My 2003 Murray Select All Terrain Tractor Build

Hey everyone.

Quick update. I ordered a Briggs and Stratton 693503 OEM Carb Overhaul Kit. Don't think I'll have time this weekend to do the overhaul, but I am hoping I will for next weekend.

Once I get the engine running better, I will be able to continue with the actual build, but no sense working on anything else if I can't get it to start and run correctly.

I should be picking up another LT1000 in the next few weeks as well. Hoping that will enable me to do a few thinks like swap out the 5spd trans-axle for a 6spd. Also likely will swap out the front axle for the heavier duty ones from the LT1000.

I will keep everyone posted.

Thanks.

Hello everybody.

Quick update:

Finally received my carb overhaul kit. I decided to go with the Briggs OEM kit vs. after market.


I plan on hopefully doing the overhaul next weekend at some point. Once this is complete and the 21hp Oppy is running right I am going to start to get myself ready for the build.

My buddy and I actually picked up a 2nd LT1000 this weekend. This time an 20.5hp Opposed twin! The deck is rotted out so you know what that means!? Another off-road mower build. My buddy Joe is going to be building this up for himself.




That also means I have some more donor parts now to make add to the Murray. Since we have a spare parts LT1000 also. I am going to swap out the front axle into the Murray as well as steal the 6spd trans instead of the current 5spd.

I hope to have some more updates next weekend where we tackle the carb overhaul and getting getting the LT1000 ready for it's upgrades as well!" />" />" />

Hey everyone. Quick update:

I haven't had a chance to start the carb rebuild yet on the 21hp oppy as I've had to direct my time and focus on a few other more urgent projects that have come up. I did have a chance though to do a few things related to the project though.

This past weekend I was able to strip down my LT1000 parts tractor to make room at the house as well as strip down a few decks I had for salvageable parts. I saved all of the body panels, pullies, linkages, steering system, wiring harness, trans, front axle, seat and the wheels and tires. It's basically the frame and what's left of the 13.5 OHV sitting in the scrap pile now.




I already swapped the nice Craftsman seat onto the Murray, though it will need some adjusting and better mounts built. I am also planning on swapping the entire front axle, spindles, etc to the Murray as well since the current ones are complete crap. The rear wheels and tires are still stuck to the axles on the MST-206 from the parts LT1000. My plan for this is to just remove the axles w/ wheels stuck on completely, and swap them with the axles from my MST-205, lock it, then install it in the Murray for a locked 6 speed upgrade. I am also going to do a pulley swap at this time as well, going with a 4 inch pulley.

As you know I picked up another LT1000 that we are going to build into another mild off-roader but mostly work tractor. I was able to pull the deck out of this and get it running a bit better. Needed to replace some fuel lines, the fuel filter, and sea foamed it. The plan for this is to swap out or repair the slipping steering system and to simply lock the trans and do a pulley swap. The parts LT1000 had a different steering system, don't know what it's called, but it was a lot tighter and smoother than this one. This LT1000 has the typical steering system that slips and requires repair.

Both the LT1000 and the Murray though need carb rebuilds, perhaps the LT1000 can get away with a good cleaning, but the Murray wont. The idle jets on both carbs are clogged, so they will only idle with the choke mostly engaged to "trick" the main jet to dump in some fuel to keep things running at low rpms. When starting, the primary jets seem to dump too much fuel and then flood it if you are not careful. I've got a system for starting them both but it's not ideal. I am a bit anal retentive with my engine care, and I don't like to fire up an engine at WOT. I like to start them at low RPM and only raise the revs once oil circulates and things warm up. So I am looking forward to getting these both straightened out carb wise.

We have to clean up the Garage and shop as we have accumulated a mess of crap to say the least. So over the next 2 weekends I am going to be busy with that, then I imagine I'll be back into the swing of this. I will keep you all posted.

Thanks.

Nice updates. Good to have a parts tractor, especially a second trans. All craftsmans share the same strong frame that are wonderful for modding. Carb clean should fix all the engine problems.

