Murraymountain's Lawn Tractor Repairs

Okay, it does run a lot slower when the blades are on and the hydro at top speed, so I guess it would be fine just driving around too I'd think.

Thanks for the info guys!

Alright boys, so the Craps-man is in the best condition it's ever been since I've owned it, all it needs now is a transmission pressure release rod, and a new motor. The headlights work, the clutch is working correctly, the back of the seat and a portion of the dash has been repainted, and the tires hold air ($30 for that). Anyway, with the horrifying knock, it mowed about 3.5 acres of fairly thick grass and it did the job nicely. Of course it had its complaints, and it took all day (Which normally takes about 5 hours with the JD) but it still did it.

This hill was a beast, matter of fact it's the one that showed me the real gremlins of the Craftsman, but the Craps-man did it.


The Craps-man mowed everything in this one and the pic above and then some.


And this is just something I've been wanting to see, both my LT1000s at the same time.


So as soon as I get a motor, the Craps-man can be sold for top dollar! I mean, at least $190 has been put into it not including a motor, and I've had it for over a year now, so I better get top dollar. Anyway, now that the Craps-man is up to date...



The Craftsman... The Craftsman was supposed to go up for sale today, but it had other plans. I found out why the old owner put it out to pasture, when I had just finished this project, I went to test it today before I washed it, and I decided to try and mow the hill in the first pic, weeeeeeeaaaaaall, it started bogging, and losing drive power. At first I could tell there's some deck height issues 'cause it was cutting too low, so I disengaged the blades, and put the hydro to full speed, but it started lagging and jerking. Sooooooo, I went to park it, and when I shut it off, and it got to it's last revolution, it kept kicking on, "Pow..........Pow........Pow.......Pow", about 6 times, and it finally shut off.

It's obviously not going for sale today, so what was the point in messing with it. So I went behind it to look at the hydro, and lo and behold, a hydrostatic transmission covered in fluid and dripping it on the ground.......... Me:     , It must be time. LOL! So, next time I go the the junkyard, what I need is simple. There's an LT1000 that's already being parted out with a lot of the parts I need still on it (including a motor, tranny and frame), so hopefully it'll be mine next time.


And just for fun, I think Ima take the old hydro apart just because I can!

AAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNND.... HYDRO TEARDOWN!!! No springs and other crap flew out! BUT, I found several red flags. As soon as I removed the first wheel, the axle literally fell apart. A big chunk fell out first, and then I noticed the crack (white circle)...



Here's some oil that leaked out of the tranny, not sure how it got there...


Tranny apart...


Then I realized just how bad it is... Everything in blue is a crack...


Another alarming thing... In the blue is shredded metal stuck to whatever that thing is, as if there's a magnet underneath it... That's not supposed to be there is it?


Here's the piece that chipped off...


I found the brake pads very interesting. Not even close to an MST...


Here's the filter...'er.... What is this? Is it still any good?


And I also found a busted mounting bracket... (i think someone jumped it lol)




@Mowby Dick, I know you know something about hydro's... Can anyone help me out here, does everything look okay? When it warmed up it started lagging bad, and jerking, is it worth saving?

So, I watched a video on YT of a guy rebuilding his MTD hydro (had all the symptoms mine had), and it turned out to be the hydrostatic motor. I haven't done much research, but at the moment, I can't find a new hydro motor, I can't find an axle half (only the entire diff, and that's $662), a brass bearing is $20 (not too bad), and a filter is $50 I think. So, I'll be doing some serious research.

When I asked the price of that parts mower at the junkyard, the second he opened his mouth my jaw hit the ground, So that's out (and I needed that thing).

So I now have $200 (bought a new deck belt) in the Craps-man, and it's gonna need a connecting rod, probably a carb, and another 15 man hours. This machine doesn't stop.

I have $7.50 in the Craftsman, so I have a lot of room to play with this one.


I'm also going to fully disassemble the hydro, does anyone know if I'll need a special tool to get the pump back in like RedneckComputerGeek said, or am I just gonna see what happens? lol.

JEEZ that is pretty bad that the axle crumbled around the key, pretty weak.

Most certainly was, I was shocked to find it like that. It's cracked, sheared, swelled, and warped, so I'm definitely not using that again.

Well, I took the pump and motor out, and all the pistons seem to have pretty much no play in the bore, so I guess those ain't the problem. The 3 bolts that hold the pump on were so tight, I had to wedge the case in between the barn doors and hold them shut while someone else used a breaker bar to get the bolts out.

So, the issues so far are: oil leak, bad filter, busted axle half, broken brass bearing, and metal shavings all throughout the case, fitler, and input shaft. Could any of that cause jerking and not wanting to go uphill?



i might be picking up a free widebody from one of my friends this week!

