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Hey Pfreiburger: Front Golf Cart rims on 3000

4K views 32 replies 6 participants last post by  Kawasaki Old Man 
#1 ·
@pfreiburger I saw one of your 3000s had 4/4 golf cart rims on it. I want to do that to my XT3 and possibly my 3000. What parts did it take and how'd ya do it?

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#3 ·
I did check on ebay and 1" 4x4 trailer hubs are available for under $60 a pair. The problem is threading the end of our spindles so the tapered roller bearings can be preloaded correctly. Welding new spindles to the Cub king pins is one answer, but since we do have the bolt in the end of our spindles, making 1"ID shims could work for preloading the roller bearings. One possibility, I'll be anxious to hear how pfreiburger did it. I did replace the 4 flanged front wheel bearings on my 3185, they cost me $50 for the four.

Bill
 
#5 ·
Hi Guys,

Here is the original post from 2015, but the pictures are gone due to Tiny Post going away. I will dig up the build pictures and post later when i get some time. I think i probably have most of them on an SD card or two.


The one thing I see that I forgot to mention was the wheel source. I got them on eBay (my go to place for buying & selling), but will have to do some research as to who the supplier was. More to come later.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for digging up that old thread. I'm thinking I might go a different route, the power steering we have on our 3000's allows for a wider front stance and a more classic automotive style front spindle. I can control the height of the front end (no matter what size wheels) by where I weld the front axles stubs. If I replace the factory kingpin/spindles with a piece of 1" shaft that extends both above and below the cast iron front axle. I have to think about where I will go from here. Obviously it must be able to be dis-assembled so that the kingpin bushings can be changed.

Bill
 
#8 ·
OK, here are the pictures, pretty much self-explanatory. I apologize for some of them being fuzzy, but for some I only had reduced pixel size versions and they don't blow back up very well. This mod has worked great for all these years and I really like being able to unbolt the front wheels. In addition to the larger tires shown below (described in the original post), I have the stock size 7.50’s mounted in my avatar picture (5.625 wide 4-lug with negative offset). Both came from JED Wholesale Tires via eBay. There are lots of different ways to do the 4/5-lug conversion – hopefully this gives you some more ideas.
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#11 ·
I looked up spindle specs today and got excited because I thought I measured 3 5/8" from my XT3's spindle backing to the cotter pin hole. That measurement would have allowed me to cut a .5" long x 1" ID piece of pipe and slide over the spindle to allow a 4 lug hub seal to ride on it and then shim the bearings to preload using my spindles.

Just noticed that I only have 3 1/8" to work with on the spindle as I was loading these pics. UGH! That is ~ 1/2" too short to use one of these hubs. Posting this anyways in case someone needs the spindle and hub specs.
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#12 ·
Steve, I've been looking at hubs also. I haven't ordered any yet, but have been thinking about what we have for spindles on the 3000's. Since this is GT stuff we are never going to heat the bearings like highway speed would, so I'm considering possibly forgetting about the rubber seal on the back, milling the rear of the hub off and just using the welded-on stop against the rear bearing. As long as we keep fresh grease in the hub, dirt and grit will always be forced out. That should give us enough length on the spindle to get hub all the way on and preload with shims.

Bill
 
#13 · (Edited)
Keep in mind that the measurements below are on my XT3 and I have not measured my 3240's spindles.

Bill I had thought about taking the seal area off as well. However, as I crunched the numbers I still came up too short for comfort.

Looking at the hub above ,the bearing to bearing outside of the inner races =3.187. I'm gonna assume a need for a minimum of a 1/16" washer inside and outside against the race so 3.312"

Now, all I have from the backing plate to the cotter pin hole is 3.25"
If the outer bearing cage doesn't rub against the spindle backing plate then the inner washer could be eliminated and I'd have 3.312"

So, it is possible if all the stars align. Another alternative I've been thinking of is to drill a hole straight into the the end of the spindle and thread it for a retaining bolt for the bearing. The weight of the bearing would still be supported on the spindle but the cotter pin hole would be eliminated and I'd have 3.625" to work with. Don't know what it would do to the structural integrity of the spindle to have a cotter pin hole crossways thru a threaded hole.

Please feel free to check my work and I'd love to hear any feedback you might have. I like these brainstorming sessions.
 
#14 ·
Steve, I think the secret for your XT3 spindles would be to stop the end bolt hole short of the area where the outside bearing rides. If the only stress on the end of the spindle is inward to maintain bearing preload it will be fine. I would drill it with a .25" hole and tap for a 5/16" bolt. Possibly drill and tap a hole in the hub for a grease zerk so you can keep fresh grease in the back of the hub and force debris out. I haven't brought my 3185 around from the back of the shed yet this year but I think our 3000's have a longer spindle.

