114 replies to this topic

[NUTNDUN]

I think you did great for $200. I wouldn't have let it slip by either for two Bolens Estate Keepers. Now you just need a grounds keeper

[LPBolens]

I think $200 was reasonable for what you got. Nice buy, Brian!

[Bolens 1000]

Bruce's post

I believe the "lighter faded color one is a 68' and the one with readable decals and seat is a 69'
They both are models 931-02

The early years were the white ones with red rims like you said above.
I'm really excited to get one of these up and running. It would be a blast mowing with one....and imagine the looks I would get mowing near the road

[Bolens 1000]

Well, I got the shifting rods freed up today.I was able to shift into each gear smoothly and manually turn the pulley to see if the tractor would move.

The next step was getting the Wisconsin out. Some idiot left the cylinder head bolts loose and I drained about 1 quart of water out of the crank case LOL :mad2: Guess I'll have to open her up and see what got damaged (hope for the best, prepare for the worst LOL)

The other engine looks more promising.... There's actually oil in that one
If the connecting rod's are still good and not scored I should be able to get 1 Wisconsin running out of the 2

[caseguy]

Not sure how I missed this thread up till now! That looks like a great score Brian! Congrats! sounds like you're making good progress too!

[Bruce Dorsi]

I found an Owner's Manual today for the EK, but it doesn't say which model it covers.

According to the manual, there IS a mechanism in the left rear wheel to disengage the drive. ......It looks like a wire loop, and is visible near the center of the rim. ....It is located on the outboard side of the wheel, not the side facing toward the engine. ....It is shown in the manual.

I will scan the manual as soon as I am able, and post it for you. See note below about new folder.

Did you get the driveshafts with these units? .....It is a short shaft (approx 12" with 2 universals) that is splined to fit the PTO and mower deck. ......The driveshaft did not come with the mower attachment. .....On 931-01 models, the shaft came with the EK. .....On 931-02 models, the shaft had to be purchased separately as an accessory #19313.

I guess another sub-section needs to be added to the Bolens Manual Folder for "Frame-Steer Tractors." ......This would include Lawn Keeper, Estate Keeper, & Grounds Keeper units and their attachments. ......There was also a model 940 Articulated tractor introduced by Bolens in 1980.

Edited by Bruce Dorsi, May 26, 2011 - 10:35 PM.
additional info

[Bolens 1000]

Yes, I do have the drive shaft for at least 1. I didn't really look over the other one yet.
I will see about adding the frame steer section...

[Bolens 1000]

ok, so I got the first engine off the EK and like mentioned in my previous posts I drained a good amount of rusty water out of it.
I kind of figured it would look pretty bad inside and I was right LOL

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 

[Bolens 1000]

I pulled the other EK over with the Bolens 1000 and began taking the engine apart to see if I could get that one running.
This one looked more promising because it actually had oil in the crankcase!

The engine still would not turn over and seemed pretty locked up.
I got the belts off and the engine mounts off and then pulled the head. Thankfully the piston was almost near the top and both the valves were closed. I sprayed some penetrating oil and slowly but surely the engine came free and began turning over quite smoothly by hand. I cleaned up the head and noticed the piston has +0.010 on it which means it was rebuilt at some point in it's life. The bore looked real good. The valves are a little rusty on the top but they cleaned up nicely. I Lapped them while I was at it.
The engine was missing the points, so I grabbed some extra parts I had on the shelf and put them on.

I put fresh oil in and re-mounted the engine to the frame so I could hook up the "temporary" electrical wires to see if I had spark. Sure enough I had a bright blue spark. I decided to just pull a carb On another Bolens since I knew It would work and would not have to mess with adjustments.

I tied up a gas line and used a squirt bottle to fill the fuel line

Attached Thumbnails

• 
• 
• 
• 

[wilberj]

Hey come get mine running next.

[Bolens 1000]

I wound the rope around the pulley and off it went on the first pull!!!!!!

The first few minutes It smoked a bit, but after about 10 minutes of running the smoke from the exhaust stopped and it was running Great!

Even though all the tires were shot I had to give it a test ride to see if the tranny worked. I managed to shift into all gears without any problems. I I didn't take a video of it driving because It was hard to steer on 4 flat tires and the other reason being I had to keep squirting fuel into the line to keep it going.

Got to love these wisconsin engines, they can sit in the elements for years and still fire up with minimal repair efforts.

Looks Like all she needs is a good washing, new Belts, Brakes ,muffler and a gas tank. Oh yeah and some Tires!

[bread320i]

brian, ive never seen a motor that rusty inside.
even if the oil was drained, you would think there would be a oily film to prevent that much rust.

[grand]

Brian, I am glad to finally learn of your latest addition to your Bolens family. I've been up about 26 hours and this will be my last post, but I am glad to know you made another buy, and added to your herd. Keep us updated.

[Bill56]

Looks like you got a great deal for the price, Brian. Thanks for sharing all the pictures and info.

[Bolens 1000]

I started up the EK again today and then out of the blue it started smoking like a train.
I bet the ring broke. I cant think of any other reason for it to just randomly start smoking......