98 craftsman lt1000 Mudder/trail rider

well after lurking for a year or so i finally decided to get a tractor and start a build thread so this is my 98 craftsman that is practically rust free it has a 19.5 hp briggs oppy on it. i got the tractor for $100 after searching for months and missing multiple opportunities for tractors. i plan to make this an all around trail rig that can still handle some mud so my plans for this tractor are as follows
things that need to be fixed
loose steering
gash in the front tire
planned modifications
smaller pulley on the back for a 1:1 ratio
cut the turfs to use till i can afford atv tires
https://www.amazon.com/20x10-8-20x10x8-Replacement-Tubeless-A003/dp/B06XCHLRVM?th=1 these tires on the back
paint rims black
front snowblower tires
brake lever foot throttle
remove extra deck bits
better headlights
improve the braking somehow

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91SSiq3PmiS._SX355_.jpg and then ive got one of these id like to put on the back of it
front bumper
upgrade transaxle to an oil filled and doc locked peerless 930

so those are my plans feel free to give advice and criticism on my build plans

^it next to the mtd which has all sorts of issues

Haha, I see someone really wanted a Ford eh,

Sounds like a fairly simple build. You'll definitely need a brush guard with that plastic hood even though it's already broken. Can't wait to see where you go with it!

yep i plan on making one but ill need to make it so the hood and grill can still pivot forward

sounds like a good plan, I would swap a cast iron front axle from another craftsman, those stamped axles fail constantly....

which tractors can i find those in?

@yeethaw wrote:

which tractors can i find those in?

Any newer Craftsman or Husky LT and Craftsman GT are pretty common and those will swap right in. In my experience the stamped axles will serve you well as long as you don't plan on running overly large tires. Not all ofthem but the AYP ones are good.

would the front axle from that mtd be any better i have that for parts

Nope. MTD axles are worse. They'll all tell you Murray axles are the worst of all but they're really not. But I wouldn't put another brand axle in it. You could find a cast iron one in a GT6000. I actually have a spare one that I haven't found a use for yet.

alright thank you im thinking of picking up a gt6000 to use for parts

@mowerjunkie03 wrote:

@yeethaw wrote:

which tractors can i find those in?

Any newer Craftsman or Husky LT and Craftsman GT are pretty common and those will swap right in. In my experience the stamped axles will serve you well as long as you don't plan on running overly large tires. Not all ofthem but the AYP ones are good.

Its the tack welds where you grease the spindle bushings are not fully welded. I have got a few of them where people complained the tire would turn and hit the body because the spindle wallows out the hole & this is just from regular mowing.  They are the Dana 35 of tractors if anyone gets the reference.

I beat on mine regularly & was replacing the axle 1 time a year so I just got the cast iron one from a DYT(red craftsman model).  The green GTs have them or you can get them online for 50-60 bucks.

I mean, I'd keep the steel axle, I've got steel axles in 2 craftsman style tractors I own, and they're really not bad. They aren't be best, but they aren't bad. Cast iron axles, I've just seen several break and then you're screwed. I'd stick with steel.

Yes, I've seen several break too, but let me say this, I'd have cast iron over that piece of junk any day of the week. Not that they're weak, but the amount back and forth play is ridiculous, not to mention dangerous and hard on the machine. Even when just mowing, it's super annoying... It adds play in your steering, and like mrshaft said, they wear out and the tire starts grabbing the hood. That why if I had an AYP mud mower, it'd have a cast iron axle for sure. Takes the play out of every thing. The Craps-man has 90 degree play in it's steering, the Husqvarna has none, and the JD wouldn't if it had wheel bearings. Out of those 3 the Husky and JD have cast iron axle and the Craps-man the steel one.

Not that I'm against other people using steel, but the cast iron ones are really just better all the way around.

Just my two cents...

Well, I mean, I've got cast axles in both my 990 and my 110, to be honest, I'd like to swap my 110s axle out for steel, because I don't trust it that much. My 990 I'm fine with because it doesn't do a lot of bashing, and I want the front end of it to weigh as much as possible (lol).

I have no problem with steel. I just don't AYP's steel axle. AYP steel axles are trash in my opinion. I don't deal much with tractors from your JD's time era so I'm no help in which is better there. Everyone has their opinion, I like my Murray's stamped axle to be honest. I think they're great. Everyone else doesn't seem to think so but in my opinion they are.

Anyway, if we're specifically talking about his 98 LT1000 and nothing else, I'd definitely swap cast iron axle in it.

hm is there anything else i could do to get rid of the slack in the steering it seems like its in the gears

Well yes, the gears are probably the main cause, but the axle just adds to it. The main reason for replacing the axle is not the play, it's because they're really just junk.

Now if your gears are set up the way I think they are, than you may want to replace the entire steering setup. Can you get a picture of your steering setup?

Yeah, so he's got a flathead, and it's a 98, so it's before they redid the LT1000s, so it should have gen 1 steering. I can confirm it sucks. LOL. But I'm pretty sure you can change bushings and tighten it up a hair.

ill just roll with my current steering and do what i can to tighten it up

took the it down the road last night about a half a mile to ride in some shallow mud only got stuck once surprisingly but after the drive there i realize how much i need a pulley swap on this thing anyways heres a slightly muddy pic of it

also got a video of it running excuse the crappy mic
https://youtu.be/eMhVb9_6zxU

finally got a rack built up for the back of this thing used stuff laying around and some bolts still need to make braces running down to the frame but for now its not that big of a deal as the most itll carry is 50lbs

another picture from the front

then this happened to me in the middle of a field and it was on my main drive side so i had to push it home
also decided to make a hood hold down since it was bouncing around like crazy
[url=https://servimg.com/view/20075183/13][/uraa
a few days ago i discovered that this thing was leaking oil around the dipstick tube any ideas of where it could be coming from and how i can fix it for the most part it seems like its on the side of the engine not the ground at all

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also dont think im gonna do the atv box as it just looks bulky as can be on this little tractor

Oil leak is probably the seal around the dipstick tube. Pretty easy fix. That atv box is pretty neat too, but i agree it’s a bit big for the tractor. Maybe on a craftsman GT or something

any clue on how i could fix the dipstick seal?