TMJ's Craftsman LT1000 Conversion Thread

I have started my build of my CraftsmanLT1000. I've got the tranny off to see why it won't shift without having to use a pipe wrench. It is extremely stiff. I is a DANA built Spicer 6 speed. The pully came off with just a little tapping of a hammer and PB blaster to help it along. I'm about to take it apart today. I'll post pics of that soon. Here is some progress shots of my mower and the ATV tires that I will put on it.

I need some help. The shifting shaft is really stiff for some reason. I don't know why it would be. It's not the gears. I can't even get it out without having to really bang on it(which i'm not going to do any more). What do I do to free it up? Also, What do I put in the tranny? All it has is a bunch of grease. Do I put Gear oil in it, or Gear oil? I'll get some pics of the tranny soon.

Tractor Man Jeff wrote:

I need some help. The shifting shaft is really stiff for some reason. I don't know why it would be. It's not the gears. I can't even get it out without having to really bang on it(which i'm not going to do any more). What do I do to free it up? Also, What do I put in the tranny? All it has is a bunch of grease. Do I put Gear oil in it, or Gear oil? I'll get some pics of the tranny soon.

Look around the shifter and check the shaft is not rusted and making it stiff. If thats fine, you may need to open the casing, clean everything very carefully and repack it with grease or gear oil. Look for a oil filling port if its oil, if there is not filling port, it should be grease. Dont put oil in a gearbox that is designed for grease, bad things may happen.
FearlessFronts has make a great video on how to open transaxle gearboxes, I'd suggest watching it fully even though your not asking about locking the diff, it still tells you how to open, check condition and repacking of grease.



Hope that help

Yeah. I watched his video,and I did open it up. Everything looks OK, but The shifting shaft is a little rusty. I'm afraid to bang on it anymore to get it to budge. I've tried PB blaster, but I can't get it in there because it's so tight. It must be the grease type.

Tractor Man Jeff wrote:

Yeah. I watched his video,and I did open it up. Everything looks OK, but The shifting shaft is a little rusty. I'm afraid to bang on it anymore to get it to budge. I've tried PB blaster, but I can't get it in there because it's so tight. It must be the grease type.

With the casing open, try putting a SMALL amount of WD40 around the shift shaft and just keep moving it left to right until it frees up.
I dont know it there is a bearing in the casing for the shifter but if there is, that bearing may be shot.

Did the shifter free up at all when you tried freeing it?

Not really, and I tried several times. Maybe a little, but not much. The only way I can turn it is if I use a pipe wrench which is starting to chew up the shaft, so I stopped. I tried spraying PB blaster into the shaft, but I don't think it got in there because it's such a tight seal. I'll try to flip it over and try to spray it in the top of the shaft, but keeping everything from dumping will be the tricky part. It don't help that there is two pins on the shifting fork, one on each side of the shaft. That makes it harder to get that shaft out.

umm...are you able to hit the top of the shifter with a big hammer to try getting the shaft out of the casing. Im gonna guess its something you'll have to keep working at it and since you've chewed up the shaft a little, you might want to try putting a thick rag or cloth over it to stop it getting chewed up more.

Might help hitting the shaft with a hammer and wiggling it until it frees up.


Anyone else got any ideas???

That's the thing, I can't make the thing budge without using a pipe wrench. I don't want to hit it too hard or I might break the case. I'll keep working at it. If all else fails, I can just fab a tougher shifter that wont bend and just deal with it. I forgot to post some pics of the case apart.

Yeah it looks like you'll have to tap it with a hammer and give it a wiggle then tap it again.
Just be patient with it and dont hit the shifter too hard.

Going back to the grease/oil...that looks an grease filled unit and should be replaced with grease. I'v read that 00 semi-fluid grease is best for gearboxes and it's what im going to use when i open mine up if i can get it.

Ok. I'll give it another shot this evening as that's the only time I can work on it.

Got the tranny back together. I freed the shifter shaft maybe only slightly. I'll keep soaking it in PB blaster and maybe eventually it will free up. Now I can start on the free stuff. I should be able to start working on it this weekend.

Tractor Man Jeff wrote:

Got the tranny back together. I freed the shifter shaft maybe only slightly. I'll keep soaking it in PB blaster and maybe eventually it will free up. Now I can start on the free stuff. I should be able to start working on it this weekend.

I had the same problem with a Dana FOOTE 6 speed and all i did was heat up around the shifting shaft and take a wire wheel and clean the shaft and greased it and put it back in and it worked perfectly!

