# Broken rear axle



## rdr202 (Apr 5, 2010)

It's a Craftsman automatic lawn tractor model# 917.270821 that I purchased new back in 1999 . 

Well I finished plowing the heavy wet snow yesterday, started to back into garage when the left rear axle broke off. At least I was done plowing when it happened. 

I use wheel weights and chains to plow my driveway. I'm thinking maybe I should try plowing in the future without the chains to allow the tire to slip putting less force on the transmission. 


Three years ago I had the same thing happen but When the axle broke it also broke the transmission housing. At that time I managed to find a used Hydro Gear #310-650 transaxle on Craigslist for $50.00 a short drive from my house. Problem solved so I thought.


Over the 14 years I've beat the heck out of this machine. Only easy work it ever did was cutting the lawn. 

I used it to haul cut trees out of my lot, pull rocks as big as I could fit into the dump trailer ( most weighed more than the tractor) bags of cement, gravel, stone, loam, firewood, lumber, wearing out every belt, gear and bushing on this machine. 

The Hydro Gear 310-650 transaxle is hard to find do this machine will be down for a while.

Looks like I have to take the garage queen out to start doing the dirty work. It's a Craftsman 24 hp that I got used but in mint condition that I've been using the last year for grass cutting saving me from having to drop plow/ mower deck every spring or fall.



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## rdr202 (Apr 5, 2010)

Oh, by the way I know this is not a tractor it's a glorified lawn mower, but back in 1999 I didn't have money to get a heavy duty tractor. 

I did however manage to get it to keep up with the heavy work load for 14 years all because I never told it that it wasn't a real tractor but just a Sears lawn mower.


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## DanielWilson (Feb 2, 2009)

"by the way I know this is not a tractor it's a glorified lawn mower"

Hey, lots of those are on here! That's why there's a whole set of categories for them here.

Sorry about the breakage. This season's snow is taxing plenty of equipment.


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## fatjay (Dec 6, 2013)

Don't worry, I beat the living piss out of my MTD lawn mower that I rigged a plow onto. They can take a whooping.

My father blew up the trans in his tractor, I managed to find a complete LT1000 with no engine for $100 on craigslist. Most of those series are the exact same transmission and can be swapped easily. You can also look at MTD and white for parts tractors as I have all 3 and they're the same thing, or can be easily adapted one to the other.


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## rdr202 (Apr 5, 2010)

I've been trolling craigslist in search of a dead machine. 

Just a matter of time before I find one that has the right price.

In the mean time I'm stripping off the plow and moving it to my other Craftsman because there is a forecast of snow Sunday and middle of next week. 


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## cclancy66 (Mar 1, 2015)

*Broken transaxle.*

Have an old ('87) Craftsman 16 hp mower with hard leaky tires. Friend gave me ATV wheels/tires from scrapped quad. Cut center of tractor wheel off and welded it to quad wheel from behind. Touched up paint and looks factory. Works awesome! smooth ride and no slipping on the weird hilly areas. After about a year the transaxle exploded. After removal and inspection I can't believe it lasted that long (small cheap, don't think there was an actual bearing in the thing). Found another one for free to keep it going. (different make, almost identical). Looking for a garden tractor transaxle with top drive pulley to upgrade to. All the ones I have found are right side drive pulley. I have a restored Wheel Horse C 141 but this old sears mower runs so damn good I will have to keep looking. Let me know if you have found a solution for your axle issues and good luck!


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