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Converting lawn tractor to hydrostatic system
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Posted by idaho_gardener 6a_sw_idaho (My Page) on Fri, Jan 29, 10 at 19:40
| I was wondering if anybody has pointers to a DIY hydrostatic conversion setup. I have a spare Wheel Horse lawn tractor that needs a job. The engine is ok, in fact the whole thing works, but it's retired by two other newer mowers/tractors.
I'd start with just converting to hydro drive, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings if I could add a tiller or scraper blade to the tractor. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Converting lawn tractor to hydrostatic system
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| What WH's I have seen have great transmissions, I would invest in an engine. Only way I would consider doing that would be if I had a donor similar LT where the hydro would basicly be a bolt in. That way all the levers and linkages would most likely fit and little fabrication would be needed. But, it you got the time and the means anything is possible. I've got a LX266 I need to find a snow blade for also that would be nice in my later years when scoping snow could be hazzardous to my health! especially the lower back!. Nothing like having fun while you working! |
RE: Converting lawn tractor to hydrostatic system
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| What model WH do you have? Also, ask yourself your real uses for the tractor. You can till all day w/a gear drive and not worry about overheating the hydro. |
RE: Converting lawn tractor to hydrostatic system
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| Your hydro shouldn't overheat if the transmission case is kept clean and full of oil-providing that you are not overloading it. |
RE: Converting lawn tractor to hydrostatic system
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| I can't, for the life of me, understand what is so exciting about a hydro drive transmission! The only thing going for them, is for the manufacturers, in the designing and building of the tractors. they do eliminate a bunch of rods and levers, and interlocks, which cost more money to build, than a tractor with a hydro. of course the new egg=heads are swayed by the advertisisng about them.
My advice-for what it is-is to get the Wheel-horse up and running, do any oil and greasing that has to be done, and go do your plowing. Those wimpy hydros will not last very long, using them for "Ground engaging" work. They will be ok for snow plowing, but not much else. |
RE: Converting lawn tractor to hydrostatic system
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Taking components out to repair or replace them is one thing,........but......when you start trying to put parts that are made to fit a different tractor altogether,...well... that's a whole other ball game: ...get ready for some fancy welding and fabricating !
I would follow rusty's advice and "get the Wheel-horse running" and then splash a bit of paint on the old girl and put a "for sale" sign on her .
The money you will get for the sale can help finance the purchase of another used tractor......a tractor that's FACTORY equipped with a hydro trans!.......I think that way you would save yourself a lot of aggravation.
Rick |
RE: Converting lawn tractor to hydrostatic system
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| Rick's comment is great and very true "I think that way you would save yourself a lot of aggravation." But you know, thinking I should be wiser sometimes for the projects I personally get myself into- I can identify w/ the OP... |
RE: Converting lawn tractor to hydrostatic system
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"I should be wiser sometimes for the projects I personally get myself into- I can identify w/ the OP..."
I too can identify with wanting to "step up and accept the challenge" of reworking/reforming or any other name for it, of a project such as (or similar to) this. Projects like this are certainly "feasible" but seldom "practical or pragmatic" for the typical tractor owner or home owner to pursue. Reason being that there is going to be a lot more involved than simply unbolting a unit component and slapping a different one in its stead. For an accomplished mechanic or machinist, the project could possibly be "dirt easy", but for a lot of people outside either of those qualifications, it could be the last project before commiting to the therapist's couch. |
RE: Converting lawn tractor to hydrostatic system
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| Thanks for all the advice. I have a Husky zero-turn with hydrostatic controls. It has cut down the time for mowing my acre and saves on fuel. I have an MTD lawn tractor with a manual shifting, belt driven transmission. I hate to mow with that but it's a bagger and I use it to collect grass clippings for the compost pile. The WH is a late 70's model and using it is no great shakes, same clunky transmission design as the MTD. The previous owner of my property had converted a Case or other agricultural tractor to hydrostatic drive. His abilities were not exactly machinist level, but he got the job done. I doubt I can even get $200 for the old WH, even painted and tuned, so it's not going anywhere when I can use it as a mule to pull trailers, spreaders, etc. Making it hydrostatic would allow my wife to use it without endangering herself. I'll do a web search to see what's out there. |
RE: Converting lawn tractor to hydrostatic system
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| Many models of the older Wheel Horses came in both manual and hydro. If your's is one of these then keep your eyes open in craig's list and ebay and you will eventually find an entire transaxle with the hydro and that will make the job a lot easier. Then again you might be able to swap someone for a hydro instead. To the group: with very few exceptions the WH hydros were well designed and troublefree with regular maintenance. most of them are more than good enough for ground engaging work of all types. The reason people like hydros is that for tasks such as mowing, snow blading and snow blowing they are considerably more efficient. Of course having one or more of each is best!! |
RE: Converting lawn tractor to hydrostatic system
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| The route suggested by WHOC has the most promise with the least pain. "Persistence" is also a neccessary qualification for this type of project, and you seem to have that. In my post above I did not mean to imply that a person MUST be an experienced mechanic or machinist to tackle something like this, I was just trying to illustrate that the degree of difficulty will vary for different people depending on a number of factors. If you do undertake the project, do meticulous documentation and note making, digital pics, drawings/sketches and anything else to help you through. And good luck too. |
RE: Converting lawn tractor to hydrostatic system
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| In my searches for hydrostatic conversion ideas, I came across a bunch of threads about converting the smaller John Deere hydrostatic transmission to a heavier duty transmission. It seems that the base model of hydrostatic transmission in the Deere mower would fail within 2-3 years of use. The best solution turns out to be ordering the 'heavy duty' transaxle from a fella who sells the DIY upgrade kits on eBay. The cost is about $900 for that particular upgrade kit, a price that is about the same as having the Deere service shop replace the original transaxle. The people who have done the conversion report that they can perform the swap in about 5 hours, and all seem satisfied with the results. That's more than I want to invest in a funky old mower, but the concept of DIY hydrostatic transmission work seems to be out there. I'll keep looking for something cheap. Thanks to all. |
Here is a link that might be useful: DIY Deere hydrostatic transmission swap
RE: Converting lawn tractor to hydrostatic system
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| If your Wheel Horse is working, keep it stock until you tire of it and some other enthusiast can enjoy it. Both gear and hydro are fine. You won't get a dramatic change in value or function be swapping it one way or the other. Hydro is good for changing direction frequently - just tip your foot and you change direction. Gear or belt is good for keeping it at one speed like mowing or tilling without needing to keep constant attention on your speed. |
RE: Converting lawn tractor to hydrostatic system
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| idaho gardner wrote: "I doubt I can even get $200 for the old WH, even painted and tuned," If it runs and mows don't sell it short. I sold an old Toro LT11 for $200 to the first guy who looked at it. It needed tires and was not in good shape, but just like that - it was gone. |
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