better for snow. Snow is water no good for paper element.
Good luck ! Oldmech

 

[gravelynm]

OldMech,

I have read this whole post again for the third time. This time I saved all the pictures for reference. I am on the hunt for a candidate for repower. You and the others have done a great job. It is impressive.

I like how you used the T head crankcase to mount your diesel. It appears that you cut the crank shaft in order to use the flexible connector and it appears that the remaining part of the crank with the gear is resting in the output shaft bearing. If that is so, how does it stay aligned and not wobble around being mounted in the one bearing? Thanks for your help.

 

[Oneaxepony]

OldMech,

I have read this whole post again for the third time. This time I saved all the pictures for reference. I am on the hunt for a candidate for repower. You and the others have done a great job. It is impressive.

I like how you used the T head crankcase to mount your diesel. It appears that you cut the crank shaft in order to use the flexible connector and it appears that the remaining part of the crank with the gear is resting in the output shaft bearing. If that is so, how does it stay aligned and not wobble around being mounted in the one bearing? Thanks for your help.

I'm going to stick my 2 cents in here. First off, I think Oldmech's use of the old crankcase as an adapter is very clever. I PM'ed him about it several times and he answered a lot of questions about how he did it. The main bronze bearing is about 1.5" long which is long enough to keep the gear shaft properly aligned so it does not wobble. Where his diesel engine enters the crankcase he removed the original Gravely ball bearing and oil seal and replaced it with an oil seal fitted to the DEK crankshaft. His system is a marvelous piece of engineering.

 

[gravelynm]

I'm going to stick my 2 cents in here. First off, I think Oldmech's use of the old crankcase as an adapter is very clever. I PM'ed him about it several times and he answered a lot of questions about how he did it. The main bronze bearing is about 1.5" long which is long enough to keep the gear shaft properly aligned so it does not wobble. Where his diesel engine enters the crankcase he removed the original Gravely ball bearing and oil seal and replaced it with an oil seal fitted to the DEK crankshaft. His system is a marvelous piece of engineering.

Thanks, One. Worth more than $0.02! :laughing:

Thanks for the info. I have not got my hands on an L model yet so I can see first hand 'the lay of the land' so to speak. I like oldmech's kind of engineering especially the $ constraint part. It forces you to think about alternatives sometimes.

Yes, if the output is 1.5" long, then I can see how that would work. Is the Gravely engine output bearing a sleeve bearing or was this fit in by oldmech?

A related subject: I noticed that someone on eBay had a Robin OHV 9HP engine available for $275 including shipping. I looked up the torque specs and it was something around 13.8 ft/lbs at 2500rpm. It looks like a good fit for an L repower. It is not up there with the Gravely engine which is somewhere around 18 ft/lbs I think. Anyway, on an L model, if the (Robin) engine speed is limited to 2800rpm or so, is the lack of torque very noticable in running implements like the 30" mower or the rotary plow? I sure am itching to find all this out in a practical way. Spring fever, I guess!!

 

[Oneaxepony]

Thanks, One. Worth more than $0.02! :laughing:

Thanks for the info. I have not got my hands on an L model yet so I can see first hand 'the lay of the land' so to speak. I like oldmech's kind of engineering especially the $ constraint part. It forces you to think about alternatives sometimes.

Yes, if the output is 1.5" long, then I can see how that would work. Is the Gravely engine output bearing a sleeve bearing or was this fit in by oldmech?

A related subject: I noticed that someone on eBay had a Robin OHV 9HP engine available for $275 including shipping. I looked up the torque specs and it was something around 13.8 ft/lbs at 2500rpm. It looks like a good fit for an L repower. It is not up there with the Gravely engine which is somewhere around 18 ft/lbs I think. Anyway, on an L model, if the (Robin) engine speed is limited to 2800rpm or so, is the lack of torque very noticable in running implements like the 30" mower or the rotary plow? I sure am itching to find all this out in a practical way. Spring fever, I guess!!

Look at the bottom of page 4 on this thread. Oldmech published a chart showing the torque and HP of the old L engine. Torque is generally about 13 - 15 ft-lb so the Robin engine you are talking about is right in that range. As for the bronze bearing, its a Gravely designed large sleeve bearing that is machined with some special characteristics. First it has a ridge running along its exterior lenght so it wont rotate in the L crankcase. Second, it has grooves machined around its diameter so oil can flow into the bearing as part of the pressurized lubrication system. When repowering, most folks do away with the pressurized oil system and go to a flooded system in which more oil is added to the tranny. Thats what Oldmech did. But notice he also added some oil galleries to allow oil to flow into the bearing by splash. Hope this helps.

