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Bolens Estate Keeper Restoration

26K views 87 replies 14 participants last post by  BRIAN EK7&10 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
.
Well, as I had referenced in an earlier post (here: http://gardentractor...s-past-weekend/), I recently obtained an Estate Keeper to work on over the winter to hopefully get running by the time spring rolls around so I can mow some lawns with it. For the time being (as my girlfriend wants her garage back so she can park her car for the winter, go figure...) I had to park the EK-10 elsewhere, so it is stuffed in the corner of someone else's garage who was nice enough to let me keep it there for the winter, so long as it is kept out of the way enough. However, I have not had a lot of time to work on it as of yet and I have spent a lot of time recently trying to finish up my Bolens 850 project. But, with that project hopefully out of the way for now, maybe I can turn some attention towards the Estate Keeper.

I did get some preliminary things done on it since I dragged it off of the trailer and parked it. For one, I managed to wrestle the mower deck off of the front of the Estate Keeper. This was a bit of a project just because one of the previous owners bolted on the deck hanger frame instead of using clevis pins. I managed to get some of the bolts off, but one was being a real pain and it wouldn't budge. I'm not sure if it was just rusted good or if someone used lock-tite to put it together, but it wouldn't budge. Still, I manhandled the deck off and got it out of the way for now so I could get at some other parts of the Estate Keeper.

Another area that needed attention badly were the tires as the ones that were on it were pretty shot. 3 out of the 4 tires on it would not hold any air at all and all of the tread was pretty worn off on them all. The fronts were the original Firestone tires that Bolens put on at the factory, so they were very old. The rear tires were cheapie 2-ply Carlisle tires that were junk when they were new. So, I jacked up the Estate Keeper, thew some cinder-blocks under the frame, and pulled all 4 wheels off of it. I had been looking into buying new wheels for it to mount the new tires on, but I was worried about those front wheels most of all. The rear wheels look like just regular 4-bolt golf cart type wheels, so I thought those should be easier to find new. However, the front wheels looked much different and like they would be harder to find. So, I called around and got some prices on sandblasting and powdercoating the old wheels I had and decided to go that route. I found one that didn't sound too bad price-wise, so I took the wheels over to be blasted and coated.

Besides that, I also managed to get the seized ignition switch out as well as the light switch (which was a bit more of a pain as the lock ring didn't want to uncrew nicely). I haven't installed the new switch I bought on eBay yet though as there are a few other things that need attention first. A lot of the wiring looked pretty hacked together for some reason. Not sure if a lot of the OEM wiring on these were known for rotting out or corroding or if people just randomly cut out wiring and badly spliced in new wires for some reason, but I was thinking I should probably get the wiring sorted out a bit better than it is now. The battery is also in need of replacement. I was hoping maybe I could get away with just charging it, but it is in such bad shape that the battery charger won't even attempt to charge it as there is so little voltage left in it. So, a new battery is in order as well before I can even try turning it over to test the engine. I'm hoping that the starter solenoid and voltage regulator are good in it so I won't have to replace those.

Here is the rest of the short-list of things I desperately need to fix and/or check on this so that I can hopefully get it working:
  • Check and/or replace points.
  • Check and clean/rebuild carb (if needed).
  • Install throttle cable (it is missing).
  • Fix choke cable. (Choke cable is currently hooked up to throttle.)
  • Replace battery.
  • Properly install Starter/Generator. (See photos, lol!)
  • Replace missing Free-Wheel handle on left rear axle (so I can push EK around).
  • Possibly replace entire wiring harness?
  • Install new ignition switch.
  • Mount new tires on resurfaced wheels and install them on EK.
  • Install new seat on seat spring bracket.
  • Repair or replace PTO lever. (Not a necessity, but it would be nice.)
Hopefully I will get the wheels back sometime after Christmas when they are finished. I just hope they don't take too long or cost too much money in the end! The tires I ordered are already in, so that is a problem since the wheels aren't finished yet. I was hoping to have the wheels done so I can bring them over when I pick up the tires because they said they would mount the tires for me. I got a set of 4 Carlisle 4-ply Turf-Saver tires for the Estate Keeper for around $150. I honestly really liked the look of the Turf-Master tires better, which looked a bit more aggressive and had deeper tread, but they were a lot more money and I couldn't see spending twice the money on those tires for my EK.

