new here, and would like some help...

Doesn't need too much spring pressure. Maybe about 20 lbs. of pulling force on the pulley pushing or pulling on the belt to tighten it. Plus depends on what kind of springs you have handy. To much spring pull or push would just create friction but you would know this going for a test drive. Spring pressure can be adjusted by leverage on the arm that holds the pulley by having it attach before the pulley or after the pulley, in relation to the pivot point or where the arm is bolted to the frame.

Yeah you need to have the right spring. Heavier than stock for sure, but don't go way overkill... Too much force and you might start burning/snapping belts (I think. Hasn't happened to me yet).

okay guys, I'm am GOING to get that 4spd you guys were talking about, but is there anything you guys would like to tell me before i get it?
and also, on the description for the 4spd, it said MAX 2000rpm, soon i KNOW once i install it the internals will be going MUCH faster than 2000rpm, so that brings me to my question, is it still ok to use ?

if you look at one of my recent posts on my build thread i built my own double pulley clutch without any welding that works pretty well for what it is https://www.atltf.com/t6189p75-98-craftsman-lt1000-rally-mower-speed-build#110020

Yes you’re still good. That’s what all of them are “rated” for. I run the 6 speed MST in one of my tractors and it has held up well

thank you

so yesterday i took my tractor for a ride ( first time riding it with a pulley swap )
and once i hit about 12-15 mph, the steering was like "alright imm head out"
and it was just going crazy the wheels were doing this //   //  .   \\  \\  .  //  //  .  \\  \\

and it scared the living CRAP out of me, and it was so bad it was making this noise "ttddtgtdytgdytgd"
so i circled back and went to my drive way, thought it was just loose, i went to tighten up the steering, but it was already REALLY tight from when i tightened it up last time, i then got my LONGEST torque wrench and tightened it as much as i could, started it up, drove it.......and it made no difference..AT ALL

and mind you it can go MUCH faster then 15mph, i was probably at THE MOST 40% throttle.

so i guess i need better steering, I've heard rack and pinion is pretty good, but i don't know what parts i need.  and i thought the other day, that bike HANDLEBAR steering would be pretty cool, any body know how id do this?
i know if i were to do pike handlebar, id have to mad it to do a at the most 180 spin, instead of the 540 a regular mower does
my budget for steering would be around 200-250$
and I'm probably gonna get welder, so try to include suggestions with welding in it

thanks guys
 can't wait to hear your suggestions!

There are lots of threads on here about improving steering and front axles components, try the search bar at the top of the page and you'll find the info you need.

Another way to search that is a little better than the site search is to go to google and enter

site:atltf.com "steering", it's what I do most of the time.  There is a wealth of knowlege that many of us don't even know about!

alright guys, so while I'm waiting for the tranny, i figured yesterday id go mess around with the mower, what did i do to it? oh, I'm glad you asked, since I'm a dumb 13 yr old kid lol, i straight piped it, and since you guys have much more experience then me, you guys probably already know what i straight piped poppy sounds like, its VERY loud, pretty much bled my ears out, so yesterday i was having a good time driving around my yard, popping wheelies, revving it like a crackhead.......what i didn't expect, was the backfiring ( he he he ) every time i setoff the throttle *POP*, and remember when i let off the throttle, it did NOT shut off. <<< remember that 

