RJ 58

[Chrishar 972]

what kind of weight does a rj58 use on the front end to help keep the front down it likes to ride a Willie in third gear 

[702854boy 482]

There are multiple options you could use, you could fill the front tires with some rv antifreeze, make a weight bracket for the front of it, find a set of tombstone weights for it,  find some 8 inch cast iron wheel weights to put on the wheels, or if you get luck and have a lot of money if one pops up Wheel Horse used to have a big ole chunk of cast iron that was molded to fit inside the nose of the hood. Or if you wanna do something cheap and you don't care about originality you could figure out a way to put some brake rotors under the hood on the frame for some weight.

[kpinnc 17,105]

I think alot of mid engine machines had filled front tires. Back in the old days they used calcium, which is why most old RJs have rotted out front wheels. 

 

 

[Chrishar 972]

I may try antifreeze in the front tires I have tubes in the front tires so I will see if that will help because I just got done restoring it and I went to drive it today put it in third gear and  it almost flipped over on me that wouldn't have been good in the other two gears the front wheel try to come up a little bit that new belt likes to grab when I let the clutch out a little bit 

[WHX?? 54,769]

8 hours ago, Chrishar said:

may try antifreeze

Just happens to be a thread going on now Chris. What little weight filling does on these little guys isn't much my . Can't hurt  tho I supose. 

You might know this from your trip to the BS but only other "correct" options are a tombstone or inside the hood weight with are gonna be $$ not to mention hen's teeth in your neck of the woods. They are more for collector's show offs than anything these days. 

 

[cafoose 3,581]

9 hours ago, Chrishar said:

ride a Willie in third gear

@SylvanLakeWH 

[wallfish 19,190]

9 hours ago, Chrishar said:

 it almost flipped over on me that wouldn't have been good in the other two gears the front wheel try to come up a little bit that new belt likes to grab when I let the clutch out a little bit 

Make sure the engine pulley groove is CLEAN and smooth. No rusted spots an especially no paint. Use a 29" cloth covered belt for lawn and garden applications. A rubber sided belt for electric motor applications will grab much to quickly.

I've had plenty of RJs and Suburbans over the years and still have 4 but none of them will immediately go to wheelies without added weight on the front unless the clutch is dumped to full fast enough to make it happen. 

With a brand new belt, drive the tractor under load like driving up a hill but only use 1/2-3/4 clutch so it's still slipping the belt a little. You could chain the front to something solid and do it in reverse if you don't have a hill. The idea is to glaze the belt sides which will make them smoother and it won't grab as quick. That'll happen anyway but doing this speeds up that process and also helps to remove any belt memory from the packaging.