Well, that is about it for now. I can update this as events unfold. I'll eventually start tearing the deck apart so I can get that sandblasted and ready to be painted. I'm taking a cue from "restoring" the 850's deck and I'm not short-cutting this deck just to end up with horrible results. I'm going to have this deck professionally sandblasted and either powdercoated or painted the right way and not with crappy TSC rattle-can paint. It may cost me a lot more, but I'll hopefully be a lot hapier with the end result and end up with a deck that will look good and last me a long time.

Here are the pictures of the Estate Keeper right now up on blocks. I also took some photos to highlight some areas that need attention. My good camera's battery died on me when I was over there trying to take photos, so most of these were taken with my cell phone's camera. You can tell the picture quality isn't as good, but hopefully you can still make them out.




The crappy battery that is in it. Does anyone know what size battery is supposed to be in here? Maybe a part number for a good Interstate or Nationwide battery?​



Starter solenoid and voltage regulator:​



Left rear wheel hub assembly that is missing the Free-Wheel handle:​



Pretty greasy, grimy, and nasty, eh?​


PTO lever that is missing the top handle part:​



Gotta love how they "mounted" the Starter/Generator, right?​



Close-up of some more hacked-together wiring, the points cover, and in the background the throttle/governor linkage which looks, umm... ???

The choke cable hooked up to the throttle. Any ideas how this is supposed to look? Does this cable holder hold both the choke and throttle cables normally?​


Is this the "brake" on the transaxle input shaft? I know it is hard to see and I can try to get some better pics soon, but it looks like there is no brake pad on this.​


The engine cover definitely needs some work too:​


Can this crack in the cover be repaired? Does it have to be TIG welded or something? Someone said maybe I could JB Weld it or something, but IDK how well that would work and someone said it might need to be welded if it is "structural". Since this crack goes all the way to the edge (and not just a small hole in the center of the cover or something), does it have to be welded properly?​

 
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20
#2 ·
They are at the top of that Aluminum ID plate where the key switch mounts (Follow the plate back from the switch and you will find them stamped into the metal)
I'm just curious which model you have and what the serial Number is so I can compare it to mine.
Oh, and BTW, Brian, here are the numbers off of the plate that you asked about a while ago:
Model Number: 931-02​
Serial Number: 3760​

I'm not sure exactly what that tells you about my EK-10. Can you tell what year it was manufactured by the serial number? Is it a low serial number unit or something? I have to say that the serial numbers on the EK-10 seem a lot different than the numbers on like my 850 or the mower deck serial numbers...
 
#8 ·
I would contact Auto Zone and I bet they will be able to fix you up with the right battery, just furnish them with a little info from the old one and you should be good to go.
Yes, but more to the point of my question, I'm not sure if this is the right battery for the EK. Sure, it might work for now if I bought another of the same battery, but 340 cranking amps seems kind of low to me. I think the battery I put in my 850 was at least a 500 or 550 CCA Nationwide (kind of a "generic" Interstate battery; made by Interstate but is cheaper). I'd rather spend a bit more on a good battery that will last me a long time than to keep putting throw-away batteries in my equipment every year. Also, not sure if it is supposed to have those kind of terminals on the battery or if it is supposed to have the bigger top round posts like the battery on my 850 has.
 
#4 ·
Looks like quite a project. That should keep you out of the bars and chasing wimmins


It looks like your EK is a 1968 or 1969, as the -02 was built in both of those years.

Now as for the data plate:

Up until 1972 bolens put the production run number as a -nn after the model number just like your EK.

When they made the change, they put the production run number as the first 2 digits of the SN.

In both cases, Bolens started their serial numbers for each production run at 00101.

"Doc" Bolens posted the letter that explained that here:

http://gardentractortalk.com/forums/files/file/3782-1973-bolens-serial-number-service-bulletein/

So your EK with a SN of 3760 would have been the 3660th EK in the -02 production run. Being that high, I'd guess that you have a 1969.

