[aclarke10]

'79 Case 446 - Looking to buy - need helpful advice!

Hey everyone,

I am looking to buy a used lawn tractor to cut grass and plow my driveway in mid-Michigan.

I have 6 acres of grass which I used to feed my horses, they alternate between 6 x 1acre fenced pastures which they alternate through 1 week per pasture. I then mow the 1 acre, add some pasture seed and then it sits for 5 weeks to recover. This way I have little/no mud on my property and makes for happy horses/wife. My driveway is also about 500' long, gravel.

Any suggestions or recommendations of a good lawn tractor would be greatly appreciated.

I am currently looking at a used '79 Case 446 tractor.

It comes with a snow caster with new bearings and chain, has rear 3point, 48 in mower deck, rear tire chains and rear pto (Valve and piping).

I saw the tractor last week and it cranked over right away with no smoke, he spun the snow castor and looked good. The 48" deck was not attached but it said everything runs fine.

There is no engine timer/meter so I am unsure how many hours it has been used.

He is asking ~$1600 but he said he would be happy with $1300-1400.

Is this a good deal? Should I be worried about having to do an engine rebuild soon?

I am fairly handy, I do lots of stuff on my vehicles (sway bar end links, fluids, brakes, wiring) and I was able to make a old Whites 12HP (36" deck) last two years before it died.

Thank you all in advance.

- Alex

 

[antiqueetc]

The rear hydraulic PTO kit is worth about $250. If he has the rest of the 3pt hitch, that is worth $400-450. With out the arms, still around $300. Snowcaster about300 also.

Not a bad deal IMO.

 

[aclarke10]

Would this tractor have enough power for my needs?
It won't be doing off-roading or deep brush but it will be used for decently thick grass and casting lots of snow.
I.e. Will be a year round used machine and i don't want to buy something who would need work not too long down the road.

 

[bhildret]

The 16hp Onan is plenty strong enough to run the 48" deck in heavy grass.

Most users are happy with the 16 Onan engine power up to about 12" wet heavy snow. Beyond that the machines will continue to do the job ... steadily cutting through even truly deep snow fall.

If you regularly are wrestling with more ... tell us about your experience for more input.

Brian

 

[aclarke10]

Well two years ago I paid for a wedding, bought a foreclosure house and got the house ready.
That left me with about 5 acres of grass over my head which I rented a Home Depot walk behind brush hog to cut everything down.
I then had a buddy who had an old 25 year old, 12hp (b&s) mower with 36" deck which I've been using for be past two years until last weekend.
I was ok, but was painfully slow in anything deep so I spent hours going very slowly getting everything kept cut and just wasting a lot of time (since I had to cut so slow).
I'm hoping with a more powerful machine I will be able to be more active in cutting and be able to keep it lower.
Also I have a 500' drive way which the 48" snow caster will be very helpful!

Hopefully that ballparks my use.

 

[G.Paul]

Well two years ago I paid for a wedding, bought a foreclosure house and got the house ready.
That left me with about 5 acres of grass over my head which I rented a Home Depot walk behind brush hog to cut everything down.
I then had a buddy who had an old 25 year old, 12hp (b&s) mower with 36" deck which I've been using for be past two years until last weekend.
I was ok, but was painfully slow in anything deep so I spent hours going very slowly getting everything kept cut and just wasting a lot of time (since I had to cut so slow).
I'm hoping with a more powerful machine I will be able to be more active in cutting and be able to keep it lower.
Also I have a 500' drive way which the 48" snow caster will be very helpful!

Hopefully that ballparks my use.

If i had 6 acres to mow i would use a 5' deck. If this 446 is a long frame the 5' deck will work 16 hp is enough to handle it. I know a guy that has several decks

 

[aclarke10]

So I bought it and brought it home last night.
After work today I took the snow caster off and removed the blades from the deck to get them sharpened.
While driving it today I somehow pulled the shifter range select knob off.
How do I get this back on?