It won't come out. That's the problem. I'll just deal with it. I'm going to work on getting my big ATV wheels on tomorrow.

Alright guys. BIG update! I got a bunch done today and even got to take it for a spin, in style. I got the tranny back in and hooked up, but when I went to sift it with the shifter, It moved, slick as grease! I was so tickled. I that ATF fluid I put on it worked after all. I also straitened the tie rod out. Now for the fun part. I then modified the spindles so that I could put my two Honda 250 ATV hubs on the front. This evolved welding a short piece of smaller steel rod onto the end of the spindle so the smaller bearing could. (Small bearing on the front, larger on the back) Than I welded a shortened bolt on the end of the of the lengthened spindle to hold the hubs on. Most of the weight is on the original part of the spindle. Put the spindles and hubs on the tractor and put the tie rod back on, and finally put the Honda 250 front wheels on. Fort the back wheels, I cut the outer lip of the original rims to fit in the ATV rims. Next, I drilled the 4 lug holes into the old rims, which are now the back hubs. Then I bolted the Rear ATV wheels on the hubs and mounted the wheels back on.(also form a Honda 250 ATV) Now for some fun. With the wheels on, I took her for a spin in the back yard. Man I had a blast. I still have the stock pulley configuration. Regardless, the mower clipped along at (I'm guessing) 10 MPH in 6th gear. Just a little faster than with the stock wheels. Altogether, I got a bunch done today. Next work session will include beefing up the front end, fixing other little things, taking the sensors out, and possibly welding up the bumper. (Note the truck in the background of the last pic. That's my truck.)

Come on guys. I want to here you guys input on this. Anyway, I might try to put the gas pedal in tonight. Got the bike hand brake to use.

Lookin good you should put a nice beefy looking brush guard and rear bumper on it

Looks cool - if you plan on rough trails n stuff, y might want to weld a brace on the front spindles ( where it bends for the hub) .

I was going to try bolting a set of atv wheels onto tractor rims on my agway - turns out i still might have to on replacement GT murray i have for the front wheels( till i do a 4x4 setup) - i was going to weld the bolts to the lawntractor rim so the atv wheels wouldnt be damaged ( and the bolts would stay straight when tightneing/loosening) .


I like the lower look - gives it a meaner stance/more stable. Unless youre going thru mud taller then the tractor- i cant see the sky high stance.

That's exactly what I was going to do to the spindles. I don't have too rough trails. However I will use it for hunting.

... Lookn Good...

May i suggest welding a bracket to reinforce and give you a place to mount brake calipers.

Well I thought about it. I do have the caliper brakes and disks, but I don't know how to activate them. I took the useless, worn stock brake off, so I don't know what I'm going to do for brakes. Any ideas?? I will definitely beef up the front end up real good. I have never seen so much slop ever. Anyone know what the Honda 250 ATV used to make the brakes work? Whatever it is, I don't have it. A little update: I put the rear shell/back fenders and seat back on this evening. It looks goo and I didn't even have to trim any sheet metal off.

Here is what I've got done currently. Now I have something to sit on. It looks good. I'm working on wiring and fixing a dry rotted fuel hose. I was hoping to use the stock ignition switch, but I don't see being able to do that unless I keep the sensors. Once I get the wiring done, I'll start making the racks, brush guard, pulley swap, and possibly a roll cage/cab.

See if you can find a wiring diagram for it - all the sensors are wired to the ground circuit - you should be able to cut or loop the wire to make it work.

Check this thread - i posted a stock murray wiring diagram- theres a couple others on there as well:
http://atltf.forumotion.com/t38-briggs-engine-wiring-diagram

Man this tractor is sweet. *2 thumbs up*

you have got to get those brakes hooked up so i can copy what you come up with!!

As for hunting, get a rack on that thing an some gun saddles!

I cant wait to see more, an love the stance of it as well.

Don't do a roll cage that would be dumb because if u crash down a hill your stuck in that thing down the hill if u Don't you'll just fall off immediately. As

long as your not jumping it going insanely fast and taking really sharp turns going like 30 i think a roll cage is a waist of time and i feel its not safe

Thanks. I don't think I will put one on. I'm just wondering what it would look like. I got the wiring done and all the dad blasted sensors out. I've now started on the gas pedal. I'm not having much luck with it. I'll try again tomorrow. hopefully I'll get it. I did pull a wheelie with it. By accident.