Another weekend... another ton of stuff to do on the mower. To start with, I had learned last week that our chapter will require the use of the stock axle. Nothing aftermarket. We are allowed to reinforce them though. So that's what I decided to do. I also wanted to hack an inch off the bottom so that the rear tires will be close to the same height as the front.
As you can see from the pic after cutting an inch of the bottom of the axle, there is a good reason to reinforce this axle: it is split into 2 pieces. Greg ( sr71Mopar) showed some pics of some steel bearings welded to his axle. I liked that idea, but I went with some heavy extra-thick steel washers and welded them to the top and bottom of each side. While I was at it, I also welded the seams all the way around the axle. The axle itself is actually pretty thick, so unless I jump off a 20 foot cliff... they aren't breaking.
Next came the installation of the axle into the frame. I wanted to lower the front a bit again to help the rear be level with the front wheels, so I hacked the axle channel out, which was a lot of fun because I had welded it last week. After that, I welded the axle in which wasn't as easy as I would've thought because the gap was way to big. I got 2 pieces of 1/4" angle iron and welded these to the frame and axle, boxing it in. I then welded in the rest solid.
After the axle, it was onto the brakes and rear transaxle. I spent a lot off time researching a way in which I could easily drop the stock transaxle. Reason being: this style of tranny is cheap, widely available, and made by several different manufacturers in the same configuration. So if I blow this one, a new one can be installed in about 10 minutes. Everything comes off easily- the hubs, rotor, and so forth.
Here are a couple of pics of the hubs, rotor, etc. The rotor is a plain-jane cart rotor and the brake is also a simple mechanical cart brake.
Next I bolted the entire rear assembly onto the frame. I just shoved it under on a milk crate ( thank god for milk crates) and bolted it on. Pretty simple. Then I ran into a problem. The transaxle sits below the frame. Therefore the caliper mount was too far down to bolt to the frame. So my solution was to weld a 1/4" thick piece of angle iron onto the side that ddips below the frame enough to allow me to mount the caliper to it. It is a perfect fit and will be easy to get to. I was all ready to do this when I realized that the hardware store down the street was closed. That was the end of the weekend for me. Next up: the rest of the brakes and then onto steering.
