Troy-Bilt Horse ID
- Thread starter CR172
- Start date
- Views: 122257
-
- Tags
- troy bilt horse
DennisArrow
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2003
- Messages
- 766
- Location
- Sugar Valley, Ga
- Tractor
- Iseki TL 2300, Kubota RTV, Kubota B7610
Go back and read through this thread, paying particular attention to figuring out the serial numbers, manufacturing details, and type of model that you may have............THEN folks here or at MTD will have a better idea on how to answer YOU...........NOT to be rude Bud and really welcome YOU.........A bit of research will get you some really great answers from folks on here.............Dennis
DennisArrow
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2003
- Messages
- 766
- Location
- Sugar Valley, Ga
- Tractor
- Iseki TL 2300, Kubota RTV, Kubota B7610
OK......I finally got the serial number off of the transmission cleaned up enough to read it......
083 58
Yes, it is definately a Horse with an 8 HP B&S that will take an archaeoligist to figure out the serial number on.............Anyway with YOUR help by sending me information and this thread I have figured out how to do most of the maintenance so far......I cant thank you guys enough...........Any thoughts now that I have the serial number as to the year of manufacture??????????............God bless.......Dennis
083 58
Yes, it is definately a Horse with an 8 HP B&S that will take an archaeoligist to figure out the serial number on.............Anyway with YOUR help by sending me information and this thread I have figured out how to do most of the maintenance so far......I cant thank you guys enough...........Any thoughts now that I have the serial number as to the year of manufacture??????????............God bless.......Dennis
WayneB
Elite Member
Dennis, If the serial number was located on the transmission case on the right side directly above the tire then it was manufactured after July 5, 1971 if it is on top of the motor mount (toward the left side of the tiller as you stand holding the handle bars) the it was manufactured prior to the above date.
My tiller was manufactured in 1982 and it was the first year of the PTO style tillers. It's serial number is 658786 as far as I can tell the serial number has nothing to do with the date of manufacturing.
So if your tiller is not a PTO model then I wow assume looking at the serial number you posted that it could be from the early 60's, that is just a guess on my part. Most of the gears and seals would be the same on the straight drive tillers and there was little if any changes made in the castings back then.
My tiller has a dual pulley assembly with a single belt. by changing the location of the belt on the pulley I can increase the speed of the tiller and the tine rotation. There is also a lever that provides high and low speed range of the tiller. This switches the actual gear drive in the transmission.
Back in 1982 I sold a Troybilt that was from the early 50's and got $500 for it back then. The engine was all but on it's last legs, the tires were all dry rotted and the tines were so pointed it would hardly till the soil.
When I brought the new one home ($1,895 and I drove to the factory to pick it up) I was shocked at how well the thing worked! If I could get one from 102nd Street in Troy New York (the last true home of Garden Way Manufacturing) I would buy it without blinking an eye! It is hard to wear these things out and if anyone finds one that has had reasonable care it is worth the money.
2manyrocks
Super Member
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2007
- Messages
- 8,256
What was the factory like? I mail ordered mine in 1982 and it was shipped by motor freight. So I never saw the factory.
One of the things that set Garden Way apart from any other manufacturer I know of was they really worked at making sure owners knew how to service their machines and made parts available. My Horse owners manual has 216 pages of instructions and how to photos and I got a separate master parts catalog for the Horse model that was 44 pages. I haven't paid a lot of attention to it because I haven't had to do much to mine except change the tires (dry rotted), oil, filters and belts. I need to change my tines, but I can't remember where I put the replacement set I bought years ago.
If you could put a modern Honda engine on one of the older Horse tillers that is still in good condition, I think you'd have a great tiller.
One of the things that set Garden Way apart from any other manufacturer I know of was they really worked at making sure owners knew how to service their machines and made parts available. My Horse owners manual has 216 pages of instructions and how to photos and I got a separate master parts catalog for the Horse model that was 44 pages. I haven't paid a lot of attention to it because I haven't had to do much to mine except change the tires (dry rotted), oil, filters and belts. I need to change my tines, but I can't remember where I put the replacement set I bought years ago.
If you could put a modern Honda engine on one of the older Horse tillers that is still in good condition, I think you'd have a great tiller.
