trans lock

Info for case vent...

https://www.atltf.com/t5718-peerless-vent-barbed-fitting-info?highlight=vent#87246

MightyRaze wrote:

Manual calls for 30oz BENTONITE GREASE.

Oil conversion is a possibility, but don't use as much as oil will come out the axles and where it can.

Couple mods:

If pulley swapped, I would include a vent.  Easiest way to do that is to put a nipple in the neutral safety switch port and running some hose up to a fuel filter under the seat.  If you like deep water maybe up under the dash.  This will help it breathe when it gets hot and should you hit water causing it to cool fast.  This would allow it to suck in air through the breather and not the axle seals.  Possibly sucking in water into the cases.

Something like this:

This is an 820, but same theory.



Another you "can" do is an input shaft grease port.   @Murraymountain has most recently done this.  I have not done this yet on my 820.

Speaking of sucking water in, what would the best way to add a snorkle for the engine be? also the oil fill tube doesnt actually stay in the engine it just sticks in loosely, if i put to much oil it oozes out or if i over rev it it oozes out, should i just clean the surface up and put high heat silicon around it to prevent water from entering? find an o ring that might fit?

How would i know what one my craftsman is? does it even matter? is mine just craftsman? also over all the research and googling ive done ive never seen another late 90s lt4000 besides one that was green, they were all grey? is mine a special edition? it was bought new so no chance of a respray.

FlyFrog wrote:

thats an older picture of it, but its a lt4000 not sure of the transmission but i just asked  @Budget_gokart  about his because he has the same lawn tractor, i can get back with the trans it has unless one of you guys know off the top of your head or can figure it out, i guess the 13.5 hp models are rare, I cant find anything on it.

Could a 13.5hp lt4000 only come in green? ive only seen one other 13.5 and it was green, could this be like the rarest lt4000??? is it the holy grail of lt4000s?

Not that rare. Maybe in your area.  Few years before they were grey, then silvery.  They went dark green then back to greyish silver, some black and now red, I think.

MightyRaze wrote:

Not that rare. Maybe in your area.  Few years before they were grey, then silvery.  They went dark green then back to greyish silver, some black and now red, I think.

Funny I have yet to see a blue lawn tractor. I’ve seen pictures and the old fords count but they are rare.

Anywho, back on topic…

Rustbucket Garage wrote:

MightyRaze wrote:

Not that rare. Maybe in your area.  Few years before they were grey, then silvery.  They went dark green then back to greyish silver, some black and now red, I think.

Funny I have yet to see a blue lawn tractor. I’ve seen pictures and the old fords count but they are rare.

Anywho, back on topic…

Off-topic: I see new hollands quite a bit.

back to topic...

MightyRaze wrote:

Manual calls for 30oz BENTONITE GREASE.

Oil conversion is a possibility, but don't use as much as oil will come out the axles and where it can.

Couple mods:

If pulley swapped, I would include a vent.  Easiest way to do that is to put a nipple in the neutral safety switch port and running some hose up to a fuel filter under the seat.  If you like deep water maybe up under the dash.  This will help it breathe when it gets hot and should you hit water causing it to cool fast.  This would allow it to suck in air through the breather and not the axle seals.  Possibly sucking in water into the cases.

Something like this:

This is an 820, but same theory.



Another you "can" do is an input shaft grease port.   @Murraymountain has most recently done this.  I have not done this yet on my 820.

Ive been thinking about adding a breather nipple to mine as well, and ive personally found that the welded doc locker 2.0 to be the most reliable, and I’ve recently tried the peerless spool locker on ebay and to be honest im not the biggest fan of it, sure it works but the splines barely fit into it and you have to relocate the little c clips, so needless to say if it end up braking, or if i feel like it ill switch to the old tried and true doc locker 2.0

MightyRaze wrote:

Not that rare. Maybe in your area.  Few years before they were grey, then silvery.  They went dark green then back to greyish silver, some black and now red, I think.

Yep, they are now red, my grandpa went from the 97 to a 2013 and he said that was the worst mistake ever, he said he wished he just fixed the mower deck on the 97, the 13 is always throwing deck bearings, eating belts, blowing head gaskets, he has limited steering because of a terrible design that allows dirt and grass to build up a limit steering movement, the steering has more slop than the 97 ever did, he said he would never buy another craftsman new only good condition older ones on a completly different brand i dont like telling people im a craftsman fan because of the bad quality they are pushing out they need too rethink there designs...

FlyFrog wrote:

Speaking of sucking water in, what would the best way to add a snorkle for the engine be? also the oil fill tube doesnt actually stay in the engine it just sticks in loosely, if i put to much oil it oozes out or if i over rev it it oozes out, should i just clean the surface up and put high heat silicon around it to prevent water from entering? find an o ring that might fit?

Does anyone have any tips for me regarding these questions?

Sorry I missed your question yesterday! Post the model number please but I'm pretty sure it's AYP built.

As for the snorkel plumbing parts work really well, I made one on The Warhorse for about $30 including the filter (click link to see it). There's several threads around with people who have made snorkles too which may give you ideas but it would be a good idea to post a picture of your carb/airbox to help more.