Picked up another one today... First gen Widebody, 14.5 HP Briggs, 40" cut I think, and a 6 speed. Cost... Free. Big thanks to the friend who gave it to me.





Carb is shot...



Anyway, It used to be a Select edition, but now, it's "The Green Machine" edition as I think he called it. He left the dipstick out one time and it had a "minor" fire, causing the new paint job.

As of now, I've already cleaned, greased, and sharpened the blades on the deck, cleaned the gas tank, cleaned the carb, checked the valve clearance, and washed it. It still needs: Headlight wiring harness, tire sealant in all four just to be safe, a new carb, possibly a new gov. and head gasket, oil change, and a fuel and air filter. But I have other plans for the MST, So, I'll also need: A different engine pulley (which I already have), a new drive belt, a hydro gas pedal, and a hydro trans. (which I also already have). So, I think by now you know what will be happening to the MST. But it's a win win for me!



Anyway, It runs and cuts, so.............................................  



Craps-man will be getting a new carb and then a new owner, and that will be the end of the Craps-mans story.

Well, the new carbs came in... Craps-man runs great now, BUT (of course), the hydro seems to want to die now...  NOT FIXING IT.

The "Green Machine" is already sold! So lets see... $13 carb, $7 blade sharpening, $10 oil spark plug and fuel filter, $5 tire sealant, and some unnecessary man hours later, $315 profit is what I ended up with. Not bad at all.

And the JD decided now that we bought a new deck, it ought to rust that one out. So the balding wheel mount ripped off and left a hole big enough that I can almost put my fist through it. Oh, and a blade somehow bent well enough that I'll have to scrap it. At least I have some spares...

And my brothers "junk" Craftsman is actually keeping the grass cut while the others kept breaking. Hmmm...

Well, the Husqvarna just had it's own demolition derby underneath the engine...





So what happened??? Well, the PTO has been vibrating a while now, so we've been fixing it off and on, but today, my brother wanted a bit more speed from it, so he put a slightly bigger pulley up front, but he had to remove the PTO of course. Anyway, after messing with it again, it seemed to be fixed. Tried to mow with it one time, and it worked fine. The next time we engaged it, an earthquake happened. Both headlight lenses flew out, the muffler fell off, a steering bar came off, my brother was almost ejected from the seat, and the PTO bent the crankshaft bolt 45 degrees. Not to mention the damage to the PTO itself. I saw it happen from a distance and all I saw was a bunch off dirt, dust and sparks flying. So to top off the head gaskets, electrical issues, and flat tire, now we have to fix this...

Oh, and the starter went out on my brothers Craftsman, so now the only ones in working order are: Exmark, John Deere, and Craps-man.

Does anyone wanna come get the Craps-man off my hands before I run it into a tree? Please...



The hydro just blew a gasket. And the engine just locked up. I AM     D O N E    WITH THIS MACHINE.


done
/dən/

1. no longer happening or existing.
   "her hunting days were done"

2. not doing or working anymore.
   "the craps-man is done"
    synonyms: over, at an end, finished, ended, concluded, terminated, no more

Well, since the Craps-man has pushed me beyond my limit for over a year, I had to release my fury on it in some way....




Yep! I have to get rid of one of these things, so I did some evaluating. Long story short, the Craftsman is more worth fixing than the Craps-man right now, so anything I need for the Craftsman the Craps-man will donate. I have a trick up my sleeve to get my hands on that parts LT1000 at the junkyard for practically nothing, so if I get it, than I'll make one more good LT1000, and the remaining one will quickly be parted out.
My brother polished both hoods so they both look awesome, but the Craftsman no doubt has the better paint.

As for the Craftsman, the Craps-mans tranny just barely made it by, and it's old one is now parts. Drove it around tonight, and the motor runs like crap uphill. It actually stalled on the hill. So I gotta figure that one out, the deck needs to be adjusted and oiled, the 'go handle' needs to be adjusted and the rear plate put back on, I'm gonna wash it and polish it tomorrow, and maybe a throttle adjustment, and then put a price on it. I also found out the seat safety operates the headlights lol. So I just removed it.

I love those stupid green tractors, I have one of my own, but this season I have been able to sell them in less than a day. People like them & I usually keep a few around when I can.

Well, to be honest, I haven't had the best of luck with 'em. I like working on them and mowing with them, but the crap I run in to on them is pathetic. This one, blown trans, Craps-man, bad engine, and a bunch of unnecessary work. One thing I've learned, is when these say 'no more than a 15 degree climb', THEY MEAN IT. This last one I got, he mowed steep hills with it and blew the trans, the Craps-man was cutting steep hills and came too close to blowing it's trans. These Hydro-Gear trans just aren't tough at all. That's the only thing I don't like about them about them when it comes to mowing. Oh, and this one's loud as all you know what. LOL. Anyway, we'll find out how well they sell here starting now!