For that crack in the bodywork, one thing you definitely need to do is drill a hole at the end of the crack. That will keep it from extending.
 
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#5 ·
thats some work there
 
#6 · (Edited by Moderator)
Looks like you got your work cut out for you!
Atleast you got a good ways until mowing season begins so you will have plenty of time to take it slow and chip away at getting her up and running.

First thing I would do is see about getting that engine running. Once you know you got a good engine you can then go about purchasing/ replacing the cosmetics of the EK10.

Will get some pics of the throttle cable/ carb linkages for you ASAP

It was common for the Hoods to crack on these as they tend to vibrate quite a bit while running. They can be welded but you need to find a guy that's good at welding aluminum. Aluminum is an entirely different animal compared to steel.

Going by the numbers and appearance of your EK10 I would say I'm 99% certain its a 1968.

And it does appear you are missing your brake shoe.....
 
#7 ·
you need 2 cans of gunk de greaser an a powerwasher clean it up then try to fire it up. idk how long its been sitting but im sure it has a stuck valve.. if you need that free wheel pin i might have one
 
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#9 ·
You need 2 cans of gunk de greaser an a powerwasher clean it up...
Only 2 cans? lol... I think I might need 2 cans just to clean up that one left side hub where the free wheel pin is supposed to go! I was wondering about how to clean that up though and wasn't sure if using like a foaming engine degreaser would do a better job cleaning it up than just spraying it with Simple Green or something like that? I don't have a pressure washer and don't want to get his garage all wet anyways, so thought maybe I could clean it with a shallow bucket under the hub to catch the solvents and just pour some hot water over it to rinse it off? Maybe get a throw-away scrub brush to scrub it with too...
 
#10 ·
no power washer? you might wnt to rent or buy one if your doing restorations
 
#11 ·
The style of battery you have in there is what they used when they came out of the factory. If your going to be using this only in the summer months you can get away with the 350CCA but if you are going to use this in colder conditions you will want to get one with more cranking amps.
 
#13 ·
listen spend the extra and get a interstate. i put one in my 1050 in 01 or 02 an its still working. i get 4 years out of the little batterys as long as they are kept charged
 
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#14 ·
listen spend the extra and get a interstate. i put one in my 1050 in 01 or 02 an its still working. i get 4 years out of the little batterys as long as they are kept charged
That was my thought too! I had an Interstate battery in my 1975 Plymouth Fury that came with the car when I bought it. I bought the car in 2003 and that battery was already in it and it worked perfectly until this year (2012) when it finally died. The sides of the battery started to swell and it had a hard time turning over, so I figured it was time to replace it. I went right out and bought the exact same model of Interstate battery to put back in it. I figured if it lasted at least 10+ years as long as I had it (and who knows how long the battery was in the car before I bought it!), I wasn't going to mess around with anything else. I'm 100% sold on Interstate batteries after that! I've had about 3 new batteries in my truck in the same amount of time that the Interstate battery was in my Fury because I keep buying Advance Auto Parts batteries to throw in it. I wouldn't exactly call them cheap batteries either based on how much the cost, but they certainly don't last like the Interstate batteries do! I'm going to have to buy another battery for my truck this winter already and I just put a battery in my truck back in 2008. I went home for Christmas last week and left my truck sitting for 3 days over Christmas. (Didn't need to go anywhere by myself really and rode with family the rest of the time...) But when I went to start it up to head home, the battery was totally dead! Had to jump it off my dad's truck to get it going. I guess that's a sign I need a new battery...

(And yes, I know all of that was horribly OFF-TOPIC to an Estate Keeper build, but hey... It is still useful information to someone, I'm sure!...)
 
#15 ·
UPDATE - While I was out in Rochester for Christmas, I picked up the old EK wheels that I dropped off a couple weeks ago to have re-done. But, with winter weather in the way, I haven't had a chance to pick up my new tires for it yet! Hopefully a full update to come soon with pictures... :camera: once I can get a chance to head over to pick up the new tires and have them mounted... But hey, at least I got the wheels back for now. I have to say, I was impressed with the job they did on them considering how rusty and nasty they looked!
 
