LT4000 Craftsman Mudding/Racing 250 mile trip build

mr.modified wrote:

I think I bought a steel pulley from tractor supply that was 10" once. One that you have to weld to a hub though, not already assembled. I think it was about $20, but of course you need some kind of hub, or an old pulley from whatever your working on of course. I think cast iron pulleys would be ok unless your going to spin it like 7000rpm+ or something.

Yeah i dont plan on spinning it more than 4000

Ariens YT11 wrote:

I can get a pully and a hub at the local farm store for $18 and weld it up for you if you can get $25 to me. Only if you want though.

First let me look around online alittle more and check tractor supply and if i cant find one cheaper ill take you up on that offer

Craftsman1998 wrote:

Ariens YT11 wrote:

I can get a pully and a hub at the local farm store for $18 and weld it up for you if you can get $25 to me. Only if you want though.

First let me look around online alittle more and check tractor supply and if i cant find one cheaper ill take you up on that offer

All right.

I got a 6'' pulley at a place called Fleet Farm with the weld in hub for $14 I think, looks good so far man, good luck.

KohlerCoalRoller wrote:

I got a 6'' pulley at a place called Fleet Farm with the weld in hub for $14 I think, looks good so far man, good luck.

I looked around alittle more and was able to find one for 16.39 cents which is much cheaper not sure how well it will do. So if it breaks or blows apart ill get a different one lol oh and its a 6'' pulley so ill make up the speed in rpm and tire size. plus with a 6'' pulley there wont be as much belt slip.

"574 turns... 2047 shifts... 10 fuel stops... 2 Lawn tractors... 250 miles... Man and machine vs the road and clock! Can they do the impossible and make it in 24 hrs? Will the equipment hold??? How long before the strain on rods, bearings, and valves, turns a finely tuned engine into a twisted mass of scrap metal in a split second??? No one knows... no one has ever gone this far on lawn tractors before"

I vote for road kill mower edition, on the side of the road splitting a transaxle because 3rd gear wend out and you gotta hack the gear and fish out the chunks to keep going... and towing a mower to a road side restaurant to do a engine swap at 9pm....

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

I vote for road kill mower edition, on the side of the road splitting a transaxle because 3rd gear wend out and you gotta hack the gear and fish out the chunks to keep going... and towing a mower to a road side restaurant to do a engine swap at 9pm....  

you know I envision these things happening but it going to be all right because we are doing it in two days, the first the gett to know day with the tractor and the following, you hit the ball hard and go.

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

I vote for road kill mower edition, on the side of the road splitting a transaxle because 3rd gear wend out and you gotta hack the gear and fish out the chunks to keep going... and towing a mower to a road side restaurant to do a engine swap at 9pm....  

I second that. I love that show.

Maybe take another transaxle, just incase you blow one up and have to change it on the side of the road, one that will bolt in easy. And maybe another engine or something

MatthewD wrote:

Maybe take another transaxle, just incase you blow one up and have to change it on the side of the road, one that will bolt in easy. And maybe another engine or something

Yep thats in the plans. both of us are going to be pulling trailers with parts and fuel.

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

I vote for road kill mower edition, on the side of the road splitting a transaxle because 3rd gear wend out and you gotta hack the gear and fish out the chunks to keep going... and towing a mower to a road side restaurant to do a engine swap at 9pm....

lol im sure stuff like thats going to happen you know what carl we should start are own show where we travel to a state buy a old worn out tractor fix it and drive it home just like roadkill but with tractors.

Craftsman1998 wrote:

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

I vote for road kill mower edition, on the side of the road splitting a transaxle because 3rd gear wend out and you gotta hack the gear and fish out the chunks to keep going... and towing a mower to a road side restaurant to do a engine swap at 9pm....  

lol im sure stuff like thats going to happen you know what carl we should start are own show where we travel to a state buy a old worn out tractor fix it and drive it home just like roadkill but with tractors.

I like that idea but lets finish this trip first before we really think about a huge youtube thing like that.

Well hello everyone just thought id let you know that there wont be any progress on this build until after my birthday which is on the 21st. Dont worry im not quiting the build off. i did the same thing last year i didn't really get much done until after my birthday. So after my birthday ill get cracking on this build. I have a lot of things in mind So hang tight.

Ariens YT11 wrote:

Craftsman1998 wrote:

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

I vote for road kill mower edition, on the side of the road splitting a transaxle because 3rd gear wend out and you gotta hack the gear and fish out the chunks to keep going... and towing a mower to a road side restaurant to do a engine swap at 9pm....  

lol im sure stuff like thats going to happen you know what carl we should start are own show where we travel to a state buy a old worn out tractor fix it and drive it home just like roadkill but with tractors.

I like that idea but lets finish this trip first before we really think about a huge youtube thing like that.

Good idea lol and my birthdays over now its time to get to work.

Alright so heres some of the parts i'm going to be purchasing.

