1997 Murray widebody trail mower

a few months ago I went to a mower repair shop to get a transaxle for my other murray, but when I got there the guy said that if I wanted it I would have to get the hole thing. It was in better condition than my other one, so of corse I said yes. the original 12.5 powerbuilt was sized and it was missing the rear wheels and one headlight. so I put in a 17 hp Tecumsea ohv from another murray and so I drove it around and it soon became to slow, so I got the 12.5 kawisaki engine and the peerless 915 transaxle out of a John Deere gx95 rer. I then put on a 4" pulley and used a few spare idler pulleys and an old belt retainer to tighten the belt enough to take it for a short ride last night. I will update this after school.

Always nice picking up something cheap that no one else wants! Show some pictures if you can.

Yea, it is great, isn't it? I gave the guy $40 for it. I just rode it tonight and it goes 25 easy. I am also looking for a simplicity like yours.

I forgot to mention that I have 18x9.5x8" rear tires that are a cross between ags and Atv tires. I had little 11x3x5" tires on the front, but when I rode it across the yard, it was bouncing so hard that I almost fell off! so I drove it back to the shop and threw on a set of 20x7x8" tires from an old go-cart on it. then I drove it though the swamp where it got stuck before, and it went right though it! I may test it on the trails if I get done with homework early enough.

my shifter/break

well, my shifter didn't work because the old transaxle had a long shift shaft, but the new one is short.

I made one out of a long bolt and some pipe,   but that didn"t work. then I took it off and I just get off and shift it.

well, I did it this time. I have 4" front pulley and a 4" rear pulley and I put it in 5th gear, pegged the gas, and popped the clutch. demolished the 5 th gear bore and my shift keys. any one have an 820 that they are willing to part with?

well that suxs, guess you wont do it again tho,

ha ha ha nope.

Looks pretty cool. Too bad about the transmission. You should be able to find another one without too much trouble.

Yea, I have another that I was going to use on another mower, but I saw an 820 equiped craftsman on the side of the road, so I may get that for the other mower.

I haven't been messing around with these things long enough to really break too much yet. Unless you count the transmission I ruined when I locked the rear. I warped the axle welding it and it ended up cracking the case. I kept using it that way for a while but finally the engine locked up.

O.K. so you guys may know that I broke my 915 and was not sure what to do. So I decided to put in the original transaxle that I had been saving for another project. so I took it apart and locked it, cleaned it, and took the input shaft out so that dad could use the press to get the stock pulley off so that I could put on a 4". I still need to change my front pulley to a 41/2" so that I can use the right size of belt. then yesterday it snowed and my mom said that I could "test it out" so I had lots of fun spinning in circles but that got old and so I started it up and drove it up a steep hill. when I was almost to the top, it died because the hill was too steep. My battery was dead at the time, so I turned it around and put it in 5th gear, pushed in the clutch and let it up when I was almost to the bottom of the hill and it stated right at the last minuit! I made it back to the shop and then it was time to go in to do school.

a few pics.
the old tranny

the "new" tranny

nice, hows the swap doing? by the way have you heard of Camp Gilead in Carnation?

the swap is going great! it is a little slower than before cause it is geared lower. no, I have not heard of that trail........I have my own trails, as I live right below a logging road.

just waiting for a romp.

Camp Gilead isn't a trail, it has been around since 1948 and is a awesome place to go for summer camp and other activity's, like tubing on Snoqalamie pass in January I believe for $50 that includes, Great home made food and a place to stay for the night.

Is the john deere an off road machine also?

not really, since the front tires are so small.

1997 Murray wrote:

not really, since the front tires are so small.

Nothing, Stops a Deere   

nice try, thunder

today I changed the silenoid on the carb to one from a push mower. it went right in the hole and it looks a lot better than before. Say, does anyone have a picture of an adjustable main carb? can you change the jets?

You might be able to change gets, but they wont be adjustable with a screwdriver.

ok, I think doc has an adjustable carb on his racer, that is what I was looking for to see the difference between the two.