V drive pulley for 13 hp Predator?

[wallfish 4,115]

4 hours ago, Jonathan Karmelita said:

cutting off the axle protrusion which would expose the spindle rod. Smooth the two cut surfaces and pin them back together. Good to know the jackshaft is viable, so I ordered the parts.

 The cut axle shaft will need to be PERFECTLY flat if you cut the bottom or it will bind when you turn. If you cut the top off it will allow for some minor tolerances and doesn't necessarily need to be exactly perfect but still needs to be close. The shaft collar 953 mentioned is a good idea. Double up the roll pins, smaller one inside of a larger one. You can leave space for thrust washers to sit between the pieces.

 

19 minutes ago, 953 nut said:

That will be a safe very cool idea.

 

[giddyap 99]

1 hour ago, wallfish said:

 The cut axle shaft will need to be PERFECTLY flat if you cut the bottom or it will bind when you turn. If you cut the top off it will allow for some minor tolerances and doesn't necessarily need to be exactly perfect but still needs to be close. The shaft collar 953 mentioned is a good idea. Double up the roll pins, smaller one inside of a larger one. You can leave space for thrust washers to sit between the pieces.

 

 

I will make the cut as 953 nut demostrates. I must mention the obvious. after the spindle is removed. Thrust washers much better than wheel bearing I was thinking about. If you guys are engineers post those degrees     

[giddyap 99]

Some of my working years when Packard Electric was a division of GM, I was a glorfied inspector

Edited January 3 by Jonathan Karmelita
duh, spelling

[WHX17 10,630]

Just chiming in to follow and suggest instead of cutting off where Richard suggested could you drill and tap the top errr the bottom side of the spindle and use a bolt with thrust washers to hold it all on? I can see quite a bit of stress there when coming down hard off a wheelie!

[giddyap 99]

7 minutes ago, WHX14 said:

Just chiming in to follow and suggest instead of cutting off where Richard suggested could you drill and tap the top errr the bottom side of the spindle and use a bolt with thrust washers to hold it all on? I can see quite a bit of stress there when coming down hard off a wheelie!

Yikes,  you are describing the other side of my axle w/o the washers as I bought it. I may have to buy fabricated spindles so the stress is distributed to the top and bottom. 

[giddyap 99]

First and foremost, I HAVE A HANDLE. My preserved Wheel Horse is my avatar so please don't despair that this post is about my chopping and hacking. My photo shows there was less to work with than originally thought. I could only add a flat washer and may add another roll pin inside the one in place. Already I feel a whole lot better since the spindle fell off while pushing her around the garage 

[WHX17 10,630]

7 minutes ago, giddyap said:

about my chopping and hacking.

LOl ...don't worry some of the fellas here handle should be chopping and hacking as they are quite good at it! We do enjoy our customs here. Keep those pics coming!

 

I think what 'fish meant is add one of these and drill all the way thru for a double roll pin. gives you a little more beef on the underside. Might not have the room for it tho. I would change the washer out to a bronze washer. Better to wear on that than the roll pin. Looks like you got a fairly straight cut.

[953 nut 20,187]

1 hour ago, WHX14 said:

I think what 'fish meant is add one of these and drill all the way thru for a double roll pin. gives you a little more beef on the underside. Might not have the room for it tho. I would change the washer out to a bronze washer. Better to wear on that than the roll pin. Looks like you got a fairly straight cut.

[roadapples 2,251]

You're never wasting time if you enjoy what you're doing...

[ebinmaine 2,817]

5 minutes ago, roadapples said:

You're never wasting time if you enjoy what you're doing...

YESS !!!

[dells68 2,911]

24 minutes ago, roadapples said:

You're never wasting time if you enjoy what you're doing...

Please remind our wives of that!!!

[wallfish 4,115]

It would be nice if you could fit a thrust bearing in there but at minimum a thrust washer should go in there. It's not completely necessary but it will steer more easily

 

7 hours ago, giddyap said:

chopping and hacking

This should be my handle!

[giddyap 99]

6 hours ago, WHX14 said:

think what 'fish meant is add one of these and drill all the way thru for a double roll pin. gives you a little more beef on the underside. Might not have the room for it tho. I would change the washer out to a bronze washer. Better to wear on that than the roll pin. Looks like you got a fairly straight cut.

   

 

The second roll pin went in the first without giving me grief. A do-over may prove different so I'll let sleeping dogs lie. I'll see how the washer wears and hopefully change it in time to prevent a disaster. I may relocate the drag link arm to the top of the flipped axle. Either way, this side needs beefing up, too. The cut face has a slight dome surface to prevent hanging up.

[WHX17 10,630]

13 minutes ago, giddyap said:

I'll let sleeping dogs

Sometimes the best approach 

 

[giddyap 99]

I can almost double the ground clearance doing the same and moving the arm to the top. More complex because the spindle is curved. My 2 rough cut pieces will come in handy when I goof up the original  

[roadapples 2,251]

You could make them a little bigger to help tie rod length..

[Sarge 2,608]

You can always cut off a bit of the axle casting's height to gain enough to make a more solid connection to the spindle to carry the load. Also, reaming and installing either bronze or brass bushings will take a lot of the drag off the steering parts. 

 

Sarge

[giddyap 99]

    Update. I have most everything roughed in. I decided the rake was too drastic to just bolt the engine on the frame.so I made a plate to level the engine. 2 bearing flanges sit nearly under the tower for the jack shaft so that took some time making it fit. Those pulleys will sit safely under the foot rest. With the jackshaft lower than a 551 Suburban engine pulley,.I'm hoping everything works as it should  Wife thinks it won't be long before I complete it and then what will I have to keep busy? Well after the bugs are all out, I will most likely paint it. 