Hello Everyone. Quick update. I was finally able to pull the carb on the 21hp oppy in the Murray to begin the carb rebuild. Unfortunately I did not have enough time to actually rebuild it. I only got things cleaned up and opened it up to the bowl to check out what we were dealing with. Things definitely look gummed up and dirty, so I am being optimistic that this rebuild should get things running a lot smoother for me.

I am hoping to be able to do the rebuild this upcoming weekend. I don't have any pics to upload from this weekends work, but I will try to document the rebuild if I can next weekend.

Our Craftsman LT1000 w/ the 20.5 oppy stopped running last weekend, likely also due to carb issues. It just dumps fuel at this point and floods itself. I am going to rebuild the carb on this after tackling the one in the Murray.

Then onto locking the differentials and pulley swaps!

Thanks for following along. Can't wait to be out on the trails with these things.

Hey Guys,

So I had a much longer and more detailed update typed out....hit backspace to correct a spelling mistake and my browser went back and wiped everything I had.

Long story short. I was able to complete the carb overhaul for my Murray build. I wasn't able to document the process as I had hoped due to time constraints, but overall it was a straight forward job even for a first timer as myself.

After cleaning and overhauling the carb, I re-installed it, and the 21hp oppy in the Murray fired right up and ran much better. Now that I finally have this motor running good, time to move on with the other aspects of this build.

Next steps for the Murray are as follows:

1. Swap to MST-206 from the MST-205. This will be a bit of a process since I am going to have to swap axles from the MST-205 to use in the MST-206. Wheels are stuck to axles on my MST-206....and I mean...STUUUCCKKKK.

2. Lock MST-206 using Fearlessfront's method.

3. Swap to 4 inch pully on MST-206 and install in Murray. Possibly address brakes...

4. Upgrade axle from Murray garbage to LT1000 front axle. Likely refurb axles, etc as needed here.

5. Make improvements to belt system / clutch as needed after pulley swap.

I am getting married in about 30 days. I am hoping to have a few more chances to work on this, but may not be able to. I am still hoping to be able to get this thing out for a romp before the fall is over, but we will see how possible that is.

I also have already ordered a 2nd carb overhaul kit for our LT1000 build that will be done up similarly to the Murray. Just gotta get this running though for now.

Thanks for reading and happy romping!

Fearless's method has done my axle good so far. As long as you dont run massive aggressive tires i think you're ok. Just make sure when you weld it everything is flat and the diff spins correctly ect. Double and triple check, there is no reason to rush it.

Congrats on the upcoming marriage!

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

Fearless's method has done my axle good so far. As long as you dont run massive aggressive tires i think you're ok. Just make sure when you weld it everything is flat and the diff spins correctly ect. Double and triple check, there is no reason to rush it.

Congrats on the upcoming marriage!

I definitely plan on taking my time with it....def don't want to screw it up. I think I am going to run 22 inch bear claws out back, so I don't think it should be an issue.

Does anyone happen to know if the axles from an MST-205 will work in the MST-206?

Also, does anyone know off hand the size of the input shaft for the input pulley on the MST-206? I'd like to do my pulley swap while the trans is out and I'd love to be able to order the parts ahead of time instead of having to go to the store and sort it out then or have to wait on parts later.

Id love to just buy a pulley or inner + outer pulley kit/set that I can just slap on instead of cutting up the original and piecing something together. Looking to go w/ a 4 inch pulley to go with the original engine pulley. Do you guys think that with the MST-206 running on 22 inch tires, that I should be able to achieve ~20mph with this pulley setup?

Thanks.

LAWN MOWER MUDDER wrote:

The axles should fit.  (Same thing except one more gear ratio)

Input shaft is 5/8"  That is the usual going size for vertical shaft trannies except fot 820's, they are 3/4.

I'm going to start calling you "MowerWikiMan"!!

LAWN MOWER MUDDER wrote:

The axles should fit.  (Same thing except one more gear ratio)

Input shaft is 5/8"  That is the usual going size for vertical shaft trannies except fot 820's, they are 3/4.

Thanks Lawn Mower Mudder! Really appreciate the info.