#16 ·
The style of battery you have in there is what they used when they came out of the factory. If your going to be using this only in the summer months you can get away with the 350CCA but if you are going to use this in colder conditions you will want to get one with more cranking amps.
as long as you got a good starter generator
 
#17 ·
If you don't want to get a power washer, just load it into the back of a pickup and take it to a car wash (not automatic, of course). I've cleaned engine blocks, tranny cases, ATV frames, all kinds of stuff that way. Just go on a slow day, you don't want to back up the line loading and unloading.
 
#18 · (Edited by Moderator)
If you don't want to get a power washer, just load it into the back of a pickup and take it to a car wash. Just go on a slow day, you don't want to back up the line loading and unloading.
Good point, although you could just wash it off in the bed of your truck too so you don't have to unload it at the car wash. In my case, I could load it up on the trailer and take it down to the car wash and just wash it on the trailer bed without having to take it off. I could also spray off the bed of the trailer to clean off any grease and oil that is on it. I'm just not quite sure how to load an Estate Keeper without any wheels on it onto the trailer... ???

Actually, another good thought while I'm at it with this. I was thinking of trying to separate the two halves of the Estate Keeper for the time being so that I could prep and either paint or powdercoat the front part (where you ride) yellow before I start reassembling it. The only problem is, I'm not quite sure how it comes apart where it pivots or how easily in will separate. Has anyone had any experience taking one of these completely apart like that and if so how difficult is it? I figure if I had it in two parts I might be able to wheel them around with a dolly or something to work on them or clean them up. Just a thought...

(Oh, and BTW I like the avatar of your Beagle, Chucknbob! Looks like a nice dog you got there, if he's not stealing your chair!)
 
#19 ·
Taking the two halves apart is fairly easy. You just need to remove the nut and cotter pin in the piviot assembly, Take off the PTO housing & Control Cables.

The tricky part is putting it together when you have to put the steering linkage back in place and align the PTO housing and shaft.

Here's a couple sample pics:
 

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#20 · (Edited by Moderator)
From your photos, that's not exactly where I thought it separated, I guess. I didn't know there was a threaded rod that the front part of the EK body bolts onto there. I thought that big bolt that goes through vertically just behind there is where it came apart, but it looks like it might come apart a lot easier the way you did it than the way I was thinking...

I see you pulled the engine out of your EK too in the photos you posted. I'm assuming that's not too hard to do either? Just 4 bolts on each corner hold it on? I just ask since I'll probably have to at least loosen up the mounting bolts a bit to lift the engine up enough to pull that points cover to have a gander under there...
 
#21 ·
The engine is only held in by 4 mounting bolts. Just be sure to have a work mat/ cardboard sheet under the engine so you don't lose the engine spacers .

A couple of those bolts are a real PITA to get at so you may have to configure some creative angled socket drivers to get at them :D

With the engine out its alot easier to replace the points/ condensor and while you got everything apart you can replace any worn bearings/ bushings/ seals in the drive pulleys or transaxle.
 
#22 · (Edited by Moderator)
Taking the two halves apart is fairly easy. You just need to remove the nut and cotter pin in the piviot assembly, Take off the PTO housing & Control Cables.

The tricky part is putting it together when you have to put the steering linkage back in place and align the PTO housing and shaft.

Here's a couple sample pics:
its a PITA to get back together without scraching anything it took me a year to redo mine it was sitting in the corner of my garage with the frame painted then i gave up for a year then finished it!

