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+6TheRainbowBoxer truckin42 dangeroustoys56 gearheadmike Tractor Man Jeff rushcanuck 10 posters |
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rushcanuck New Member

Join date : 2012-12-09 Posts : 11 Location : vancouver island
 | Subject: Craftsman Offroader December 9th 2012, 5:22 pm | |
| I just picked this old Craftsman lawn tractor up from a local small engines shop here on vancouver island for $50. Dont know what year it is its got an 11hp Briggs & Stratton that Im starting to believe has a few internal issues involving the valves but it runs, and tractor's along. Steering is dickered Im finding its mostly due to where it goes through the gearbox so Im planning to put a direct steer on it.   The plans are as follows: -Swap front pulley for one slightly larger than the rear, transmission linkage is in the way to sway the rear pulley -rebuild trans-axle, with synthetic gear oil -18x8.5" front tire swap, and Im gonna find a nice set of rear paddle tires -front axle will be moved around 3" forward, and lowered so the hubs front-rear will be level -direct steer mod -drop my gokart seat onto this thing, probably lowering it down into the battery tray -possibly a quad rack as well | |
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Tractor Man Jeff Moderator


Age : 27 Join date : 2012-06-26 Posts : 492 Location : Back in the sticks of VA
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader December 9th 2012, 10:33 pm | |
| Nice find. Those are my favorite. Should make for a nice, solid build. | |
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rushcanuck New Member

Join date : 2012-12-09 Posts : 11 Location : vancouver island
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader December 9th 2012, 11:18 pm | |
| forgot to mention a gas pedal! got to work tearing it down, I dont know if my trans-axle is an oil or grease but I plan on breaking it down and cleaning it out and either repacking the gears or oil.  [img]  after that I plan to put a 2-3 inch pulley on the trans axle due to the clutch pulley being in the way of putting a larger motor pulley and Im raising the linkage to the trans-axle out of the way of the pulley - Quote :
- Nice find. Those are my favorite. Should make for a nice, solid build.
yeah same, I was happy to find it | |
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gearheadmike Frequent Poster


Age : 32 Join date : 2011-11-18 Posts : 392 Location : west chazy ny
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader December 10th 2012, 12:40 am | |
| Just like the one i sold fun tractors and that transaxle is grease filled if your going to split it to add gease u should add some grease fittings this way id be easy to add to it. Haha idk y but it looks like the steering shaft is long a hell | |
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dangeroustoys56 Veteran Member


Age : 51 Join date : 2010-02-10 Posts : 1726 Location : Florida, USA
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader December 10th 2012, 12:59 am | |
| If the transmission has a drain plug visible , its filled with oil , altho the 6 speed in my 94 murray has a fill plug and no drain plug ( under the drive pulley) .
Typically theyre filled with a thick permenent grease called 'bennonite' grease - nasty sticky black goo - id suggest cleaning it out, then adding fresh grease - to fill with oil itd need axle seals and seals around any other side openings . You can add zerk fittings easy enough - i did that with a couple MTD transaxles.
I have a 85 LT12 i added pulleys on, left the crappy old grease in it and locked it up after breaking some gears in it - so its best to start fresh. | |
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rushcanuck New Member

Join date : 2012-12-09 Posts : 11 Location : vancouver island
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader December 10th 2012, 9:09 pm | |
| Ok well right now Im calculating the speed, Im shooting for around 35km/h. from what Im finding I wont get any wheres close to that without being forced to change the motor pulley to a much larger pulley however the clutch has a pulley spring mechanism in the way if I were to go any bigger that a 5" (factory is around a 4.75") the rear pulley Im gonna plan for a 3" pulley (stock is 9.50). by my calculations that wont land me any wheres close to 35km/h with 18" rubber @ 3600rpm  | |
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truckin42 Veteran Member


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Age : 24 Join date : 2012-10-04 Posts : 1070
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader December 10th 2012, 11:02 pm | |
| Hey,nice mower i like that body style. | |
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dangeroustoys56 Veteran Member