Ordered one of these: http://www.tractorsupply.com/product__10151_-1_10001_5815

Can't wait to lock the diff and do this pully upgrade! I am hoping I can get approx 20 - 25mph out of this with the stock pulley on the engine. If not, I can always throw on a larger pulley on the engine size correct?

Hey guys. This past holiday weekend I was able to get a lot done on my build. Things are moving along smoothly, though I definitely under estimated how much work this was going to be to get everything how I want it.

imgur album of pt 3. of my build (promise link is safe): https://imgur.com/a/BgfCC
youtube video of dual exhaust: https://youtu.be/yyNWcZod2E4


This weekend I was able to complete the exhaust work. I used some 3/4 inch conduit pipe and the existing exhaust to make a set of true dual exhaust terminating in front of the rear wheels. I even was able to fab up some exhaust hangers to keep things in place a little better. In my opinion it sounds really good. I wasn't expecting it to quiet it down so much and actually sound decent, but it totally did.

I also was able to make some new hood hinge points allowing me to raise the front of the hood a few inches...enough to clear the engine and allow the hood to shut. Previously it was hitting the carb/air filter assembly and was unable to close. I am going to have to fab up something a bit stronger and better after I swap the front end from the LT1000, but this works for now.

I also installed a new 385cca battery along with new ground cable, I've been jump starting this thing every time I needed it.

You might notice I also had already swapped the old Murray seat with a more comfortable one from an LT1000.

I am still having some issues with this thing flooding after a hot start. I've completely rebuilt the carb and fuel pump...gone through it twice even. For some reason, it starts up cold no problem. Once it's been running though and I shut it down, it's difficult to start. You can smell that it floods itself right away. I ended up turning the idle real low on the governor adjustment and it seems like that helped to a degree as long as I only try to start it from the idle position. It still takes a few seconds of cranking but it does start like this so far every time. It sounds like the RPM at full throttle is less now, but I was thinking if this was adjusted incorrectly that perhaps that could be causing it to dump too much fuel. Does anyone have any ideas on what this could be? I don't see any other adjustments on the carb. Once its running, it runs perfect.

I have a 4 inch pulley on order from tractor supply and I plan on doing the trans-axle upgrades next. Going to be swapping in a MST-206, locking the differential, swapping the pulley to a 4 inch, fixing the brakes, strengthening the clutch system and sizing up a new belt. Once I get all of that sorted out I am going to also swap out the Murray front end for a stronger one from an LT100.

Once the transaxle and front end have been swapped I am going to add a foot controlled gas pedal and I should have a good idea of how she's gunna run and feel. After these major modifications, the rest is going to be fine tuning pretty much.

I am going to remove all the unneeded wiring, levers, linkages and make all of the little repairs and mods it needs. Ill strip it down to the frame and take care of any rust as well as paint everything. I plan on also adding an ATV style rack to the rear, trailer hitch, a winch, LED light pods, bumpers and a few other necessities. It's definitely going to be a lot of work, but I feel it will be worth while once I am finally on the trail!

Thanks for reading everyone!

Hey Everyone.

I was able to make some more progress this past weekend on my build....though I may have taken a few steps back as well (more on that later).

This past weekend I installed a digital tach/hour meter. I believe this is similar or possibly even the same one that I've seen fearlessfront use in some of his videos. Got it for $10 off amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0049IFX56/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1#productDetails

The install was very straight forward an easy. Basically just screwed it to the dash with self tapers and wrapped the single sensor wire around one of the spark plug wires. The default settings on it worked perfect, I didn't need to make any changes.

I also installed a gas pedal as well using a "clutch control handle" that I got off amazon.com for about $10. I picked this because I noticed that it came with some springs and hardware that might have been helpful for the install...which they were. Here's a link to what I purchased: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GCE8BNQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I also painted the custom exhaust with some black header paint. Though, I forgot to take pictures of this.

