1980 MTD 918 - 'Ol Rusty!

I wouldn’t be surprised if MTD put splines on their 2300 axles. My 2300 in Budgie had a splined input shaft.

An aluminum grille MTD is extremely uncommon, good find!

Yeah, most 2300s were keyed, the 633a transaxles were mostly splined. Makes it way easier to get hubs for. The guts on the 2300s are pretty much the same, so small parts are all the same. Input shaft is probably tapered. Best damn trans you can run, being cast iron case instead of aluminum.

Doug wrote:

An aluminum grille MTD is extremely uncommon, good find!

Yeah, most 2300s were keyed, the 633a transaxles were mostly splined. Makes it way easier to get hubs for. The guts on the 2300s are pretty much the same, so small parts are all the same. Input shaft is probably tapered. Best damn trans you can run, being cast iron case instead of aluminum.

Oh cool! Nice to hear it's a tad rare!


So I was totally wrong about the axle shafts! They are NOT splined! Just your standard 1" keyed shaft.





REALLY regretting scrapping the hubs that came with it.... At the time I had no wheels so I thought nothing else has that bolt pattern. Later on I saw someone was bolting on ATV tires

The 2300 I worked on recently had keyed axles and a splined input shaft.

Don't worry man I have a pair of 12" wheels with 1" keyed bore and they're yours for cheap, regular tires included if you want them.

If you have specific bolt on wheels you want to run you can cut the wheels to make them hubs. I even have a set of aluminum 12" ATV wheels for sale

Brianator wrote:

The 2300 I worked on recently had keyed axles and a splined input shaft.

Don't worry man I have a pair of 12" wheels with 1" keyed bore and they're yours for cheap, regular tires included if you want them.

If you have specific bolt on wheels you want to run you can cut the wheels to make them hubs. I even have a set of aluminum 12" ATV wheels for sale

Alright I'm definitely interested, can ya shoot me some pics when you have a chance??

**Pm sent**

Or you can do like I did on my 2300 transplant into a sears.  Got some 1" bore keyed John Deere hubs.  Then you can run just about any 12" ATV tire on a garden tractor rim. LOL

MightyRaze wrote:

Or you can do like I did on my 2300 transplant into a sears.  Got some 1" bore keyed Wheel Horse hubs. Then you can run just about any 12" ATV tire on a garden tractor rim. LOL

That's an option too thanks!

I've been trying to find "hubs" that would fit on my axles and take ATV rims - will pretty much any garden tractor hub bolt up to an ATV rim?

John Deere, Bolens used the 2300 as well as Murray.  Any 1" keyed hub would probably work.  Or skip the hub and use the 1" keyed wheel like @Brianator has.  They all should work.

MightyRaze wrote:

John Deere, Bolens used the 2300 as well as Murray.  Any 1" keyed hub would probably work.  Or skip the hub and use the 1" keyed wheel like @Brianator has.  They all should work.

The axles shafts had a woodruff key rather than the standard straight key, would that matter much?

It's a bit concerning... I've sent you a PM explaining and pics of the wheels I have.

That is a little concerning, but should be ok.  I'm guessing a large woodruff key.  I see that now in your pix as there isn't a keyway in the ends of the axle.  Do you know if it happens to have a thin cutout around the axle end for a e clip or snap ring? 

On the hubs welded on, do you happend to know the bolt pattern?  5 on 4.5?  If so, a standard garden tractor wheel should fit that.

MightyRaze wrote:

On the hubs welded on, do you happend to know the bolt pattern?  5 on 4.5?  If so, a standard garden tractor wheel should fit that.

Scratch that, looks like Ford Focus were 4 x 4.25 or 5 x 4.25.

MightyRaze wrote:

That is a little concerning, but should be ok.  I'm guessing a large woodruff key.  I see that now in your pix as there isn't a keyway in the ends of the axle.  Do you know if it happens to have a thin cutout around the axle end for a e clip or snap ring? 

On the hubs welded on, do you happend to know the bolt pattern?  5 on 4.5?  If so, a standard garden tractor wheel should fit that.

Yeah they are 4X108mm so 4X4.25"

There is no eclip groove. the ends of the axle are actually threaded, I still have the washer and nylock bolts. It's a fine thread too.

Having threaded axle ends is a big bonus.

You can find 1" bore, 1/4" keyed 4on4 hubs pretty cheap, and there is a plethora of 4on4 wheel options as that is what golf carts use.

