Transaxle Cradle for Motorcycle Jack

[Crazy_Carl 254]

Hello everyone, 

 

When I perform any brake, clutch maintenance, or tire swaps on any of my Wheel Horses I jack it up from what I consider to be the "pumpkin" but due to the front axle pivoting, this is very unstable and not the easiest to stabilize considering the narrow frame.  So I created this axle cradle out of 2x6 lumber.  One piece is 14" long and the two blocks on the ends have been ripped down to 2.5" wide.  I held it up to my C-125 that has a plow mount and it looks like I would need to build another one 14.5" long for the concept to work.  I simply set this on top of my motorcycle jack.  Someone on the Wheel Horse Junkies Face Book Group suggested building it out of steel that has forks to grip the axle like an axle forks on a tow truck wheel lift.  Then you could remove the cup from a standard floor jack and bolt the steel cradle in place.  I hope this assists you nice folks when wrenching this winter.

 

Edited December 3, 2023 by Crazy_Carl

[ebinmaine 63,159]

Nice idea.  

 

I've thought about doing something with our floor jack but never did because we're concerned about the side to side tilt. 

I'll have to check out the possibilities of a bolt on setup.  

 

[peter lena 8,069]

 @Crazy_Carl  looks good to me , are you daring to suggest  making up something to make things easier / safer  ?  usually get a " you can't do that " on a different  thought to do frequent service issues . looks like a good spot to use part of a pipe hanger , on a bracket / lift mount point . thank you for breaking out of the usual , zone . be in touch , Pete

[953 nut 51,725]

Looks good, got to make the job as safe as we can.    I have a dolly that can be used to support and move a transaxle without having to balance it. I have also used this idea to support a non-roller on a larger four wheel dolly so it can be safely moved around the shop and tucked away in a corner for future projects.

 

[CCW 1,206]

Once again RS has solved a problem for me.  I have to move my new engine from the floor to the 312 frame and do not have a lift.  Of course my mind has conceived of numerous options one of which I had settled on.  Until this morning.  This thread with @953 nut's dolly conjured up a much easier solution that I will now construct and put into action.  Using my come-along attached to a temporary overhead support I can lift the engine via the engine hangers onto a dolly and roll it beside the tractor, sliding the engine onto the frame.

[Pullstart 59,733]

1 hour ago, CCW said:

Once again RS has solved a problem for me.  I have to move my new engine from the floor to the 312 frame and do not have a lift.  Of course my mind has conceived of numerous options one of which I had settled on.  Until this morning.  This thread with @953 nut's dolly conjured up a much easier solution that I will now construct and put into action.  Using my come-along attached to a temporary overhead support I can lift the engine via the engine hangers onto a dolly and roll it beside the tractor, sliding the engine onto the frame.

Great idea!  I learned as a teenager that a 20’ span barn truss made of 2x4s will indeed lift a 350 Chevy fully dressed.  I also learned that a quick malfunction of a come along (quick released about 2-3” of cable then grabbed) will easily make toothpicks of that 2x4 truss.    

[CCW 1,206]

1 minute ago, Pullstart said:

Great idea!  I learned as a teenager that a 20’ span barn truss made of 2x4s will indeed lift a 350 Chevy fully dressed.  I also learned that a quick malfunction of a come along (quick released about 2-3” of cable then grabbed) will easily make toothpicks of that 2x4 truss.    

 

And I am sure the papa of that barn was none too pleased with the final results.  Fortunately my engine is only about 90 lbs.

 

[Pullstart 59,733]

53 minutes ago, CCW said:

 

And I am sure the papa of that barn was none too pleased with the final results.  Fortunately my engine is only about 90 lbs.

 

It was my pastor’s at the time.  It was an old 20x40 horse barn but the horses were long gone.  Dirt floor, perfect engine shop for an aspiring young @Pullstart   I did my best to make repairs and it never was an issue.    The only thing hurt was my pride and the metal tool box that housed my little socket set about 4” from my toes.  Safety flip flops would have come in handy that day!  Oh and the 350 oil pan looked a bit like a socket organizer too!

