First ATLT build, 18 hp vtwin issues with the transmissions mounting brackets

Hey everyone my names Jon, I just got into the "lawn" tractor shenanigans with a craftsman II 18hp B and S vtwin. It has a 6 speed hi lo trans, this is the second one in it after snapping an axle off roading. We had welded the spider gears in the 1st trans and the weld held but not the axle lol.

I will post a build thread with many mods to come, nerf bars, dual exhaust, and a front guard of some sort.
Now for the questions . . . Anyone else have issues with the transmissions mounting brackets in the craftsman 2's its a 48" deck if that matters. I have broken two brackets from wheeling and was wondering if anyone has done some simple mods, if not Ill be trying to build my own. Currently after breaking those brackets it won't shift out of gears only 3Hi or 3 lo by actuating the hi lo lever.

Also any suggestions on tires me and my buddy cut up some turf savers so they self clean by cutting out every other tread there 23x10x something not sure off the top of my head. Currently the tires I have are working great but any suggestions would be awesome and are there any better trans that I can put into it or do most people mod them with a driveaxle or chain?

That sounds like the same transaxle I'm running except I had mine cryo treated because parts are expensive, anyways, welcome to the forum!

The hi low trans are usually pretty tough. 1 in axles if I remember right.

Are you saying the mounts for the transmission are breaking? We are running the smaller craftsmans, I think the mounts are the same. Are they bolted to the frame with 4 bolts? We welded ours to the frame.

hi jon i recommend itp mudlites there great tires for onroad and offroad use and that v-twin you got i would run strait pipes any engine that has 2 or more pistons sounds nice with strait pipes

Hey stretch I think it is the same style mounting, it involved two spacers that go inbetween the trans and the frame, they remind me of dogbones (just a visual refrence.) They must be made from some cheap cast metal so thats why they blew apaart is my guess. ill have to look into welding it up but it is only 4 bolts. Me and my buddy had made a couple brackets luckily that cradle the axle housings almost pinches them from the bottom and keeps em in place so they can never fall out. After this weekend ill have to take a couple photos of it. Atm Im currently running into fuel delivery issues with it starving out has anyone run an aux. fuel pump or is it just easier to replace the diaphram piece? Mines the same as most with the crank supplying pressure or vaccuum to a mini pump mounted on the firewall. I cleaned it a couple times and for some reason theres no fuel filter I was gonna put an inline one way sstyle one but IDK if that wil linterfer more with fuel. any advice if someone has done it would be awesome.

Your mount sounds different, no cast metal or dogbone on ours, just a straight drop from the frame.

I'd buy a new fuel pump. They may have a rebuild kit for them also. Cleaning the carb wouldn't hurt.

I run inline filters on all the tractors, before the fuel pump. No problems with fuel supply. Only takes one tank of gas with some crap in it to ruin your day.