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Other Sears Craftsman Garden Tractor

I have been looking. The tractor was actually made by MTD and relabelled as Craftsman. The model number is Canadian and doesn't show up on searches. The B&S parts do. But the connecting rod bolts come in a wide variety of flavours. Since I have both metric and imperial thread gauges I was surprised to find this one was metric. If I want to spend $100 I can get a new rod which comes with cap and screws. It would be the safest. But then I should also spend $120 on the CAM rather than $60. One is B&S original, the other from China.

Or, since I have some 12V Lithiums on hand, just convert the whole thing to electric.

electrictractor.net
 
jcdammeyer said:
I have been looking. The tractor was actually made by MTD and relabelled as Craftsman.
Click to expand...

I have not had good success rebuilding Residential B&S engines. The cylinders are flashed Chrome. They cannot be bored out or re-used once the liner is worn through. My experience with rebuilding light duty B&S engines has not been good.

On the other hand, B&S does make industrial engines with cast iron cylinder liners. They can more easily and more reliably be repaired and rebuilt.
 
I've got two old JD garden tractors sitting out back that I think would be a better bet at getting them running than your present project ...a 112 mechanical and a 114 hydro, both had running engines when parked but had developed electrical issues that I didnt have time or patience to mess with so inexpensive hardware variety tractors materialized for the job
 
This has already turned into a much deeper rabbit hole than I wanted. This morning after a few emails with Brian Edmond and his electric conversion kit I started down the path of AliBaba and AliExpress for 24V Transaxles meant for scooters.
What I don't like about his kit is that his blade motors are so tall that he no longer has a lever for adjustable cutting height. He also suggests just the plans and the 48V version if I want to put a blade on the front to push snow...

I'm thinking I'll reassemble this one with the $232 investment in parts and if it blows up then so be it. Buying a new connecting rod for $100 when I don't know the shape of the rest of the motor is a poor investment I think. The aluminum filings were so fine that I actually got slivers when I was wiping out the last traces of oil.

I'd rather finish my power draw bar for the mill so I can set up to make 6 of these. The CNC shop has a 25 piece minimum and even at that price run $40.
1685554021892.webp
 
jcdammeyer said:
This has already turned into a much deeper rabbit hole than I wanted. This morning after a few emails with Brian Edmond and his electric conversion kit I started down the path of AliBaba and AliExpress for 24V Transaxles meant for scooters.
What I don't like about his kit is that his blade motors are so tall that he no longer has a lever for adjustable cutting height. He also suggests just the plans and the 48V version if I want to put a blade on the front to push snow...

I'm thinking I'll reassemble this one with the $232 investment in parts and if it blows up then so be it. Buying a new connecting rod for $100 when I don't know the shape of the rest of the motor is a poor investment I think. The aluminum filings were so fine that I actually got slivers when I was wiping out the last traces of oil.

I'd rather finish my power draw bar for the mill so I can set up to make 6 of these. The CNC shop has a 25 piece minimum and even at that price run $40.
View attachment 35001
Click to expand...
If it were me, I'd cut my losses with that engine completely and walk away from it. Now if the risk of the investment is worth the challenge then by all means go for it, but it sounds like you have other more enjoyable projects to attend to.
 
After mowing part of the lawn again walking behind my almost self propelled lawnmower I was thinking about the terrain. Unless I add some fill in places the 42" wide swath will only save me maybe 20 minutes of sit on tractor mowing. Maybe a bit more. There are areas that will require adding fill and levelling before a garden tractor becomes more efficient I think.
Rona (Lowes) has this for $2699.
www.rona.ca

Craftsman T110 - 17.5-HP- Single cylinder - Manual/Gear - 42-in Cut Width Riding Lawn Mower

The Craftsman(R) T110 front engine riding mower is designed to provide power, durability, and ease of use. It's powered by a 17.5 HP Briggs and Strat...
www.rona.ca www.rona.ca
It's exactly the same tractor. Even has a spacer where this one doesn't to keep the steering bushings in place. I have lathe. I'll make one.
So now regardless of replacement parts, engine, change to electric or replacement in ascending cost order, until I try the tractor on the lawn I won't know if it's even worth it. Maybe better to buy an electric rear drive unit and a second battery pack since it's 2 hours to do the lawn when it's thick and I'm bagging.
And I hate throwing things out. I'm a big believer in "right to repair" and if it's repairable do it.
 
Whether I repair with lots of money or lots of labour or convert to electric the one key thing is the deck has to be in decent shape. Other than some rust on one end it looks not too bad. I'll pressure wash it and then I'm open to suggestions for what kind of rust covering paint is appropriate.

