1995 Craftsman LT4000 Off-Road/Mud Build

Great forum and looking forward to some advice and critics. My original goal was to use a 2000 Murray I picked up in a 2 mower deal but the Murray was to clean and nice to use as I was able to flip it for a really nice profit, so the LT4000 is what im starting with. So far I gutted the wiring and safety switches and completely rewired, swapped rear pulley to a 3", new belt, new battery, gas line etc..... The motor is 16hp briggs opposed twin, it ran ok but was kind of rough. Motor was leaking oil but wasn't sure from where, so I pulled the motor and found the sump gasket was bad and leaked on one side. Pulled the heads and one side was clean and the other had oil passing the rings. Ordered a new gasket set to replace all gaskets, new rings and a carb rebuild. Going with 22x11.00-8 ITP Mud Lites for the rear and still trying to figure out what to do up front. I would like to go 18x9.50-8, but not sure were to start with rims?!?!?!?! any recommendations or help would be great! Rest of mods will include custom bumpers with a winch, rear rack, lighting, straight pipe exhaust, front pulley, paint, etc......Looking forward to finishing this thing and hitting the trails!!! Would really appreciate any help, tips, pointers and what not to do. Thanks, Adam.....

Looks like a good tractor to start with, especially with that sweet opposed haha. Also if you need some 8" rims for the front look for a garden tractor. As long as it has 3/4" spindles it should work on you tractor.

Nice rig...

I'm betting 5/8 on those front spindles. But that is just a bearing swap, just be sure to gusset them for added support.

Thanks guys, and yes it has 3/4" spindles.

Yeah I figured it would, only MTD lawn tractors have 5/8" spindles I believe.

Looks like a clean base to start with, good find! See if you can find some garden tractor front wheels that come off something with 5/8 spindles. I have a craftsman and my fronts came off a Sabre (made by JD)

What pulley ratios you going with?


Edit: if your spindles are 3/4, I guess go with those lol. Find a GT somewhere with 3/4 spindles and they’ll slide right on. Most LT tractors have 5/8 though...

The stock front pulley was a 3.5" and I swapped to a 3" rear. Hit about 20mph and almost rolled the machine because of the steering issues! fixed the steering problem today. 20mph is plenty for this rig, going to mostly trail ride and some mud bogging. Whats a good ratio in youre opinion?

That will work, but the belt will slip once it gets wet. 5 to 4 or 4.5 to 4 is better since the contact between the belt and pulley is more. I run a 4 inch rear with a little bit of slip

I would have to agree that a 3" pulley on the engine and trans might slip a bit when under heavy load.

Only MTDs have 5/8" spindles CQ. Every other standard LT has 3/4" or 7/8" spindles. Have no idea who would have told you otherwise.

Good start bud! Love these Craftsman frames, I have basically the same one in my Mutt build. The front tire size you mentioned should do nice, although I'd like a 6.50 or a 7 wide rather than a 9.50. I ran 18x6.50-8s for a long time on Mutt, they did pretty nice. Keep an eye on the front axle, it's usually the first thing to go on these things, especially under an opposed with bigger tires. Steering isn't great either but yours looks to be in good shape. Of course, this is all coming from the guy who can break literally anything haha. Can't wait to see what you come up with on this!

I agree with rich. The front axles on those will break from normal mowing duty. Reinforce the frame around where the axle mounts and maybe find a cast iron front axle to swap in. Maybe pull the axle, front wheels, and steering all from a GT. Possibly a hydro with a bad trans. Could get it cheap and have tons of good parts

Awesome! Keep the input coming. Appreciate the great advice.

Clean mower, looks very similar to my lt4000 but mine doesn't have the oppy. Those carbs are a pain to work with.

Actually he has the 3 screw variant of the opposed twin carb, much more tolerable than a 4 screw. I have one 4 screw, thing runs like crap, but at least it runs.

3 adjusting screws? And why are they any different then the 4 screw?

The 4 screw is a newer EPA mandated carb that is non adjustable. Once it runs like crap there is very little you can do to fix it

The screws are on the fuel pump cover muck, if it's a 4 screw carb they're are 4 screws holding it on, and 3 screws if it's a 3 screw carb. Like CQ said the 3 screw is the older and more adjustable one, which makes it easier to work with.

Ok I get it now. What year did they start making the 4 screw ones?

Idk when they were changed, but they can be cleaned and can work better after a cleaning.

I like this mower style, it is the exact model of my LT4000 that i am working on, Could you post some close ups of the center console and where the hood makes contact? i got mine without a console and basically started from scratch on it and would like a more in depth look at how it was put together than google has. I would recommend going with a 1 to 1 ratio of at least 5 inch pulleys, anything less and you will have lots of slippage once you get into mud or up hill driving . Good luck and welcome to the forum !

A 4 inch rear pulley will do fine with the right set up. Also make sure you stay FAR AWAY from any cast aluminum or zinc pulleys. Go with steel or cast iron. Also, a double pulley clutch will help belt slip issues as well

biggasmowers wrote:

Idk when they were changed, but they can be cleaned and can work better after a cleaning.

I like this mower style, it is the exact model of my LT4000 that i am working on, Could you post some close ups of the center console and where the hood makes contact? i got mine without a console and basically started from scratch on it and would like a more in depth look at how it was put together than google has. I would recommend going with a 1 to 1 ratio of at least 5 inch pulleys, anything less and you will have lots of slippage once you get into mud or up hill driving .  Good luck and welcome to the forum !

Hope this helps, let me know if you need any more.

CraftsmanQuad19 wrote:

A 4 inch rear pulley will do fine with the right set up. Also make sure you stay FAR AWAY from any cast aluminum or zinc pulleys. Go with steel or cast iron. Also, a double pulley clutch will help belt slip issues as well

Last thing I want to deal with is belt slip issues, so when I get to that point, ill be asking for help! thank you sir!

Thanks! wow i got a lot of fab to do on mine, yours has a newer dash than mine it looks like but the rest is the same .

Might be picking up another lt4000. Won't need the dash if you are interested.

I am just going to build my own , should be stronger than stock