[FINALIST] - Murraymountain's Mountain Murray [2019 Build-Off Entry]

MightyRaze wrote:

Hopefully in your area.  No luck here.  I ordered some for my old mst back in the day but came with the wrong OD.  

Haha, ain't that how it always happens.

So, just to clarify everything, I need a 19.05x40x12mm bearing?

Alright, so I went ahead and ordered the bearings. Also ordered a gas pedal, bought a bunch of lights, and a lot of other stuff I'm not gonna mention until it's been done.

Well, the new headlight lens came in along with the gas pedal! Soon as I got all the junk out of the box I was able to fill it all the way with the MM's parts.



NOS clutch (Of my red one)


All the lights (except the 2 that're already on it)


Just for plain fun, I got me a horn, and an audio system, I hate boring mowers.


A big strength factor, the replacement for crappy self-tapping bolts


New gas pedal and tow hooks


New lens. This is the layout of the headlights... Orange at the ends, light bar in the middle...


Transaxle bearings, and a 2500lb winch is also on the way! I get the MM back on Thursday! I've put well over 100 bucks in 'er this week... She better preform good! It was a lot faster than I remembered when I raced down the road beside the fab shop yesterday so, I can't wait to get back to work on 'er!

Gotta love new parts...like Christmas time. Following to see how it turns out.

For sure! Got a push button coming in for the horn today, so is the winch, and I believe the bearings are too!

Well, everything is in... We tested the bearings on my brother's MST since it was already opened up, and they fit perfect. The winch looks a little complicated to wire up, but I'll get it! Thursday's 3 days away, and I get to do some welding on it then too, so, yeah, I'm ready to get this thing done!

You winch come with the wiring harness? Is it a remote style? It shouldn't be too bad.

Yep. It's the 2500lb $60 HF one, I just happened to get it for $30 since I had a 20% off coupon and a $30 gift card. Same as the one on Red and Patriot I believe. This is my first time dealing with a winch, so it probably just looks complicated. I'll get sorted out.

Its easy. 2 wires to battery, 2 wires to winch.

Okay great! I just have to make a mounting plate for it, and then I'll wire it in when I wire everything else. There is SOOOOOO much wiring to do.

Well, got me a pulley at TSC today. I may have some trouble with putting steel pulleys on my new clutch... Not enough room between the pulley and the guard (not removable in any way). Horn doesn't sound as good as I thought... I may take it back and get a "low" tone horn.

Some good news, I found a 14 HP Kohler Command with a fuel pump, hydraulic valve lifters, full pressure lubricated, and all for $30 bucks! Everything comes with it. It needs a coil and probably carb, but I have both of those. Only things are, 1) if I can get the guy to respond, 2) if he'll meet me halfway with it since he's a little too far to pick it up (70 miles one way, and all curves). But if I can get my hands on that, I'm in good shape! We'd also get his complete Briggs oppy for another $30.

Alrighty, so we FINALLY got the darn thing back.... It's crunch time now. Every time Mighty mentions "60 days and counting" I start sweating . Oh, I also added a spark plug to the "mod" box... Can anyone tell me what I have in mind?



It's really starting to look like the picture I drew in February!



I gotta say, the scoop came out pretty darn good...



Tool box... I still have to mount the lid. I actually welded the hinges on... One came out pretty good for a beginner, but the other was done in true beginner style LOL.



Unfinished skid plate...



And now I have to add everything in the box.... That'll take a while. Lotta clean up to do too. I have to do some caulking where the welds are to make it look "complete", the old louvers in the hood haven't been completely taken care of, some welds on the body still need to be ground down, the hood doesn't clear the brush guard, transaxle still leaks, engine still runs crappy, brakes are not there for some reason, tries to go when in gear while the clutch is depressed, exhaust has a bad leak up front... I may just take tomorrow to get 'er running good enough to drive for a couple hours, romp it hard, and then I'll tear into all that....

Looks like we're gonna end up with the engines after all! I'm not gonna beat this engine too hard, so that way I can use it in another mower. If I get it, it will be running on the Kohler by the end of the build off. Oh, and it looks like the motors aren't gonna cost anything! We're doing a flat out trade for an electric lift chair. It'll work out great on both ends, so I don't see any reason why we can't make it happen!