MightyRaze wrote:

That is a little concerning, but should be ok.  I'm guessing a large woodruff key.  I see that now in your pix as there isn't a keyway in the ends of the axle

late response but...Wheel horse axles use large woodruff keys. They're 1/4" thick like a standard square key and are as tall (from the axle) as a normal key so any regular hub or wheel should interchange.

Doug wrote:

Having threaded axle ends is a big bonus.

You can find 1" bore, 1/4" keyed 4on4 hubs pretty cheap, and there is a plethora of 4on4 wheel options as that is what golf carts use.

Haven't seen many cheap, but I could be looking in the wrong area, or maybe everything is just more expensive in Canada

RichieRichOverdrive wrote:

MightyRaze wrote:

That is a little concerning, but should be ok.  I'm guessing a large woodruff key.  I see that now in your pix as there isn't a keyway in the ends of the axle

late response but...Wheel horse axles use large woodruff keys. They're 1/4" thick like a standard square key and are as tall (from the axle) as a normal key so any regular hub or wheel should interchange.

Didn't know anyone else used the woodruff keys, that's good to know!
I'll keep looking around for hubs but I think I'll probably go with Brianator's keyed rims in the end - it would save me from buying sperate rims in addition to hubs.

She might look ghetto right now but she still rolls at least

Have to start somewhere right!?

Brianator wrote:

Have to start somewhere right!?

Yessir Gonna find some time to power wash it tomorrow hopefully.

Had to modify the steering column because of the aftermarket seat, the steering wheel originally was rubbing my thighs lol.

Cheapish 16mm universal joint and some metal lying around, works perfectly. Got a few inches of clearance now.

Probably all that I can do on this build for now, at this point I'll need the motor!

I've never seen it done like that before, with that said... good stuff!

As for motors... avoid Tecumseh Snow Kings from snowblowers, I know they can easily be found and for cheap but there's a reason for that, they like to snap the connecting rods even at stock engine speeds!

Brianator wrote:

I've never seen it done like that before, with that said... good stuff!

As for motors... avoid Tecumseh Snow Kings from snowblowers, I know they can easily be found and for cheap but there's a reason for that, they like to snap the connecting rods even at stock engine speeds!

Thanks!


Yeah my father said he has a few larger engines he shas stored for years, so next time I visit I'll see what he has before I go looking around

Brianator wrote:

I've never seen it done like that before, with that said... good stuff!

As for motors... avoid Tecumseh Snow Kings from snowblowers, I know they can easily be found and for cheap but there's a reason for that, they like to snap the connecting rods even at stock engine speeds!

Weird, I have had 2 or 3 Ungoverned in gokarts and stuff, and they have been indestructible.

Brianator wrote:

I've never seen it done like that before, with that said... good stuff!

As for motors... avoid Tecumseh Snow Kings from snowblowers, I know they can easily be found and for cheap but there's a reason for that, they like to snap the connecting rods even at stock engine speeds!

Little off topic, it’s been a while since I’ve watched an autopsy on one of those snow kings but all the ones I’ve seen were a result of low oil. Don’t seem to be a necessarily bad motor, considering they made them for around 30 years I’d say they’re pretty decent.

I almost wonder if it’s because people are late for work, need the driveway cleared, in a hurry, aren’t checking the oil and running it till it dies. JMHO though, sounds like you’ve got the voice of experience talking!

Anything’s better than those stupid Briggs singles that puke rods and compression releases! Lol.

Rustbucket Garage wrote:

Brianator wrote:

I've never seen it done like that before, with that said... good stuff!

As for motors... avoid Tecumseh Snow Kings from snowblowers, I know they can easily be found and for cheap but there's a reason for that, they like to snap the connecting rods even at stock engine speeds!

Little off topic, it’s been a while since I’ve watched an autopsy on one of those snow kings but all the ones I’ve seen were a result of low oil. Don’t seem to be a necessarily bad motor, considering they made them for around 30 years I’d say they’re pretty decent.

I almost wonder if it’s because people are late for work, need the driveway cleared, in a hurry, aren’t checking the oil and running it till it dies. JMHO though, sounds like you’ve got the voice of experience talking!

Anything’s better than those stupid Briggs singles that puke rods and compression releases! Lol.

Well if they aren't too bad, maybe I'll snag one because I realized now, the Kohler I was set to get is a vertical shaft, and this tractor used to have a horizontal shaft motor....

Unless it's not that bad to modify the pulley and clutch setups to work with vertical?
The transaxle has the input shaft on the side though so I'd have to twist the belt if I go vertical...