okay, now this morning my dad needed me to go get some logs out of the woods, WHY, idk, so i started my mower, let it warm up for about 2 min like i always do, then i drove off, ( now before you say anything we live on 20 acres with a neighbor 1/2 mile away, so noise isn't an issue for us )
now I'm trying to go as fast as i can so i can hurry up and get inside, cause its super cold out, when i get near the woods, i let off the throttle, and since i have a foot throttle if you let off it does it quickly, and when i let off the throttle it went to idle speed, but it didn't stop at idle speed it kept going down to like 500rpm then cut off, so i then turn it back on ( starts beautifully like it always does ), and i drive off again, now since I'm in the woods, i can't drive like a bat outta hell with my booty steering.
so once i come up to a turn, i let off the throttle, same thing happens again, it shut off.
so i start it back up, and then i revved all the way up, and SLOWLY let off the throttle, it did NOT cut off that time. so i started to test it after that, and my final result is it shuts OFF if i let off the throttle quickly, and does NOT shut off if i let off slowly.
why do you guys think its cutting off?
i know you need back pressure to open the exaughst valves, but I've seen people straight pipe there mowers all the time and it dosent turn off.   but why does mine turn off?
i would like to keep it straight piped because i like the sound
so do you guys know how i can fix this?

Probably something with your carb jetting. Not sure if it’s too rich or lean, but I would pull your plugs and start there

How long are your pipes?  Also, post up some pictures if you can.  It may help give a feel of what you got going on.

ill go see how long the pipes are in a bit

but the thing is, i put the muffler back on today and no matter what you did with the throttle it wouldn't shut down ( unless you turn it off with the key )
then just to make sure, i took the muffler back off and it shut down the way it did before

You need to retune your carb, most likely running lean because you removed the muffler and the engine is moving more air through it. Running more air through an engine means you need more fuel to burn right in the cylinders.

ummm, ivee never really worked on mower carbs, i used to fix weedeaters and blowers though, and sell them for 30-75$ in my spare time, usuallly the issue on those was just the carb....
but ive never cleaned/fixed/adjusted a carberatour for any thing more than 3.5hp

but may i ask HOW do you adjust the carb, and where do i find the place to adjust it?

Youtube. Look up "Briggs carb rebuild" or something like that. It's really simple.

wait, so now you guys say i need to REBUILD the carb?

I doubt that the running issue was caused by the exhaust pipe change, especially if it ran fine at first.

You might want to check and see if the bolts have come loose on the intake or carb causing an air leak.

Otherwise maybe some dirt got into the carb, as in some small particles were in the fuel ect. There are some mixture screws on the carb usually. On newer ones there may be only a low speed mixture screw or not any at all. The idle speed screw is on the movable part of the throttle and only for idle speed of course, not mixture. If you can post pics of the carb close up maybe we can see where the mixture screws are.

Also let us know what you tried and if anything changed ect.

wait, isnt a staright pipe considered an exaughst leak?
and no i havent changed any thing else, besides a shop vac tube i put on the carb and its now popping through the hood
WHy? cause im a dumb 13 yr old kid, and it looks kinda cool

but besides that and straight pipe ( well not staright pipe any more due to the shutting off )
i havent done anything else

@loggers gogert wrote:

wait, so now you guys say i need to REBUILD the carb?

No, but it will help just watching those videos in the long run. If you just want to see how to adjust the carburetor, then that's what you look up on YT.

hey guys, i found one of theses on the side of the road, needs a little work, didn't have a gas tank or battery, and recent owner didn't know what he was doing and cut the battery wires with SCISSORS to take the battery out, but i put some gas in the carb, pulled the cord and she wanted to run
can these be made into DECENT mud mowers???

the one above is not the same model i found, but the same type of mower

Anything can work if you put your imagination to it!

Check this old thread out.
https://www.atltf.com/t1080-first-fast-mower-built-rear-engine-hahn

well, what i mean is, is the stock 

braking good enough?

is the stock tranny good enough ( mine is chain driven ) ?

and since its chain driven ( but it has a 5 speed i think under the driver seat ) can i just do a simple sprocket swap with out the tranny self destructing?

and is the stock steering good enough?

If it is what you say, that’s a peerless 700, pretty stout. Can easily take a pulley swap and different sprockets. They had one weak point, it was either rpm or torque. One or the other, it’s been a long time

Them Snappers don't have trannies. They've got a weird clutch setup.

I think he was just saying it’s a rear engine, not necessarily a snapper