Joined
·
3,370 Posts
I have one of those garden tractors that have a hand lever to operate the hydrostatic transmission.
What I don't like about this is that I have to take one hand off the steering wheel to reduce the tractor speed if I run into a problem or when trimming around something.
While looking around on the internet I ran across an article from someone that converted their tractor to a foot control and decided to do the same thing to my tractor.
The guy on the internet made his own foot control lever and the lever for the transmission linkage.
I'm cheating a little and using parts that came off a motorcycle.
The foot lever was drilled out and fit onto a 1/2 inch steel rod.
I drilled thru the lever and the rod and pressed in a 3/16 inch diameter split pin.
The 1/2 inch rod will ride on two brass bushings.
A hole was drilled into each side of the dash cowling for the brass bushings to fit into.
The steel rod goes thru both bushings
The motorcycle pedal is already bent out so it clears the mower lift linkage.
The steel rod is cut to size and I drilled the end for a cotter pin.
With the foot pedal in position, I lined up the smaller lever with the tractor linkage.
The face of this small lever is vertical and the tractor shift lever is horizontal.
I twisted a piece of flat steel and drilled two holes in it to form the linkage to fit between these two levers.
One end is attached to the small lever.
The other end is attached to the tractor linkage and the small lever is tightened down on the steel rod.
A washer is put over the end of the 1/2 inch steel rod and a cotter pin is put on to complete the pedal instillation.
This 1/4 inch diameter rod came off that Viking tractor that I worked on last fall.
I'm going to use it for a spring return rod on the foot pedal.
This will hook into the hole on the top of the pedal and extend down thru a hole in the fender.
I turned a piece of brass down to 3/8 diameter.
The brass is turned around and a hole is drilled thru it to form a bushing.
The hole in the brass bushing is large enough so the 1/4 inch rod will slide thru it easily.
I then drilled a 3/8 diameter hole in the fender and put the brass bushing in it.
The 1/4 inch rod is put thru this bushing and attached to the top of the pedal.
A spring is attached to the rod on the back side of the fender.
Another spring is mounted on the rod on the front side of the fender.
These two springs bring the pedal back to the neutral position when the pedal is released.
I took the tractor out and drove it around the yard for awhile and the pedal works really well.
What I don't like about this is that I have to take one hand off the steering wheel to reduce the tractor speed if I run into a problem or when trimming around something.
While looking around on the internet I ran across an article from someone that converted their tractor to a foot control and decided to do the same thing to my tractor.
The guy on the internet made his own foot control lever and the lever for the transmission linkage.
I'm cheating a little and using parts that came off a motorcycle.
The foot lever was drilled out and fit onto a 1/2 inch steel rod.
I drilled thru the lever and the rod and pressed in a 3/16 inch diameter split pin.
The 1/2 inch rod will ride on two brass bushings.
A hole was drilled into each side of the dash cowling for the brass bushings to fit into.
The steel rod goes thru both bushings
The motorcycle pedal is already bent out so it clears the mower lift linkage.
The steel rod is cut to size and I drilled the end for a cotter pin.
With the foot pedal in position, I lined up the smaller lever with the tractor linkage.
The face of this small lever is vertical and the tractor shift lever is horizontal.
I twisted a piece of flat steel and drilled two holes in it to form the linkage to fit between these two levers.
One end is attached to the small lever.
The other end is attached to the tractor linkage and the small lever is tightened down on the steel rod.
A washer is put over the end of the 1/2 inch steel rod and a cotter pin is put on to complete the pedal instillation.
This 1/4 inch diameter rod came off that Viking tractor that I worked on last fall.
I'm going to use it for a spring return rod on the foot pedal.
This will hook into the hole on the top of the pedal and extend down thru a hole in the fender.
I turned a piece of brass down to 3/8 diameter.
The brass is turned around and a hole is drilled thru it to form a bushing.
The hole in the brass bushing is large enough so the 1/4 inch rod will slide thru it easily.
I then drilled a 3/8 diameter hole in the fender and put the brass bushing in it.
The 1/4 inch rod is put thru this bushing and attached to the top of the pedal.
A spring is attached to the rod on the back side of the fender.
Another spring is mounted on the rod on the front side of the fender.
These two springs bring the pedal back to the neutral position when the pedal is released.
I took the tractor out and drove it around the yard for awhile and the pedal works really well.
