2025 Part 2 Plan

So.... here is my crazy idea.

Since the transaxle is garbage on this tractor, and all the hudrolics are run from it... well nothing really works well and now the power steering cylinder is blown... I just don't feel like putting 100's in repairing this old tractor.



The engine on the other hand runs good and strong, so I would hate to see it rot away. So my thought was.... Maybe transplant the 3cyl diesel into...

The Green Machine.  Initial measurements say it will work....



.....

With all that said.  I know it sounds like it would be a simple engine transplant, and a few other things.  But... It isn't just a simple transplant.  It would be fabbing up engine mounts, and bringing wiring over from the Kubota. redoing the fuel system.  I can think of a few other things like different wheels/tires.  Would you consider this more than 50% work?  It will continue to be a UTV role.

If you guys think it would more than 50% work, I'll hold off and enter in next year's B/O for fun.

If you guys don't think there will be 50% left, that is 100% fine and I will start it sooner before the cold kicks in.


PS, the mower deck may/will be converted to a pull behind mower.  But that would be separate from this build plan.

I’d like to see it. It would really be taking advantage of the super giant craftsman hood. I think you would have to add an electric fan for the radiator depending on where you mount it too. I think it would be a project with a lot of fun challenges to work out.

Mounting would be in the same configuration as in the Kubota. My biggest concern is making sure the radiator fan is in the same allignment as the engine for the engine fan. Otherwise an electric fan will be needed. Then the $$ goes up if so.



I'm not too worried at this time about air flow. In the Kubota, the battery is technically in the way for good flow. On the Craftsman the whole underside of the tractor is open for air.

But first. I need to get through the burn out.  It’s pretty big this year.

I can't tell you how many times I thought about scrapping most of it and moving on.  If it wasn't for @RichieRichOverdrive and YouTuber "Tennessee Mountain Homestead".  I'd probably be done today.

If it were me, I would sell some tractors off, I'm sure there is a market for such nice rigs.

Every 5 years or so, that is what I do.  Cleans out the accumulated stuff I have acquired and purges my mind.  Kind of like reset.

Good Luck and keep up the great work.

I don't see a market here where I live.  There has been a very nice Murray mudmower on marketplace for the past month or so... cheap enough I half considered it for parts. 
 

Then I came to my senses... LOL

More than likely, I would tear any tractor down I retired into parts to sustain the ones I have left.

MightyRaze wrote:

I don't see a market here where I live.  There has been a very nice Murray mudmower on marketplace for the past month or so... cheap enough I half considered it for parts. 
 

Then I came to my senses... LOL

More than likely, I would tear any tractor down I retired into parts to sustain the ones I have left.

I mean if you weren’t so far and I actually had money I could put towards it I’d offer to buy Kal


OOH… idea for this project for ya.

What if you were to mount the 633 like a transfer case, rob the front axle off the Kubota and run 4x4?

Sorta like “Not the norm” but on steroids

Rustbucket Garage wrote:

and I actually had money

That statement is way too reliable

@MightyRaze honestly what I have found is that the more stuff you have the more stuff brakes sometimes it's good to stick with a couple of things and be able to take care of what you have and ultimately reduce the burnout

@MightyRaze I love this idea! I have actually heard of this being done before. Here is a vid of a guy who swapped a 22hp Yanmar from a JD GT into his SS12. To make it shaft drive I think he uses a hydro from an old simplicity GT. He has a vid series on it if you look thru. He does mention that it does get hot under a heavy load if I remember right though. So, would you be able to keep it cool, I guess? Rich is right that the GT6000 has a nice big open area though. Another thing is would you use a RAG or swap it to something that is shaft drive? Both would be super cool. Also, we all get burned out especially when our projects don't work right lol. It just took me all afternoon to get Putt-Putt running because it took me 3 tries to rebuild a carb. I kept missing something, fixing one prob but it is causing another. Let's say I was frustrated, but once she lit off and ran, I completely forgot about the anger and remembered how much love the tractor itself! Sometimes a break is much needed though. Hang in there!

