So, the hydrostat went in nice, and while the spi-rol was a PITA, I found that a worn-out extended-length T25 Torx bit with the shank polished down (chuck it in the drill, and spin it against the belt grinder for 30 seconds) and it actually did really well... the T25 point pushed the CENTER of the spi-rol to the side, which caused the outer turns to suck in, and slip down.
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There's probably quite a few who don't know the history, but over two decades ago, I built Loader Mutt from parts of four or five different Cub Cadets, and the one part I was simply NOT satisfied with, was the driveshaft. The flange and crosspin up front, and the rag joint and fan out back was not a good combo for the kind of service factor I impose, so I changed the setup around, moved the rag joint to the front, nixed the cooling fan, and put a U-joint at the hydrostat end. I ran that for better part of what... 15 years, until it was ready for a new engine, at which time I fitted in a Vanguard 18 that ran surprisingly well, despite having a broken rod... and the second Vanguard had some other bizzare problem, so I bought a Honda GX660 and dropped it in... instead of the Kohler soft-mount cradle (which had become problematic under my loading), I welded in a solid platform, then reinforced the frame and cut out some of the sides to make the GX fit... and then I made a new driveshaft that ran U-joints at both ends...
This hydrostat I have here, is actually one of my spares... as is the transaxle housing that I butchered to fit this Auburn Limited Slip/D60FF axle assembly into. Loader-Mutt's 'original' transaxle is still bolted into the frame, driveshaft still connected, so I'll hafta unbolt and pull it out to get THIS one in...
and THAT is why I had to pull the spi-rol pin from this hydrostat... gotta be able to fit the Mutt's driveshaft to it.
I also had to back out the bypass relief valves and clean 'em up. One was a little sticky (lots)...
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And the other thing I did, was remove the trunion setup, straighten out the swashplate trunion bracket, and drill it for a heim-joint pin. I'll set this one up for direct acting off the heel/toe pedal.
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And it wouldn't be tractor porn if I didn't include a rear-end shot...
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Yes, I'm a Mad Scientist... but I'm usually happy, even when things ain't goin right.
