F-N-R Transaxles = How Strong Are They?

Was wanting some input on how strong the transaxle really are, not the belt setup but the transaxle itself.

To me the they look weak, a small case with 3/4 axles that have no keyway ( at least the one given to me). The guy that gave one to me said they are surprisingly strong / tuff. I never had one or even used one to know anything about them so any advice (good or bad) will be great.

Or is there an aftermarket one that has the same setup but stronger

On my upcoming craftsman build I need a transaxle for it and I think this is what I need for my setup that I'd like to build. But I dont want to spend countless hours designing and building a setup around this transaxle if its going to be the weak point. So here are some of the specs for the tractor, will this transaxle hold up?

MOTOR- not sure, it is between a harbor freight 13hp, or a 230 quadsport motor
DRIVE LINE - custom, lets just say there will be no where for any slippage
TIRES- 29in ones that are kinda skinny unless they look to big then might go with 27in ones
SPEED- hoping to do a custom 2 speed set up one for crawling over stuff maybe 10mph and one for speed like 25mph.

muddstir wrote:

Was wanting some input on how strong the transaxle really are, not the belt setup but the transaxle itself.

To me the they look weak, a small case with 3/4 axles that have no keyway ( at least the one given to me). The guy that gave one to me said they are surprisingly strong / tuff. I never had one or even used one to know anything about them so any advice (good or bad) will be great.

Or is there an aftermarket one that has the same setup but stronger

On my upcoming craftsman build I need a transaxle for it and I think this is what I need for my setup that I'd like to build. But I dont want to spend countless hours designing and building a setup around this transaxle if its going to be the weak point. So here are some of the specs for the tractor, will this transaxle hold up?

MOTOR- not sure, it is between a harbor freight 13hp, or a 230 quadsport motor
DRIVE LINE - custom, lets just say there will be no where for any slippage
TIRES- 29in ones that are kinda skinny unless they look to big then might go with 27in ones
SPEED- hoping to do a custom 2 speed set up one for crawling over stuff maybe 10mph and one for speed like 25mph.

Do you have the quadsport arse end?

The 230 motor has 5 speeds and reverse. Use a solid rear axle and adjust the sprockets for the speeds you want.
It will outdo any lawn tractor transaxle setup. It was built to be played hard.

When you mean the F-N-R transaxles you mean the ones that go in the lawn tractors that have the speeds in the belt(springs etc. tension the belt for faster speed etc.)?

I had one on a MTD and it had that setup without the key way, it was like a D shaped end on the axle and the rim would fit onto it and you would bolt the tire in place. I got the lawn tractor from an old man who used it to cut his lawn(never pulled anything with it), he got someone to do the servicing to it every year and he stored it outside. I got it with the transaxle broke, the input shaft casing part snapped off and stripped the threads hold it in from the rest of the casing. It could of easily been from the owner before me pulling on the clutch leaver to tighten the belt and snapped it off. That's my input if those are the ones your talking about:)

Ooh yeah I also have another lawn tractor with the same setup(I haven't had it for long) that seems to be holding up to the abuse I'm giving it, Currently one of the rims don't have a tire and the other has a tire and is full of air(probably putting some stress on the transaxle). I am having a couple problems with the transaxle. One is a problem with the tractor is shifting but I think its partly the guy who owned it before me(if you put it in reverse with the speed setting to 7 it will make sparks fly from it rubbing on something, I'm assuming the shifter). And the other is a Problem with it not stopping in Neutral Gear(will keep going in the gear you were just in) again I think its a problem partly from the guy who owned it before me, although it only happens every so often.

That's what I have to say about them, I personally wouldn't build anything around them just because they seem weak in spots.The good thing I can say about them is they are really really basic.

Chopperhed wrote:

Do you have the quadsport arse end?

The 230 motor has 5 speeds and reverse. Use a solid rear axle and adjust the sprockets for the speeds you want.
It will outdo any lawn tractor transaxle setup. It was built to be played hard.

