how complicated is this..

Ive been thinking about putting a craftsman garden tractor axle in my troybilt pony.. (yes I used a 800 dollar mower for my mudder ) anyhow I put a 12hp flathead in because the 17 had a cracked block But. anyhow this 5 speed has 1 inch axle so im assuming it will be tougher instead of 3/4.. I was thinkin of just keeping the varidrive so act ac as my clutch and leave it in 7th for max tension. Share your thoughts. Thanks.

once you get everything lined up the hard part is over, and if you leave the vari drive the you could potentially have a 35 speed

I hated my varidrive system. It works better for others I guess. I swapped for a 5 speed peerless and double clutch. the double pully vari drive doenst really have anything to do with tighter belts its how big the belt gets on that pully so it goes faster, like a syntrifical clutch

I understad but my vari drive was modded for allot of belt tension but I want a granny gear aswell. My mtd has done ok even with oversize tires. Ive only burned belt. And the nice thing about mine being an 03 is parts support

mines a 96 but I make everything so I don't need parts, its just what you want. Check it out if you havnt already

I would put in the new transaxle (which is probably an 820, great axles), and ditch the vari drive for a standard 2 pulley clutch. From my experience I have had nothing but trouble with a vari drive, from belts hopping onto the other channel to them eating belts.

Plus it would end up making things a bit more complicated. Each gear would be split into 7 speeds.

Yah but my ultimate goal is a granny gear which I was hoping to achoeve meanwhile upgradeing my axle

I think you should be set for a granny gear. Im running a 1:1 right now and my 1st gear on my 206 is still as slow as a snail.

same here, 1:1 with the 206 goes slow,

redlinemotorsportts wrote:

the double pully vari drive doenst really have anything to do with tighter belts its how big the belt gets on that pully so it goes faster, like a syntrifical clutch

Actually, there's nothing centrifugal about it. The vari-drive system is akin to a CVT, or Continuously Variable Transmission, like you see in snowmobiles and some ATV's and golf carts. The difference is that a CVT is fully automatic, whereas the vari-drive requires you to select the ratios.

And you're right- it's not a tension thing, it's a pulley-diameter thing.