In the mean time...



Picked up for $0, put $40 in it, starting at $375. I'd say that's worth the 2 hour drive to get it. Only thing wrong with it is it's strange electrical issues that only allow the float, lights, and amp meter to work when the brake is pressed. Hmmm. Anyway, after cleaning the carb (which was already shiny clean), and polishing the snot out of it, it (almost) looks like it came off the factory line!

Craps-man on the other hand... I think it's seen better days.

Hmmm. This Craftsman is starting to fight me here... It's already sold, but it broke right before the couple arrived. They're still gonna buy it, but they want it done right. Anyway, when a safety switch is not depressed, the float, amp meter, and headlights shut off, so I "bypassed" all the safety switches and it appeared to work. The problem was, about 1-2 minutes after engaging something, the engine starves for fuel and then dies. After bypassing the switches, everything seemed to work. It cut for about 10 minutes, until I was on a hill, and then it did it again. Choked itself for fuel, and died. I need this fixed ASAP because I have someone waiting to pick it up... Any ideas?

As for wiring, sounds like one of the safety's has gone bad.  No quick way to isolate.  Just got to check them one at a time. Fuel starving issue, that going uphill, downhill, sideways down right or left?  Could be water in gas, sticky fuel solenoid..

Well, all of the safeties work, but they all operate more than what they're supposed to. Anyway, I think I've worked out an alternative for them. I have determined it's not a coil issue, the float works very well (unless it quits when it warms up), the gas is fresh... But, I am 99% sure it runs too high, so now I'm working that out. Also it's starting to surge a bit, but yet I've never seen a cleaner carb bowl... Hmm. When it cuts off the fuel filter seems to be a little low, so maybe a small clog in the gas line? It runs great until it heats up... Then you never know when it'll be stupid and cut off...

Surging sounds like it is sucking air in somewhere.  Make sure the carb is on tight and the intake manifold is tight too.  

It could be starving from a clogged jet even if the bowl is pristine.  Also, here is a super easy item to check too.  You mentioned once it got warm it starts to run bad.  You mentioned very little gas in the fuel filter.  When it warms up and starts running bad.  Unscrew the gas cap a little.  The hole in the cap could be clogged up.  That's probably one of the more important vents in the system 

Does it have a fuel solenoid on the carb? If so break off the tip.

Well, I've tried all that now, but nothing seems to help. Cutting the float helped a little bit, but still not "sellable". When going uphill the fuel filter empties itself unless you pump the top of the gas tank. Hmmm, so I decided to raise the gas tank about an inch to see if that helps the flow since it's gravity fed. Haven't had the time to test it though. I do think one of the little jets are clogged, so I may get a new carb too because I just can't get it unclogged. I ordered a new coil too, hope that helps. All the grass is cut so I can't test it even if it was ready.

Anyway, when I went to the junkyard, I knew I had to eliminate the Craps-man, so after looking around, I bought this for $100:





Another, "Chevrolet", LT1000. 16.5 Horse Kohler Command with the hydraulic valve lifters, full pressure lubed, fuel pump and all the good stuff, a hydro that seriously needs some penetrating oil, and no deck. I heard this motor run a little over a year ago, so I know it'll run, but the wheels are SERIOUSLY rusted on the axles. So I'll be breaking out the sawzall and the grinder when I pick it up. The Craps-man is donating its good parts to this one (deck, clutch spring, seat, etc.). The Craps-man's body will be cut up and used as rear fenders for the gray Murray, and the frame will go to the Scat Rat. So all that will be left is the hood, steering, deck engagement and lift assembly, and a trash engine. Anyway, this'll most likely be an, "over the winter" project because of how much it needs. I'm not sure I'll make any money, but it'll make some room!

Sweet junk yard

Yep, if I don't have it here, that's where I get all my oddball parts from! I know the story on at least half the tractors there.

She gone:



Yes sir, the Craps-man has met it's fate.

All loaded up and ready for the parts pile...




I believe this is getting cut up and will become rear fenders for the gray murray...



Trash motor that will probably be parted out, but I may throw it on the MM or the beater when one of them do a connecting rod delete:



I really need a storage shed:

Okay so I got a new carb for the Craftsman, and the very second it fires up, it goes wide open. The carb it not the same as the old one. Could it be the wrong carb or did I hook something up wrong?

Is your governor hooked up right?

I believe so. Although when you operate the throttle the gov doesn't move much...