Age : 51 Join date : 2010-02-10 Posts : 1726 Location : Florida, USA
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader December 11th 2012, 6:52 am | |
| 3" is about as small as you can go on the trans - any smaller and the belt wont have enough grip on the pulley.
Changing tire sizes will net you some more speed , also swapping to a hand/foot throttle will give better response/more power.
With the 6" motor pulley, 3" trans, stock wheels on my LT12 - it ran around 20mph - my mod murray with a 6 speed , 18HP twin briggs same 6-3 pulleys and 8" wheels - 3rd gear netted me 30mph - thing was too wobbly over 30mph .
Its possible to get a lil more using a jackshaft with different pulleys - use an old deck mandrel with pulleys on each end. | |
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TheRainbowBoxer Moderator


Age : 47 Join date : 2012-04-23 Posts : 1085 Location : Galion, OH
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader December 11th 2012, 6:18 pm | |
| If the clutch is in the way, you can reverse the action. It'll take a little fab, but who ever heard of a tractor modder afraid of a little fab?  | |
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rushcanuck New Member

Join date : 2012-12-09 Posts : 11 Location : vancouver island
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader December 11th 2012, 8:26 pm | |
| - Quote :
- If the clutch is in the way, you can reverse the action. It'll take a little fab, but who ever heard of a tractor modder afraid of a little fab? Wink
haha, yeah I figured it out. I think Im just gonna put a 3" rear pulley to start see how that goes. steering is more of an issue. has about 3/4 of a turn of play | |
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rushcanuck New Member

Join date : 2012-12-09 Posts : 11 Location : vancouver island
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader December 22nd 2012, 5:16 pm | |
| was having issues with the 11hp briggs. wouldnt stop backfiring through the carb no matter what I did. Picked up a 15.5hp Kohler OHV engine for $80, runs good.  as for the rest of the build, Im waiting to get my damn welder working to fix my transmission linkage so it isnt in the way of the belt | |
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rushcanuck New Member

Join date : 2012-12-09 Posts : 11 Location : vancouver island
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader April 3rd 2013, 1:46 am | |
| Long time since my last update, transaxle is re greased. motor is in, pulley swap done, seat dropped, exhaust built kohler 15.5hp 426cc OHV  4.25" drive and a 3.5" axle pulley, added an idler trying to figure where the best spot to put an adjustable idler as well  shows the new exhaust  the dropped seat  | |
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mudmonkey06 Frequent Poster


Age : 26 Join date : 2013-03-18 Posts : 327 Location : Rindge, NH
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader April 3rd 2013, 5:58 am | |
| this is looking great i can wai to see the finishe product | |
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truckin42 Veteran Member


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Age : 24 Join date : 2012-10-04 Posts : 1070
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader April 3rd 2013, 8:14 am | |
| Looks good. I like the exoust. | |
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TheRainbowBoxer Moderator


Age : 47 Join date : 2012-04-23 Posts : 1085 Location : Galion, OH
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader April 3rd 2013, 8:39 am | |
| Looking good! Get some skinny ATV tires for the front, build a front and rear bumper, speed it up a little more, and you'd have a rally tractor similar to mine  | |
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Thunderdivine Core Member


Join date : 2012-12-21 Posts : 2100 Location : Norway, Europe
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader April 3rd 2013, 11:37 am | |
| I like that army looking craftsman, nice build. | |
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rushcanuck New Member

Join date : 2012-12-09 Posts : 11 Location : vancouver island
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader April 29th 2013, 10:38 pm | |
| update: pedal set is complete  | |
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rushcanuck New Member

Join date : 2012-12-09 Posts : 11 Location : vancouver island
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader April 30th 2013, 12:01 am | |
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Guest Guest
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader April 30th 2013, 1:32 am | |
| I like it  |
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Hillbilly Homer New Member


Join date : 2012-04-22 Posts : 197 Location :
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader April 30th 2013, 2:12 am | |
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Doc Sprocket Administrator


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Age : 49 Join date : 2013-04-21 Posts : 2914 Location : Ontario Canada
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader April 30th 2013, 6:24 am | |
| Right on! Maybe add some pedal pads for grip? | |
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truckin42 Veteran Member


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Age : 24 Join date : 2012-10-04 Posts : 1070
 | Subject: Re: Craftsman Offroader April 30th 2013, 1:01 pm | |
| They look like they will do the job. Looks good. | |
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