Craftsman stretched, lifted, pickup junk....

So anyway been messing with tractors for years, have a few craftsmans, simplicity, cub cadet, and a big red international D300.

Anyway my recent acquisition is a trio of craftsman Lt1000's, all different but similar...  I am posting up this project here because most of the other tractor forums are pretty weak ass with modifications, so what I need out of these tractors is basically a tractor with a pickup bed. I think I am planning something similar to this...http://www.instructables.com/id/Garden-Tractor-to-Pickup-Truck/

Except not nearly as ugly...I got the 3 tractors the other day and was able to get the one running with the kohler command 15.5, and driving too, the other one has  a briggs 17hp but the wire harness is burnt and the other is a basket case....


I was considering a 4x6 using the basket case rear axle but it seems  like a total pain to hook up & the axles are different, so at the moment i am leaning to just do a stretch and add the red trailer in the pictures as the bed for the "tractor truck".

I have 10 acres in upper black eddy pa, we have a horse farm & I haul allot of wood, poop, and junk, also drive the tractors thru the woods and drink beer.....

here is the crew.....









here are the 3 craftsmans





My first problem is the axle in the picture, the wheels are rusted stuck on the axle I can get them off....if anyone has any ideas let me know....

my second issue is i cant decide if i should stretch the tractor and relocate the transaxle or weld the sprockets to it and run some chain to a new set of axles further back like in the link above... any opinions appreciated....

I will be using this tractor to ride in the woods & haul logs, and to tow a trailer full of horse poop etc...

I'd recommend Liquid Wrench, works great!! Thinking of doing a stretched build myself for the build off, can't decide if I want a 4x6 or just extend it.

First of all I'd hang the whole trans assembly from the wheel and try to drive the axle out(be caeful of mushrooming the shaft, the you'll really have a bad time). If that doesn't work, let it soak in oil. Another trick is to heat around the shaft and melt wax around the shaft. The wax will seep in and help lubricate the shaft so it'll come out. Worst case scenario, you can cut the rim off.

Looking forward to seeing what you build! For the driveline you can have two transaxles driven by the engine via a belt system(like stock), or you can drive a tag axle with chains from one transaxle, or you can drive two axles with the one trans. There's a lot of options to go with, just put your mind to it!

Also, the axles are keyed, you can get sprockets with the same 3/4" keyed bore, no need to weld.

RichieRichOverdrive wrote:

First of all I'd hang the whole trans assembly from the wheel and try to drive the axle out(be caeful of mushrooming the shaft, the you'll really have a bad time). If that doesn't work, let it soak in oil. Another trick is to heat around the shaft and melt wax around the shaft. The wax will seep in and help lubricate the shaft so it'll come out. Worst case scenario, you can cut the rim off.

Looking forward to seeing what you build! For the driveline you can have two transaxles driven by the engine via a belt system(like stock), or you can drive a tag axle with chains from one transaxle, or you can drive two axles with the one trans. There's a lot of options to go with, just put your mind to it!

Also, the axles are keyed, you can get sprockets with the same 3/4" keyed bore, no need to weld.

Thanks for the advice, well I think I fawked the axle, I tried beating it off and the entire axle shaft slid out of the trans....  I slid it back in but I assume I broke the c clip or whatever retainer it has inside...

The tires are old and rotted, I was only going to use them as rollers, I would rather save the trans if I can, but the shafts are like 80 bucks so no way I would buy a new one. It seems I have no choice but to discard or ruin them if the wheels end up stuck.  I don't actually know if the trans is good either, I bought everything for 100 bucks not running.

Either way I have two other transmissions, I was just considering using this one in tandem but its a different model than the one I am modifying, the case is split in half in a different direction.

Double W Cross Ranch wrote:

I'd recommend Liquid Wrench, works great!!  Thinking of doing a stretched build myself for the build off, can't decide if I want a 4x6 or just extend it.

Ill have to check it out. I like the idea of the stretch, the only thing I am having a hard time with on the drawing board with is shifting the hydro trans, you can always get a longer belt, and extend the foot brake.

Next time you need to get a wheel off try this: Stand the assembly up so the axle shaft is vertical and let the hub and axle soak in some kind of good penetrating oil like castle thrust, knock'er loose, liquid wrench, PB blaster, or a 50/50 mix of acetone and tranny fluid for literally days. Then, most rear wheels have two holes drilled in them which can be used to install wheel weights or they can be used with a puller similar to the kind you would use to remove a flywheel. You could also make a puller using a thick plate of steel and some bolts too. The one time I had to do this I used a puller and a mapp gas torch. It was a real fight but I got it.

