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NEED DRIVESHAFT HELP vangaurd 18hp in 7117


dave7016

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Looks as if I will be doing this sooner than later. What I'd like to know 1st off(since I'm not getting a $1500 kit) is what you guys do for the driveshaft? Lengthen, shorten???? Coupler??? I think I can get this whole deal done pretty cheap.
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yea I am thinking if the driveshaft needs to be lengthened I may cut it and lengthen it. After many searches suprised to see how few people here have actually done this or at least documented it.
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If your existing driveshaft is the shortest one with the stub and the thick rubber coupler, just discard it and get a longer one from an older tractor using the fiberglass discs , thick washers and metal spacers on both ends. Would be a whole lot easier than trying to make one of those shortys work. Most of the parts guys in here probably have piles of old driveshafts of assorted lengths. I know I do:D, but I dont sell parts anymore.
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Dave, I used the existing drive shaft(do not know if long one or short one as mentioned by other folks. If anything the shaft I had was a little long, but just made it a bit tight on the muffer, I i rather have a situation that I could return a rebuilt KT17. The universal joint is keyed and grub screwed to the Engine¡¦s crankshaft, very straightforward. The connection to the existing gearbox / drive shaft has a grub screw only, and it is a circular drive shaft so I did not think that this would deal with the torque. I considered three approaches , weld, drill and spring roll pin, or as I did, create a flat spot with an angle grinder on the gearbox shaft some Loctite 641 bearing fit (I had to use thick thread fit as I could not get any in USA in timeframe) and tighten the grub screw to the flat. (This worked great, I have put about 1 season of mowing a 2 acre lot and 2 seasons of snow clearance, of a 450ft driveway. If you have any questions then please go ahead. good luck
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ya I don't know if I'm getting any adapter from shaft to engine or ujoint to engine. The flywheel side just has a screen on it stock so I'll see what I can do. And to get this straight (i did see your old posts, thanx) the only thing really holding that joint in place is that set screw? Also you only show a couple wires for electrical, there must be more right? Thanks in advance Colin. Being my buddy is a briggs and stratton Engineer and me being a mechanic we should be able to figure this out, just want to make it as pain free as possible. I am thinking of removing that bright red cover on the motor and painting it too. Black or Allis Orange???
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quote:
Originally posted by dave7016
ya I don't know if I'm getting any adapter from shaft to engine or ujoint to engine. The flywheel side just has a screen on it stock so I'll see what I can do. (CAPITALS ARE OFTEN INTERPRETED ON EMAIL/FORUMS AS SHOUTING, I AM NOT SHOUTING I AM JUST DISTINGUISHING MY REPLY FROM ORIGINAL TEXT) , THERE ARE CRANKSHAFT EXTENSIONS AVAILABLE And to get this straight (i did see your old posts, thanx) the only thing really holding that joint in place is that set screw? NO THERE IS BEARING FIT ALSO (IT IS ONLY MODERN ADHESIVES THAT HOLD AIRCRAFT TOGETHER !!!) AS i SAID, IT IS STILL FINE AFTER 1 AND HALF YEARS OF OF MOWING AND PLOWING 2 ACRES ) Also you only show a couple wires for electrical, there must be more right? no, JUST TWO WIRES, THE ENGINE PURCHASED HAD A CONVERSION FOR EASE OF INSTALLING, EDEN POWER SELL THEM, WITH ALL INSTRUCTIONS Thanks in advance Colin. Being my buddy is a briggs and stratton Engineer and me being a mechanic we should be able to figure this out, just want to make it as pain free as possible. I am thinking of removing that bright red cover on the motor and painting it too. Black or Allis Orange??? :-)
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I am thinking of removing that bright red cover on the motor and painting it too. Black or Allis Orange??? I chose to paint the shroud black on my 917H.


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thanks for that black is much better. The red just doesn't look good. I may wait as I am thinking of repainting the entire tractor. I also think it may go in my 917 instead of my 7117. I like the Allis better, I've had it longer, I know the original owner and they are much harder to find in my area of SE WI and it is a series I vs. the 7117 has a series II.
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Yes, that is our video. I went with the 23hp, but I think the 18hp would have been just fine. I'm not sure if they all need 1" of lift, but it sure lines up nice and level. My old series 1 kohler had the rubber bushing on the engine side of the drive shaft. My kit had a U-joint that floats on the engine drive shaft side, which has a keyway. The key is long enough that it cant' get out on the engine side, and is held in place on the u-joint side by a washer and bolt threaded into the engine drive shaft end. We used the original drive shaft, but cut off the end just behind the rectangle piece. I then had a machine shop put a keyway in the shaft which is now held in place by a set screw. So, the shaft can now float if it needs to but can't move very far. And if needed, I can easily remove the drive shaft. I have found a big difference in the weight; it steers very easy now! The wiring took all of five minutes to hook up; I added an hour meter from my AC dealer. It's ready to go; hope it will now give us another 30 years of trouble free service!
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buddy at briggs claims old cable will work with new motor. Also thankfully he got a plate machined at work so the motor is raised. Guess the actual exact spec is .900". I am very lucky to have his knowledge and the guys he works with.
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  • 2 weeks later...
Engine is IN! I do have some issue with the driveshaft connection in my opinion. I see it isn't perfectly straight while cranking kinda moves oblong. IMHO the adapter my buddy had welded to go from the engine shaft to the driveshaft wasn't done straight. I thought it wasn't right looking at it and it really isn't. It really doesn't vibrate much but it would be so smooth if I had one of these U JOINT adapters that go from the briggs 1" to the 7117 driveshaft. I think it is 1" to 5/8". I went to a few places today and no luck! Where can I get this Joint???
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go to farm and fleet, you can get 1/2 of the joint to fit the engine and 1/2 the joint to fit drive shaft, and you will purchase the center section to mate them together
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TSC had a much better selection. weasler 3/4 ID for shaft and whatever the briggs is. Learned a cool trick take a open ended wrench put over shaft to see what size you need.
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I looked online last night for over an hour and no luck. I did go to fleet farm and nothing. Have to try farm and fleet. I thought the shaft end was 5/8"??? Briggs is 1"
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Ok found out my shafts are 1" and 3/4". I did find weasler brand yokes and a universal joint made under there 6 series. Fleet Farm online was cheapest too bad it wasn't at the store!!!!
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