Rebuilding an MTD Vari-drive assembly

[@grantw.whitwam9948]

That drive is the same as my 93 MTD Lawn General, I had it lock up years ago out in the lot I was mowing. I rocked it forward and back and it finally would roll. After taking the variable pulley off I had to order those 2 bearings from a local Butthole mower shop for twice the price. It turned out the little rollers in there had gotten dry and turned into almost square shapes instead of round. Ever since then I take off the clip at least once a year and dribble oil on the shaft while working the pulley up and down slightly, it's worked great ever since. The shaft on mine was still in great shape.

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

I gave up on the local mower dealer. They could only function if you had a part number and then might not have it. I can do better than that from the comfort of my home.

[@HODGEPODGEDODGEGARAGE]

Great video! 🙂👍 givin the mower some much needed attention

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

Thanks Zane. This mower is an attention w______.

[@HODGEPODGEDODGEGARAGE]

@@TylersNeighborhoodGarage lol 🤣🤣

[@philliphall5198]

I never complain about these going out every 10 years because the cost of the hydro type is 1,000 bucks for maybe 3 years of mowing, so are 1800. Bucks I will keep my MTD mower for ever

[@kevinlacey8455]

Love the videos Tyler. Keep them up.

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

Thank you.

[@mjmcomputers]

Should be good to go again for awhile. That’s a pretty simple setup and probably will outlive some of the bargain hydrostats.

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

The whole thing is a toilet but it's turned into a war now.

[@mjmcomputers]

Tyler's Forgotten Car Rescue it will be a good backup mower but I have a feeling the cub cadet will be reliable and you won’t need a backup.

[@moparnut6286]

Guess will have to wait to see how it worked out later on the tractor..... I know it's not worth the effort but drill the rod and install grease zerk to be able to feed grease to the bearing if there even access to it when installed. .... Sorta like the greaseable mopar lower control arm pivots the sell.

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

Sorry, it worked fine. Lots of annoyance with this unit but it breaks quietly, not much drama.

[@michaelvrooman5681]

I appreciate this video. Exactly what i was looking for

[@mightymopar128]

Great Video. Where did you buy the new shaft and washers. I found the needle bearing on e-bay. Thank you

[@chevroletbelair1]

where did you buy the rebuild kit and axle?

[@jsciarri]

I'm actually surprised to see you're still spending time and money on that mower. I would have figured by now you would have just retired it, and just let the grass grow a bit longer until you were done fixing the Cub Cadet.

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

Can't do long grass.

[@brianandrews7099]

Humm. I still can’t buy into the logic that just because a mower is a lower end, discount store model that it is (by its very nature) just junk. Agreed that they are definitely built to a “price point” and are not professional quality mowers, but I still firmly believe that a diy homeowner that needs to mow a flat 1/4 to 3/4 acre lawn can still buy a mower like this and get many years of use out of it as long as it isn’t abused or neglected. What these mowers may lack in quality, they do make up for in simplicity and easy to find/cheap to buy parts. As Tyler has demonstrated, if your able to do your own service and repair work, you can keep them rolling for a long time. Granted, his example is pretty toasted, but it clearly had seen no love by its previous owners. However, if he had bought it new, or gently used, I am sure his experience with it would have been much better. Its probably been 5 years since I looked over the latest version of the MTD rider at “Walley World”, but I recall they were selling for around $1,000 at that time. These are kind of the Ford Focus of riding mowers; they are cheap to buy new, hold a very low resale value used, and unfortunately buyers tend to look at them as disposable and consider even a yearly oil change as being too much of an investment in them. But, just like with the Ford Focus, the few owners that care can nurse them along for a long time and get some decent service out of them. My father in-law has one of these that will be 20 years old this fall. I have serviced it yearly and made repaired as required. It still looks, runs, and works great ... mowing about 1/4 acre and garage kept over it life. Over the past 20 years, it probably has had $400-600 worth of replacement parts (mostly from eBay) installed (not counting oil changes but including new blades and belts). I think it cost a tad under $700.00 new in 2000. I don’t think you could expect much better ... and it still shows no sign of stopping!

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

It's definitely not junk, but it wasn't designed to last 20 years. Everything that has worn out has been things that could not be lubricated as part of routine maintenance. I even had to replace the front king pin bushings. However, like you said, even a bargain basement unit will last a long time if you are willing to coax them along. I have two vintage push mowers that I rotate out during the summer. One is a 1989 Snapper self-propelled and the other a 1987 Murray 22" 3.5hp. That Murray was the cheapest mower Wal*Mart sold back then...I think it was $96.00. That mower runs to this day.

[@grantw.whitwam9948]

Yep, keeping parts lubed is the key.

[@codyjones5854]

May I ask what size bearings you used? I need some for my Troy bilt riding mower. My needle bearings rusted to dust. Took the varidrive off and rust poured out. Found all the other parts but can't find bearings

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

They are out there. www.ebay.com/itm/292126807987?hash=item44041d57b3:g:zLgAAOSw~y9ZI6RI

[@RattyFlyer]

Did the bearings hold up this time?

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

Yes. Lots of lube but that thing was trouble non stop.

[@musicheartbeat1451]

Can u tell me the rebuild kit number​@@TylersNeighborhoodGarage

[@philliphall5198]

Put some antiz on shaft and bolts

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

yep

[@jamesb1221222]

Typical comments from a throw it away and buy a new one society. Keep fixing 'em!

[@grantw.whitwam9948]

As long as I can get parts, one good thing about MTDs, there kind of like a Small Block Chevy, they made so many, they're real common.

[@fuzzwack1]

You need a little tractor with a belly mower on it..

[@philliphall5198]

Really it’s the best and cheapest way to go Just buy the new hydro rear end/ trans unit You’ll see I’m right after you drop 900 bucks lolol 😊

[@markhudgins1280]

What a cheap bad design. That thing needs to be ga-reased every time it’s used to get any life out of those tiny bearings. Typical big box store riding mower....do well to last 200 hours.

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

Well...it is 20 years old....

[@grantw.whitwam9948]

@@TylersNeighborhoodGarage Mine's 27 years old!

[@scottmckinney4291]

Seems to me a waste of energy just to work on that piece of crap.

[@TylersNeighborhoodGarage]

Maybe but the grass just keeps growing.

[@philliphall5198]

Your nuts , these are great mowers and easy to fix The new hydro unit cost 900 bucks and last maybe 4/5 years Old is like people, the older the better 😊😊😊