Predator 420 (13 hp) in a John Deere 110 square fender

timcasbolt

Well-known Member
I thought I had seen something about this conversion in an old thread, but couldn't find anything using the search. Does anyone remember that, or have any opinions on such a conversion?
 
The John Deere drive system with the variator requires the engine crankshaft to be
set exactly where the Kohler or Tecumseh engine crankshaft was set. The Predator and
most other new engines are shaped a lot different than the Kohler and Tecumseh engines
which makes setting a replacement engine in the right spot difficult.

Roger from Iowa is on here some times, and he put a newer engine in a tractor like
that. You might also look on the WFMachines website.
 
Well, I put a 10 horse Kohler in a 70 JD 110 that had a junk 8 horse in it, don't believe I'd do it again. It involved
lots of cutting and welding, making a muffler, dipstick tube and nothing was easy. The 10 hsp engines crankshaft was 1
1/2 inch higher which through the variator geometry out the window. I've got it working about 99% correct but I spent
many hours under that thing trying different adjustments. It's fully functional, my son mowed grass with it for a few
years but I just use it for pulling the sweeper and a trailer.
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This is my 1970. I keep my 69 stock, so, it's my playtoy. I've just finished putting a Carroll Stream 10hp diesel in it. Had to do a lot of measuring and a little cutting, but I got it all in there and had no difficulty aligning the pulleys and determining the proper length belt. It worked perfectly. But this is by far the loudest engine I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with.

Since it's my fun tractor, I've decided to put something else in it, and I like the looks of that Predator. Might have to put the original fuel tank back in, and I'm probably going to have to come up with my own exhaust, but that's not a big deal.

The torque of the predator is comparable to the diesel, so it should have no problem with attachments such as a rototiller or snowblower. I suspect a predator might even be quieter than the original k181.
 
Here's the update: I got the Predator in the other day, set the pulleys on the shaft and dropped it in place. It appeared that if I raised it up a little, I wouldn't need to grind any clearance so I made a 3/8" thick aluminum plate with the mounting pattern, transferred the holes and set the engine in and bolted it down. I was using a 2" longer than stock belt on the diesel, so I kept it on there and it appears to be fine.

Today I put my mower deck on and found that the stock 84" drive belt is short. That's exactly what I expected. The deck belt is 87", and I had an extra one hanging from a nail so I stuck it on there and it fits very well. Mowed my yard this afternoon and so far I am very happy with it. Some of the grass was extra thick, and the engine didn't mind it one bit.

The one caveat to this project is that I am going to need to get really creative if I want to put a hood and front grill on this tractor. I'm a function over form guy, but I have a 4' brake and know how to use it, so maybe this fall. For now I'm satisfied that I have all the power I could want and it's much quieter. It's a sweet little engine. Starts right up and doesn't seem hard on fuel at all. It must be set quite lean because it wants a little choke even if it's warmed up.
 

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