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My Sears-Craftsman Tractor

5K views 49 replies 5 participants last post by  dave_r 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey all just like my other MTD post I wanted to start this thread to Document the ongoing progress and also to help others with the same Machine that might have questions about it

Its Model #917.254450
Here is the link for the Owner's Manual
CRAFTSMAN 917.254450 OWNER'S MANUAL Pdf Download | ManualsLib

And here is a link to the Blower Manual

Now i know this is not the Exact same blower as i have but it seems to be Almost identical , the blower i have is Model # 842 24077

As of now here are the only pics i have of it

Tire Wheel Car Land vehicle Vehicle



Automotive tire Grey Road surface Asphalt Gas


Motor vehicle Asphalt Automotive exterior Road surface Font


And again ill keep this up to date with all of its Progress
Wheel Tire Vehicle Automotive tire Motor vehicle
 
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#2 ·
#4 ·
So I ran to Tractor Supply and Low they had a seat for the craftsman on clearance 65.00 :love: yes please.....

2490213


And here is the belt the previous owner had on the blower I have no idea what he was thinking but it was a full 4” too short but thankfully I got the Proper size and type of belt

2490214
 
#5 ·
Nice seat! I need one of those.

How did you determine the correct size needed?

Mike
 
#7 ·
Perfect. I checked the Sears site, they listed the same part number for your actual blower and the manual you're using (with the slightly different model number), and they're the same.

Four inches is a HUGE difference! Can't believe you got the short one to work at all...

Mike
 
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#8 ·
Does your tractor have a sticker listing the intended snowblower model to use? Newer ones (since early 2000s at least) had that stuck to the underside of the hood.

Mike
 
#11 ·
Looks great! What cutting machine do you have?

Mike
 
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#13 ·
Cool, I'll have to check those out!

Mike
 
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#14 ·
How did you get the graphic into the software? Can you use a photo?

Mike
 
#15 ·
yes I used a photo I took and then spent about 4hrs cleaning the image up and making it into a useable file , it’s not super difficult but not super easy either

I was planning on doing a run of these in black and white and seeing if there was any interest from members here in purchasing them
 
#16 ·
I was afraid of that, went through something similar trying to use a small cartoon and blow it up for a Halloween costume a few years ago (made a wearable Scooby-Doo van, needed a pic of the gang behind the windshield). Spent a LOT of hours just on the cartoon.

There must be easier software out there to speed up the process of taking a photo and converting it to a clean, even line drawing.

Mike
 
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#17 ·
I was afraid of that, went through something similar trying to use a small cartoon and blow it up for a Halloween costume a few years ago (made a wearable Scooby-Doo van, needed a pic of the gang behind the windshield). Spent a LOT of hours just on the cartoon.

There must be easier software out there to speed up the process of taking a photo and converting it to a clean, even line drawing.

Mike
Yeah there is the problem I spent hrs searching for a clean image to no avail, then I spent hrs looking for software and the best software I could find was what I already had and even still had to do a lot of cleaning on the image, but its done now and ready to go
 
#18 ·
Well finally got started on giving him some love,

Bought 4 New AG tires 23x8.50/12 and got a set of 16x6.50/8 for the fronts
Started today by fixing the choke cable and letting him run for a few min's , then got the rear wheels off cut the tires off and cleaned the rims up to prepare for paint

Wheel Tire Plant Snow Automotive tire


Automotive tire Wood Tread Flooring Floor


Automotive tire Alloy wheel Wood Rim Circle


Wheel Tire Automotive tire Motor vehicle Tread


Now i need to get the new to me 8" rear wheels ready to go on the front

Tire Wheel Automotive tire Light Tread
 
#19 ·
Wow, those front tires have definitely seen better days!!!

Mike
 
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#21 ·
Um.... OK....

I highly recommend replacing the fronts with 4-ply tires when you have a chance, especially if carrying weight out front (snowblower, scoop, etc.). TSC occasionally puts them on sale, so if you're not in a rush, wait until they're cheaper.

Mike
 
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#23 ·
6 ply is even better! I did notice that those were Sears tires, but couldn't make out the ply rating on the sidewalls.

Can you post a link to the new tires you bought?

Mike
 
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#25 ·
Nice!

Mike
 
#27 ·
Are those the same rubber caps, or new ones? If they're the old ones, what did you use to clean them?

We're not going to recognize that old tractor when you're done!

Mike
 
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#29 ·
Cool, they look great.

Mike
 
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#31 ·
Looks great. You're a brave man using sharp tools near hardwood floors and bare feet!

Mike
 
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#33 ·
How well do they run through deep snow?

Mike
 
#35 ·
Have you loaded the tires?

You'll also want to hang weight off the rear to help offset the blower weight. A weight tray and bucket was a standard item (came with the blower), going back at least to the early 90s.

Wheel weights and chains were "recommended" but sold separately.

Mike
 
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#37 ·
Have you loaded the tires?

You'll also want to hang weight off the rear to help offset the blower weight. A weight tray and bucket was a standard item (came with the blower), going back at least to the early 90s.

Wheel weights and chains were "recommended" but sold separately.

Mike
Not yet , i just grabbed this guy right before the big snow we got i have planned to do all the "things" done over the summer but to be honest id rather have a plow for this like if there was someone close enough id do a straight up trade plow for the blower


Very nice machine Gage! I will be following along :). Keep up the good work!

Sent from my SM-A515W using Tapatalk
Thanks (y)
 
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