As I mentioned in a different thread, I had purchased a 212. I currently have a 208 that needs a new head gasket, that should be in this week. I haven't heard the 212 run, but the engine turns over freely. It was sitting in a shed for the past 6 years or so. I am going to take the carb off, take it with me to JD when I pick up parts for my 208, and have them clean it and put a kit into it. The 212's deck is quite rusty, and has holes, but they can be patched and painted. I don't know if the spindles need work, but no doubt they do. I just rebuilt the deck on my 208 so vast experience in this area now. And my 208 deck will fit on the 212. So I could use one for blowing snow, and the other for cutting grass. Or, my son in law will need a tractor next spring to cut his lawn......maybe he could use one. Or, one may be for sale. Hard to say. Anyway.....something else to play on before the snowmobile season starts.
Just brought home a 212
wndoguy
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148 Posts
As I mentioned in a different thread, I had purchased a 212. I currently have a 208 that needs a new head gasket, that should be in this week. I haven't heard the 212 run, but the engine turns over freely. It was sitting in a shed for the past 6 years or so. I am going to take the carb off, take it with me to JD when I pick up parts for my 208, and have them clean it and put a kit into it. The 212's deck is quite rusty, and has holes, but they can be patched and painted. I don't know if the spindles need work, but no doubt they do. I just rebuilt the deck on my 208 so vast experience in this area now. And my 208 deck will fit on the 212. So I could use one for blowing snow, and the other for cutting grass. Or, my son in law will need a tractor next spring to cut his lawn......maybe he could use one. Or, one may be for sale. Hard to say. Anyway.....something else to play on before the snowmobile season starts.
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4,440 Posts
Good luck on it! See if you can do the carb yourself, Mother Deere will charge some good $$$ just for disassembly. If you get the carb kit and a bottle of cleaner, it will be done for under $30.
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251 Posts
I recently purchased a John Deere 212 because I wanted a John Deere 50 wagon the guy was selling. I bought the 212 ($50), the mower deck for the 212 ($50) and the John Deere 50 cart ($50) that was in excellent condition. So for a total of $150 I bought all three items, when I really only wanted the 50 cart. The tractor is in good shape except the PO locked up the engine towing something up a hill and not using the granny gear. I decided I would get the 212 running rebuilding the engine or buying something with a engine to replace the bad one. So I bought another 212 for $100 that the motor was free on (not running though) that looked bad in the pictures. Well, when I picked it up the tractor is in pretty good shape just missing the grill. It has no spark, but turns over and seems to have decent compression (checked holding finger over spark plug hole). Now I have two JD 212's to get running. I need to break my addiction to green and yellow things with four wheels!
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10,128 Posts
Good luck on breaking the Green addiction,sounds like you are getting some designated tractors,mowing,blowing,towing and the 212 is very capable tractors.
Maybe your lucky and have Kohler carbs on them,carbs on these are easy,just do them yourself.
Maybe your lucky and have Kohler carbs on them,carbs on these are easy,just do them yourself.
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251 Posts
I have a number of round fender JD 110's and yes the carbs are pretty easy to to rebuild. I have one of the ultrasonic cleaners from Harbor Freight and it works great in cleaning up the carbs. I just need to clean out the garage so I have some room to work on all these green machines.
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247 Posts
Mike, can you get us some pics of the carb on your 212. I have about 5 of the Kohler #26's and one #30. I've torn all of them down and cleaned them in the gallon of carb cleaner you get at most parts stores. We will talk you through cleaning it up and getting it running again. Also if you look for past threads on the subject there is a wealth of info about them. If you have a Walbro, I wouldn't even try messing with it. Read the "Brain Trust" thread from Mr. Beef on that subject. You can get a Kohler #26 on fleabay or I will sell you one. Good luck and keep us posted.
raying: if so there super simple to go through. And you can get a rebuild kit on eBay for 9.00 shipping included.
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148 Posts
Thanks guys for all the insight, and other stories. The new 212 is sitting outside tarped over, until the 208 is back together and ready to work again. Then the 212 comes inside for a big. I did try and turn the 212 over yesterday with a wrench, and it turned with out any issues. Battery was more than dead so I took that out. Things are dirty in there, but waiting till I get in in the garage so I can do some more damage. It started raining here last night, and I think it's supposed to rain for 40 days or something. Weather here in Ontario this fall has been real wet. I need to cut my lawn one more time, but 208 has been down, and now it's far too wet. Hopefully next week.
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148 Posts
Ok, I know it's been more that 2 years since I purchased the 212, but I have finally started working on it. I did the fluids, and have now replaced all the leads from the battery, ground straps etc. The old leads were a little short, and seemed a little too small of wire. I have put everything back together, and now I can't seem to get any power to the starter. I don't hear a click when I turn the key or anything. I know it could be something like the neutral switch, seat switch etc. But I have no idea where to look for these things. Can anyone give me an idea how to check these items, or have an opinion on what problem I may have?
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54,635 Posts
Well the work looks good but you are correct other things could be affecting this. The neutral safety on the 200 series is a pain. However if you look in the area where you shift with a small flashlight you should be able to see the neutral safety switch. You want to make sure that the shifter is pushing on it so it closes the circuit when you turn the key.
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2,821 Posts
Usually it is the neutral start switch with these 200 series. You have to make sure the shifter surround piece is pushing the switch in so it engages and lets the tractor start. What year is your 212, does it have a manual or electric PTO?
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148 Posts
I'm not sure of the year, but it's a manual PTO. And it was at the shifter. Got it turning over fine now......just have to feed it some fuel next. It sounds a bit different that my 208 when it turns over. Not as smooth. It may be as it's been sitting for years, but not sure about that. Also, does the starters armature always stay engaged with the flywheel or is it supposed to retract back towards the starter?
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2,821 Posts
It should sound slightly different since I'm sure the K301 and K181 starters are different. Yes, the armature/gear is supposed to retract after it has spun the motor over. If yours is stuck inside the flywheel, maybe try some WD40 and tapping it back GENTLY with a screwdriver. These starters do like to stick, but it's usually the other way around - they just spin and don't engage.
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251 Posts
I recently worked on one of the 212's I bought a couple years ago, too. I have mine running and have driven it around the yard a bit. The problem I am having is the drive belt keeps coming off the pulley on the rear end. The pulley has a bend on one side of it probably done by the previous owner to make it easier to put the belt on, but also makes the belt come off very easy. What is the proper/easy way to put the belt on that goes to the rear end? I will have to get a replacement pulley for the 212's rear end that isn't bent.
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149 Posts
By removing the three bolts securing the pulley to the transaxle... Otherwise there isn't room between the pulley and axle housing.
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148 Posts
So I let my transaxle drain over night to change this fluid. At first the oil in there appeared nasty......almost like a thin peanut butter that globbed out ......but did pour out eventually. Should I run something through the tranny to clean out more sludge?
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