Sears LT-1000 Tractor- Replacing the old rotting rubber feet & rusting metal foot rests?

[Don2222]

Hello
The rubber foot pads actually held moisture under them which accelerated the rusting!
So for approx a whopping $30 bucks, I got some steel diamond plate that was easy to cut the same size as the rubber foot pads with a jig saw and weld them in!
https://www.farmandfleet.com/produc...MInK761P6E4gIVmEwNCh0LPA1cEAQYASABEgJtGvD_BwE
Any one else do this?
This seams stronger and may last?
Now I have to ad quick steel to putty the holes and then some primer and paint.
Also upgraded the OEM basic seat.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/craftsman-lt1000-lawn-tractor-seat-upgrade-anyone.175341/


Pic 1 - old rubber foot pad that fell off
Pic 2 - metal is rusting away under it!
Pic 3 - cutting the new steel diamond plate
Pic 4 - grinding sharp edges
Pic 5 - same shape as rubber feet
Pic 6 - welding it on after wire wheeling dirt & rust
Pic 7 - all welded on and grinder smooth
Pic 8 - looking good needs primer & paint

 

[zrock]

Lucky thats not a structural weld.. should have prepped the surface way better or turned up the heat that weld did not penetrate the rusted metal very well.
Since the outer round part is rusting as well i would take some round bar and bend it to fit up underneath.. Never seen a lawnmower rust out before usually people toss em before they make it to that point..

 

[Don2222]

Lucky thats not a structural weld.. should have prepped the surface way better or turned up the heat that weld did not penetrate the rusted metal very well.
Since the outer round part is rusting as well i would take some round bar and bend it to fit up underneath.. Never seen a lawnmower rust out before usually people toss em before they make it to that point..

It was a tough weld. I could not grind down to bare metal anymore and I had to turn down the heat so not to burn through, I did go slower and even though the weld looks cold in spots, I did get good penetration and it is welded solid. It is 15 years old and everything else is good. So I found some Quick Steel from Advance Auto which bonds better to metal than other epoxies to fill in the small holes and around the new 14 guage steel edges. I also got Por-15 for the bottom coating and it does have some OEM reinforcement already there.
Since a new tractor with the snow blower setup is over $3K, this may save this 15 year old tractor from the trash heap for another few years?

 

[begreen]

I had the deck pulley system fail on us on the LT1000. My first clue was that it started chewing through belts at one a season. IIRC it was on the first pulley of the right side that the belt hits after coming from the engine. The bracket was very flimsy and had broken the weld at the bottom. You might want to examine this. I had a small, triangular brace welded in addition to redoing the original weld. That worked pretty well.

 

[Don2222]

I had the deck pulley system fail on us on the LT1000. My first clue was that it started chewing through belts at one a season. IIRC it was on the first pulley of the right side that the belt hits after coming from the engine. The bracket was very flimsy and had broken the weld at the bottom. You might want to examine this. I had a small, triangular brace welded in addition to redoing the original weld. That worked pretty well.

Great info! Thanks a lot BG
I have to change mine now. :-( But good vids on how to do it like this one.

 

[Don2222]

Finally a little primer on top.

The tractor is 16 years. See pics of 8 years ago.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...ly-found-it-see-before-aft.67510/#post-856275

I was worried Because the last time I looked at it was 8 years ago and I cleaned it and repainted it but this time there were small rust holes So if I waited to look at it again there may not be anything left to put my feet on LOL

 

[Highbeam]

My lt1000 is about 12 years old. These things were only about 1000$ new.

It must be snow blowing that’s rusting your platform out. Or do you leave it outside in the rain?

I have zero rust except for the underside of the mower deck. Same belts after all those years too!

 

[Don2222]

My lt1000 is about 12 years old. These things were only about 1000$ new.

It must be snow blowing that’s rusting your platform out. Or do you leave it outside in the rain?

I have zero rust except for the underside of the mower deck. Same belts after all those years too!

Good to hear! In the summer, I put it under a tarp outside. In the winter I keep it in the garage ready to blow out the driveway. So yes maybe the snow blowing does not help. 8 years ago, I removed the rubber pads and cleaned and painted it. Did u see those pics?
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...ly-found-it-see-before-aft.67510/#post-851998
This time it still is pretty solid but had a few rust holes so I did not want to take a chance and welded 14 Guage diamond plate over it.
Can you post pics of your LT1000, would luv to see it??

 

[Highbeam]

Good to hear! In the summer, I put it under a tarp outside. In the winter I keep it in the garage ready to blow out the driveway. So yes maybe the snow blowing does not help. 8 years ago, I removed the rubber pads and cleaned and painted it. Did u see those pics?
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...ly-found-it-see-before-aft.67510/#post-851998
This time it still is pretty solid but had a few rust holes so I did not want to take a chance and welded 14 Guage diamond plate over it.
Can you post pics of your LT1000, would luv to see it??

I'll take a pic. Just changed oil, oil filter, and air filter on the 500 cc briggs. It has the manual trans. Always stored inside but we don't use snow blowers!

 

[Highbeam]

I'll take a pic. Just changed oil, oil filter, and air filter on the 500 cc briggs. It has the manual trans. Always stored inside but we don't use snow blowers!

Sorry dan, it’s a 2008 LTS2000 but looks just like yours.

 

[Don2222]

After about a month and getting a package with no contents except the plastic bag with a paint label, sears sent out another can of Polo Green custom color and I got in a box instead of a bubble envelope!
So I just finished masking and applying the first coat!

 

[johneh]

Sorry dan, it’s a 2008 LTS2000 but looks just like yours.

How in the world do you keep it so clean
I don't have that much time on my hands
just a quick pressure wash and back into the
shed
Your looks brand new love it

 

[Don2222]

How in the world do you keep it so clean
I don't have that much time on my hands
just a quick pressure wash and back into the
shed
Your looks brand new love it

Yours looks better than mine! LOL
I use it in the winter with the blower for the driveway so I believe that is why there is more rusting. After we are done, we just blow the dirt off with the compressor, but I think it could use an entire paint job.
Luckily it has the 17 HP Kohler Engine because all the ones I see for sale with a different engine are not running very well.

 

[Don2222]

Here are the final pics
The welded diamond plate will not fall off like the rubber foot pads did and may last longer than the tractor. LOL