[squonk 38,937]

47 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

It was my pastor’s at the time.  It was an old 20x40 horse barn but the horses were long gone.  Dirt floor, perfect engine shop for an aspiring young @Pullstart   I did my best to make repairs and it never was an issue.    The only thing hurt was my pride and the metal tool box that housed my little socket set about 4” from my toes.  Safety flip flops would have come in handy that day!  Oh and the 350 oil pan looked a bit like a socket organizer too!

Helped a friend replace his 6 banger in his 65 Comet. He fad a chain fall on a trolley but pretty much a swing set chain holding the engine to the chain fall hook. just as I get the engine positioned over the engine bay the chain snapped. The engine sat right into the mounts. No adjustment needed! 

[Bill D 1,600]

My coworker gave me this very nice motorcycle jack that was missing the hydraulic jack.  I adapted this screw jack to fit on it.  My long term plan is to build a bolt on cradle to hold a transmission.

[Achto 26,566]

I added 3" blocks to my cycle jack. Allows me to raise the whole tractor up to work on it.

 

 

[squonk 38,937]

23 minutes ago, Achto said:

I added 3" blocks to my cycle jack. Allows me to raise the whole tractor up to work on it.

 

 

Dan, do you have a picture of the blocks without the tractor sitting on them?

[Achto 26,566]

1 hour ago, squonk said:

Dan, do you have a picture of the blocks without the tractor sitting on them?

 

They are 3" tube, tabs welded to keep it from sliding side to side on the jack. The tabs on top sit inside the frame to keep it under the tractor. They only stick out about a 1/4" on each side of the tractor frame, this allows almost the whole tractor to be assembled while on the jack.

[Crazy_Carl 254]

17 hours ago, peter lena said:

 @Crazy_Carl  looks good to me , are you daring to suggest  making up something to make things easier / safer  ?  usually get a " you can't do that " on a different  thought to do frequent service issues . looks like a good spot to use part of a pipe hanger , on a bracket / lift mount point . thank you for breaking out of the usual , zone . be in touch , Pete

I love the pipe hanger idea, but I'm going to make the 2nd gen version out of 3" channel.  I can cut little square notches for the axles into the ends of short pieces of channel.

 

6 hours ago, Achto said:

 

They are 3" tube, tabs welded to keep it from sliding side to side on the jack. The tabs on top sit inside the frame to keep it under the tractor. They only stick out about a 1/4" on each side of the tractor frame, this allows almost the whole tractor to be assembled while on the jack.

This is amazing! I'd like to build a whole tractor cradle too since the motorcycle jack can definitely handle the weight.  My 69 raider 12 is a little on the custom side (mud mower with transmission braces, so I think I will prototype something like this out of wood for my specific application then build the real thing down the road out of steel.  Thank you for the idea!

[peter lena 8,069]

@Achto  add a roller stool , and dream on !  not same, but similar ,to the snow plow set up I  use , to build in improvements , up on milk crates , lets you move around it , and correct / improve as you go . think thats key to visual / functional change trials . thats the ideas easily , tried out !  get ready for , YOU CAN,T DO THAT , keep improving , Pete

[peter lena 8,069]

@Achto  as you know , every problem / issue is different , for me its a regular thing to replace / improve just about anything . realize the  thought of originality , but thats also a failure point . most of the mods / improvements  done are barely visible . always consider that into my replacement . bushings , or lack there of is a perfect example . sloppy connections ? really ? repetitive bearing failures ? don't even think about it , how is this INTENDED / SAPOSED TO FUNCTION ? a vital part of maintenance  is getting a GOOD LOOK  AT THE ISSUE , not standing on your head  , @ CRAZY -CARL , just that total look at the  possible answer , is what you want , never a one and done . next related . check , look see , will enhance what was done . just how I see it , oily , pete