6.25in v-belt pulley: http://www.amazon.com/TB-Woods-Bored--V-Belt-Section/dp/B003N17LPA/ref=sr_1_4?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1423927685&sr=1-4&keywords=6in+1in+bore

25 in steering shaft: http://www.mfgsupply.com/az1868-25.html

Pillow Block bearing for the shaft: http://www.amazon.com/VXB-UCP202-10-Bearing-Setscrew-Diameter/dp/B002BBAZ3I/ref=pd_sim_indust_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=00GWP1BGYX9TW8KWYCDX

Flange block bearing for the shaft: http://www.amazon.com/Hub-City-FB260URX5-Setscrew-Mounting/dp/B00ECZTC7Q/ref=pd_sim_sbs_indust_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=17KVMG2NPZ3KYEF6Q4FY

12in steering wheel: http://www.mfgsupply.com/gomini/goministeering/goministeeringwheels/4-9396.html

Some heim joints for front axle: http://www.amazon.com/American-Star-Chromoly-XMR12-Joints/dp/B00658TPYI/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1424573319&sr=1-1&keywords=heim+joints

Front tires (not the ones im using for the trip): http://www.amazon.com/Carlisle-Super-Lawn-Garden-Tire/dp/B005O5VBYK/ref=sr_1_33?ie=UTF8&qid=1424041101&sr=8-33&keywords=15x6-6+tire

Rear tires (not the ones im using for the trip): http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001U50RKM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A32JIJVD18NA57

And the reason im using a 6.25 pulley is because i think i will have belt slip with a 7in so a 6.25 will do.

Mmm, new parts! That steering wheel looks good I'm going to be ordering some parts for my build off project soon, it seems like everyone's in front of me!

MatthewD wrote:

Mmm, new parts! That steering wheel looks good I'm going to be ordering some parts for my build off project soon, it seems like everyone's in front of me!

I was going to use a bike handle bar ut it would look weird and it would be uncomfortable to drive 250 miles so thats why i went with a go kart steering wheel.
And dont worry i haven't really even started yet either and there's still months left.

Yeah I think handlebars look odd on a mower

Check out SurplusCenter.com for bearings tie rod ends and such will save you money. they are my go to place for parts. that's not bad price for tires about what I paid for 20x10.00x8 at my local tire dealer.

got the same size rear tires and they kick ass

About those front wheels..

I put all the same size tires on my Ms. Pistol project, and I love the look. It is an old Craftsman 12hp 5 speed, 38in cut model.

I wanted 4 of the same wheels on the tractor for simplicity first, then aesthetics, and so I scrounged around for another set of rear wheels. Then I discovered , like you did, they are to long for the stock front spindles. Since I wasn't planning on doing a total re-engineering of it, I kept the stock front end. I found a steel fabrications place and talked to the shop foreman.

With his bosses permission, he took some scrap 3/4 in rod and the stock spindles I provided him and bent me up some new rods with the same angles. I asked him to start with rods about 18 to 24 inches and make the bend as close to center as he could eyeball it. Cost me $20 total.

I took those rods home, cut the old stock spindles apart for the hardware (I don't have a way yet to accurately\safely cut steel sheet yet), put them on the tractor with wheels on, and then spent about an hour carefully tacking them in place so everything was straight.

You can do this, and run rears on the front. My only concern about 250 miles is, its metal on metal with only grease, and you're talking 45-50 mph. For occasional romping, my solution works, but I think you'd be better off to consider bearings up front too.

BTW, even with care, I still goofed my front steering geometry. Because I didn't have a third arm or a helper, one of the steering plates shifted ever so much between me setting it and pulling my eye protection down. All this did was prevent me from using the stock steering arm. I went out and fabbed an entirely new one, as can be seen on the project.

You guys have totally distracted me from some of my projects with this 250 mile talk. Pull this off, and I think it could become a larger "Thing". I can't seem to find the info in one of these threads about how you get these tractors road legal. I'd like to look into that.

After thinking about it for awhile ive decided to use the 15x5x6 stock rims because if i use the 18x8x8 front rims It will sit up too high. And we all know a high center of gravity on a racing mower is a bad thing. so at least with the stock rims it will be a happy medium it wont be slammed low and it wont be sitting too high. And here in my part of jersey there isnt any metal fabrication places so i couldnt really get front axles made unless i did it myself. and ill have to find rims that have bearings in them for the trip but for testing purposes the stock ones will do.. And to answer your question on how we are making them road legal. we are going to be adding directionals,horn,brake lights and we then get them registered as atvs in the state of wyoming. but if we were to do a trip in jersey it will be a little more involved because theres more rules and regulations.

the old guy wrote:

Check out SurplusCenter.com for bearings tie rod ends and such will save you money. they are my go to place for parts. that's not bad price for tires about what I paid for 20x10.00x8 at my local tire dealer.

Thanks ill definitely check them out. And i checked at tractor supply for the tires i needed and there 100 dollars a piece which i think is insane when im a poor teenager lol and i can get them online cheaper. And knobbys are 65 dollars a piece which isnt that bad but i dont think i want knobbys on this build.

Yeah money is always in short supply with me too. I plan on using Kendra Bearclaws on my next build. I was quoted a very good price at a tire dealer for two 25x10.00x12s mounted. If you have trouble mounting those superlugs let me know I will tell you how to make a two piece rim, makes mounting tires a breeze only drawback is you have to use tubes.

Kart wheels seem to be 3/4, 5/8, and 1 inch axle sizes, and have bearings. Yes it will add to some of the cost, but might also increase your likely-hood of finishing. You might even be able to keep the stock front spindles. another advantage of kart wheels are bolt on brake parts, no fabbing required.

Yes, this might change the look you're going for(ride height and tires used), but its got to work, be reliable, and be safe; before it looks pretty. Sounds to me you guys know this already.

IF you make the investment in Kart Wheels, and they are too wide for the stock axle, let me know and Ill go get some more bent up and sent to you. I need to get some made up for another project anyway, so it wont cost you anything. I'd like to see you guys pull this off.