As for steering... post a pic of what you have, I've seen some AYP steering gears and they look really robust but that would also depend on the model itself.

As for locking your rear end, there's advantages and disadvantages. First of all it can be a fair bit of work and if you make a mistake you could ruin your transaxle in a hurry, secondly your turning radius could be affected.

Personally, both my Roper "Trailblazer" and The Warhorse are both unlocked but can climbs hills and go through the mud WAY better than I had expected with nothing more than some decent ATV tires and low tire pressure(s). I doubt I'll even lock either of them.

You're going to want ATV tires at some point regardless for what you're doing with it so I vote that your time and money is better spent on tires, even with a locker you'll never get anywhere without traction

LOL, page 1, 917.25929 gotta look "real close".  

I agree with @Brianator.

Far as steering, I'm still wondering if a Gen1 to Gen2 steering swap might work out like the RCG video I posted back on pg 1.

MightyRaze wrote:

LOL, page 1, 917.25929 gotta look "real close".  

Whoops! Lol. Yup AYP built and I bet it has that nice big cast iron steering gear behind the engine, if not that would be a good upgrade.

Here's a pic of one I saw at the salvage yard and am thinking of grabbing.

Brianator wrote:

MightyRaze wrote:

LOL, page 1, 917.25929 gotta look "real close".  

Whoops! Lol. Yup AYP built and I bet it has that nice big cast iron steering gear behind the engine, if not that would be a good upgrade.

Here's a pic of one I saw at the salvage yard and am thinking of grabbing.

Thats the steering box i have and i personally think there a pos, i may have just had bad luck, ive replaced it once last winter, the original steering box that was 25ish years old was very sloppy and when i replaced it it was amazing and really tight but within 2 hours of riding time it was almost as bad as the original, now its worse than the original (if the picture shown is the big cast iron one your talking about) im thinking just going too a rack and pinion from a go cart and see what happend, and atv tires is something id love to have but my grandparents dont want the yard too torn up, it would limit where i can ride a lot, i guess i can use it at my buddies but i cant always use it there, hes almost never home. is ayp one of the better ones? do you know how common the 13.5 hp ic gold is? i never see them lol.


These are pictures from google but its the same style of intake and all that, i also seem to have a problem with the carb filling up with oil, is it the crank case breather tube thats filling it with oil? should i just unplug the breater tub and put a filter on the end of it and plug the hole in the intake?

You can probably remove the whole airbox and do whatever turns your crank! Lol

You should be able to add bushings to that steering gear, when I had a quick look at the one in the salvage yard it was something that crossed my mind.

Brianator wrote:

You can probably remove the whole airbox and do whatever turns your crank! Lol

You should be able to add bushings to that steering gear, when I had a quick look at the one in the salvage yard it was something that crossed my mind.

where and how would i add bushings? should i make a support for the steering shaft from steering wheel to steering box?

I need one in my hands to say for sure but anywhere there's a shaft in or going through the body of it would be where and yes, if you can add a support then do it!

My experience with oil in the airbox is that worn rings may also be a factor. For the price of a head gasket on one of those briggs I’d check the bore for oil smears and scoring. Pcvs can be an issue though too, ut I’d check the bore first cause if nothing else you can clean out the carbon.

Or you could just check your plug too. That works also.

Rustbucket Garage wrote:

My experience with oil in the airbox is that worn rings may also be a factor. For the price of a head gasket on one of those briggs I’d check the bore for oil smears and scoring. Pcvs can be an issue though too,  ut I’d check the bore first cause if nothing else you can clean out the carbon.

Or you could just check your plug too. That works also.

I second that, usually when theres a lot of oil in the intake it's time for a teardown.
No real issue on these small guys.

Just whip it out and check the bore first, then check the valves if that's all good continue with a valve lap new gaskets and pcv.
Nice time to also do some upgrades if needed.

You should really make a build thread to put this in one spot

fbisurveilancevan wrote:

Rustbucket Garage wrote:

My experience with oil in the airbox is that worn rings may also be a factor. For the price of a head gasket on one of those briggs I’d check the bore for oil smears and scoring. Pcvs can be an issue though too,  ut I’d check the bore first cause if nothing else you can clean out the carbon.

Or you could just check your plug too. That works also.

I second that, usually when theres a lot of oil in the intake it's time for a teardown.
No real issue on these small guys.

Just whip it out and check the bore first, then check the valves if that's all good continue with a valve lap new gaskets and pcv.
Nice time to also do some upgrades if needed.

You should really make a build thread to put this in one spot

even though the tractor is mine, my grandpa wont let me take it apart for those reasons, I barley talked him into letting me do a trans lock, he MIGHT let me take the head off, but no more than that, i can probably get him to let me do stuff thats maintnence like the pcv and stuff like that

Replacing worn piston rings is maintenance

Brianator wrote:

Replacing worn piston rings is maintenance

not in his opinion, hes the type that says it garbage after the smallest thing happens to it, only things he fixes is electrical like starter solenoid and thats about it or oil changes, all the other maintenance has been done by me without his knowledge, it would be tricky to do something like that without him noticing...