[sharedmedia=core:attachments:14824]
[sharedmedia=core:attachments:14825]
 
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#23 · (Edited by Moderator)
UPDATE - While I was out in Rochester for Christmas, I picked up the old EK wheels that I dropped off a couple weeks ago to have re-done. But, with winter weather in the way, I haven't had a chance to pick up my new tires for it yet! Hopefully a full update to come soon with pictures... I have to say, I was impressed with the job they did on them considering how rusty and nasty they looked!
Well, I finally had a chance to take some pictures of the wheels and tires today and get them uploaded, despite my computer acting like a pile of $4!& lately! (See my post about not being able to edit and upload my video of snowblowing: http://gardentractortalk.com/forums/topic/19310-where-is-all-the-snowcasting-and-plowing-pic/?p=256343) The tires are still not mounted yet, but I dropped them off at another shop to have mounted. I'm hoping they will be done by Monday. I also ordered an Interstate battery for my Estate Keeper while I was at the shop yesterday and they said it should be delivered by Monday, so I said I'll just pick up everything then.

I bought the new tires from GCR Tire in Menands, NY on Broadway. I have to say that I was disappointed with them though as I was hoping they would mount the tires for me free of charge since I bought them there. But when I went there to pick them up, I asked if they would mount the tires on my newly coated rims and they said that they would charge me an extra $15 PER TIRE just to mount them!!! :wallbanging: I'm like WTF, really? That's almost half of what I paid for each tire just to mount them! At least I got a fairly decent deal on just the tires, sans mounting them of course. I paid $153 for all 4 tires and they are the good 4-ply ones, not the 2-ply tires. They were good to deal with, found me just what I wanted, and were decent on price, so long as you don't have the tires mounted there at least! As it was, I got screwed by them and/or stupid NY State on the new tires since they charged me a $10 waste disposal fee when I didn't even have old tires that they disposed of! I had the old tires taken off of the rims before they sandblasted and powdercoated them, so they got rid of them instead. Unless NY State now charges you coming AND going and they make you pay $2.50 per tire when you buy them and when you get rid of them as well? Stupid Vampire State!!

In any event, I had dropped off the rims to be blasted and powdercoated back in December about 2 weeks before Christmas. I had a buddy of mine from when I used to live out there do them up for me. He still works for Modern Coating in Palmyra (which I had worked there for a couple of summers back when I was going to college) and gave me a pretty good deal on them. He only charged me $80 total to redo all 4 wheels! The cheapest price I could find out in Albany at any powdercoating place was going to charge me about $40-$50 per wheel! He did a real bang-up job on them too and I liked how they came out in the end. I wish I had pictures of the rims with the wheels off of them before he powdercoated them since they were a disaster. You can still see all the pitting on them in the pictures since you can't really cover that up with powdercoating. But, not like you'll see any of that anyways with the tires on them. They looked pretty rotted and rusty and I was worried if they would even still hold air after they were sandblasted. For some odd reason, there were also about 8-10 broken and cut-off valve stems and caps in each of the two front tires along with a lot of water... :wtf:

Well, without further ado, here are the pics of the wheels and tires. I'll post more once I get them back from being mounted so you can see them all together. But first, here are some pics of what the wheels looked like on the Estate Keeper when I first bought it to show how bad they were:

EK-10-12032012_17.jpg

EK-10-12032012_18.jpg

EK-10-12032012_05.jpg

And now, here are the rims after they came back from being freshly powdercoated. First, here they are in my buddy's garage when I went to pick them up:​
EK-10Wheels_01.jpg

Now, here they are at home:​
EK-10Wheels_02.jpg

You can still see all the pitting on the inside through the powdercoating:​
EK-10Wheels_03.jpg
(Also, for some reason, it looks like one of the rear rims is a different style? Look at how different the inside of the rim looks on that one wheel in the back there...)​
EK-10Wheels_04.jpg

Close-up shots of the rims to show details:​

EK-10Wheels_05.jpg

EK-10Wheels_06.jpg

Now, here are the new tires I bought from GCR. They are Carlisle Turf-Saver 4-ply 16X6.50-8NHS tires:​
EK-10Wheels_07.jpg

EK-10Wheels_08.jpg

EK-10Wheels_09.jpg

EK-10Wheels_10.jpg

The tread still looks pretty nice and deep on them, for Turf-Saver tires I guess. I had originally wanted the Carlisle Turf-Master tires for it which look like this:

51B-oSZ2szL._SS500_.jpg

However, they wanted like $65 per tire for those compared with only $32 per tire for the Turf-Saver's that I bought. I couldn't see spending TWICE as much money for pretty similar tires, so I went with the cheaper ones instead. Yeah, I like the more agressive look and meatier tread of the Turf-Master, but for what I spent the tires I got still look pretty nice and should work well for quite a few years at least.