 

[G.Paul]

So I bought it and brought it home last night.
After work today I took the snow caster off and removed the blades from the deck to get them sharpened.
While driving it today I somehow pulled the shifter range select knob off.
How do I get this back on?

If you are talking of the high- low lever under the seat you just rock the tractor back and forth once you get used to the tractor you can do it under power for now do it with the engine of under man power. For mowing you need low range

 

[aclarke10]

Yup high-low lever. But it came off the transmission part, the steel red with the metal dowel through it.
I was moving it from high to low and the handle somehow slipped over and off.

 

[G.Paul]

Yup high-low lever. But it came off the transmission part, the steel red with the metal dowel through it.
I was moving it from high to low and the handle somehow slipped over and off.

There is a shift fork on the end of the lever is the fork still in place ?
A picture would help

 

[aclarke10]

Ok so the shift selector handle somehow detached from the shifter fork.
How do I get it back together again?

Case 222 Ingersoll Garden Tractor Lawn Mower Range Selector and Shifting Fork | eBay

 

[G.Paul]

Ok so the shift selector handle somehow detached from the shifter fork.
How do I get it back together again?

Case 222 Ingersoll Garden Tractor Lawn Mower Range Selector and Shifting Fork | eBay

I believe there is a retainer ring or snap ring. I will look in a parts manule and get back with you

 

[G.Paul]

Ok so the shift selector handle somehow detached from the shifter fork.
How do I get it back together again?

Case 222 Ingersoll Garden Tractor Lawn Mower Range Selector and Shifting Fork | eBay

Check your PM's i just messaged you

 

[aclarke10]

So when I first brought it traxtor it still had the snow caster on, so I removed it.
Today I then took the blades off to sharpen and balance, greased the bearings (huge difference) and installed the deck.
But the seller gave me a belt which was the same size as the snow caster belt but it appears to be too long.
I found the mower deck manual online so I believe i routed the belt properly.

My question for everyone is what size belt do I need?
I was reading online that a 71" x 1/2 would work?

 

[G.Paul]

So when I first brought it traxtor it still had the snow caster on, so I removed it.
Today I then took the blades off to sharpen and balance, greased the bearings (huge difference) and installed the deck.
But the seller gave me a belt which was the same size as the snow caster belt but it appears to be too long.
I found the mower deck manual online so I believe i routed the belt properly.

My question for everyone is what size belt do I need?
I was reading online that a 71" x 1/2 would work?

Here is the phone number of the dealer i buy my parts from
608-924-1662 ask for Bill, Bill and his brother Carlie bean around a long time and treat you right.
The belt size will also be in the parts manual. I recomend you stay with case belts they last the longest

 

[aclarke10]

Hey everyone. Well had a good few days mowing and really enjoying the the case.
I replaced all three bearings on the EZ clutch, new plugs, fresh fuel, all is good.

Until tonight, did a little mowing, about 25min worth, and then while opening a gate I heard the engine slow down and stall.
And now it will not start.
I pulled the plugs and I verified that I have no spark on either plugs.
These were brand new plugs from a case repair shop (where I bought the bearings from) and gapped to 035.
I used my multimeter and I am fairly sure the ignition switch is doing what it is suppose to be doing (key is a little loose but oh well)
The ignition pack looks original.
Is this part expensive and where can I find a new one?
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

 

[aclarke10]

I pushed it into my garage, currently plugged into the battery charger.
It still cranks over, just no spark.

 

[aclarke10]

One more details to add, facing forward, the right side spark plug was much hotter than the left side... More details

 

[G.Paul]

One more details to add, facing forward, the right side spark plug was much hotter than the left side... More details

It could be a number of things to check for, Could be coil, plug wire, or the electrionc cencor under the fly wheel

 

[bhildret]

No electronic sensor under the fly wheel ... B43M uses the standard coil and breaker points set up. Do you have 12V at the coil with the ignition on?

B43 ignition parts are here:
Salem Power Equipment, LLC - Search Results for "ignition coil"=

Brian