UnderDeck.jpg


I have an unused 8 oz bottle of mar-hyde One-Step rust converter. The number is #3511 but it appears that's no longer a valid number.
www.carid.com

Mar-Hyde® - One-Step® Rust Converter Primer Sealer

One-Step® Rust Converter Primer Sealer by Mar-Hyde®. This product is made of high-quality materials to serve you for years to come. Designed using state-of-the-art technology and with customers in mind. It will meet your needs and deliver great quality at an affordable cost.
www.carid.com www.carid.com

Epoxy paint?
 
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After I pulled the blades and sharpened them I took a scraper to the thick mulched mud that was stuck to the inside of the deck. Then pulled out the big Craftsman Angle grinder and my huge cup brush bought to handle rust on my old 1964 MGB back in the early 70's. Between sharpening the blades and holding onto this grinder I didn't last long but I did get a bit cleaned up. More to be done. Probably an hour or so of wire brushing. Then a power wash. Once dry I'll try that rust converter sealer.

PartiallyCleanedDeck.jpg
 
jcdammeyer said:
Once dry I'll try that rust converter sealer.
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I've had good success with a graphite based spray-on coating on top of the original paint John. As long as you are painting your deck, it might work for you too. One aerosol can is enough for a big 62" deck. Usually I have very very little accumulated clippings under my deck. What is there comes off in 2 or 3 minutes with a homemade softwood scraper. I'm not even sure if it should be removed. I've seen it all come off on its own when I use the deck next. I think the deck has to be spanking clean (or newly painted) before applying the graphite.

Just this past winter, I replaced the deck on my Deere lawn tractor. One of my grandkids did me a favor and mowed the equipment yard. He bent the entire deck. I tried quite unsuccessfully to straighten it.

A buddy suggested getting a new deck so I priced it from parts. Yuk..... . On a hunch, I priced a complete assembled deck with all the parts through sales (not parts) - YES! Half the cost of just the stamped deck itself!!!! Go figure! Took a bit for the dealer to get it and even came with new blades and a new big belt, but fit the lawn tractor perfect. I kept the old deck for parts.

Anyways, consider the graphite coating.

Also, I've seen guys add a hose fitting above the inside blade. Mine already has that but I don't use it. It makes a mess. But for those guys who cut their grass when it's wet, it's prolly not much worse. FWIW, I NEVER cut my grass wet - not even light dew. I take a small drive on the grass, if the tires show any sign of moisture - I park it and wait. You can also look for moisture on the toes of your shoes, but if you wizz outside a lot, that's not always good proof.......
 
YotaBota said:
Found you a newer motor cheaper than a PA motor, even comes with tractor.
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That Kawasaki and hydrostatic combo runs forever. My old one is still running after cutting 3 acres of SW Ontario grass all summer long for 35 years or so. Keep the steering and deck wheels and blade spindles well greased.
 
Since I have no idea whether my yard is really suitable for a 42" wide mower of any sort I think I'll go with the repair solution. The idea of converting it to electric is just so enticing and I'd never do that if I spent $1200 on the mower or $1100 on another one.

Especially since I already have Lithium batteries sitting here.

But I've sent him an email since I'll be in the neighborhood walking the dog this morning.
 
Nice as the JD is, I've decided I'd rather repair this one or convert it to electric than scrap it Just goes against the grain when I know I can repair it. Especially when, from a career perspective, I've been designing battery charging and monitoring systems for the last 10 years.

Probably dumb but I don't even know just how much time a tractor will save me mowing the area I have.
 
BTW. When I contacted the seller of the JD he wasn't available for a visit when I was nearby on a doggy walk. No problem. I then sent him again via email:
"Let me know when you are available and I can come over. I’m in Central Saanich on Tanner Road."

His reply was a bit strange and fits into the "don't give money online and physically inspect the item before buying" catagory
"If you are much interested in buying it we can make the arrangement on here,"

So I emailed him to let him know I wasn't interested. Just feels wrong...
 
6.5 Fan said:
Until they need fixing. Frickken Frackken engineers
Click to expand...

In my opinion, it isn't the engineers. It's the Fr8cken F4acken idiots in Financial Control who won't let the engineers design things they can really be proud of. Same goes for right to repair and repairability. If engineers were given control they would usually do the best job they can of making things work great, be upgradable, last forever, easy to service, etc etc.

But that isn't how it works. Shareholders demand return on their investment and put financial control folks in charge of making sure that happens.

And so the war begins between marketing, sales volumes, service, features, manufacturing, engineering, design, regulations, durability and performance, satisfied customers, repeat customers, reputation, market segment, branding, price, profit, affordability, etc etc etc.

Engineering a great product everyone loves would be easy without constraints.
 
Just got this email.
Called it! Ha ha. Just didn't feel right


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