I think the tiller wouldn't perform as well. Simply due to the fact, it would be much lighter with a modern day Honda engine. The Kohler cast iron 7hp that is on mine I'm sure weighs a ton.
BTW, I put the new belts, reverse disc and a new forward/reverse spring on mine Sat. Went through the manual and made all the adjustments and lubed some points. With ground still to damp to really get serious, I put it to the test..... WOW, what a difference.:thumbsup: It doesn't jerk like it did before. I'm sure that is because the belts are no longer slipping causing both the tines and wheels to stop turning. It does appear that I will need to replace a couple of seals though. They don't leak bad, but they do leak a bit. At least I know where to get the parts. Oh, I believe I also need to replace the big coil spring that automatically pushes it out of reverse, if I can't get the plunger to move freely.
I've got an air filter and a new muffler on the way. This thing runs like a top. Starts 1st or 2nd pull at most everytime. With the new parts and the price of the tiller, I've got $450 in this and couldn't be happier.
Now if it would just dry out.......
WayneB
Elite Member
Living in New Hampshire it was a two hour or so ride over the mountains to Troy using Route 9 and 7. Coming into the area on Route 7 they were down on the right side of the highway in an old brick building. Looks allot like a machine shop industrial area.
Drove right up to the shipping dock and they loaded it into my pick up truck. Dean Leith was the National Sales Manager back then and there was a guy up in Vermont Dick Raymond that was very connected with Garden Way. They actually opened up a Garden Way Center in Burlington Vt that carried all of the Troybilt products including all of the spare parts.
The majority of their business was mail order and shipped directly to the customer. I am not sure how many pieces of mail I got from them prior to buying my tiller.
My Manual is 176 pages and like you stated it has all kinds of pictures on how to properly service the tiller. Troybilt just couldn't keep up with the cost of materials and sell enough tillers to make a profit. The new tillers are actually cheaper in more than just the price. Once the bean counters got there hands on the bill of materials it was just a matter of time before all of the parts quality would be reduced.
Oh by the way last year I went out and purchased a Honda engine and put it on the tiller, did not work out very well. The key problem was the oil low sensor and my ability to disconnect it. Every time I would start tilling the tines would go deeper into the soil and the engine would shut-off. I ended up pulling the Honda off and installing the old motor back on the tiller.
I have purchased a new motor from Small Engine Supply Small Engine Warehouse - Repower Outdoor Power Equipment and they shipped it to me for $2.00 shipping cost Fed-X ground. So the total cost was $251.00 for the Briggs engine. I do not use the tiller too much as I have a 5 foot tiller for my tractor and do all of our field preparation with that and the disk harrows.
We plant a couple acres in potatoes, then an acre in other garden stand items like cucumbers and tomatoes. We also have around an acre of Raspberries that keeps us busy. So the tiller is used in certain areas, but not too much these days. It痴 like an old friend and will be here as long as I am. LOL :laughing:
2manyrocks
Super Member
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2007
- Messages
- 8,256
Which Honda engine did you use? I was thinking that you could fit a Honda to a Horse that came with a Briggs engine more easily than one that came with a Kohler. Never thought that the Honda oil sensor would be an issue. Did yours originally have a Briggs engine?
I googled Dean Leith and stumbled on this summary of documents on Garden Way at the University of Vermont. Garden Way Publishing Company Records I think he was used to put a face on the company to help sell products.
After I bought mine, I used to get stuff in the mail from them for 5 or 6 years after that, and then it stopped. I remember getting a newsletter with gardening tips and sales promotions for quite some time.
Gardenway used to sell a gardening book called "Down to Earth Vegetable Gardening" featuring Dick Raymond. I used it as a reference when I started gardening and still have it.
Most of the time I break my garden with a plow and then use the Horse to get it ready to plant, but I prefer a smaller tiller for cultivation during the growing season. Guess that's part of the reason why mine is still running on the original Kohler because it hasn't been used as my only gardening tiller all these years.
Cost cutting and some other factors may have done them in. There has been a lot of consolidation in the lawn and garden equipment industry in the last 20 years. Maybe what hurt Garden Way in particular is that it's hard to have repeat sales when your product lasts 28 years like mine. I wonder also if they weren't riding a wave of home gardening from the 1970's, and just how many people actually grow gardens now?
