OK, Now the good news. The new starter from ebay (some place in Jacksonville, Fla I will have to post the name here later) 119 bucks, shipping included.
Installed and whammo....... engine started easier than it has in years.
Now the bad news.
NO clutch left. It had precious little before, with careful shifting and clutching, but now. Nada.
Has anyone done a split on one of these? I have the manuals, and can get a clutch disk, a plate and a throw out bearing. I called the local place and he says $3200.00 Ulp. That's more than I paid for the old dinosaur! If I can do it myself I would be happy. Any tips or helpful advice?
I know I have to take of the subframe. When splitting the tractor do I have to make a jig up to keep the two halves perfectly inline? or is there a little wiggle room?
On another thought, when I have it apart, can I take apart the gear box and take the PTO spline out and weld a modern 6 spline in it? I have been reluctant to do that with the gear box assembled, for fear of flashing the bearings while welding. I don't really NEED a PTO, but who knows what kind of things I could justify if I had one! I know, rotating backwards and all. but just think what I could do!!!