Build progress pics pt. 4. SAFE imgur album link: https://imgur.com/a/M8hBq
Youtube video of gas pedal in action: https://youtu.be/FpObZYEqEsI

As for the steps backwards that I took for this build. After testing the gas pedal and doing some quick yard romping, I noticed a pretty decent oil leak coming out of the engine. It looks like its the back cover leaking, not the sump gasket. Does anyone know what part the gasket is so I can order a new one and replace it? I am hoping it's not too difficult to do? Should I just replace the sump gasket as well?

Also I am still having problems starting this thing. It still will flood itself for some reason when trying to start. It runs 100% perfect once it starts, but pretty much every time it starts I have to keep cranking with no throttle and hardly any choke to get it to start. I've rebuilt the carb and fuel pump and everything looks good so I don't understand why this is a problem. Do you think that it could be a weak coil that gives weak spark and causing it to flood when it normally wouldn't? Could it be related to the use of a gravity fed tank on a fuel pump designed engine? Perhaps an issue with valve adjustment? I also changed all the gas and vacuum lines.

Also another question I have is, what RPM range should this thing run at? When the throttle is in its slowest speed, it runs at about 1800 - 2000rpm. When the throttle it at its highest speed, it runs at about 3000rpm. I believe I can adjust this using one of the set screws on the governor. Should I adjust it? Using the gas pedal I can run it to 3600 - 3700rpm seemingly without issue. I even saw 4000rpm once by accident, but without issue.

Next I am going to do the pulley swap and locker. Front end swap. and fix what ever this crap is with the engine leaking oil all over.

Thanks for reading.

Hey everyone. Quick update:

I found my oil leak and it's likely due to a missing bolt in the rear sump pan....not sure if thats the correct term or not, but you can see in the pictures in my gallery what I am talking about. It should be a straight forward fix. I am hoping some high temp RTV sealant will do the trick vs. ordering the actual gaskets.

I was able to do the pulley swap on my spare MST-206 transaxle this past weekend. I used some Penetrating oil and soaked the input shaft and pulley for a few days and I was surprised when the pulley came off effortlessly after removing the c-clip. The wheels are stuck to the axles, but I am going to swap this into the Murray to test fit it, get my belt sizes, and work out any tweaks I need to do like with the clutch or shift linkage. The turf-savers are 20 inches which I believe is the same size tires I will be running anyway (Bear Claws). I am hoping to be able to get this done this weekend.

For the final transaxle upgrade I am probably going to use my original MST-205 with the pulley swap and any of the tweaks i needed to do. Then I will use the 6spd gearset out of the mst-206 so I will have an extra gear. My reasoning for this is because honestly my mst-205 seems to be in better shape...but I guess I wont know till i crack em both open.

Anyway, I am getting married next weekend and going away on my honeymoon afterwards so I'll be taking a few weekends off from working on this. I'll catch ya'll when I get back.

IMGUR Gallery of this episode of my off road Murray Select build: https://imgur.com/a/kN46i

Hey Everyone.

Another quick update. This will probably be my last one for a few weeks. As I mentioned in my previous update, I was planning on swapping in my MST-206 into the Murray to get myself an idea of how things would work.

Unfortunately I hit a bit of a road block with this. I had originally thought my Murray had an MST-205 transaxle and was under the assumption that the MST-206 should swap in quite easily. Well, this past weekend I learned that I do NOT have a Peerless transaxle AT ALL in the Murray. I have a Spicer..... :-(....WOMP WOMP!

That being said, while the MST-206 will bolt up, I need to modify the shift linkage to get things to work. I also found out that I broke a c or e-clip off one of the axles on my MST-206 trying to get the wheels off...the wheel and axle slid right out. So I'll need to order some parts to get the MST-206 ready to roll. Has anyone swapped an MST-206 for a 5 Speed Spicer before in a Murray? Any pointers or advice to get the shift linkage to work nicely from the stock location?

In the mean time, I figured that since the Spicer does work, that I should just do my pulley swap to it and see how things work from there. I lucked out with the pulley swap for the MST-206, but for the Spicer it ended up putting up a huge fight. I tried redneckcomputergeeks candle method but it unfortunately didn't work. PB Blaster didn't help nor did heat. I also tried to use a pully puller after drilling holes in the stock pulley....but it actually broke the pulley off the hub. What I ended up doing was cutting the hub off the input shaft which obviously did the trick.

