Garden Tractor Forums banner
Cancel
Create thread New Forums

Bolens G10

2 reading
Jump to Latest
21 - 40 of 50 Posts
#21 ·
Discussion starter · #22 ·
Good news on the hinge front. I found a good looking one on a 1250 hood I'd forgotten about. It's locked up now but I should be able to free it up.

I finished butchering the head for dipstick clearance today. I'm fairly certain Bolens did this as the Briggs & Stratton parts list makes no mention of a special head or dipstick for the original motor. The black head is the original for reference. As you can see I went a little too far on the bottom but it's harmless.


Original air cleaner adapter mounted. I used a square cut o-ring between the carb and adapter. Also note the ugly but cheap exhaust.


Got the heat shield to mount after fiddling with the exhaust and moving the gas tank forward a skosh. I much prefer these metal tanks. Yes, I know she needs a new tire or four.


Once the new ignition switch comes in I can get the tower mounted and start the wiring job. I've already removed everything related to the safety switches.
 
Discussion starter · #28 ·
It's looking more like a tractor now. I used a propane torch and some water quenching to free up the hood latch, then got the hood mounted. It barely closes with that Briggs metal gas tank on there. I also replaced both broken rubber hood latches. I knocked out the hole plug in the dash added an ammeter in preparation for the wiring job. I then made a new throttle cable from a longer one I salvaged at some point and hooked it up along with the choke cable. Tomorrow's looking like a yard work day unfortunately, but I'm not expecting an ignition switch for a few days.
 
Discussion starter · #30 ·
Wiring is not my forte, but I got the basics done. She starts, runs and stops with the key. She also appears to charge going by the ammeter. The lights will have to wait for another day. The 12 gauge I used is overkill but it's what I have on hand. I actually saved it from when we were cleaning out my late father-in-law's barn. He got me into tractors (gifted me my first 1050) so I'm sure he'd be happy to see it being used in one. I've learned to always solder and heat shrink my connections. It takes a lot longer but it's worth it in the long run. I made the battery cables by cutting down longer 'junk' cables then adding new ends. It looks like I should shorten up the positive cable a bit more. I got the battery from a buddy of mine that picked up a tractor for scrap. After seeing the date on the sticker I can't believe it still works. This is turning out to be cheaper than I was expecting.
 
#32 ·
Looks fine to me. Way better laid out than some of rats nest of wires I have encountered under the hoods of some LT/ GTs I have either worked on or owned. I suppose I could/should have soldered and heat shrunk the harness I recently did for my 1254. All I did was crimp the terminals. Probably the reason that free battery is still working is because it's rated as a reasonably high rate of CCAs. The more expensive, higher rated batteries seem to last longer. IMHO that is. I've had a couple of the bargain 180 CCA batteries poop out in a couple of years.
 
#35 ·
I’m probably going to jinx myself here. I have a U1 that’s just had it’s 5th birthday still cranking up a 12.5 hp Kohler Command. But, it is rated at 430 CCAs and I remove it from the tractor by the start of winter and store it in a mostly heated garage for the winter. I do that with all my L&G batteries that won’t see any use again till spring. They all get a session or two of getting a couple three hours on the trickle charger during the off season too. I learned that trick back a few moons ago. Just parking a tractor in the barn or shed and leaving it till spring was pretty much a sure way to have a dead battery. Having it take and hold a charge again was iffy. Just my experience anyways.
 
Discussion starter · #36 ·
I decided to tackle the right side axle seal today. Drained the gear oil and found it was almost pristine. Of course the drive collar was rusted on, but the Posi-Lock got it off. Turns out some of the axle threads are stripped out. I cleaned them up the best I could with a rethreading die then ran the nut back and forth many times until I could finger tighten it. Can't break what's broken. Thankfully it seems to hold. If it doesn't I can probably add spacers so the nut rides on some good threads, then drill a new hole for the cotter pin. Finished cleaning up the axle, the bores of the drive collar and the freewheel pin. Found the two bronze bushings in the free wheeling hub were shot so I replaced those as well. Greased everything up and put it back together.


I swapped out the bulging front tire and threw a tube in the other side. Unfortunately the rears are too far gone for my liking. I have some nice Carlisle 6-12s I acquired for another project but probably won't get to anytime soon, so I tossed one on just to see how it looks. I've always liked tall narrow 'pizza cutter' tires. What do you all think? I also have a pair of the standard Goodyear 23x8.50s but they'd need a set of tubes.
 
Discussion starter · #38 ·
Me too, that's why I transferred four onto it. (y)


Not much else to report as of late. Today I finished changing the axle seals, filled her up with some fresh 90W GL1 and drove around a bit. I'm hoping to remove the driveshaft soon so I can repack or replace the bearing, change the input seal and finally get the PTO back on.
 
#39 ·
Discussion starter · #40 ·
It's been a while. I'm afraid I've been distracted by a pair of new acquisitions. I traded a Simplicity Sunstar for a Bolens 1463 (1400G) and a Power King 1614. It's my first medium frame, and I've always wanted a Power King. I've got both running and driving, but that's only the beginning.

I did manage to change the driveshaft bearing since I destroyed the old one in the process. The drive pulley was really rusted on there, it took hours of soaking and heating to finally get it off. I know to take it easy, I've broken more cast iron pulleys than I'd like to admit. I found that regular bolts were used to attach the bonded coupling to the shaft coupling. Regular bolt heads won't sit in the bonded coupling's recesses like socket head screws will, so it was twisted from engine torque. I need to paw through my parts collection to see if I have another one.
 
21 - 40 of 50 Posts
About this Discussion
49 Replies
5 Participants
Last post:
Dave in NY
Garden Tractor Forums
posts
964K
members
54K
Since
2010
A forum community dedicated to garden tractor owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, attachments, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!
Full Forum Listing
Explore Our Forums
Off Topic Garden Tractor Forum Bolens Tractor Forum John Deere Tractor Forum Massey, Snapper, AMF Tractor Forum