Poulan PRO 300 EX

Today I got a free Poulan Pro 300 EX I dragged it home and went over everything to see what it was missing. The only thing missing was the battery and deck but who needs a deck? I went and got a battery off the zero turn I also was given charged it up and the lawn mower started up. The carburetor is in need of adjustment that's one of my projects tomorrow. The next one is figuring out why it won't take off when I put it in gear. I'm pretty sure the belt is just loose and I will have to tighten it up.

I'll also post photos tomorrow because I'm done for the day.

Welcome to ATLTF. Any future plans for the Poulan? Hopefully just a belt. Or maybe just a key on the axle or input. There are a couple smart ones in the group.

MightyRaze wrote:

Welcome to ATLTF.  Any future plans for the Poulan? Hopefully just a belt. Or maybe just a key on the axle or input.  There are a couple smart ones in the group.

I want to continue building on it for awhile and make a trail rider to play on. Right now I'm keeping the 19.5 horse power motor on it but I have a 28 horse power motor. My dad looked at it today and said the drive belt was very loose so maybe it's just that.

Today I went looking for tires and wheels for the rear end. My best bet is to buy just the tires and keep the rims. I also put this stack on there. Tomorrow I'm going to modify the plastic cover that way I can use the breather and where it doesn't melt the plastic. I'm also going to put the stack through the hood.

Any idea what transaxle is in it? I know the craftsmans of that era used an MST, but the poulan is more budget oriented so it’s possible it’s a spicer

CraftsmanQuad19 wrote:

Any idea what transaxle is in it? I know the craftsmans of that era used an MST, but the poulan is more budget oriented so it’s possible it’s a spicer

I'm unsure of the type of transaxle on it. However I found the problem why it wouldn't move. When I took the wheel off that key fell off and I didn't see it so I didn't put it in. Lucky I saw it laying on the ground.

Hey that’s pretty good, I’m glad you got that sorted. Something I noticed on the craftsmans (manufactured by the same company) it had a transaxle tag on the bottom of the seat or on the fender next to the battery. If you look up that model number it’ll tell you everything about it

If your talkin about the axle key, make sure you put the washer on the end when you put the snap ring on because, sometimes the key will work it's way out and line up with the open part in the snap ring. Not like it's a huge deal but could get you stranded somewhere.

mr.modified wrote:

If your talkin about the axle key, make sure you put the washer on the end when you put the snap ring on because, sometimes the key will work it's way out and line up with the open part in the snap ring. Not like it's a huge deal but could get you stranded somewhere.

there is two washers on it now that cover the hole and a little rubber cover that goes over the washers and snap ring.

Good good. Just made me think of it because @Doug  lost an axle key in a stream once. Luckily he had a spare on hand.

Poulan PRO 300 EX sounds like the factory already intended it for off road use. You gonna do a super top notch paint job on it eventually?

Today I got a lot done this is what I did.
New front wheels.
Changed the oil.
Put a new pully on 1" bigger.
New seat.
Cut a hole in the hood for the exhaust.
Modified the plastic cover for the exhaust.

I still need to wield the exhaust, change the steering wheel and find back tires. I wanted to flip the pully that was on it but thx hole on the other side was smaller. Instead I placed two pullies together and ran the bolt up with some washers, it didn't knock it off balance one bit. Some other things that I plan on doing is taking the deck controls off.

mr.modified wrote:

Good good. Just made me think of it because @Doug  lost an axle key in a stream once. Luckily he had a spare on hand.

Poulan PRO 300 EX sounds like the factory already intended it for off road use. You gonna do a super top notch paint job on it eventually?

With the deck off it does look sorta mean. It's a wide body and climbs hills fairly well. I might do a motor swap with a 25 or 26 horse later on. From a zero turn simplicity. As for the paint I may just leave it as is. I don't want to start investing until I have the lawn mower I want.

Pretty cool factory colors actually yeah. Nice yellow rims.

Today I took apart the carburetor and clean it and after some technical difficulties I finally was able to stop the water fall of gasoline from spilling out of the float seal. I then went to the woods with turf tires and cut some trails.

My gear shift is out of alignment I have all six gears and reverse but neutral it doesn't stop. I worked with it today and it's a little better. Also my throttle speed is messed up I only have wide open speed.

Went off roading today with the mower and I have to say it's the best off roading I have ever did. You have more things to watch out for with a mower then with a atv/utv

I think it's a bit nicer for smaller areas since your going a bit slower and can turn a bit sharper. Don't get bored as quick in a smaller area as you might with an atv.

That's right! I was watching the videos on the ride at Creepycrawlers place last year and I realized that ATV's wouldn't go where they were going.

I suppose 4wd atv's are pretty good in many cases and probably hard to beat in deep mud. But for tight spots between trees and things tractors pretty much got em. And some racer/track type atv's have the chain drive sprocket so low and they're so much wider than a tractor that they get hung up easy on things if the terrain is too rough. Granted it's gotta be pretty rough but my dad's Honda TRX450r got stuck on a log once that wasn't very high and going up a small hill that atv's had rutted out. The bottom hit the middle and picked the wheels off the ground. Tractors might not be a lot higher at the transaxle but being narrower helps too.