My 4 inch pulley ended up causing the drive belt to rub on the shift linkage, so I welded in another idler pulley to help pull it out of the way. I forgot to take pictures of this but I will next time I work on the tractor. I couldn't find a long enough belt to make things work perfect, but I found a belt that was a bit too short that fit, but it still spins the input shaft even with the clutch pushed in.

For giggles I decided to see how things worked. To see if the belt would stay on and to see how much speed I could get out of this. WOW what a difference the 4 inch pulley made!

I was able to get 15mph (GPS verified) in 5th gear out of it after the modifications. I am hoping with an extra gear from the MST-206 and 22 inch bear claws, that I should be able to achieve my 20mph goal.

Anyway, at this point, I've got to take a quick break from this project to get married and enjoy my honeymoon. Then I need to work on putting a new motor on our snowblower before I can pick this back up. So I hope in about a month to be picking this back up and we'll see how things end up. My goal is to be able to enjoy a few romps this winter perhaps mid build..perhaps still running on the unlocked Spicer....but by next spring I'd love to have this 100% complete and ready to romp.

IMGur album of work this past weekend: https://imgur.com/a/fzR6o

Hello Everyone!

So I got married, had a great honeymoon and now I am back and ready for more tractor awesomeness!

I decided to run some Carsile Snow Hogs in 13.00 x 5 x 6 on the front of the Murray. I had some 6 inch wheels off a John Deer trailer that had steel bushings instead of the usual plastic Murray garbage as well as a spare Snow Hog that was from an old snow blower of mine. I got one mounted up using my new mini tire changer I got from Harbor Freight. The mini tire changer was a big help compared to doing it by hand alone. Here is the link to what I got: http://www.harborfreight.com/mini-tire-changer-61179.html


I ordered another snow hog and once I get it and mounted up I am going to swap the LT1000 front end onto the Murray. I am going to make any improvements I can on the front end to make it tighter and reliable.

Once I get the front end sorted it will allow me to start to work on things like the brush guard, new hood brackets, and hitch/winch mounting, etc.

Some of you might remember from my previous post that I found out that I did not have a MST-205 in the Murray but rather a Spicer! My donor MST-206 needs new axles and seals, which I just found out would cost over $150 in parts with shipping!!! and it would still have broken/no brakes. So I have a new plan for the transaxle swap for the Murray. For slightly more total money, I can buy a MST-203 BRAND NEW and swap in the 6spd guts from my MST-206. This is appealing to me because mostly everything will be brand new in the trans including the brakes. Instead of welding/locking the diff, which this would be my first time doing this, I will instead install a "diffy lock" kit: http://roms-peerless-transaxle-supply.ecrater.com/p/7192288/gearset-upgrade-5-for-peerless-transaxle-3-4-axle    This will save me the time and effort welding a brand new transaxle...plus give me a little more piece of mind that things should last. I will be going with a 3.5 inch pulley on the MST-203/coverted 206. I think this should work out nicely for me. The Spicer I am going to swap into another tractor of mine for mowing, since it has a hydro that is failing.

I hope to get some more done this weekend but I will post updates when I have them. Have a good day everyone.

Congrats on the marriage. The axle and fozzy kit should do really good, what do you have planned for rear tires? Thought about bumpers or lights yet?

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

Congrats on the marriage. The axle and fozzy kit should do really good, what do you have planned for rear tires? Thought about bumpers or lights yet?

Thank you. For rear tires I am planning on going with 22 x 12 x 8 Kenda Bear Claws.

For the front bumper I am going to use a Sears brush guard I already have. This: http://c.shld.net/rpx/i/s/i/spin/image/spin_prod_208536801?wid=800&hei=800&op_sharpen=1 , but not in chrome.
I am going to strengthen it up using some square tubing and want to integrate a 1 1/4 hitch receiver w/ winch as well. I am also going to go with 2 LED light pods @ 1500 lumens each for front lighting.