Bill
 
#15 ·
Another possibility is moving the rear bearing deeper into the hub. By the drawing there looks to be plenty of material to cut the bearing land deeper so there is just 2.00" between the bearings. That will carry nearly all the weight on the inside bearing with the outside bearing being mainly a stabilizer.

Bill
 
#16 ·
I don't know about the XT3s, but on the 3000s you also need to keep tire clearance in mind. I think (not sure) Pfreiburger's mod moves the wheel out further than your mods would and even the way he did it he had to make other mods to get tire clearance.

On level ground, if you turn the steering wheel lock to lock it probably looks like you have a good bit of clearance with OEM wheels/tires, but if you try it at full jounce you will see that there is not much.

I know this because I have considered installing larger tires on the OEM wheels and discovered that there is very little room to allow for upsizing. Fortunately for me, I checked clearance at full jounce before buying new tires.
 
#18 ·
I don't know about the XT3s, but on the 3000s you also need to keep tire clearance in mind. I think (not sure) Pfreiburger's mod moves the wheel out further than your mods would and even the way he did it he had to make other mods to get tire clearance.

On level ground, if you turn the steering wheel lock to lock it probably looks like you have a good bit of clearance with OEM wheels/tires, but if you try it at full jounce you will see that there is not much.

I know this because I have considered installing larger tires on the OEM wheels and discovered that there is very little room to allow for upsizing. Fortunately for me, I checked clearance at full jounce before buying new tires.
Joelk, you are right about the clearance. I put larger tires on my 3205 and at full lock left the tire hits the power steering fitting. But not a big deal, I just don't do that. After bolt on hubs are installed we can always space the wheels further out with spacers if need be.

Bill
The hub places the wheel .6" outward from stock and most of the 7" wide golf cart wheels are 2/5 spacing so another .5" outward from stock totalling 1.1" outward from stock when using 7" wide golf cart wheels.

I put 18x8.5-8 golf cart tires on my stock 3240 5.5" wide wheels and put stop bolts on the axle to limit rubbing.
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#25 ·
One thing I forgot to mention is part of my desire to switch to bolt on hubs is that my local golf cart shop gives away take-off tires and wheels for free.
I got unmounted for my 3240. My FIL went by there the other day and picked up 2 sets of mounted 18x8.5-8s. One set for me and the other for him.
Your local shop may do the same.
 
#28 ·
Hey Steve, I got my new hubs yesterday. I checked on golf cart take-off wheels and tires, it appears we are a bit greedier up here in Wisconsin, but I did find a couple of places with wheels/tire take-offs for $10/ea. That is still quite reasonable. I haven't taken apart either of my 3000's yet but will soon. My expectation is that the welded-on washer "stop" will need to be cut off, the shaft cleaned up and a new one welded closer to the bend. I will then turn a 1"ID, 1.25"OD collar that the seal of the hub will ride on. I will be able to vary the length of the collar to help with the preload on the bearings. Just in case things work out really well, I did order a 1-14 die, so I could thread the end of the spindle if that looks feasible. Or I can still use the bolt in the end of the spindle to provide preload. One issue with that is working with washers and bolt length to find a combination that will bottom the bolt in the spindle threaded hole as it provides the needed preload, then cleaning everything up and "red" loctite it. These projects are good for me, gives my brain something to ponder when I can't get out and actually work on the stuff.

Bill
 
#29 ·
Bill, I was thinking about this the other day and took a wheel off of one of may tractors to look at the spindle. I think you have a good plan here.

Any reason that a double ended stud could not be used in the threaded hole, with Red Loctite to hold it in? Then you could use a castellated nut(and cotter pin) to set preload.
 
#30 ·
Joelk, that is a good idea. I had not thought about a loctited in stud. If this works out, I found the best price for hubs from Tractor Supply, they have a 4 on 4, 1" hub for $22.99. They don't stock them in any stores around here, but you can buy on-line and have them shipped to a store near you. That is cheaper than buying replacement flanged bearings for the stock rims.

Bill
 
#33 ·
gentzel, as with everything since this pandemic began, prices have gone up and places to source it from have disappeared. I recently bought another set of hubs from ebay, they were $50 but a more complete set than I have seen before. You get the hubs and 8 bearings and seals, so they can be used on either 1" or 1.125" spindles. TWO- 2000# Trailer Axle Idler Hubs 4x4" Camper RV popup Axel 4 lug Fits Dexter | eBay

Bill
 
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