Yep but I would really like to use a transaxle in there it will suit my needs better than a live axle, plus Im trying to keep this more tractorish

W1ldyOvvnZ wrote:

When you mean the F-N-R transaxles you mean the ones that go in the lawn tractors that have the speeds in the belt(springs etc. tension the belt for faster speed etc.)?

I had one on a MTD and it had that setup without the key way, it was like a D shaped end on the axle and the rim would fit onto it and you would bolt the tire in place. I got the lawn tractor from an old man who used it to cut his lawn(never pulled anything with it), he got someone to do the servicing to it every year and he stored it outside. I got it with the transaxle broke, the input shaft casing part snapped off and stripped the threads hold it in from the rest of the casing. It could of easily been from the owner before me pulling on the clutch leaver to tighten the belt and snapped it off. That's my input if those are the ones your talking about:)

Ooh yeah I also have another lawn tractor with the same setup(I haven't had it for long) that seems to be holding up to the abuse I'm giving it, Currently one of the rims don't have a tire and the other has a tire and is full of air(probably putting some stress on the transaxle). I am having a couple problems with the transaxle. One is a problem with the tractor is shifting but I think its partly the guy who owned it before me(if you put it in reverse with the speed setting to 7 it will make sparks fly from it rubbing on something, I'm assuming the shifter). And the other is a Problem with it not stopping in Neutral Gear(will keep going in the gear you were just in) again I think its a problem partly from the guy who owned it before me, although it only happens every so often.

That's what I have to say about them, I personally wouldn't build anything around them just because they seem weak in spots.The good thing I can say about them is they are really really basic.

Thats the one I'm talking about.

If I end up using it i was going to have the case beefed up and add support bearings to all the shafts to take away some of the stress points.
But thats why I like them there basic.

I dont think you should have any problems if you plan on doing that, the only reason I couldn't fix the Transaxle is because i didn't have the tools to weld aluminum at the time.

W1ldyOvvnZ wrote:

I dont think you should have any problems if you plan on doing that, the only reason I couldn't fix the Transaxle is because i didn't have the tools to weld aluminum at the time.

The tools to weld aluminum are expensive and the experience required is extensive. If, by chance you have a buddy that can do it, AWESOME, other wise.....



Its gonna cost ya

The so called aluminum brazing rods, etc are mostly hogwash, especially on the aluminum /magnesium/ god only knows what alloys out there now days

Yeah the Machine shop I work at has a couple different machines that can weld aluminum. Ive welded Aluminum there, I personally like using the TIG welder to weld aluminum up instead of the other machines. I am not even going to bother fixing that transaxle, I tore everything apart in the transaxle and the tractor is going to be stripped down and turned into a repair trailer, im going to have a Generator, Stick welder, etc. on it so If I go on a Long trip I can pull it behind me. I know when I first started welding aluminum at the Machine shop I work at I looked online for the spool gun setup for my Hobart welder and it was $750 for the complete kit(More then the Welder Alone!) so I never really looked farther into it.

I've been looking into this as well.

so far the best set up I've found for "beef" is the peerless 820-022 converted to a 820-017 witch takes the final drive from 12:1 to about 4.2:1 sounds fast and looks like theres no reverse.
that said it is a locked strait axle thru an thru, so beefy! theres actual berrings in there as well.

I personally would get one of those and see how it ran with a 4" pully an then lock it or look to see if theres a "stock" strait axle kit.

just my 2cents based on what ive found so far this week

We use Peerless 820s converted to a straight axle and they seem really beefy.

We use the same size pulleys for engine and transaxle, and the transmissions are sped up through custom final drive gears (check the build page in my sig). We are leaning toward shrinking the input pulley (to speed up input) and using less aggressive final drive gears, as our current configuration seems to eat shifter keys, which are a pain to replace and not cheap.

We do retain reverse, because running in the woods without reverse sucks. We did upgrade the reverse chain from the extreme light duty one that comes in it to a medium duty chain of the same pitch. (knocking on wood) We haven't had trouble with the chains since.

My Yardmachine has one of these transaxles. So far it has held up well. This tractor does 24 mph and tows lots of heavy things. I also go mudding with it quite often. It has actually turned out to be stronger than I expected but I would use something more heavy duty for what you plan on doing.