For the rear I figured I would make my own out of square tubing. I want to integrate a 1 1/4 hitch receiver as well and have the option to relocate the winch to the rear if/when needed. I am going to probably use a single red LED for a brake light and single LED pod for reverse lights.

Good Morning everyone!

This weekend I worked on the Murray for a bit. I got the Carsile Snow Hogs mounted on the nice John Deer 6 inch wheels up front. What a huge difference it made in the handling of the tractor! I also added a fuel shutoff valve to see if it would help with my starting issues, but unfortunately it didn't. I think I am going to try replacing the coil next, as well as fix my oil leaks to ensure that the fuel pump has sufficient vacuum. I'm also going to adjust the valves. I'm hoping these changes will make starting this thing more reliable, because right now that's my biggest issue.

Other than what's mentioned above, I didn't get to do anything else on it this weekend. I am going to likely swap my LT1000 front axle next. I was planning on using the LT1000 spindles, but I don't think I'll be able to as the steering tie rods seem to mount and work differently than the Murray spindles. I just need to find the new bronze or brass bushings for the spindes and some tie rod ends that will work to tighten things up and I'll get this swap done. After that I'll probably just work on misc modifications and tweaks like getting the engine running more reliably, re-wiring, hood pins, bumpers, and working on the belt/clutch drive for the winter. I want to get to my trans upgrades but it's going to cost a bit more $$ for these, esp w/ 2 new Kenda Bear claws going on order.....so I just want to get some other aspects of this build squared away first.

Has anyone swapped an MST-206 into a Murray that used to have a Spicer before? Any tips or tricks on how to handle the shift linkage? I'd like to keep the stock shifter location.

Also, is anyone really good with opposed twin engines? I'd love to talk to someone about the issues I am having getting this motor squared away. It runs so good once it's running but starting it hot or cold is always a hastle! It's leaking oil out of the back "pan" but it's been giving me issue before the oil leak started.

Here is a quick video after I got the tires mounted and decided to do a quick lap around the back yard. Even as it runs now, I love this thing. It's a blast to drive. I can't imagine how much fun it will be when I am finished.



Towed my friends boat trailer from bottom of the back yard to the top and back down again without issue. We had to change tires on the trailer.


I really like the tread pattern of the snow hogs. I only wish I went a little larger, but I had 1 free tire laying around so this works for now. You can see my LT1000 in the background. This will be used as a 2nd off road build once I gain more experience after this Murray build.


The new snow hog tire I ordered was a bit deformed. I am guessing it was on the bottom of a pallet. The tires are the same size but the new one it more rounded. I am hoping that after some use this should break in.





Thanks for reading and appreciate your time and any feedback.

that tire might not break in. the ones on my snowblower are rounded also, and it also blew out in the spring. keep an eye on it for dry rot and cracks

LAWN MOWER MUDDER wrote:

Angchor wrote:

LAWN MOWER MUDDER wrote:

The axles should fit.  (Same thing except one more gear ratio)

Input shaft is 5/8"  That is the usual going size for vertical shaft trannies except fot 820's, they are 3/4.

I'm going to start calling you "MowerWikiMan"!!

Ok?.....

My 820 has a 5/8" input shaft so not "Every 820 has a 3/4" shaft"

does anyone have the part number for the coil for a 21hp opposed twin? I'm looking to order one to replace the one on mine.

thanks.

it don't matter as long as it has two wires coming out of it

LAWN MOWER MUDDER wrote:

Ariens YT11 wrote:

LAWN MOWER MUDDER wrote:

Angchor wrote:

LAWN MOWER MUDDER wrote:

The axles should fit.  (Same thing except one more gear ratio)

Input shaft is 5/8"  That is the usual going size for vertical shaft trannies except fot 820's, they are 3/4.

I'm going to start calling you "MowerWikiMan"!!

Ok?.....

My 820 has a 5/8" input shaft so not "Every 820 has a 3/4" shaft"

Yeah sorry about that. Forget about that I just realized that too with the 820 that I have recently recieved. I do think I remember seeing an 820 with a 3/4" input shaft somewhere...

Will Re-edit my original post

Mine's a 5/8", I've yet to see one that's 3/4 inch input?