1650 update - Pulled the front axle, me and the boys used bolt to pinch the axle clevis. Got a good engine cradle now and am near ready to install the engine.
Some quick questions - while I've got the engine out, anything else I should attend to while I've got wide open space to work with? I've got good isolators, good cradle, cast iron oil pan on the engine, did a super steer mod - what else on the front end of the tractor should I check/fix/tighten-up?
On a different note - quick question:
Is the only issue in putting a QL engine into a 1x8/9 tractor things like engine tin, different exhaust, etc., or are there physical interferences with the engine going into the frame - i.e. bendix type starter hitting the frame rail? Is the electric PTO positioned differently than the mechanical one - or does it hit the frame? Reason I ask is that I'm reading the dialog on this from provious posts and thinking - I've got an extra QL engine. If I were to find a tractor less an engine or attempt to use a QL engine in my 109 one of these days - and given that it is a worker vs a 100% refurb, who cares if it has a bendix starter vs a S/G or an electric PTO vs a mechanical one. One thing I don't really see with these IHCC's is folks swapping a single cylinder Kohler with a new engine like a Honda or Briggs or Kohler Command. Some of the other color tractor guys will do a swap like this - usually to a twin cylinder engine. Are the frames on a WF tractor wide enough to accept engines other than Kohler singles?
Another quick question - how much less of an arm strong lift do you have if you put a spring assist on a manual lift? Both my 109 and 126 are manual lift. I'm also considering an electric lift for the 126, but a spring assist might get the job done. I'd be lifting front blade, deck and from time to time maybe a moldboard plow.
Don T - my 109 will is very difficult to run when there's about 1-ish inch of fuel in it. I would agree that the fuel filter being not full (on a gravity feed) could indicate a fuel flow problem.