Scotts S1742 Trail & Trailer Pulling

I figured there was some reason I shouldn't use cast pulleys. Oh well. TSC only stocks 1 of each hub mount and I'm pretty sure someone stole the 1" mount, which is what I needed. So the cast one stays until it blows apart.   

Maybe after that happens I'll put new oil seals to stop the leaks.

How fast would you say it goes in fifth gear now?

Fast enough that I cannot pop the clutch in 5th without stalling. Has to be feathered to get moving

lol sounds like itll do 45 or so

just did a speed calculation, and if the tranny is 12:1 it will go 35: if it is 9:1 it is 47.

zoom zoom :p

Gonna try bronze on the pulley castings, see how that works. I may experiment with different alloys of aluminum as well... a high copper and zinc alloy may wear better.

Original pulleys were 2" front, and 6" rear. They're now a 6" front, and 4" rear.

I'm actually thinking of putting a 6" back on the rear. It may be too fast to ride around with my daughter on my lap.

That can wait until spring though. There's 4ft of snow on the ground....

B440 wrote:

Original pulleys were 2" front, and 6" rear. They're now a 6" front, and 4" rear.

I'm actually thinking of putting a 6" back on the rear. It may be too fast to ride around with my daughter on my lap.

That can wait until spring though. There's 4ft of snow on the ground....

sounds like fun   mines melting finally

Moose wrote:

lol sounds like itll do 45 or so

Sounds fast for sure! I wouldn't want to pop it to much in fifth anyways, might be hard on the trans.

camomanusa wrote:

sounds like fun   mines melting finally

Post a pic of it. I'd like to know what I should be watching for.

I think he was talking about his snow, not his pulleys..   

Anyway, sounds like you're about the same speed as I am. 5th gear startups are a nogo, but it will pull 3rd from a stop, and 1st is still painfully slow...good for yard work and kids.   

B440 wrote:

camomanusa wrote:

sounds like fun   mines melting finally

Post a pic of it. I'd like to know what I should be watching for.

im talking snow lol unless thts wat you ment

Nice build! I've got the same tractor, did you put those tires on the stock 8x8 rims?

i think he did. if you are worried about it, don't be, i put 10" on a 7" rim.

1997 Murray wrote:

i think he did. if you are worried about it, don't be, i put 10" on a 7" rim.

Yes I did. They are 22x11x8. They are so old and stiff that I run 0psi. I have tubes in them, but they were just to seat the bead really.

Starting to get muddy in my yard. I found some old truck mudflaps and attached them with some angle aluminum. Looks goofy, but I'm not covered in mud anymore.


Had some time today to pick up logs I cut last year and stack them.

goofy or not, if they work, keep it on. I like the work on it so far!

Get's the job done lol! Lookin good so far!

I'm sure this has been said somewhere in here, but skinny front tires rock with a locked diff!




These happen to be wheels from my dumping yard trailer. They are 8", an exact fit for the axles, and have grease zerks. These will force the tractor to turn when the originals would just slide. Some tires with an aggressive tread would help turning even more.

I've got some work I need to do to this machine. The front pulley has slid down on the driveshaft (still works), and I want to change the rear pulley from 4" to 6" to slow it down a little. One rear tire needs a tube. The brake needs attention too.

Doing small things to the Scotts machine. I put a muffler from a 20hp B&S on it. The old muffler took a couple hits and was cracked in a few places. no pics of it. Nice and quiet now

Also took the time to figure out what size bolt I needed for the driveshaft. You can use 7/16-20 or M12-1.50. Either one will fit. Tractor supply didn't carry either size, so I got them from McMaster-Carr. These:

92620A695 High-Strength Steel Cap Screw - Grade 8, 7/16"-20 Fully Threaded, 3/4" Long, Zinc-Plated, Packs of 25

Had to cut down a spacer and find some washers. My pulley was slipping down the shaft. The belt and retainers were the only thing keeping it on the shaft   

Here is the "trailer" part of this project. This MTD:


Which turned into an exploded view.


Had some time to remove the guts from the hydro axle. It probably would've worked fine if I just changed the oil, but the wheels are seized onto the axles (very common) and that alone isn't worth the effort to fix.


The pump is quite heavy. Took everything out except the diff.


The axle/diff goes back in with some grease.


Pulled the front axle off. Giving it to a family member to so he can make a trailer with it.


And this is as far as I got. Going to use a steel bed frame for cross rails and I have some thick steel to make a tongue. I will have to buy the hitch receiver though. Nice wide tires so it doesn't dig in when loaded.

Worked on making a bumper today. Found an MTD bagger mount in the scrap pile.... looked like a bumper to me  


Used a few pieces of a bed rail to make supports coming off the frame. This frame is horrible for front end add-ons.


Here you can see my header and muffler from a 2008 B&S 21hp. I had to move the support over because of the pipe location.


Everything is bolted together. The welder was sitting next to me, but I didn't feel like using it. The bumper is there for two reasons other than protection; mounting lights, and adding weight to the front.


I've got two more brackets to weld on and then I can hang various pieces of heavy metal off it. That way I don't have to shift my weight forward while turning to get the front tires to grab.

Not sure about you, but theirs a few things if do to the bumper, maybe loose some of that metal, take it down to the first horizontal beam. then build a brush guard with some mesh. Im sure you'll think of something.

Were I you...



I'd cut it off vertically at the green lines.

Then cut it horizontally at the blue lines.

Then cut a piece out of an old mudflap, and lay it on that bottom part. Set a full size battery there. Then use the big piece that you cut off, in front of the battery.

Kind of like if you cut all those lines, then "Hinged" at the blue lines, and let the piece fall forward. Move it down until it is surrounding the battery, just like the red lines, and weld it in place.

There you go. Big beefy bumper for protection, and a full size battery, for weight.

Ok, wait. I just had a better look at the other picture.



Unbolt the red piece and remove.

Cut along the green lines.

Then flip that piece, following the yellow arrow.

Line it up. Slide it back some, drill some holes and bolt it on.

No welding!

Now fill the bottom of the cavity with a piece of mudflap or something similar, and place a full sized battery in there.