Gravely 5200 Re-Power

[epoxyoyo]

Well I finished up my 5200 this past week. I decided to repower it after not being able to get the old 8HP engine to crank up after sitting for over a year. Thanks to Bruce and others for their info. Started off kind of rough. This is during the tear down phase.

Here i started to repaint the tractor with Orange and then later decided to go Red

Here is the 13HP Carroll Stream Engine

Here is the original 8HP adapter plate. I decided not to use this as it would have used 5/16-24 bolts to mount the engine and I wanted to use the 3/8-16 bolts instead to support the weight. Found a plate at Gravelyparts.com

Here is the finished tractor.

This is how I did the Muffler. Just a temp install till I figure out a better way that looks better.

 

[2manyrocks]

How much did you invest in this conversion?

Looks great.

Somebody posted a legacy link to the old Gravely website that's hard to find now. Can't remember where it is. I think it's somewhere in the Gravely or 2 wheel tractor forums. They had several pictures of muffler installations--many of which were larger mufflers that had been installed to quiet things down. Might as well put a quiet one on there since you've come this far.

 

[epoxyoyo]

Roughly not counting my labor probably close to $650.00, but now I have a monster machine that is worth much more and look forward to many years of service. This thing is a brute. I was using the rotary plow this weekend breaking up new garden ground. It hasn't rained here in forever and the red clay hard pan in spot was tough. Rotary plow was busting out 8 to 10 inch diameter clay balls out of the ground. I freaked out. When I hit good sandy loam soil it cadillaced right through it. Remind me not to ever get hung up in that plow. I'm working on overhauling the Tiller Cultivator and Sulky now. I do have the original muffler that I cutout a section on but decide not to go that route. It's really not loud like this, plus these mufflers are cheap if and when it burns out. I just need to get a machine shop with a waterjet to cut out my bracket and make it prettier.

 

[2manyrocks]

Since you started with an 8 hp kohler, did you have to change out part of the gearing as well as the adaptor plate?

You never want to hit a tree root or huge rock with a Gravely rotary plow and be in between the handlebars when it happens.

 

[epoxyoyo]

I order the Briggs Gear and Top Hat Bushing from Gravelyparts.com along with the gaskets. The gear is part number 08564700 and the top hat pilot bushing number is 08564800. You have to use these because the original crankshaft on the Kohler is 3/4" shaft and the new engine is 1". The pilot bushing is 3/4" and bolts thru the double gear into the end of the crankshaft. This will make the engine sit back about 1" away from the plate. This is where the new aluminum adapter from Bruce Guthrie comes in, he can be contacted at gravelymay@yahoo.com. It fills that gap. If you use the original plate the bolt holes will mount to the center engine pattern and will take 5/16-24 bolts. I would recommend finding a 9HP engine if you do that. I felt the 13hp would be too heavy on those smaller bolts so I found a 12hp engine plate since it uses the outer bolt pattern and the plate is thicker. It also uses the 3/8-16 bolts. I had to cut my bolts down to about 2-1/4" long so I didn't bottom out the mount bolt holes on the engine. 2" wouldn't have had enough threads.

 

[2manyrocks]

I'm not sure if anyone else feels this way, but I've wondered if the location of the muffler even on the original Gravely was more of an afterthought and dare I say, not much of a muffler? It's almost like there isn't a good place for it, either. But there have been some neat muffler fabrication jobs on the Gravely conversions.

 

[epoxyoyo]

yeah I think the gravelys with the Kohlers were at the mercy of where the exhaust port was on the engine and had to deal with it. I kind of like the way I have it now as the muffler is pointed sort out and forward at a 45 degree angle so the noise is directed out and away from me when standing behind the machine at the controls. Help quiten it up to me. Can speak for anyone who might be to the side or in front of the machine. Guess they don't need to be there anyway.:laughing:

 

[RichardTX]

You never want to hit a tree root or huge rock with a Gravely rotary plow and be in between the handlebars when it happens.

I plowed 3 new gardens this year and hit more rocks, roots, and remnants of fence posts set in concrete than I can count. The trick to making it uneventful is to:

1 - Stay behind the tractor as mentioned. There is no need to be that close.
Don't try to control the tractor. It should just steer itself straight.

2 - keep the RPMs down as low as possible, the depth shallow at first and to take multiple passes increasing the depth each time.

3 - When making multiple passes alternate between CW and CCW so that you don't wind up with a ton of soil at the center of the garden.

Once the virgin soil has been cleared of rocks, concrete, etc. then raising the RPMs and using higher gears is safe.

To give you an idea of that amount of rocks I plowed up, I filled the garden cart 4 times with rocks from a 15x20 ft plot.

 

[epoxyoyo]

When you say go CW then CCW do you mean to start off in the center and work out going clockwise and then to go CCW You Start at the Outside and work towards the center? That is the only way I see to do it.

 

[2manyrocks]

When you say go CW then CCW do you mean to start off in the center and work out going clockwise and then to go CCW You Start at the Outside and work towards the center? That is the only way I see to do it.

There's a drawing of the suggested plowing method in the manual. http://www.oldgravelys.net/pdf/Rotary_Plow_NewStyle_Op_Man_0786.pdf