I'd rather work on the Cub

[radioguy41]

I have a Craftsman LT4000 lawn tractor since new (1993) and when the deck finally failed this summer I decided I should find a parts tractor. It turned out to be more difficult than first thought. There are 5 variations of the LT4000; battery under hood vs under seat, gas tank under seat vs under hood, Kohler vs B&S, slope hood vs flat hood, 18in rear tires vs 20in, and different combinations of all of them. Anyway, I finally found a non-runner that is an exact match (also 1993). Here comes the kissing-your-sister part - it only needed a fuel pump and now it runs like a champ so it's no longer a parts candidate. I decided to hang a blade on it that way I'd have one with a deck and one with a blade. Without going into too much detail let me just say the plow model is as unique as the early tractor version but with luck I found one. Then the fun began. Suffice it to say I'd rather work on the Cub. It raises and lowers with the deck stick so you better eat your Wheaties. I suspect the difficuly of lifting the blade with negative leverage is why it was superceeded so quickly.

Click on image for a larger view.

[Barnyard]

Sears had various vendors build their mowers. Two I know of were Roper and MTD. They all would build the same model number, but there were variations of each. It seems Sears had no exact specifications as long as each met certain criteria.

[radioguy41]

Yeah both of these were made by AYP (American Yard Products). All the MTD versions I've run across had B&S engines while all the AYP's had Kohler. I'll take the cast iron Kohler any day.

[Jim Becker]

. . . It raises and lowers with the deck stick so you better eat your Wheaties. I suspect the difficuly of lifting the blade with negative leverage is why it was superceeded so quickly.

Is there any chance of adding a helper spring?

[radioguy41]

It's so tight underneath I don't know how you would do it. As you can see in the photos below, you're pulling up on those short ears which then uses the longer arm to pull down on the short end of the long bar pivoting the longer, heavier end with the blade attached upward. Whoever designed it had no idea how leverage works. Ground clearance was an issue as well. When the blade is up that longer arm is only 1 inch above the ground and when the blade is down that arm is only 1/4 inch below the engine pulley.

Click on image for larger view.

[T-Mo]

The earlier Sears tractors (60s and 70s) were great tractors. And some of the 90s were good also. But, as mentioned, Sears used different manufacturers, AYP, MTD, Roper, Murray, etc., to build their lawn equipment.

[radioguy41]

Here's the original twin to the one above, also by AYP. This one I've had since new (1993). Still mows 1-2 times a week.

[Jim Becker]

I don't know if either of these would work:
1) Put a compression spring so it pushes down/forward on the "pushes this end down" point.
or
2) Add a bracket and spring on the front to pull directly up on the push frame.