I was able to drive it down a two lane a bit today too. I think I'm satisfied with the ratio I'm running.... Not too fast, not too slow.

Whaya think?

Looking at your brake in that one pic. Looks like they are all the way engaged? Maybe parking brake on. As for brakes, there are 2 bolts and a nut in the center. I would start with the 2 bolts. This will allow the caliper to come off so you can check the brake pads. One in the caliper and one under the disk. They could be worn out. Mine were. While you have it out check to see if the 2 little metal pins/barrels can fall out and not frozen.

**If they are frozen, go ahead and take the nut off and you can knock those through and clean the passages and the pins. They should be free. Coat them with anti-seize when reinstalling.

If the pins move free and the pads were OK, put the caliper back on the transaxle like it was. If still no brakes, set the parking brake. Move the tractor back and forth while tightening that center nut a little bit at a time. When the brakes finally catch, I typically turn the nut about another 1/4 turn to tighten. Test. If too tight, back it off a tiny bit till desired.

Another possible issue, someone took the brake lever off and has it on backwards. With the lever upright, the 2 pins should be cupped and not on the ridge of the lever.

I redid the brakes before the build off started. They were one of the worst sets I've seen yet. I'll be putting a dash light on the mower to indicate the parking brake being on because I've driven it a lot without releasing the brake. The brakes have to be burnt up by now, so I will be replacing those, but these will do for now if I can get them to work. It does looks like someone put that piece on backwards now that I think about it... Might have to drill a new hole and flip it around when I get some time to work on it. It seemed to have more brakes when the brakes were disengaged...

Shouldn't need to drill a hole. Just unto the center nut and flip it over. But like you said, the pads are probably shot by now.

Well, after I flip it around I meant. It's actuated by a steel rod now, so it's not adjustable. And when I flip it around, the hole will be further back, so I may or may not have to drill it. I noticed that I have brakes when half way engaged, but not when all the way forward. We'll see what happens I guess. Right now I just need it to run. I'm tired of this engine. Can't wait till I get that Kohler!

Well, got it running right finally. Needed a spark plug LOL. Anyway, the gas pedal setup has to go. It's just all around too dangerous. I watched a video in another thread that showed a simple front axle locker, so I'm gonna do that too. Next week is break week for me, so my goal is to have the trans out, apart, do the repairs and upgrades, and have it moving under it's own power by the end of that week. Anyway, here's some videos from yesterday...

MM running
Top speed run
Drifting fail

Good thing that didn't happen during the top speed run.

Heh, that's for sure. I cut that slot a little deep, so the clip fell off. I put a Craftsman cover over it so it doesn't happen again.

Well, started wrenching on 'er again today... Got some stuff accomplished. Could've done more but I'm tired and about done in for the day. So anyway, I had to change over to longer hood mounts since I barely had any room to do anything in the front.



Then I mounted the horn...



Moved the solenoid...



Ground down these welds...



And this is what I'm using for the headlight mounts...



I'm just gettin' started here too. I'll get more done Tuesday afternoon.

Liking what you done so far. Welding a plate in the deck lift hole was a great idea.

Yeah it came out pretty nice actually. It just needs paint now.

So, as of Monday, I managed to get a little more done!

Took the front end apart and cleaned up all the rust (still a little resistant, but way better)...



Also got the front light bar mounted (now I have to mount it to the hood )...



And I cut the lip on the engine plate off, and moved the new hood mounts downward just a hair. I also replaced the self-tapping bolts on the front end since I already had it apart...




Now I have a question... How can I turn a safety switch into a light activating switch? In other words, can it be used like a push button?

Absolutely.  I use to use the clutch safety switch to activate brake lights for a while on Red and my Sasquatch II build.




I have since ripped both of them out.  LOL

Awesome! Which wires am I supposed to use?

That you will just have to play with a multimeter or test light.  Like on my Murray, it had 4 wires.  2 on when depressed 2 off. The pairs would be opposite when not pushed down.  On the craftsman, I only had 2 wires.  Like I mentioned, you just have to figure it out.  Also, if you want "brake" lights and regular lights on the same circuit, you will need to introduce a diode in there to keep the power back-feeding.  Easier to have them separate.