Homemade 4WD

hey all......another new guy here. i love this site. my current build is an '85(?) Cradftsman 11hp. started it 2 years ago. the kids had been ridin it around for a couple years after i found it in the trash. so when they finally got tired of it, i decided to make a racer out of it. did the pulley swap, put the 'quick return' throttle on the steering wheel. mounted the deck rigid to the running boards. then put it on hold till my divorce was finished.

so now i pulled off the running boards and lifted the read end 4" and put 15" wheels from my S-10 on it. was wondering how i can make it 4WD? what machines should i be looking for? any pics available? i have a welder and a oxy/acet torch so destruction and reconstruction isn't a problem. anyway, hope to get some good ideas from here. maybe tomorrow i will take some pics of the "mistress" . thanks.....biscuit.

I had an idea ( someday ill build it) for a true 4x4 tractor- i have a parts 90's GT6000 in the backyard , first thing ( after stripping it) id reinforce the frame- heavily.

My plan is to use a 69 raider 10 wheelhorse side input 3 hi/low trans up front ( the normal way in the original tractor) with heavy duty ujoints and custom made bering cages to steer it. I still have the original wheel flanges from the wheelhorse- id just need a short bit of axle shaft to mount them.

The back would be the stock 3 speed hi/low trans it came with. Id use 4 GT rear tires , with the need of raising the whole drivetrain slightly.

Engine would be a twin cylender mounted sideways- the stock drive pulley would turn the original trans - id keep the electric deck clutch ( with a jackshaft) to drive the WH trans in front- that way i could run 2 or 4 wheel drive when i want ( turn the clutch off, put front trans in neutral) - itd be able to steer because of the differential action of the trans .


You actually could use any standard transmission- - id use a heavy duty one if you plan on using 4 large tires tho. id go with at least 1" axle diameter tho .

Since its a verticle shaft, id run the drive belt ( through a clutch setup) to a triple stacked pulley mid way under the chassis ( all 3 welded together) - top one would be from the engine, middle to rear trans, and last one to the front- again, youd need ujoints on the front axle to steer. Id go thru both transmissions, change out the oil oil/grease n repack or refill em with fresh heavy weight stuff.

I modded my 85 LT12 years ago- i broke several teeth off the pinions ( locked up) because i didnt change/check the grease/oil. Since then its going back to mowing status, i have other mod tractors im working on.

Man, I need pictures to be able to follow all of that, haha. Better yet, you build it soon and post the pics.

that reminds me of a peerless trans somebody posted that acted as a front steering differential.

Jamus: That one will be at least a year or so away - just have too many other projects to work on - i still need to get my agway back together, my mod projects, the wizard and even stockers to finish - yeah, i still want to find more cheepie tractors for parts as well. My need for speed is more needy then my need for off roading. I drew a pic of it somewhere, just need to use the scanner on my wifes computer.

Growl60 : yeah i cant remember where its posted - i thought i saved a pic of it somewhere- just cant find it. Its a murray/noma equivelent of my 95 MTD's rear transaxle - cept the murray's is all aluminum- mines all steel.

I know a triple pulley setup would work on somthing like that , youd need monster tires for any ground clearance tho with a trans hanging that low.

A basic idea would be to mount a Peerless 700 in the centre. From that you'd have two sprockets, one to the back and one to the front, driving a rear axle from a RER up front, straight axle on the rear. THen you'd just need U-joint to make the steering work.

But this would only work without any front axle movement, and depends on the 700 holding up to the strain

Chunk: yeah the setup on my future GT build would be solid mounted - id mainly use it for trail rides, mud and climbing - IF i can find any of that stuff around here- LOL!

With the stock GT rears i have around 6-8" of clearance- im thinking eventually id hit the local junkyards and see about a set of offroad tires for those large stock rims for more clearance.

I've been thinking of ways to build a 6x6 argo-style skid steer with lawnmower parts.Just something interesting to me about it lately.

Would you use tracks or just tires? With wheels every one of them would need brakes - if you used tracks- just the rears would need em.

I remember from another forum some guy home made a track machine - used a shaft drive to a shortened car differential with the drum brakes.

I think some of those tub type atvs ( go in water) use a chain drive to the wheels on each side .

The only thing that sucks about 11 hp is that they don't have tons of power and bog down

Depends what size pulleys are on it- any motor bogs with larger motor pulleys- my murray had a 18.5HP twin opposed - i ran a 6" pulley- it would bog for a few seconds then take off , but the good thing is it didnt need to be reved so high once it hooked up. Adding a foot/hand throttle also helps with bogging.


I have a few stock 11HP motors- things are stronger then my 14.5 OHV singles .

one thing i was thinking one day is that ranch king/MTD made all wheel steer mowers you could take the rear end and put it on the front of the tractor and then you would just have to reverse the steering

Ive looked at noma rear steer tractors- i eventually plan on making my agway a 4x4 with a manual trans up front and a hommade set of adapters similar to the noma type cast ones.

Youd have to mount the front trans the same way as it was in the rear- to have the same gear setup- otherwise itd be running in reverse.

Good thing about a front trans is the ability to shift into 4 wheel drive or 2 wheel drive ( by putting front in neutral)- bad thing is it cant be permently locked - youd have no steering . Only way to do it is to make a engageable locker inside the trans.