Bypass Variator

Yes it can be done, but sometimes you have problems with the belt not releasing. Seems you have to get the belt from JD to work. I am going to try it and just change the pulley on the motor. Seems to be a problem with the angle on the pulleys on the JD so by changing the motor pulley should help. All my pullers are the 200 series and so far I have just centered the center of the variator and just a spot welt to hold it. I have never taken one off and apart to see if you could just install spacers to center it and if the speed needed to change just move the spacers from one side to the other, if that makes sence.

We have had several JD pullers replace the variator with a single belt and claim they seem to have a couple of horses added. Any time you have a belt go around a pulley you have a power loss, so be eliminating the variator you remove that loss. Not much different than a Wheel Horse, they only have one belt.

Just built a hurry up build on a 112 for my grand daughter, got the tractor in a bunch of 5 gal bucket and milk crates. 2 weeks later we pulled it, cut out over 120 lbs. of useless parts including the variator and went with the single belt. We had trouble with the belt not releasing with the JD pulley, looking through the parts we found a belt guard. This thing bolts to the block and extends forward of the pulley about 1", it acts like a belt guide on the top and bottom of the pulley to keep the belt from coming off the pulley and when the clutch is released it lets the belt move forward to release it from the pulley. It is a JD factory part, basicially a piece of 1" 1 1/4" flat bar bent in a "U" shape with some brackets to mount it to the block. All the head scratcin and thought trying to reengineering to solve a problem and JD already had the part.