I was actually thinking of keeping it simple.  Take out the driveshaft and mount a pulley to the engine.  Use a stock pulley carrier for the tractor to bend the belt around to the transaxle.  At least that was my thought.

I may look at how much the power steering kit would be.  If too much... I'm done with it.

MightyRaze wrote:

I may look at how much the power steering kit would be.  If too much... I'm done with it.

Kubota dealership down the road from me said there isn't a kit for that tractor's steering cylinder. You have to buy the whole thing and it's around $275. Around 2K to fix the rear end. That's about $2200 more than I want to spend. I can get a great mower off marketplace for less than half that should I need a mower. Operation Kuboman looks to be currently on.

@MightyRaze I've had an idea similar to this brewing for a minute. I'm excited to see this monster come to life

Doing some mental work. I have TGM in the garage for studying. I'm pretty certain a near full teardown will need to happen for TGM. But, first lots of thinking and planning.



The Kubota without the deck is also in the front ready for staging.



The deck, I am really thinking of making a finish mower for the 9n with it. It appears to be the right size for it! Just need to turn the gearbox around an adapt to the smaller spline shaft. Although, the spin may be wrong. Need to check that.

I think the rotation is wrong for the 9n PTO. I think the mower needs a counterclockwise rotation and tractor pto unless I am mistaken goes clockwise.

SO, I am getting a little excited to tackle this.

If the swap goes well, how does 24x12-12 rear tires sound? Install tubes in the front tires that were on it. Maybe I can get the one to say up. I'll try to plug it first. I did find the leak at one time.

Something like this. Rated at 1700 lbs... way more than the transaxle can handle.

I think most atv tires are rated for more weight than these transaxles would easily take. Especially the 633 with its axle bushings instead of bearings.

If you’re looking for a milder tire, you might see about sedona coyotes. They look like a glorified turf tire but are very soft at low PSI and are super killer on rocks and still do great in everything else.

I could see the sedona coyote being an option. I'm still going to use the tractor for UTV work, but still be trail capable. Probably isn't going to be very fast. Not sure what pulley sizes I might be able to adapt to the engine.

sedona coyote for those that don't want to google. Couple inches narrower than I was shooting for. Also 10 bucks cheaper. The previous was a reaper turf heavy duty.

Although I do love the look of the power I and Power II's I have on Marshal.

In regards to making a finish mower… I don’t know if you could source backwards blades of some sort, but they make rear discharge finish mowers. They work quite well, so you could just get different blades and run the deck backwards and spit the clippings out the rear. Just a thought

I might just be being stupid but couldn't you flip the blades?

ranch king pro 08 wrote:

I might just be being stupid but couldn't you flip the blades?

Not to hijack the topic, but no. You certainly could if there’s no clearance issues, but you will have a poor quality of cut.

Mower decks get their cut quality from a vacuum generated by the blades- even mulching blades make some lift. You need to pick the grass up because otherwise it just falls over.

Another solution to the discharge dilemma, now that I think of it, is simply to reverse the discharge to the port side.

Alternatively, given that the international cub tractors have a backwards PTO, if a feller were to build this to that spec (think it’s 540?) a decent profit could be made on a flip. Lotta collectors of those old cubs.

@Rustbucket Garage I didn't know that  thanks for the info!!

Why can you not buy a used Cub Cadet or something that has shaft drive transaxle and use it with the shaft drive diesel? I am pretty sure my CC has shaft drive and hydraulic output through the 10U pump or whatever it is. The JD 335 (?) has vertical pulley input and outputs hydraulic for the steering and such.

The Kubota is a sweet looking machine and already runs as is. I would just swap in a new (used) transaxle from a parts mower with a dead gas engine. I suppose you could sell it if you are burned out, BUT, when is the next time you will come across a cheap 3 cyl diesel that runs?

While looking at the engine, I see something that may shut me down.  The drain for the radiator is in direct conflict of where I would put a pulley and moving the radiator isn't a valid option.


Not really feeling the upgrade again.  Life has be bummed a bit.