Colt Case Ingersoll Garden Tractors

How about a round of dumb questions from a new GT guy?
One of the tractors I will be looking at is a 224 with a reported “bad motor”. Looking at the manual on the site it should have a Kohler K321A in it. Assuming it has the original engine, and I can repair it, are you guys happy with the parts availability and quality?

If the K321A is not repairable, what is an acceptable replacement to repower the machine?

I will also be looking at 400 series tractors, will a snow thrower listed for a 200 adapt to a 400?

Im beginning to familiarize my self with these and gathering general information as this will be an auction so I’ll only have so long to inspect these machines before I need to make a decision and have a price in my head.
Thanks for your thoughts. I’ll be looking through the technical data.

Jeff, the K321 is one of the most decent engines to rebuild. I have rebuilt one and documented it here on the forum. Lots of sources for parts for rebuild. Also not one of the very expensive to rebuild either. I don't know what the K321A is though.

As for the snowcaster, we have a table around here somewhere, which attachments fit which tractors. Should be in the manuals section somewhere, but I don't remember where. I'll look for it tomorrow. But I don't think it would be a problem, I have run the same old snowcaster on a 224, a 220, a 226, a 446, and now the 444.

https://manuals.ccigt.com/FAQ/case-inge ... -chart.pdf

This chart might answer a lot of your questions. At least it is a starting point.

The Kohler's are preferred by many because of reasonably priced replacement/rebuild parts that are readily available. They are easy to work on. You probably wouldn't have to look to hard to find a good k321 to swap, or a short block.

The Onans are more expensive to rebuild. They are smooth running torque monsters. If they are taken care of they are known to run thousands of hours. They have some quirks that can make trouble shooting a little difficult. Plenty of help out there though.

Alot of 200's used 38" casters, they will fit a 400 but are a little narrow. Couple of wings and your in business. As you look at the chart it does show some models don't interchange.

I have a !!!!thrower for my 224 and my 446. Both look the same. But I never tried switching them back and forth. A 38” !!!!thrower will fit on a 400 tractor, but it’s to narrow. Front right tire hits the !!!!thrower when turning to the left. I believe that’s correct.
The Kohler K321 should be fix able if the block does not have large hole in it. E bay has lots of sites that sell kits to do them up. I’ve use a few of those kits over the years.
The k321A stands for, special oil pan. So the same type engine would have to be gotten for it to fit the tractor. There are two different blocks that I know of. Let’s say this. My engine in my John Deere 140H3, which is a k321, May not fit a Case 224 which also takes a k321, because of the block and oil pan differences.

Noel

I think the later SB38G and SB48 snowcaster wings could be adapted to the older models but I haven't tried it because I have a later model 4000 series. I've also adapted a set of larger Berco skid shoes to my SB48. The spacers are required for the skid shoes to clear the wings.

My block was already 0.030 over so I got a std block on eBay for 200. It was a block from a Case 244 so it was a drop in replacement. Got a std crankshaft from the same guy too, another 200. Kits are plentiful but I chose a better quality one, about 200. Local shop did the cylinder bore and crankshaft grinding. About 300 for that. To give you an idea of what it might cost, give or take some.

Having the technical data on the site to look over is really great. As I’ve said before to me being able to talk to people that have been there done that is really important too. Thank you for you comments I appreciate it!
@Spike188 i knew I had saw that chart before but I couldn’t remember where! Thanks, with that if the model number is gone I can measure the implement and have a good idea what it is.

@MattA your tractor looks mean from the front! Thanks for the pictures.

The sale bill only says “bad motor” on the 224. That’s pretty vague. They might not even be talking about the engine. I’ll have to see it. It may be the deal of the day!

Thanks for the info guys, who knows I may come home empty handed but I’m looking forward to a fun day!