Craftsman 4k (I Have Yet To Name Her)

I'm starting my tractor project officially now. I've been playing around with it in stock form for basically a few months now. All it's had is a pulley swap. Here are my plans for my tractor, slightly categorized:

I) Drivetrain
   A) Engine
       -Something that runs and charges a battery (Not real picky right now...)
       -Some sort of stack with toppers
       -Snorkel
       -Foot Throttle (Hand throttle for cruise)
       -Ditch keyed ignition, go push button w/ pull start back up
   B) Transaxle
       -Locked
       -Oil Filled
       -Bearings anywhere they fit
       -A certain La Roux song comes to mind...
       -Ditch the trans brake and mount a disc brake/rotor on axle (Locked axle, duh.)
   C) Everything In Between
       -Like a 1:1 pulley ratio (5" Pulleys)
       -Off-road tires mounted on 10" Golf Cart rims (Need to get hubs for axle)
       -Not sure what type of belt (I've heard good stuff about kevlar)
       -Double-pulley clutch #NoBeltSlip

II) Chassis
   A) Frame Supports
       -Who doesn't like a stiffy?
   B) Front/Rear Bumpers
       -Stinger front bumper w/ tow hooks
       -Straight bar rear bumper w/ hitches (Probably just a ball and whatever the regular tractor style is called...)
   C) Rub Rails/Brush Guards/Skid Plates
       -Undercarriage coverage: steering, transaxle, under front bumper leading to frame
       -Rub rails to stop so much brush from getting to me, around legs mostly
   D)Lift Eventually

III) Steering And Suspension
   A) IFS
       -Find a cheap 4-wheeler off Craigslist and adapt suspension
   B) Getting Rid of the Stock Steering
       -Direct? Possibly use 4-wheeler stuff?
   
IV) Accessories
   A) Powered Stuff
       -Car Battery
       -Winch, because I'll get stuck eventually
       -12v car plugs for charging stuff
       -Thinking about tube speakers, like for an ATV, but not sure yet.
       -High/Low Beam lights (4 lights total, 2 for high beam and 2 for low beam)
       -Regular tractor lights (Hazard lights, that sort of stuff)

   B) Gauges
       -Voltmeter
       -Pyrometer, for maximum yolos
       -Possibly an oil temp gauge...
       -Tachometer

V) Vanity
   A) Paint
       -Bedliner for base
       -Blue and White for actual colors
   B) Diamond-Plate Running Boards
C) Some badass hood ornament. The Duck is the only one on my mind so far...

VI) Miscellaneous
   A) Tow Straps
   B)Cargo Rack behind/around seat (Must be wary of shifter)
   C) Tool Box with various basic tools (Screwdrivers, wrenches, maybe a ratchet set, extra belt, etc)
   D) Jerry Can, if I find that my gas tank can't hold enough for daily rides... (It's like 3 gallons, Lol)
   E)Cup Holder or two...
   F)Zerks everywhere (Zerk, Zerk city B****)

As I finish stuff, or as I think of stuff, this list is going to get changed. Right now I'm working on locking the transaxle, a 6 speed Spicer, and going to get that put back in my tractor. I should be ordering hubs and tires for my golf cart rims here soon, so that'll be done, too. I've also got to get some of the straps off my Dad's semi that he gave to me. They're just barely not long enough to stretch over loads, so I get some 5k lb rated straps, that are about 27' long!

That tractor is gonna be a beast!!! Good luck on build... Will keep my eye out to see what you have done(if I rember)... Psh Psh pictures maybe?

Will do guys! I posted a picture in the first post. Just had to get them off my phone.

I got my transaxle apart and cleaned up. All I have to do is figure out how to weld and get my Fozzy Lock going. I'll be filling my trans with some axle oil that we have at my house. Some 75w-90 Shell oil. I'm stuck between Right Stuff or the Grey RTV. My Dad said the Right Stuff would be the better stuff to get, even though it's more expensive. I might be able to get him to buy some, Lol.

She sure was dirty. That dang grease is older than me!


I guess even ugly trannys can clean up good.


You can't see it in the second picture because that was taken before I did it, but I fired up the wire wheel and went over the mating surfaces like 2 more times and got them down to bare aluminum. I want to tap a fitting into the top of the transaxle housing so I can put oil into it without taking it apart.

Here's my rims I'm putting on my tractor. I got the tire off today in auto. My Bear Claws should be in shortly. Can't Wait!

Nice

Thank you, Carshowkid.