Now to just get them mounted and on the Estate Keeper so I can wheel it around again, lol. Of course I'll want to thoroughly wash off the EK before I put my nice new shiny wheels on it...
 
#24 ·
I think you can still buy them size rims now a day also they do make filler for powder coat but its a little late now.
 
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#26 · (Edited by Moderator)
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Well, I got the wheels back today with the new tires mounted on them and they look great! It cost me another $32 to have them mounted, but oh well, what are you going to do? I also bought a new Interstate battery for the Estate Keeper. However, I am kind of worried about it and wondering if it was worth wasting the money on? Evidently the type of battery is just a "lawn and garden" battery and not a full-fledged car or truck battery, like what I put into the Bolens 850. As it is, Interstate says that they only warranty them for 6 months (one season, basically...) and they double-checked with me if I even wanted to order it now during the off-season because if anything happened to it (like it froze-over during the winter or something) and it doesn't work by the time summer comes, they won't be able to warranty it. I told them I needed it anyways, so they sent it. It cost me $85 for that stupid battery though... Which seems like a lot for a small battery that will only last a year or so at most and especially when the battery for my car only cost around the $100-$120 range. It would have been nice if I could have found a similar sized automotive battery to put in it, even if it meant having to change the terminals on the tractor.

In any event though, I brought the tires over to the garage tonight but I couldn't mount them because stupid me forgot to bring the jack along, so I will have to do that to-morrow. I did however manage to clean off the rear axles and get it ready to put the tires on it. I bought a bottle of that "AWESOME" spray cleaner at Dollar Tree and used that to clean up the EK a bit. It did wonders on the grease and grime that was caked onto that rear axle! I also checked out a few other things around the EK and found a few problems that I will highlight in the pictures below. But first, here are the new tires mounted on the wheels:

EK-10Wheels_11.jpg

Ooooh! Nice, aren't they? They'll really look nice on this EK, once it is all finished!​
EK-10Wheels_12.jpg

Close-up picture to show texture:​

EK-10Wheels_13.jpg

Now, here are the photos highlighting some of the problems (potential or otherwise) I have found on this Estate Keeper so far. First up, after I removed the battery I could get a better look behind there at some of the clutch linkages, the transaxle drive pulley, and (hopefully) the brake lever. I highlighted some areas in the picture so hopefully you can see them better. The first is where I think the brake pad is supposed to be (but isn't) and the second is a part of the clutch arm (I think?) that looks like it was cut off for some reason. Is this supposed to look like that or did someone cob it up?

EK-10-01072013_01.jpg

This next part shows that the voltage regulator rubber isolator mount is broken on one side. Is this a part of the voltage regulator that would come with a new one or do I have to replace the mount separately?​
EK-10-01072013_02.jpg

EK-10-01072013_03.jpg

Here is a good look at the whole engine area. As you can see, I took the Starter/Generator off of it because it was only held on with ONE BOLT evidently!! :( :wallbanging:​
So, I will have to go to the hardware store to-morrow and buy new mounting bolts for the Starter/Generator. I also saw that the bracket that mounts on top of the engine that allows the S/G to slide out to tighten the belt seems wrong. I have a close-up of that coming later on to show that. You can also see how much cleaner the rear axle hub is now thanks to the cleaning power of "AWESOME"!! I have more close-ups of that coming as well.​
EK-10-01072013_04.jpg

Here is what the rear axle hub looked like before when it was all filthified:​
EK-10-12162012_09.jpg

...and now it looks nice and clean (by comparison at least):​
EK-10-01072013_05.jpg
EK-10-01072013_06.jpg
Overall, the Estate Keeper could still use a good bath, but at least it is clean enough to put the wheel on for now to get if off the blocks so I can move it around...​
Another thing you may have noticed in the prior pictures is that it seems like there is a broken engine mount. I have highlighted that in the following picture as well in case you missed it. Is this a potential problem and should I replace that piece of spring steel that supports the engine there?​
EK-10-01072013_07.jpg

