Craftsman Garden Tractor - Model #917.273050

[BMoscato]

Good evening, Folks,

I have a 1999 Craftsman Kohler Pro 20 V-Twin Garden Tractor and I would like to put a snow blade (plow) assembly on it. Would anyone know what options I have? I think the original plow was 486.24443, but trying to locate a complete assembly from that time period is a pain in the a$$...

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Bryan

 

[webscrounger]

Might try a tractor forum for this. Some have discussions of smaller machines like garden tractors.

Garden Tractor Forums

A forum community dedicated to garden tractor owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, attachments, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!

www.gardentractortalk.com

Lawn and Garden Tractors By Brand

Click for Forums by Brand

www.mytractorforum.com

Lawn & Garden Tractors

Post 1992 John Deere Lawn & Garden Tractors and Rear Engine Riders

www.greentractortalk.com

https://www.tractorbynet.com/
https://www.nettractortalk.com/forums/

Antique Tractors - Yesterday's Tractors : Parts and Online Community

The busiest antique tractor parts site on the internet with thousands of pages of information plus discount prices for parts and manuals. Photos, specs, articles, hundreds of classified ads, 24 forums, repair advice and much more. Serving the antique tractor community since 1995.

www.yesterdaystractors.com

 

[BMoscato]

Might try a tractor forum for this. Some have discussions of smaller machines like garden tractors.

Garden Tractor Forums

A forum community dedicated to garden tractor owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about performance, modifications, attachments, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!

www.gardentractortalk.com

Lawn and Garden Tractors By Brand

Click for Forums by Brand

www.mytractorforum.com

Lawn & Garden Tractors

Post 1992 John Deere Lawn & Garden Tractors and Rear Engine Riders

www.greentractortalk.com

https://www.tractorbynet.com/
https://www.nettractortalk.com/forums/

Antique Tractors - Yesterday's Tractors : Parts and Online Community

The busiest antique tractor parts site on the internet with thousands of pages of information plus discount prices for parts and manuals. Photos, specs, articles, hundreds of classified ads, 24 forums, repair advice and much more. Serving the antique tractor community since 1995.

www.yesterdaystractors.com

Thank you

 

[LiketoFix]

I have the Model #917.273100 right after yours, year 2000. 22 H.P. Kolar Pro V Twin, with a 50 inch Mower deck.
Great Mower and I pull a Cyclone Rake Leaf Machine behind it plus a garden tractor trailer for yard work but No Plow.
I could see it being done with a few alterations and I understand that it would make it a lot easier if you could find one already together
with plow and frame. I've installed a few that I've adapted to my Mini Truck, 4X4 wheeler ATV, and even my Ford F-250 over the years and I've had a lot of experience with plow situations of all Kind.
I wouldn't hesitate doing it at all if I needed it and with that said I do have a few suggestions.
First Have you ever changed your Rear Differential oil? Sears doesn't tell you to do this but if you dig on the right Forums you'll find it's recommended by people who know! In my opinion Sears would rather you buy new diff. parts and replace broken gears and such. etc.......
A lot more info on the Hydro Gear web site,(they make all tractor Differential's for Sears Craftsman and many others). It's easy to do and the small filter is easy to find on the net! For mine Sears used 100 fl. (3 quarts), ounces 10w40 conventional motor oil,(standard), and #52114 hydro gear Filter.
Second you might need to add a small amount of weight to your tractor either in wheel weights or other method's. Hence the suggestion on changing your trans-axle, (dif.), oil! Plus tire chains as a suggestion as you probably already thought of.
With your tractor not being four wheel drive I wouldn't try to go much bigger than the widest part of the tractor, probably rear wheels.
I see that the Original Blade from Sears is 42 inches and I agree as that's what I was thinking.
Like webscrounger suggested The My Tractor Forum is the first place to start and maybe even post a wanted add for one.
I don't know what your talents are but for me if I couldn't find what I needed like for my Japanese Mini Truck I just built it all including frame etc....................But I have a lot of resources and Talent. I hope this was help full. Keep us posted.
Good Luck,
LtF

 

[BMoscato]

