They were very solid tractors but parts are getting hard to find and VERY expensive.

Dave....

I have a P218 Onan on an old Gravely. The moter is powerful and smooth. They do have a known problem with ignition modules. After a while as heat and viberation get to them they will fail. ....intermittantly at first, but eventually the motor will cease to run. Took me a couple of hours with no special tools other then a flywheel puller to replace it. I have had no problem finding parts, but the do tend to be exspensive. Any JD dealer who will service the 318 tractor (one of their best selling models and alot of them still in use) should be able to get you parts as that is the engine used in those. Mine tends to use a little more oil then I care for, but it does not smoke or smell and my understanding is that it's the norm for the these engines to do so.

Thats about all I know...good luck! : )

Chris

Dave,
The Case 400 series came either as a 446 with a 16 hp Onan or as a 448 with and 18 hp Onan. The 400's became the 4000 series in 1989 when Ingersoll spun the engines 180 degrees in the frame and began using electric clutches.

This means that any 400 series you are looking at is at least 20 years old and some of the ones older than that have been re-powered with newer Onan or Linamar engines. When that repower took place, it wasn't unusual for 18 and 20 hp motors to find their way into the chassis.

Onan's are one of the toughest, most reliable and long-lasting engines out there......PROVIDING..... their owners look after them. Yes, OEM Onan parts are pricier than similar parts from other engine makes but they are readily available.

If you are looking at a particular Case tractor, then please get the serial number for it and I will tell you what year it was made. Also, let me know what the asking price is along with a list of attachments for the tractor.

Does it have a sleeve hitch or three-point hitch? Does it have the hydraulic PTO valve mounted on the rear of the tractor behind the seat? You will need that valve if you wish to power any splitter or other hydraulic attachment.

The beauty of these tractors comes many different ways. First off, they are built like a tank. They are very easy to work on compared to most other brands. Many of the wear parts are off-the-shelf items that can be bought from local suppliers. The hydraulic drive is near bullet proof and... in comparison to a hydrostatically driven tractor, is far, far cheaper to maintain and repair.

The 54' snow/dirt push blade appears on e-Bay for sale on a fairly regular basis if this tractor does not have one. The 446 has been in production since 1972. All orange models began in 1977. I am including a link below so that you can see the newest 4000 and 4200 models that are the replacement for the 400 series you are considering. You can also view the current list of attachments but there are many, many other attachments for these tractors that are no longer in production.

A couple of things that you should understand going in. One: These are high-end tractors that are in the $10,000.00 bracket. Therefore, the quality is there. You cannot compare them to anything that you find in some big box store.

Two: Whatever you're looking at has at least 20 years of wear and tear on it. Some people look after their equipment really well. They service it regularly and they replace parts whenever something breaks or shows signs of excess wear. Other owners drive the living $#!t out of everything they have, never spend a minute's time or a dime on them and then complain about the product when it no longer does what they want it to.

The rule of thumb here is to try and buy this tractor for as little money as possible so that you won't feel bad when you realize that you do have to spend some money to make it right.

Your turn...

Here is a link that might be useful: Ingersoll

Hi kompressor, I am working on getting a case 446 running, I think it might be the starter solenoid but I`m not sure. When I test the solenoid while trying to start the engine it only reads 0.01v but the battery reads 12.whatever volts. Is it the solenoid, I`m very new at this so any help would be great.
I`d also like to find out what year my tractor is, I found the model and ser but cant find anywhere on the net to figure out the year.

Tell me the serial number and I'll tell you the year.

The first thing you need to do is figure out whether the solenoid itself is working and if you have the correct solenoid. All too often, past owners put the wrong solenoid in these tractors.

Forget the meter. Your solenoid should have two small terminals sticking out one side of it plus the two large battery cable lugs on opposing sides. Remove any wires that currently go to the small terminals.

Take a jumper lead and connect one end to the positive terminal of the battery. Take the other end of the jumper lead and touch it to each of the small terminals, one at a time. If you hear a loud click, then the solenoid's internal magnet is working but you have the wrong solenoid.

If the solenoid does not click, then take a second jumper lead and connect one end of it to the negative post on the battery. Then touch the positive jumper to either of the small terminals and touch the negative jumper to the other small terminal. If you have the correct solenoid and it is working, you should hear it click in.

If you clean all the heavy cable ends that go from the battery to the solenoid, from the solenoid to the starter and from the battery to ground, then a working solenoid should cause the starter to spin. If the solenoid clicks in but the starter fails to spin, then use a battery booster cable to jump from the positive battery terminal directly to the starter terminal.

