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[airmanwilliams]

I picked up a dolley from a buddy yesterday for a great deal. Not sure I'll use it much at all but always wanted one haha.

Needs: lights, new straps, tires, and a hand crank winch installed on the tongue.





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[Greg]

... Not sure I'll use it much at all but always wanted one haha.

Fix it up and rent it out! Make $30-40/day each time you rent it out and it'll put some cash in your pocket, instead of just sitting around.

Make sure you have an agreement that renters will pay for any damage.

 

[nnnnnate]

So I bought Hickeys old craftsman riding lawnmower last week that was stuck in second gear. After mowing the back yard Saturday slowly I hopped onto the internet to see what I could find about stuck transaxles. There seemed to be a lot of info on them and parts are still available so I decided to pull it and crack it open to see what was there.

This is what I saw, immediately I was able to see the rust built up around what is the brake shaft kind of near the bottom right of the picture. The collar just to the left of the visible rust is what moves with the gear selector and it was seized and just didn't want to move at all. I pulled out what I needed to to get that shaft out and bare so I could clean up all the rust and this is what ended up with.

Here is the brake shaft after I hit it with a wire brush.

Then after spending more time cleaning it with emery cloth and a bastard file. I coaxed the shift collar off and removed the shift keys that sit in the channels and cleaned those up as well.

The next thing to address was the shift for and plate that was also seized. This part connects to the shift rod on the outside of the transaxle and is supposed to move the shift collar when you change gears. This pic is after wiping down the plate to get a better look at what was there.

I had to "coax" the plate out of the case since it was really stuck. There seemed to be a decent amount of aluminum oxide in the shaft and you can see it (the white and orange-ish stuff in the above pic) in the case as well. I cleaned the shaft with emery cloth to get it smooth and used a round file to clear the boogers out of the corresponding place in the case.

Here is the shift plate removed and cleaned up. Like the brake shaft there is a fair amount of pitting from the rust. The holes correspond to gears and there is a bearing that kind of "clicks" into place as you shift so you know when you are into the next gear. I'm not sure if the pitting is going cause issues but if it does I can open the case back up and replace this part for about $25 down the road.

Now I just need to keep cleaning up all the grease. OEM grease is bentonite based (a type of clay) and costs about $32 for 32 oz. I think it'd take me more than one container and don't really want to shell out that kind of money just for grease so I'm going to replace it all with basic chassis grease. To do this I need to basically get all of the bentonite grease out since the two types don't like each other much before I can add the cheap stuff.

I'd like to get it back together for this weekend but probably won't be able to find the garage time for that so I'll get it done when I can. I still need to order the shift rod anyway so that wouldn't be here until at least next week. This has been a fun little project though and its helped raise my confidence for tackling more complex (for me) things to try and fix them. I will also say that "www.mytractorforum.com" has been pretty awesome.

 

[zmotorsports]

I picked up a dolley from a buddy yesterday for a great deal. Not sure I'll use it much at all but always wanted one haha.

Needs: lights, new straps, tires, and a hand crank winch installed on the tongue.





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Nice score. I picked one up very similar to that several years ago. Repaired a fender that was coming detached, replaced the lights, repacked wheel bearings, installed new tires and painted it up nice and flipped it for a pretty good profit. There always seem to be RV'ers that are drawn to these to pull their toads.

Mike.

 

[airmanwilliams]

Nice score. I picked one up very similar to that several years ago. Repaired a fender that was coming detached, replaced the lights, repacked wheel bearings, installed new tires and painted it up nice and flipped it for a pretty good profit. There always seem to be RV'ers that are drawn to these to pull their toads.

Mike.

Thanks. I bought some new straps, new led lights, new slightly larger tires and it is pretty much set. Just needs a spare really but with my smoker trailer coming back to me this next month it got me thinking that I really dont have room for the dolley, camping trailer, and a smoker trailer at our small home so I may see if I can store it at my fathers place but if that doesnt happen ill sadly have to get rid of it which isnt a terribly bad thing since our bills from having the twins just started coming in.

 

[nnnnnate]

Just a couple quick little projects I managed to find the time to work on.

I have a 20# co2 tank that I like to carry but didn't have a great way to strap it down while in the back of my rig. I sent Carl an email and we hashed out the details and he burned and bent this little box out for me. I welded and painted it then put some split rubber hose on the edges where the tank would contact metal for some padding. I also ordered a some quick fists to mount a shovel to the side. I mounted it in my LX470 with a few turnbuckles to hold it down. The box is about 12" wide and I've stuck my tow straps, shackles, and a few other misc. things under the tank that I want to always have with me. I'm happy with how it turned out and as always Carl provided excellent service and help with it.



The last project I managed to do yesterday after work. I keep accumulating "things" and needed to clean up the garage a bit so I built some shelves/storage suspended above the front of the garage door. Nothing too exciting here but the shelf is 24" wide and I only got an 8' section done yesterday. I'm going to extend it the full length of the garage when I can find some more time. I was able to use 2x6s that I had from ranch rail fencing I had in my backyard that I've started to take down around my garden and RV pad (it was used to keep my dogs out of areas...) so it only cost me time and $30 for 5" lag bolts and a sheet of 7/16" plywood for the base. I already filled up the space that is done and need to keep organizing so I can get the cars back parked in the garage.