I stopped by O'Reilly's last night and got a few things. Some brake parts cleaner, a sealed push button (Because it seemed nice), a ***** toggle switch that I'm taking back the next time I get back over there, and some stainless steel valve stems. They seem pretty cool; they even have two different sized seals for different hole diamters. I went back today to get some stuff I forgot: Permatex Ultra Grey RTV. I was going to go with the Right Stuff Permatex makes, but it was way too expensive for what I wanted to do. Maybe if I could get some donations...



I even put my cool aluminum valve stem caps with the blue jewel on the top on the valve stems. I'm taking the valve stems back out to wire wheel the rim where the seal sits. Should be smooth sailing from here on out with regards to that.



My tires should be here tomorrow or Wednesday. The hubs should be in around Wednesday or Thursday. All that's really left for me to do is get to welding on my spiders so the transaxle is locked up when I put her back together. I also had to get a new bushing for the trans since one of them was completely worn out. I'll get a picture of it when I can.

Those are some cool rims!!!

Carshowkid wrote:

Those are some cool rims!!!

I found them at a thrift store. They came off a golf cart. One of the rims was mismatched, but it is pretty close. I figure that since I'd only be using two of them then they'd be perfect. I bought them on one of their half-off days and ended up paying like $15 for them all. I'm still waiting on Zach to come get the other two... Lol. I might be trading him for an MST 206. Maybe. We'll see how that goes.

Nice find on the rims. I wish cleaning up stuff like that transmission was as easy as just scrolling to the next picture. Poof, fixed.

mr.modified wrote:

Nice find on the rims. I wish cleaning up stuff like that transmission was as easy as just scrolling to the next picture. Poof, fixed.

Thanks! I live like right near The Villages. Great place for yard sales and stuff. And that transmission wasn't so bad... All it really needed was a good grease-scooping and some wire wheel on the seals. I even used some brake parts cleaner to get all the grease residue off.

Now to my update: Guess what I got in the mail... Lol.



I got the tires and hubs. Yay me! I took the hubs out of the package. I love them. I got them from BMI Karts, and I would definitely recommend them. They seem very straight and the powder coat looks very nice. The picture is a bit blurry, but you get the idea.



I started to put my rims in my tires, but got frustrated because I couldn't quite get them to go in all the way. I'm just going to take them to school tomorrow and put them in the tire machine and get it done in 30 seconds. Lol. I can't wait.

Lucky you have a tire machine at school!!!

Carshowkid wrote:

Lucky you have a tire machine at school!!!

We have tons of tools at school. I'm in an automotive program. I love it. We have like 9 bays and 5 different lifts. Two of them are drive on lifts and one of them is for alignments. We have two tire balancing machines, brake lathes, a couple Snap-On tool boxes filled with tools, and tons of other stuff.

What are you a junior or senior at high school? Or in college?

Carshowkid wrote:

What are you a junior or senior at high school? Or in college?

I'm a junior. In High School.

I figured that when you said they have an automotive service... I'm a sophomore in hs... And I'm taking automotive service in school next year

nice tires ive heared good reveiws on those

dang on you moving right along lol im considering on buying me some of those hubs from bmi carts was going to on another project i "attempted" but following thru with the stalker build nothing special on it tho but, yea moving along good job man!!

Thanks guys!

I got the tires mounted and on my tractor last Saturday and got the tractor rewired Sunday. I got my push button and everything sealed up, too. I'll have pictures tonight. I'm going to meet someone today after school to see their mower. It turns out they live a street over from me and I found them on MMM. Lol. My tractor is too fast for my trailer now. Pulling it in 6th gear causes the trailer to wobble back and forth. Maybe I'll get a new trailer. Or fix mine. I think I just need to air up the tires a bit. I'll post updates with that, too. Soon I'll be getting a new engine so I can actually run lights and not have to worry about the battery going dead after a few starts.

I'll tell him soon. I should be going to see him tomorrow. I'm going to ride my tractor over to his house.

I know there is quite a few if us from Florida on her we should get a group together to ride in the state Forrest or something. Love your build so far. Your plans are a lot like mine

Except I don't have that ugly round body. Just kidding. We should all try to meet up sometime; what part of Florida are you in?

And an update on the pictures: I'm too lazy to get them off my phone. That is all.

Dude I wish I had a square body like yours. I'm up in Jacksonville

I don't have a hood anymore. The lights busted out and the whole hood was limp after that. So I took it off. I'm going to build my own hood here soon.