If the starter spins, then use the booster cable to connect the positive battery terminal and the big lug on the starter side of the solenoid. This will test the heavy cable between the starter and the solenoid. Cables do fail. If the starter spins, then that cable is OK. Put the booster cable to the battery side of the solenoid and use the two small jumper leads to cause the solenoid to engage.

If the starter refuses to spin, then the solenoid is toast even though it does click in. There's a large copper washer inside the solenoid that gets burnt and pitted to the point where it won't pass current.

Conduct these tests and then post back here telling me what you found. We'll go from there.

Thanks for the info, I`ll do those tests as soon as my little one goes to sleep. The wierd part of all this is that the engine does turn over, but very slowly and the battery doesn`t die or anything, it just keeps going.

serial-C8035 13167

OK, I did all the tests and it seems as though the solenoid passes them all. Which means its still good, I checked all the wires and they all seem to be ok. So I cant figure out why the engine turns over so slow.

Are you certain that you have a really good battery in this tractor? Do yourself a favour. Bring your car close enough so that you can connect a pair of booster cables to the car battery. Put the cable that is hooked to the positive terminal on the car's battery onto the lug coming out of the starter motor. Then take the cable that is clamped to the car battery's negative terminal and push it hard against the starter motor's housing.

If the starter motor doesn't spin over rapidly, then you're in for the fun job of changing out the starter motor.

Where are you getting this number from? It is definitely NOT a Case serial number. Find the ID plate that is riveted to the tower that supports the dash. The plate is aluminum and is at knee level. The upper line should say that the model number is 446 and the line below that has the serial number. It should begin with either a 9 or a 1 with no letter prefix.

So tell me about the solenoid. Did you have to use TWO jumper wires to make it click or just ONE?????

The starters used on Onan's have permanent magnets in them to substitute for the field coil windings used on other starters. These magnets do crack, break up and come loose. When that happens, the pieces are magnetically draw to the armature causing not only a loss of "field" to induce rotation but also a huge amount of drag.

When a worn Bendix drive starts hanging up, owners often listen to the advice of people who have little to no knowledge. They take a hammer and give the starter a hard rap on the side of it in an attempt to free up the Bendix drive. Unfortunately, the magnets are glued directly to the spot they are striking. Need I say more?

Getting these starters out is not a fun job as you will quickly discover but it is one that YOU should do yourself because it's quite expensive to pay a shop to perform this task.

Hello Mr. kompressor sir.

That was rather useful information - thanks immediately. I will circle back with the seller and ask for a year, the hydraulic pto at the back, and info on the hitch type (for which i know nothing about).

I would like to take some of this conversation off line with line with you.

would you mind sending me an email at:
( njdpo at hotmail dot com ) reassemble pls

e-mail sent.

lincolntc,
If you go to e-Bay and punch in this number 330321390409 you will find a new starter that should fit your engine. Contact the seller with the model and spec number off your ID plate first, to be sure.

WOW, that was fun, I got the starter out, but how can I be sure its the starter before ordering a new one. Thanks for the info and the link for ebay.

Open it up. If the magnets are shattered or just loose, it will be readily apparent. Check out the brushes and commutator as well. Discoloration indicates a high current draw overheating the brush holders. And I think that you are capable of recognizing badly worn brushes and heavily grooved commutators.

well, I took apart the starter and cleaned it, it was pretty bad. It had such a carbon build up that the springs werent pushing the brushes out. The brushes are fairly worn but can I order brushes without ordering a whole new starter, or should I replace the whole thing. thanks

Here's the thing.

You already know what a fun job it is to extract this starter so how many times do you wish to do it? If you buy a new starter NOW, then you should be done with this problem once and for all for many, many years. If you go and buy a set of brushes from a local auto electrical rebuilder and stick them in, the starter MAY work ok but for how long? If that starter has that much wear and tear on the brushes, then the same amount of wear and tear is also on the bearings, bendix drive, commutator etc.

I'm as frugal as you are and I like to wring every last dime out of stuff I own but there is a difference between being "smart frugal" and frugal to the point of stupidity. Knowing the difference between the two is what's at issue here. You decide.

I too have gone down the brush replacement route - sometimes it works - sometimes it doesnt.

Unfortunately - when it works I seem to recall it not working for long. Seems like once winter came; it was time to get a new/rebuilt unit.

Notice that I said seem to remember - its because I learned in my early days not to waste my time flogging a dead starter... Its a fruitless effort.

As someone else mentioned - if your just going to replace brushes (and not bushings, etc.) your not really doing yourself any favors.

I too am very frugal - but having done a lot of starters on old Mopar's, I completely refuse to go back under those cars without a fresh rebuilt or new unit.

Not being familiar with the chore of tearing out onan starters; it kinda sounds like you dont want to do it twice. do you ?

Good luck - Dave