As far as your drive line goes. I would definitely keep the transaxle in about the stock location so the shift and brakes linkages are easy to do, and run chains from the transaxle back to a 1" live axle. You could also run those chains back to two half axles to keep your differential action. Then you could build a really simple in/out locker to couple those two axle halves in the event that you would want your axle locked. You don't have to have a 1" live axle either. You could use trailer stub axles which would allow you use nice tapered roller bearings and hubs. It's a little harder the mount a sprocket on that opposed to a 1" live axle but I've seen it done.

For really stuck wheels I take a piece of square tubing that's like 1-1/2 OD and about 5" long and drill three holes all the way through it. The center hole is 3/4 to and then a hole on either side about 3/8. The big hole slips over the axle so the tubing sits flat on the edge of the rim. The two narrow sides get welded to the rim. Since you drilled all the way through, the center bolt of your puller will drop through and sit on the axle. Then you run two long 3/8 bolts through the puller and tubing and put nuts on the back. Once you have the wheel off the axle you need a small cut off wheel to cut the two welds to remove the tubing and you're good to go.

Weld to rim here
         ↓
|-----~~~----|
|   o    O    o  |
|____~~~__|
          ↑
  weld to rim here

Crazy_Carl wrote:

Next time you need to get a wheel off try this:  Stand the assembly up so the axle shaft is vertical and let the hub and axle soak in some kind of good penetrating oil like castle thrust, knock'er loose, liquid wrench, PB blaster, or a 50/50 mix of acetone and tranny fluid for literally days.  Then, most rear wheels have two holes drilled in them which can be used to install wheel weights or they can be used with a puller similar to the kind you would use to remove a flywheel.  You could also make a puller using a thick plate of steel and some bolts too. The one time I had to do this I used a puller and a mapp gas torch.  It was a real fight but I got it.

As far as your drive line goes.  I would definitely keep the transaxle in about the stock location so the shift and brakes linkages are easy to do, and run chains from the transaxle back to a 1" live axle.  You could also run those chains back to two half axles to keep your differential action.  Then you could build a really simple in/out locker to couple those two axle halves in the event that you would want your axle locked.  You don't have to have a 1" live axle either.  You could use trailer stub axles which would allow you use nice tapered roller bearings and hubs.  It's a little harder the mount a sprocket on that opposed to a 1" live axle but I've seen it done.

Thanks, I like the idea of a single 3/4" or 1" axle, mounted to pillow blocks & hooked up with chains, I assume it will act locked even though the tranny has a open diff.  Where do you guys source those parts, chain, sprockets, axle parts etc?

The other thing I noticed & you can see from the picture above, that the wheels with have to be further away from the body in order to have that stuff operating behind it.

https://www.atltf.com/t1689-useful-links-to-parts-suppliers-tractor-information

mfgsupply and BMI karts are two popular vendors on there

A lot of people buy parts and tires off of ebay.com

McMaster Carr has one the best websites for finding mechincal parts like, bearings, shafts, shaft collars, bushings, heim joints, and tie rod ends.

This kind of gives you the idea of what im going for..... I got this old sears trailer cheap...

I just got the engine running ok, I need to take it for a test drive before im sure I can use this transaxle, then Im going to start cutting and welding stuff.....

I am planning on 24"-25" atv tires on the back so I think I might have to go the chain drive route so I can get a little more speed at the rear axle.

The bigger tires will increase your speed a bit already. You could pulley swap it too, but if you're buying sprockets anyways you might as well do that.

RichieRichOverdrive wrote:

The bigger tires will increase your speed a bit already. You could pulley swap it too, but if you're buying sprockets anyways you might as well do that.

Yeah maybe ill take It for a ride with my 22x11s on there and see if it moves quick enough, im just annoyed at looking at the prices of all the sprockets, chain, axles & nonsense to make that all work. I keep forgetting bigger tire same rpm travels more ground.

The only issues moving the axle back are really just finding a good belt & working out the shifter.

You have a good point there mrshaft696. It's way cheaper to just lengthen the tractor frame, move the transaxle back, and figure out a belt and belt keepers to make it all work. The chains, sprockets, axles, hubs, add a lot of cost.

Of course I do have another design in mind to make a little pick-up where you set up a stock mower chassis kinda like a cab-over truck. You move the seat over the engine. move the steering assembly in front on the front axle, this requires some creative metal fab to build a seat mount, floor boards, dash, and front bumper but it could be made from scrap steel, and build a little dump bed over the rear axle where the operator position originally was. This puts more weight over the front axle, but I think it can still work.

