I found a CH440-3113 brand new for $499.00,

Can you help us out? What is that? :unknown:

BTW, :wgtt:

 

Welcome to GTT!

What's wrong with the engine currently on the tractor? Locked up? Busted rod?

If it's not seized and there's no hole in the side of the block, I'd be inclined to see about getting it running again. You can buy replacement (Chinese made) carbs on Amazon for old Kohlers for under $50. New points and condenser for $20ish. For me, that would be a lot easier than spending $500 on an engine that you'll still have to do some fabricating to make it all work.


Or... how much area do you have to clear? (I'm guessing quite a bit since you previously used a Bobcat) Can you use a walk behind blower?

A few more details would help us help you.

 

That's a 14 HP Kohler command pro.

I'm curious what year your 140 is and what's wrong with the old motor. They are an easy rebuild.

 

I'm not against rebuilding it, but I did a quick parts search and prices were a bit scary. I just pulled it off the chassis and the reason it wouldn't spin was a little critter built a nest in the blower housing, I'm going back out to my shop to see if I can make it run.

My old brain doesn't always function properly so I'm not 100% sure why I retired her in the first place. But I seem to remember a knock. We'll see.

I'll revisit when I have some news.

thanx
Eric

 

Well that was a bad experience. Thought I'd be a good boy and clean 40 years of crud out of the fins, clean up the block a bit and take a look under the point cap. Points are understandably crap so I took a ride to the only thing that loosely resembles a parts store left in town. It's an "ADVANCE Auto Parts", not sure what's advanced about them, but they had no clue how to find, or even look up points for a kohler, or probably anything else for that matter.

I'll order them online. Guess I'm on hold for this weekend.

Eric

 

My advice would be to rebuild it, and run a Transdenser II from Kirk Engines on it. Better starting, once the points are set, you will never have to touch them again. I ran that on the 300 I had for a bit, and it would fire right off MUCH easier than before. I also ran a Bosch blue coil on it too. Seemed to give it a bit more oomph than before, but hard to really tell.
You can gain a bit of power if you want, or find a K341 16hp to swap in, but really, that 14hp single has plenty of power for anything you can attach to the 140.
You dont need OEM parts to rebuild it. You should be able to do a complete overhaul for about half what the other engine would cost.
The good thing about doing that is should you ever decide to part with it, it will be worth more with the original engine, or at least original style (with the K341), and no damage to the frame.

 

I worked the old girl hard for a lot of years and she was never lacking for power, she could have used a couple hundred extra pounds of ballast though. Had a slab of concrete tight to the back for awhile, it was about 18"x24" and about 6" thick, had to be 200lbs. Had to weight the push blade to keep it on the ground, but it would push almost a full blade of soil.
I do miss that little tractor. Hopefully I'll resurrect her.

Eric

 

John Deere 140s were sort of revolutionary in the L&G world back in 1968, especially the H3 version. If it's a H3, then it's definitely worth the trouble to revive. In my opinion, the John Deere 120 and 140 were some of the best L&G tractors made. I would love to own one myself, but the only 140 that passed through my hands was a H1 and it was engineless when I got it and when I sold it.

 

It is an H3 , I actually got it for free, I was doing some work for a friend of my wife on some cottages her family owned and stumbled across it in a shed on the property buried in scrap wood and old paint cans. It had a hydraulic lift plow, a mower deck and a little trailer that had been left out with a rotted out bottom. It cost me a battery which back then was about 30 bux I think and it only went backwards, so I looked it over with no clue, saw what looked like 2 identical valves, pulled them out and swapped them and it went forward, so I bought a valve from JD and it was all set. I think the valve cost me more than the battery. Not a bad deal. . I friend of mine who was prone to collecting old tractor and implement junk gave me a little hydraulic ram and I made the blade power angle. I'd still be using it but I came across a good deal on a little 642 gas bobcat that made little John obsolete.

Eric

PS. you guys mentioned aftermarket parts, is there a decent source you can point me to. Back when I was using it , there were still real auto parts stores with parts guys that knew what a set of points were, and could sell you plastigage and lapping compound and pretty much everything else right off the shelf. Now they don't even know what it is or how to order it.

 

Eric, I've had excellent results with NAPA. They've got good cross references and the sales people are knowledgeable...or at least in Tenn. ! O'Reilly is also good and I too have had less than good results with Advance. Many places on-line are also good if you don't mind waiting for your parts. Bob

 

thanx, I do have one Napa left, half way between home and work, I'll stop by tomorrow. In the mean time I spotted a nearby XUV550 with a plow and a soft top, gonna take a peak at it at noon. Might raise hell with my restoration plans for the 140.

 

Eric

iSaveTractors - Your Source for Kohler K Engine Parts and Vintage Garden Tractor Restoration Tips, Videos, Articles, and How Tos

I’ve bought somethings from here and all have been good. Quality seems decent and the carbs worked perfectly the box.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

I was just talking with Norman earlier. I’ve heard many good things about his engine kits, have successfully used a few of his carbs, and he knows his stuff, and will share.

He has a 140 from me that had a similar rodent caused seizure. I think it’s next in his line to rehab.

 

I've gotten a lot of parts from Small Engine Parts, Lawn Mower Parts, Marine Parts, ATV Parts, Dirt Bike Parts, Snowmobile Parts and More. Pat's is usually cheaper than others. One thing I've found is it's worth comparing prices and easy to do once you have the part number.

 

You can go to JD parts.com and look up parts or go find your local JD dealer and they can do it for you. You might be able to still get points and consumable parts like that. Also, Ebay is your friend when looking for used parts.

Small Engine Warehouse sells engine conversion kits, not sure if they have one for a JD 140 but I would check it out. However since it is an H3, I would probably keep it stock and do a rebuild on the original engine. You might be able to sell it as is for decent coin which would make for a good down payment on something else. If you don't mind old iron, I would probably sell that and get a 318 with a blade or blower. They are a generation newer being made from 1983 thru 1992 IIRC. They do really well with snow removal duties and are roughly the same size as the 140. They come with power steering.

You have a fairly collectible JD GT so if you are smart with your money and do the work your self you can get most of what you put into it back out of it.

You may want to check this place out as well. TractorSalesAndParts.com - Hundreds of Used Tractors Parts!

 

OK, I have no idea what people see in the gators, but that xuv550 with 100 hours on it acted like a warn out POS. Did the shake and shimmy like a 50 year old hooker. Nothing I would spend money on. But on a brighter note, I may have scored a nice 420 with a blade, a blower, a mower ,a dump trailer and a set of rear weights for 6K, with 200 hrs on it. If I didn't just jinx myself I may have some 140 parts for sale. , I'll let you all know.

Eric

 

That’s pretty high. I hope everything is nice.

 

You can buy new rims from Miller Tire. Used rims look good with a fresh coat of paint. You can try a wanted ad here and or Weekend Freedom Machines.

Jim's tractors sells used Used Lawn - Garden Tractors - Mowers - Small Engines - Jims Tractors I've met Jim and the boys a few times, they are crazy, but good people.

Full used price around here is about $75-100 each. I would try to avoid the ones with the flat centers as they can crack around the bolt holes.

 

26x12.00-12 rear tires do not take 12 inch wide rims...most manufacturers recommend either 8.5 inch or 9.5 inch wide rims for these tires. It varies by tire style as well as vendor.

Check with the manufacturer of the tires you are contemplating getting.

Chuck

 

...forgot to add a picture of just why to avoid the flt center wheels...

Chuck

 

I just measured mine, they are 12x10.5 and the tires are 26x12x12.

Eric