Craftsman Lt2000 Project

Ok I got today some 2x2 angle iron cut and "Bolted" to the axle, I used a #5 carrage bolt to mount to the axle since there is a hole in the axle for eye bolts or something to mount to the front end for the pivot??? I think that will work fine till I can get enough steel for a homemade front axle. and on the springs, I got two diff, sizes and stiffness springs, I was thinking I coulld double them up. I will have more info on this tomarrow as I am gonna be updating my project anyways.

here's a smallish update, today i welded some washers to my front wheels to fix the slop i had. i forgot to take pictures of that but i did take a picture of my craftsman next to my "parts" tractor.... my lt2000 was the same height when i first started this project and now it is quite  a bit bigger

nice!

thanks

say where did you get the tires, and what size are they?

front or rears? the rears are 22x11x8's
http://www.tractorsupply.com/en/store/hi-run-knobby-atv-tire-at-22-x-11---8
the fronts are 16x8x7 off of a chinese atv
the brand of the front tires
the washer's on the wheels
outside
inside

Looks good nice stance. Not bad for the second 4 link mower.

thanks, i like the new wheel base and lift, it gives a more aggressive look to the tractor im going to have to redo my 4 link mounts, just to make things stronger. ill hopefully have updates on that soon

did some work today, the front brackets for the 4 links were all bent so i added a piece of angle iron to make it stronger

the bent mounts

the shelving metal that serves as the bracing, the notch is for my exhaust
i then painted the links, pan hard, and steering tie rod gold..... i then painted the axle black i will eventually paint the body black with gold accents, like the Bandit Trans-Am..........contiplating calling this build "Bandit" that is if there isnt any other build on here called that




Paint just makes me feel like my job is almost done......kind of a false sense of completeness    

that looks really clean and from my perspective it still looks stock in ways. I will get more pictures latter this week of my setup. All I need to do is redo the exhaust some and it should be done except for reinstatement of the transaxle.

it turned out alot cleaner than planned, paint goes a long ways my friend   . in person theres some flaws that still need to be worked out, little things that will complete it some more. i need to reinforce the frame still but i will to do that when the body is off for paint which is coming soon. i dont get much flex out of this mainly because of how i positioned my axle, which is better than no flex in my opinion but projects are never done

I like the way you made your front suspension. It looks sweet. Something I might need in the future.

major set back in the build, i feel like i might not be doing so much work on this thing for a bit. so here it goes. I think the engine is starting to give out. the ABS solenoid leaked fuel into the cylinder, hydrolocking the engine. i then pulled the plug to get all the gas out of the engine. i then drained the oil and replaced it. the kohler now smokes like crazy. i beleive i've possibly done one of these things: scored the cylinder and or cracked and ruined the piston rings. after looking up piston kits ive found that i would be better off buying a new engine.
so what does this mean to the build....well i think im going to run the kohler till she dies. i will keep an eye on the oil level and add as needed. but if she goes she goes. in the meanwhile ill keep an eye open for a replacement engine.
but i dont want to have to resort to abuse of an engine when i dont have to. the engine runs great at the moment. so if i could get any input on to as why this engine is doing this. any help would be appreciated
engine: early 2000's Kohler Command 17 hp single
model number: CV490S
symptoms: burning oil and spitting it out of the exhaust. SMOKE

sorry for the awful footage but this is what the tractor was like when it first started smoking. its gotten worse now and the camera barely pics up any of the smoke.

Engine sounds pretty good. Its a shame it started smoking now...

How much can it articulate without shocks? Like have you ever removed both shocks and just picked one tire up? How much does it flex?

there isnt much articulation with this setup. i havent tested how far it can travel yet..... i guess it's on the list of things to do now. as is there is a 1-2 inch gap between the axle and frame. i built this mainly to have better handling around corners and over bumps. i didnt want to weld the axle to have 0 movement, but i didnt want to have body roll all over the place, i just wish the engine will last me until i get a job  

just messing around with youtube seeing that i haven't had the motivation to get out side to work on this puppy. this is just a short slide show consisting of the pictures i had on my computer at the moment

Well recently I have been doing some work to this thing, the Kohler is still running, she's burning oil but besides tht there is still plenty of power in it. I put a straight pipe on it to let the engine breath better as well.

I also bedlined the entire body on the tractor. The dash, grill, and bumper is gloss black. Pictures will be up shortly

Good eye and yes that is my 2012 kawasaki klx140l.... The klx140l is the big wheel version of the klx140. (2 inches taller basically). The only mods that I have done to that is a senge graphics kit. It's a great bike, and I actually looked into getting black plastics because I always liked the way those monster energy bikes looked.

a couple pictures of the newly bedlined and straight piped craftsman. the exhaust is 2 pieces, with a piece of smaller pipe that slips into a piece of larger pipe. Really simple system and sounds great. oh and yah thats a pic of my dirt bike (LAWNMOWERMUDDER)

The look of the black and matching tires looks awesome. Very nice.