Now, here are the front axles. This first picture is of the right hand side axle. This seems to only have one big hole drilled in it for the spring cotter that holds the wheel and/or deck extension arms onto the axle:​
EK-10-01072013_08.jpg

And here is the left side front axle. Notice how this axle seems to have TWO holes in it? The second, smaller hole is harder to see, but it is in front of the bigger hole. Did someone add this for something? Also, according to my Estate Keeper manual in the parts breakdown, it looks like there are supposed to be two sets of holes in the front axle, one to hold the front wheels on with a cotter key and the other to hold the deck extension arms onto the axle with the spring cotters. However, the axles on this don't look like they would be able to accommodate both. Which is right?​
EK-10-01072013_09.jpg

Here is a better pic showing the smaller hole, but the axle is out of focus in this shot, unfortunately. I drew an arrow showing the hole.​
EK-10-01072013_10.jpg

Well, what ELSE could possibly go wrong with this thing at this rate? Oh, how about I break off the bolt that mounts the Starter/Generator bracket and the front engine shroud? Evidently someone stripped the threads on the bolt as it started to come out really tough and then the head just snapped right off. I tried using a pair of pliers to twist the broken bolt out, but there's just not enough threads showing to get a good grip on it. IDK how I'm going to get that out of there now to replace it?!?! :wallbanging:​
EK-10-01072013_11.jpg

I put the plate back on there to show where it goes. It was bent, so I bent it back to straighten it out a bit. However, is this the wrong S/G mount that is on this? It seems way off to align with the bolt hole in the S/G so that it can slide to tighten up the belt. Could someone have replaced the S/G on this with the wrong one somehow and the mounts are different on it? Or what am I missing here? I can't seem to figure out why this won't line up and mount properly...​
EK-10-01072013_12.jpg

Here is another shot of it with the S/G mounted the way it was showing how far off the bracket is to lining up with the bolt hole in the S/G:​
EK-10-12162012_13.jpg
EK-10-12162012_12.jpg

Finally, here is a random shot of the controls area showing the throttle and choke levers (without the handles on them) and also showing that the rusted ignition switch and headlight switch have been removed. Not sure if I need to replace the headlight switch with a new one, but man was it a PITA to get out of there. You can see all the damage done to the cast aluminum plate there from the pliers trying to twist off the retaining ring that held the light switch in. :wallbanging:​
EK-10-01072013_13.jpg

So, that is where I am at with it so far. I know, not too much progress as of yet and I seem to keep uncovering more problems the further I delve into this. IDK how much more I can bang my head against the wall over this thing :wallbanging: before my head collapses in... I'm still also nowhere on finding a decent seat for this thing (which I know I need to get the engine running first before I will need that anyways, but still it would be nice to find one before I'm done with everything else and then I can't drive it because I have no place to sit down...). I'm also still looking for the PTO lever as mine is missing the extension for the top of it so you can easily reach it. I also haven't taken the deck apart yet to see what I will need for that (besides just an entire new deck...), but I'm assuming I will need at least new bearings and a belt for it. I need all new belts for the PTO and the Hi Range drive belts as well. Probably will need a new S/G belt too at some point, but the one that is on here actually doesn't look all too bad for now. More parts will probably also be needed as I get further into this project and discover what other hidden surprises await me.

Wish me luck and more updates to come as I make progress with this...
 
#27 · (Edited by Moderator)
Oh, and BTW, Brian, here are the numbers off of the plate that you asked about a while ago:

Model Number: 931-02

Serial Number: 3760
Sorry, I lied to you about that!! Don't ever believe a word I say!!! :hitting_self_roller:

Evidently the actual Serial Number of my Estate Keeper is 5760, NOT 3760!! I guess I can't tell the difference between a 5 and a 3 in a photo of the plate that has the numbers on it!!
smiley__roll_eyes.gif
I just noticed that today while I was working on the EK earlier. I thought I should let you all know the brutal truth on that and come clean after all this time...
 
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