 

[gravelynm]

Having never seen the output I did not know what those pictures show. Now I see the "duct" and holes for lubrication. Your right, he did a great job. Thanks again for your input, One.

 

[oldmech]

Hi! All Thanks Oneaxepony ! Your infos are right. I use the original input planetary shaft. I dont cut ! I dismantle it from the Gravely crankshaft. The end is taper with a flat nut also a keyway.
I take the Shaft with gear, the brass bushing and a L100 5/8 flex joint bushing and go to machine shop I ask him for fit . The Young machinist make a very good job in his spare time and charge me only $80. Machine shop work are very expensive here . As $70. hour. note the flat nut is inside the flex joint bushing . I joint picts. Good luck! Oldmech

 

[gravelymay]

Well got the sun gears today for L ,C8 C10 models
They look good. :thumbsup:
They are high I will have to sell the gear for 150. and the top hat 20.
I had planed to sell them both for 150. but he went up 25.
I have to have a thick adapter plate yet for the L and C8.
The C10 are a different depth into the trans.
The C10 spacer is 1.590 thick I have to use a 2 inch thick material.
The L and C8 are 2.130 so I can't make from a 2 inch thick piece?????
still trying to see what can come up with.
The C10A ,500, 5000 and later are 1.115 Thick
I make those from 1.500 material
The Briggs and all the 3.00 long cranks are 3/4 in shorter.
The Honda And the Clones are 3 3/4 long
I hope this info helps
when you decide to re power.

Thanks Bruce g
423 716 4611

Well I guess I am human
I made a mistake on the Thickness of the L model and C8 instead of 2.130
They are 1.700 So I get out of 1 piece of material.:thumbsup:
It worked out for the good.
Also here are some pictures of my first a temp at repowering a model L
The old tractor needs a lot work but I though I would see what people Though about my set up on the handle bars and adapter plate.

 

[gravelymay]

Well I though about the muffler clamps .
They just don't look like they belong there.
I think will just drill holes use a split pipe around
the handle bar for more support.
Like I said that was my 1 st stab at it.
What do you guys think? :confused2:

 

[Oneaxepony]

Well I though about the muffler clamps .
They just don't look like they belong there.
I think will just drill holes use a split pipe around
the handle bar for more support.
Like I said that was my 1 st stab at it.
What do you guys think? :confused2:

Very cool, Bruce. Did you start it up? How does the gear with the top hat work? There are lots of ways to support the handle bars. What you did looks perfectly fine. Not sure what muffler clamps are???

 

[2manyrocks]

The new engine looks huge compared to the old Gravely engine on L models.

But I'm all for seeing these older units get repowered as these tractors still have years of use left in them if we could solve the engine problem.

If the whole tractor were painted, I think the new engine would blend nicely.

 

[gravelymay]

I just mostly trying out how i want to latch everything down.
I have a lot of work to do to this tractor before I run it.
like clean it out and ck the forward & reverse planetary.
also pull the axle and clean out I cleaned out the back
the oil screen was stopped up.
I pulled it out and stopped all the line holes.
I will probably pull the engine back off if need be.
Then clean and paint the out side.
I need a shifter for the PTO
Has any one ever used a shifter for the PTO like
The Shifter on the two speed axle maybe with a longer throw???
This is a LI
I plan to set it up for mowing only.

 

[gravelymay]

Very cool, Bruce. Did you start it up? How does the gear with the top hat work?

I have the gear and top hat running in a C10 sound feels good.
So I put 1 in this one but have not started it until I clean it out and put oil in it

There are lots of ways to support the handle bars. What you did looks perfectly fine. Not sure what muffler clamps are???

The muffler clamps are Just clamps for 1 1/4 dia pipe.
Here is a closer look at a clamp
Also the old rod had broken into and locked down.
I am trying to make up my mind if a bolt through or the clamp is stronger.:confused2:

 

[Oneaxepony]

The muffler clamps are Just clamps for 1 1/4 dia pipe.
Here is a closer look at a clamp
Also the old rod had broken into and locked down.
I am trying to make up my mind if a bolt through or the clamp is stronger.:confused2:

Now I get it - the clamps are for car mufflers. You are right, they look a little like they dont belong but they do the job. If you drill holes thru the handle bars you weaken them - so putting split pipe around the holes is probably needed. As you get further along you'll have to figure a way to attach a hood. (Gravely L hoods usually rest on part of the fan housing). Nice work so far. Keep us posted!