I googled Dean Leith and stumbled on this summary of documents on Garden Way at the University of Vermont. Garden Way Publishing Company Records I think he was used to put a face on the company to help sell products.
After I bought mine, I used to get stuff in the mail from them for 5 or 6 years after that, and then it stopped. I remember getting a newsletter with gardening tips and sales promotions for quite some time.
Gardenway used to sell a gardening book called "Down to Earth Vegetable Gardening" featuring Dick Raymond. I used it as a reference when I started gardening and still have it.
Most of the time I break my garden with a plow and then use the Horse to get it ready to plant, but I prefer a smaller tiller for cultivation during the growing season. Guess that's part of the reason why mine is still running on the original Kohler because it hasn't been used as my only gardening tiller all these years.
Cost cutting and some other factors may have done them in. There has been a lot of consolidation in the lawn and garden equipment industry in the last 20 years. Maybe what hurt Garden Way in particular is that it's hard to have repeat sales when your product lasts 28 years like mine. I wonder also if they weren't riding a wave of home gardening from the 1970's, and just how many people actually grow gardens now?
Last edited:
WayneB
Elite Member
The Honda engine I purchased was the GX-200 (don't remember all of the line item extensions. It was a 6.5 HP with a slightly shorter keyed 3/4" shaft but the pulley and reverse block with a different attachment bolt fit onto it okay. There was mention of the oil sensor being a problem and that it had to be disconnected to work properly with the tiller. This was last summer during a period of time that I was somewhat busy and just couldn't mess with it.
I am sure the Honda engine would work fine on the tiller if the sensor is properly by-passed. I ended up putting the old Briggs engine back on. (this was a replacement engine I purchased from Troybilt back in the 90's)
My tiller came with a Tecumseh 6 HP manual start motor. At that time they offered three motors, 6HP Tecumseh manual start, 7HP Kohler with manual or electric start or a 8HP Briggs with electric start only (I think).
I don't believe engine weight has much to do with the operation of the tiller and for me a 6HP motor has plenty of power. A friend of mine has the 10 HP tiller and it certainly is nicer than mine, but newer too. The finished tilled area though always looks the same.
I use the tiller mainly for selected cultivating these years so it sits more than it runs. Which is fine with me. The paint is faded and the tires need to be replaced but it is still my tool and no one else uses it. Never lend your tiller to anyone!
I would like to think I have removed all of the big rocks, but each year I take out a few bucket loads of major rocks that have worked their way up to the surface. I've stopped wondering how they made all of those darn stone walls in New Hampshire (New England)!
Interesting read on the Garden Way Inc. bunch. My family came from up state New York and we would drive through Burlington, Vermont on our way home and I always seemed to fine a reason to pull into the Garden Way store to look around at what was new. A bunch of consolidations and power plays doomed Garden Way I am sure and the home gardener suffered. Wonder how many of gardeners have a root cellar, pressure cooker and ball jars these days?
I am sure the Honda engine would work fine on the tiller if the sensor is properly by-passed. I ended up putting the old Briggs engine back on. (this was a replacement engine I purchased from Troybilt back in the 90's)
My tiller came with a Tecumseh 6 HP manual start motor. At that time they offered three motors, 6HP Tecumseh manual start, 7HP Kohler with manual or electric start or a 8HP Briggs with electric start only (I think).
I don't believe engine weight has much to do with the operation of the tiller and for me a 6HP motor has plenty of power. A friend of mine has the 10 HP tiller and it certainly is nicer than mine, but newer too. The finished tilled area though always looks the same.
I use the tiller mainly for selected cultivating these years so it sits more than it runs. Which is fine with me. The paint is faded and the tires need to be replaced but it is still my tool and no one else uses it. Never lend your tiller to anyone!
I would like to think I have removed all of the big rocks, but each year I take out a few bucket loads of major rocks that have worked their way up to the surface. I've stopped wondering how they made all of those darn stone walls in New Hampshire (New England)!
Interesting read on the Garden Way Inc. bunch. My family came from up state New York and we would drive through Burlington, Vermont on our way home and I always seemed to fine a reason to pull into the Garden Way store to look around at what was new. A bunch of consolidations and power plays doomed Garden Way I am sure and the home gardener suffered. Wonder how many of gardeners have a root cellar, pressure cooker and ball jars these days?