 

[airmanwilliams]

I was an idiot pulling with out chains and lost the little cotter pin in my hitch pin so my trailer did a few flips. Upright smoker was thrown and destroyed so I'll be putting a wood box where I was going to put that. Before pulling again I need a new hitch coupler, chains welded on, and locking hitch pins.




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[muleskinner]

I was an idiot pulling with out chains and lost the little cotter pin in my hitch pin so my trailer did a few flips. Upright smoker was thrown and destroyed so I'll be putting a wood box where I was going to put that. Before pulling again I need a new hitch coupler, chains welded on, and locking hitch pins.


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Wow, I'm glad your negligence didn't kill someone!

 

[airmanwilliams]

Yes I am very lucky it didn't kill anyone. I am now looking at what other safety features I can add to this as well as the tow dolley I have.


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[RogueJeepr]

Starting to cut bolts to get the fender off and send to a metal guy. While he's working on that I'll be doing the steering box swap.

New parts are cool.

This is my back-up driver and since my daily has given me issues, it's given me some ambition to finish it.

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[Hickey]

... I am now looking at what other safety features I can add to this as well as the tow dolley I have.


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I would start with half of a brain. That would add a good margin of safety.
Get yourself a pin lock for the hitch, rather than a cotter or K pin. You have to unlock it each time you hook up, and each time you unhook. That's a great way to not lose the pin, and thereby the trailer.

 

[Hickey]

A pin in the latch is vital. A standard trailer coupler WILL pop open without one, it's only a matter of time.

I've pulled a few trailers myself.

 

[muleskinner]

Also, It looks like it would tow much better if you located the axle further back or moved the smoker forward.

 

[airmanwilliams]

It was not swaying whatsoever ever and the trailer was latched on the hitch and pulled it out of the receiver since the pin I assume vibrated out.

While up at fat bobs garage this afternoon I found a locking pin that would require me locking and unlocking it when attaching the trailer as hickey suggested so there is a harder chance of a fail there and also picked up a locking pin for the new coupler so that has a harder time failing.

Before adding the newer tongue it pulled horrible and hopped around so instead of rewelding the spring hangers differently we decided add a stronger tongue with 2.5" square pipe and extend it out the front 1' and also lengthen it from stopping in the middle of the trailer to going all the way to the rear of the trailer.


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[Hickey]

Here's a really good (though long) demonstration about what might have happened to your hitch.

[video]https://youtu.be/ubP0bsXZju8[/video]

It's a easy mistake to make.

 

[airmanwilliams]

Thank you hickey that could have happened. Another big fail was not having chains. I cannot understand why my car dolley doesn't have any and why I have never seen them on car dolleys but I am adding some to it now.

I hope the new key pins work out well.




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[sixstringsteve]

^ great video and great discussion! I learned a lot.

 

[Deleted member 12904]

I built this Star Wars coffee table this weekend. Wood top metal frame.

 

[Pike2350]

I thought I'd revive this thread.
When the gf and I bought this house 2 years ago, I gutted the upstairs and rearranged the lwalls to be able to add a master bath since there wasn't one.

The upper level has 3 bedrooms and a bathroom. I have an excel sheet of the layout and the layout changes, but I can't find it right now.

This is looking from the stairs up the main hall. Bathroom 1st door on left, master 2nd door on left, bedrooms 1& 2 the right doors.

Bedroom 1 (1st door on right) You can see the tape line on the floor...this si where the wall will be moved to.

bedroom 2 (2nd door on right) The master had to be pushed into this room for closets. This room doesn't have a closet right now...It will be our nursery, and if, in the future, I can add one by going into the 1st bedroom.

master. This is looking opposite the door towards the closet. This location eventually becomes the location of the toilet in the master bath

master...looking towards the door from the back corner of the room (closet is to the left)

Demo - Master looking towards the 2 other bedrooms. The 2 windows are the ones from each bedroom of bedroom 1 & 2

Demo Master

As you can see, I basically gutted the 3 bedrooms....leaving only the bathroom intact.

New Master bedroom doorway, also new doorway to bedroom 2

new wall between bedroom 1&2

 

[Pike2350]

Master doorway & bedroom 2 drywalled

new master closets....this was pushed into bedroom 2. Original closet was where the wall used to be (as seen in the floor)

master bath....view from will be toilet...towards original closet (1st pic in upper thread)

pocket door for master bath

Hallway

Bedroom 1

master bedroom door

angel towards old master bedroom door....new bathroom wall in place

master bath...toilet location

master bath pocket door

the master bath sat as an empty room for about a year and half while we got married and saved up some $ to finish it out. Now I'm just waiting for the frameless shower door to come in to truly finish it off. It's small at only 4' deep, but 11' wide. Other then the plumbing rough-in, I did 100% of the work myself.

Master bath