I have another idea where you simply build a dump bed over the engine on a rear engine riding mower. This version I think is the easiest and cheapest to build. I have an old craftsman rear engine mower laying around that I could do this with. I think this would be a good use for an old rear engine riding mower and it would be a handy compact little pick-up all said and done. With some upgraded tires it could handy okay off road.

Let me know what you think about these ideas.

If you have a manual tranny use it, the hydros will not last as long for hauling and when they break they are very hard to fix. You could also put a hydro behind the manual and pull the oil pumps and drive motor out of the hydro then use it as your sprocket driven rear axle just fill it with oil . The axle shaft is held in place with c- rings , I have pulled one out myself getting a tire off, but it was easier to get the axle out of the tire than getting the tire off of the axle. Lol


The Kohler engines are my favorite because of the hydraulic valve lifters and full pressure lubrication, but some of the newer ones have plastic timing gears that can strip out. My 14 hp 14cs is all metal internals but my 14s had plastic gears

biggasmowers wrote:

If you have a manual tranny use it, the hydros will not last as long for hauling and when they break they are very hard to fix. You could also put a hydro behind the manual and pull the oil pumps and drive motor out of the hydro then use it as your sprocket driven rear axle just fill it with oil . The axle shaft is held in place with c- rings , I have pulled one out myself getting a tire off, but it was easier to get the axle out of the tire than getting the tire off of the axle. Lol


The Kohler engines  are my favorite because of the hydraulic valve lifters and full pressure lubrication, but some of the newer ones have plastic timing gears that can strip out. My 14 hp 14cs is all metal internals  but my 14s had plastic gears

Really.? I Have that cub cadet its hydro and its a beast & it has a kohler motor. I know this is craftsman stuff but I don't have a gear trans in the pile. I like the hydro because I can crawl with it over rocks and branches, just hate the whininess of it. I plan on using this it to tow a little trailer & firewood hauling. If there is a problem with the trans I will trash it & grab another one.

I catch what you are saying about the two transaxles, you are basically using one as a transmission & I assume running the other one from a stacked pulley or sprockets.

Sprokets on each axle shaft . i have blown two hydros, one a tuff torque on a craftsman and a hydro gear off of an mtd, i burnt out the tuff tourque and shredded the diff gear on the other.

Crazy_Carl wrote:

You have a good point there mrshaft696.  It's way cheaper to just lengthen the tractor frame, move the transaxle back, and figure out a belt and belt keepers to make it all work.  The chains, sprockets, axles, hubs, add a lot of cost.

Of course I do have another design in mind to make a little pick-up where you set up a stock mower chassis kinda like a cab-over truck.  You move the seat over the engine.  move the steering assembly in front on the front axle, this requires some creative metal fab to build a seat mount, floor boards, dash, and front bumper but it could be made from scrap steel, and build a little dump bed over the rear axle where the operator position originally was.  This puts more weight over the front axle, but I think it can still work.

I have another idea where you simply build a dump bed over the engine on a rear engine riding mower.  This version I think is the easiest and cheapest to build.  I have an old craftsman rear engine mower laying around that I could do this with.  I think this would be a good use for an old rear engine riding mower and it would be a handy compact little pick-up all said and done.  With some upgraded tires it could handy okay off road.

Let me know what you think about these ideas.

I partially think you are crazy , but they are great ideas if you have the junk to get it done...

@mrshaft696 is making funnies!

These pick up truck builds are the new Chinese food at the buffet it seems .

Could be the new "thing"! 

Well i am considered it too, could use one for hauling wood out of the woods lol, and still leave it with the possibility of off-roading or mudding.

I'm really digging the concept of the Pickup build.  It just seems so "Useful".

That's exactly what I think Mighty! I asked my dad if he wanted one for the farm and he wasn't even interested. I couldn't believe it!

What do you think of my "crazy" ideas on how to build one?

Crazy_Carl wrote:

You have a good point there mrshaft696.  It's way cheaper to just lengthen the tractor frame, move the transaxle back, and figure out a belt and belt keepers to make it all work.  The chains, sprockets, axles, hubs, add a lot of cost.

Well, I figured out something kinda like that.  I figured out how to do daulie ITP Mud Lites on a locked diff without totally destroying my tranny.  

Wait and see!!!

I like the Rider Idea, 2 things to consider though.

1, watch out covering up the engine fan or dropping junk down it.
2, some kind of counter weight. While the bed down should be fine, depending how far it sticks back, if you make it dump, you may be popping wheelies to do so.

The other idea seems like a lot of work, but may be fun to do.

Here are a couple other ideas as food for thought.

Maybe something like this, but maybe not so elaborate.


Or do something like this guy's wrecker, but add the bed.