Buying Advice Machinist wanted?

StevesCalamity · Jun 3, 2019

I decided to perform an upgrade on this "Statesman" riding lawn mower. We are doing this to add a little larger wheels and tires and to reap the benefits of having actual roller bearings in the wheel hubs rather than bushings! We'll be using JD 425 front wheels / tires / steering spindles (25mm) to replace the standard 3/4" spindle. The question: better to have the axle spindle turned down to 3/4" knuckle spec …… or drill the axle knuckle bushing to the 25mm spec?

bertsmobile1 · Jun 3, 2019

You should be able to fit a 100 series front end into the mower
There is an upgrade kit that has ball bearings for the wheels and you can fit the same bearings in the steering stem should you desire but a bush is a better alternative for that purpose.
Next up the scale is to have the axel nitrided & hardened then fit the Toro full length roller to the front & a ball to the back.
There was a post "toe in & camber" or something similar a week or so back so use the quote in the search function or do an advanced search using both the quote & me as poster.
I dug out all of the Stens bearing numbers and some of the JD numbers.
I think the original poster is still waiting for the parts to arrive.

StevesCalamity · Jun 4, 2019

Thanks bertsmobile1. At the end of the day the best way to achieve the results we are looking for is to have a machine shop turn the 25mm axle spindles down to the desired .750 inch. All else will fall into place once this is accomplished. But maybe not such an easy thing to do!

bertsmobile1 · Jun 4, 2019

Even as a 25th rate machinist ( not real good ) I can see that it will be a very difficult job to mount.
Add to that the shafts are generally hardened which means they really should be ground which is even more expensive.

StevesCalamity · Jun 4, 2019

The world sure has changed in such a big way over the years. There was a time I could make a local call to a couple of shops to get this done ….. days long gone.

Does JD still parts available for the 425? ……… such as front axle spindle bushings.

We might be OK if we can find 25mm spindle bushings that could be retro'ed in if we have to ream the knuckle to fit the spindle.

bertsmobile1 · Jun 4, 2019

25mm spindle stuff will be for the European export models.
Never had a problem getting old JD parts aside from a long wait to get some.

StevesCalamity · Jun 5, 2019

I'm looking for a JD axle alternative. I think swapping axles may be better alternative than having machine work done on these existing parts. So far we have come up with the GX series axles as these have the 25mm axle spindles. But the JD unit has a much larger center pivot bolt. The center pivot for the existing axle is almost dead centered between the left and right knuckles. The JD units seem to be raised from the centerline of the knuckles, and in some cases appears to drastically above center! The AYP unit also uses axle braces / stays that keep the axle from twisting left or right, but the deere units use a longer center provision to keep alignment. Think an axle swap might work?

existing AYP axle

JD GX series axle

jp1961 · Jun 7, 2019

Hello,

A general rule of thumb to see if steel has been hardened, is to take a file to an inconspicuous place on the part.

If the file will remove material it hasn't been hardened, if not than it has.

Regards

Jeff

StevesCalamity · Jun 7, 2019

Thanks Jeff. Just received the 425 upgrade wheel axle/spindles today. Too complicated of a project for most shops I guess. Sooooooo …. I don't think we will tinker with the spindles after all. We have changed our minds on which axle we are going to swap. The JD 300 series axles would be a better choice, compared to the GX series. We should be able to find someone who can machine the front & back face of the axle to the thickness of the OEM axle to fit the mower's axle brace chamber. Has anyone ever attempted an axle swap using a brand from another maker?

oem axle

JD 316 / 318 axle

JD 316 / 318

Buying Advice Machinist wanted?

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