         

[wallfish 4,115]

Hate to throw a curve ball but just noticed the steering arms in front of the wheels which means the Akerman angle of the arms may need to be swapped from facing in, to facing outwards. It all comes down to how the wheels track in a turn. When turning, the inside wheel of the turn direction must track a tighter radius than the outside wheel. The Akerman angle of the steering arms are designed to do just that. But when you swap them from the rear of the wheels to the front, the wheels may track opposite. As in, now the outer wheel will track a tighter radius than the inside wheel does. This will make the steering unstable. Check and see if you have that situation happening.

 

[giddyap 99]

Aha, I suspected tracking was messed up.Thanks Wallfish. I found this by Half-breeder, DIY Go Karts, July 2013 for complete article   http://www.diygokarts.com/vb/showthread.php?t=23785

"If" there is room the typical way to improve Ackerman is reverse the spindles to a rearward facing position, and the 'geometry' is corrected('if' mounting holes line up w/ Ackerman angle 'line' on the spindles)... Example of Ackerman w/ 'trailing' arms.

Another way to correct Ackerman(for forward facing spindles) is 'extending' the tierod connection point, on the spindle arm, 'past' the kingpin and 'outward', towards the wheels to lineup w/ the 'line' to create Ackerman...This procedure is not widely used/done, due to clearance issues...
(the one on the 'right')..

 

.A 3rd way, which I did, because of clearance issues w/ wheels vs spindles, was take the distance that you would use for the above(2nd) example tie-rods, but move them inward instead of out, crossing them over/past the pitman arm... by using a pitman arm 'plate' to separate the 2 arm connections from each other, and create the necessary movement needed for proper Ackerman...

[giddyap 99]

The finish line is in sight but a few details are making the home stretch a real challenge. I figured I needed a little kick in the behind, so I thought posting my two 551 Suburbans will get er done. Getting the right belts and making them fit with a rockshaft is one of the details that is now consuming me. I'm considering an idler pulley either fixed or spring loaded on the long belt. It's part of the fun of making my own creation.

 

I corrected the steering arms, and again I must thank wallfish for telling me about the Akerman angle.The Ross steering column is a vast improvement with the only downside being the low clearance. With the extra weight of a snow blade, steering is almost impossible with the Wheel Horse fan gear set-up. Although the little guy pushes snow better than my 100 Cub, this spring will be the end of his snow duties.

 

This is not my last post. When she moves on her own I will detail how I made it with your help.  

 

 

 

[wallfish 4,115]

Looks good with all the stuff "shoehorned" in there.

By spring loading the idler pulley(s), you can still change pulley sizes (within reason) without changing belts. Just be sure the idler(s) go on the loose side of the belt (the top) and use a strong spring. You don't necessarily want them on the power side of the belt loop. Another way is to slot any mounting holes so there's adjustment to tighten the belts but idler pulleys seem to be the best option. The best way I've found to measure belts on custom stuff is to use an old mower deck belt which is cut. Loop that around the pulleys and mark where the end meets the desired length. Use a tape measure and measure that length.

Do you still have the idler pulley for clutching purposes near the trans pulley?

On my Hot Rod, I went with a V belt centrifugal clutch and a foot throttle to eliminate clutch slipping the belt. Basically it was hit the gas and go! That can also be done with a go-kart torque converter too. The brake system was kept completely independent. Another important thing is to take off the brake band and soak it in gasoline if it ever had any oil leak on it from a bad seal. Get it clean, clean, clean and clean the drum too. You want to be able to stop it. I also took a grinder to both of them to roughen up the surfaces. It would lock up so tight that the rear wheels would spin in opposite directions while skidding to a stop. My motorcycle project on the other hand doesn't seem to stop if I stand on the pedal. It needs the leverage on the parts re-done so it can apply more pressure to the band.

[giddyap 99]

I don't think I'm normal. In the early stage of building my hot rod tractor, I considered making it as a bucket T. The clown was happy because it would have brought many laughs. Good thing I had the sense to drop this dumb idea. Now I'm stuck in gear afraid to finish my project. I have been ignoring it for a couple of weeks. I thought my last post would get me going but I was just fooling myself. Instead, I diddled around and built a model of a 1973 Camaro in memory of the one we bought new. Sure wish I had a time machine to redo a dumb decision of trading it for a family car. Well, there is hope because a couple days ago I ordered the last parts I need and started sanding all the bondo. Just have to mend a couple of spots (i hope) and then primer will expose the rest of my inferior labor. Whoa, I think I fear being disappointed. Writing this down sure helped, it saved me from going to therapy or giving a bartender a big tip for tolerating me. And best of all, I don't  have to tip you guys. Thanks for reading     

[ebinmaine 2,817]

1 hour ago, giddyap said:

Fear being disappointed. ....

 

 Thanks for reading     

In psychological terms, babble babble babble. ...

 fear of being disappointed is perfectly ok.

Some scientists believe it's part of our innate survival mechanism and helps us improve by lowering our expectations so we can raise our accomplishments thereby raising the bar a bit.....babble babble babble. ...

 

And hey That's what we're here for !!!!!!

It looks great and I'm glad I'm along for the ride !!

 

And the camaro is awesome! 

 

Edited February 11 by ebinmaine

[giddyap 99]

Hey ebinmaine,

     I appreciate the babble.

     Today I officially reunited with my tractor and enjoyed working on her all day long. Seems like what you wrote could be true. Which raises the question, Are you in the mental health business, a shrink, or do you just play one on the internet? Could it be, we are birds of the same feather, not normal and not quite on center?

     I am very lucky to run into a bunch of guys not only willing to share their expertise but have a genuine interest in my project. Really don't know where my interests will take me next but while I'm here I became a supporter to show my appreciation. 

      Can't wait until she's done because I'm not credible saying she is almost done. lol  Pictures next post