Walbro wf-1

tmartin · Post by **tmartin** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 3:15 pm

I want to replace my wda-32 walbro carb on my john deere 400 with a wf-1 floater carb off of an arctic cat. I rebuilt one for a friend 73 panther 400 this weekend and it seemed to work 100 times better than my wda-32. This is on a 73 john deere 400. My question is do I have to use the arctic cat airbox as well? I have read that without the airbox it will be too lean. Will the john deere airbox serve the same purpose as the arctic cat one? Neither airbox hase any guts in them, but the arctic cat one has some goofy loops in it. The reason I want to go this route rather than mikuni is that i wouldn't have to change any cables or throttle levers.

400brian · Post by **400brian** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 4:37 pm

Use any airbox you want, or none. The mikuni equipped sleds require an air box because they are jetted for one.

On the walbro, you just turn the mixture screw to get what you need.

tmartin · Post by **tmartin** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:56 pm

Thanks i will give it a try. I just have been having so many new troubles every day with my wda 32 and am trying to find the easiest cure.

wankel303 · Post by **wankel303** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 12:54 pm

I am new to JDs so forgive me if I ask naive questions on here. I just picked up a JD300 for free and someone has swapped in a Tillotson HD. The linkages don't seem quite right especially the choke. I was thinking about doing the same WF swap you mentioned. Did you complete it already and how did it turn out? Do you by chance have a photo of it installed? I think my JD300 is missing some parts for the cable mountings. Also, how did you run the choke cable on the Cat you put together with the WF? Thanks

Mike

tmartin · Post by **tmartin** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 4:51 pm

The walbro wf-1s were jetted for use with the arctic cat whispurr air box. There is no main jet adjustment on them. Also they sat at an angle in the arctic sleds which put more fuel in the front of the bowl where the main pickup is. John deere engines sit dead level so you dont have the fuel there and the airbox doesnt fit under the plastic shrouding anyway. So I guess you could say it didnt work out real well for me. The machine ran good on half choke even with the airbox on it. My brother now uses the carb in his panther and it works fine, so something is different between cats and deeres(I know one tastes better).

I would suggest working with the tillotson. They are better carbs than walbros. I am in the process of adapting one of the HDs to my 400 now as the walbro wda 32 just isnt functioning right. As for mounting the cables on the Cat, all the original mounting hardware was there. There is an aluminum bracket attached to the carb somehow that has a hole in it. The choke cable goes through this hole and is secured with an e-clip. Good luck and I hope this helps.

Travis

JDT · Post by **JDT** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:57 pm

Cat used the WDA-1 up to 73 than switched to the WF-1 in 74-75 and some retro fits were installed on 72-73's.

As you found out there is a issue with fitting the floater under the Deere cowling. Linkages are different also.

I have found some Tilly's on older Deere sleds that probably had the Bendix carb from the factory.

As for Tilly vs Walbro I feel they are a toss up.

The floaters are a very good carb in my book.

JDFanPa · Post by **JDFanPa** » Tue Mar 17, 2009 9:42 pm

Tilly versus walbro I agree with what Todd has said as far as a toss up. If you have a rpoper working or properly rebuilt wally wd and a tilly hd the outcome and performance are about the same. In my my eyes where the tilly really shines is just how much simpler it is to rebuild specialy for someone new to working on these carbs. If you decide to go with an hd try and find 1 from a ski doo these have a bracket with a clamp that you can hook the deere throttle cable to as far as the choke cable it wont hook up. If your wd is put together right and every passage way is cleaned it should work. People can be quick to condem a carb and alot of times they have other issues with their engine.

tmartin · Post by **tmartin** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:18 am

I have nothing against the floaters or walbros in general. I just cant get the performance that I want. The wd works but the engine always floods. It never wants to start when its warm and seems to use a lot of fuel but leaning it down only makes it worse. The metering level is good, all the passages are clean and it has new gaskets and diaphrams and it is assembled properly. My dad used to have tons of old ski doos and has told me that the tilly will outperform the walbro. I have an HD that I took off a 600 john deere. I have to get a rebuild kit for it and fabricate a bracket for choke and throttle but I ve ran into tougher snags. Thanks for the input.

wankel303 · Post by **wankel303** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 9:59 pm

I think....correct me if I am wrong..but I think my little 295 Kohler in that JD300 has an angled intake similar to the cats??? It didn't appear to sit dead level but it's still sitting on trailer so it may have made it look angled. I am primarily a cat guy and I have to say, this little 300 shares a few common threads with my Panthers. Salsbury clutching, Walbro carbs, Kohler motor...I have a few WDA31s laying around (take offs from my Panthers)...so..I am thinking about going back to the WD Walbro.

JDT · Post by **JDT** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 10:16 pm

I have a 70 Panther with a 295 Kohler but it is a single.