Craftsman Lt4000 mild off-roader

You can make your own out of 1/8" steel , just grind it into a half moon shape, i have done that when i lost one and couldn't find it.

LOL! I get mine from a place called HomeBase, but they are Texas only. You could probably just get some key stock somewhere and cut it down.

Well. After swapping transaxles form the mud mower to the lt4000. I finally got a romp in this weekend. It snowed about an inch last night and was really slippery because it was melting so there were many spin-outs and lots of water. I tried to go through a bog that had about 2 feet of water and 1/2 a foot to 1 foot of mud at the bottom but I ended up getting stuck so I had to get pulled out by a jeep. I was just sitting in the middle of a pond on a tractor for a while and it wasn't fun. I need new tires. And near the end I was doing a hill climb and snaaap, my belt snapped. Sorry no pictures it was really wet today and I don't feel like dragging around an Ipad all day.

I have some keyed stock CQ but the stock that I would need is like a double size. It's like a moon shaped little insert.

The key is wider than 1/8 inch cause its a half moon shape. If you have a orschelns nearby they carry keys like that.

Canadian bud. I don't really feel like ordering it online. I want to see if I can find it localy. Would Lordco have it???

Ah good ole Canada! i can post a pic of a keyway with dimentions tomorrow if that would help if you would want to grind out your own

out of what? isn't it really high grade steel?

Those woodruff keys are 3/16". Can buy woodruff key kits for cheap i think. I did make a axle key outta 1/4" flatstock for Mutt once, it died when I murdered that rim haha. I don't think you should make your own keys, actual keys might have a special temper or something.

Actually they’re not super hard. They’re engineered as the weak point. They’re a lot cheaper to replace than an axle shaft or transaxle gear.

So the input shaft uses a 3/16 woodruff key?

I'd just use a nail, but I'm a redneck so....

Steel keys aren't actually an engineered weak point. The aluminium ones for flywheels are though. In fact, those aluminium ones are more of a guide for ignition timing than they are a key. That's why so many racers run without flywheel keys to advance their timing.

Both the 3/4" and 5/8" input shafts on my 820s used 3/16". I'm like 99% certain every other peerless input shaft does too.

how do you run without a flywheel without a key?? doesn't it mess up your timing horribly? And BTW this is a spicer not a peerless. I will see if I can find it locally first.

When guys advance their timing they just turn the flywheel ahead a few degrees and torque the nut down. Since it's on a taper it will stay in place without a key.

Yeah sounds sketchy. It must be hard to get it precise though.

oh yeah,. my bad . rich is right , it is 3/16" . i am stuck in a 1" shaft world right now so i am thinking it was smaller than 1/4" and forgot about 3/16"

I'd just use one of the set screws...that's what I did when I lost my Spicer woodruff key.

Little update I finally got these darn tires mounted and seated after many hours of frustration. Let's just hope they hold. I stole the belt off the mud mower that is currently not usable just to test ride it with the new tires. H-O-L-Y cow was I amazed on what difference these tires made. I climbed ridiculously steep hills, went through bushes and destroyed the mud until I went to go climb a hill and I was almost up and I completely flipped the tractor. I quickly jumped off and she started smoking as the oil was getting up into the cylinder but I quickly tilted it back over, put er into neutral and shut er down. I rolled it back down the hill and she started right back up. Most of you that go in truck/jeep off roading spots where the mower isn't skinny enough to fit between the tire ruts so one side slips in and the other side stays in the middle. Anyways, that's how it flipped since the rut was like 2 feet deep on the hill.

So and damage with the flip?

Glad you are ok. How is the tractor?

Not a ding. It wasn't rocky or anything it was just wet dirt but I find this tractor to be pretty tough.

Made 2 rear skid plates for the LT130 and the LT4000 today. It started with the bar that just went across the middle but then I thought I may as well go all out and make something that will do the job. They are extremely tough and they just mount up on the normal mounting holes. I don't think I am going to paint them because They are just going to get scratched and rust anyways and the holes are not welded shut on the tube.

cool! i need some

Yeah they only took about 6 hours to make the two.

Ooh those look good, should protect your tranny pretty well.