I have the Model #917.273100 right after yours, year 2000. 22 H.P. Kolar Pro V Twin, with a 50 inch Mower deck.
Great Mower and I pull a Cyclone Rake Leaf Machine behind it plus a garden tractor trailer for yard work but No Plow.
I could see it being done with a few alterations and I understand that it would make it a lot easier if you could find one already together
with plow and frame. I've installed a few that I've adapted to my Mini Truck, 4X4 wheeler ATV, and even my Ford F-250 over the years and I've had a lot of experience with plow situations of all Kind.
I wouldn't hesitate doing it at all if I needed it and with that said I do have a few suggestions.
First Have you ever changed your Rear Differential oil? Sears doesn't tell you to do this but if you dig on the right Forums you'll find it's recommended by people who know! In my opinion Sears would rather you buy new diff. parts and replace broken gears and such. etc.......
A lot more info on the Hydro Gear web site,(they make all tractor Differential's for Sears Craftsman and many others). It's easy to do and the small filter is easy to find on the net! For mine Sears used 100 fl. (3 quarts), ounces 10w40 conventional motor oil,(standard), and #52114 hydro gear Filter.
Second you might need to add a small amount of weight to your tractor either in wheel weights or other method's. Hence the suggestion on changing your trans-axle, (dif.), oil! Plus tire chains as a suggestion as you probably already thought of.
With your tractor not being four wheel drive I wouldn't try to go much bigger than the widest part of the tractor, probably rear wheels.
I see that the Original Blade from Sears is 42 inches and I agree as that's what I was thinking.
Like webscrounger suggested The My Tractor Forum is the first place to start and maybe even post a wanted add for one.
I don't know what your talents are but for me if I couldn't find what I needed like for my Japanese Mini Truck I just built it all including frame etc....................But I have a lot of resources and Talent. I hope this was help full. Keep us posted.
Good Luck,
LtF

I honestly know nothing about the maintenance cycle of either tractor that I got when I bought a new house last month. I have the above-mentioned Craftsman and a John Deere X320 (unsure of the year). The JD has a mower deck, but the Craftsman does not. What's funny is that I also have a JD 40" blade that doesn't mount to either tractor.

I'm semi-handy, but I wanted to mount something that can be easily pulled off like the stock unit that way if I ever find the mower deck for Craftsman, I can use it as a backup mower for the property.

Thanks for the tip on the rear diff.

Edit--

And why are the rear tires soooooo much money for this thing?

 

[MoonRise]

Wheel weights and rear tire chains are a must if trying to use a blade.

Change the diff oil and engine oil (regular maintenance items).

A quick search on google turns up some possible options when I did a search on "craftsman 486.24443". Ace Hardware and Lowes both came up with possible options, up to you to try and determine if the items will work/fit for you.

42-in Snow Blade | CRAFTSMAN

Clearing snow is an easy job with the 42-in. Snow Blade. The 14-in. high blade is best for snow falls of 8-in. or less. Pivot the blade left, right and back to center from the rider seat while you ...

www.craftsman.com

The manual for the blade (maybe you can look at the directions and pictures in the manual and see if that helps in rigging something up or adapting something):

Craftsman 48624443 snow blade manual

Download the manual for model Craftsman 48624443 snow blade. Sears Parts Direct has parts, manuals & part diagrams for all types of repair projects to help you fix your snow blade!

www.searspartsdirect.com

As part of that quick google search, I ran across a reference that says that old Sears p/n starting with 486.xxxxxx were made by Agri-Fab. So, I popped over to their website and found this:

Products > 48" Snow Blade

It's a 48" blade where the original p/n you listed is a 42" blade. The manual https://www.agri-fab.com/Portals/0/Manuals/LBD48E.pdf looks a LOT like the original Craftsman one at https://www.searspartsdirect.com/manual/m0q8ys1miu-000247/craftsman-48624443-snow-blade-parts

I had a snow blade on my Craftsman GT. I still have the GT and the blade, but no longer use the blade. I use a snowblower to remove snow instead. Faster, easier, works better for me. With the blade on the GT, I couldn't really plow more than about 4" of snow at a time. So if we were having a 'big' snowstorm, I was out there once ~4" of snow had fallen and by the time I cleared that I had to go back and do it all again and again, and again non-stop until the storm ended. Now I just wait until the snowstorm ends and go out and do the snow removal one time with the snowblower. After a few storms, you run out of places to push the snow with a blade but the snowblower throws the snow up and over much further onto the yard so no problems with were to put the snow. YMMV and all that.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

As stated less bluntly above, light weight and open diff make most Craftsman offerings a joke for pushing anything regardless of hp.

My old 12hp Bolens tube frame on the other hand would push a scraper blade or pull my diesel dodge across the yard.

 

[LiketoFix]

You bring up a very good point! It wouldn't be my first choice for Snow Plowing either. With my experience and seeing many non experience plow operators as the snow gets stacked up drivers try to push the pile besides pushing too much snow and you could very easily over work or damage the tractor. You are absolutely correct with a snow blower being able to blow it over the top of the piles and easily directed where wanted.
As far as Maintenance and changing the Motor oil I've been using Full Synthetic 5w30 weight oil for years now and after one full season it still looks new! I use Synthetic oil in all my small engine's. It's well worth it to me.
I guess It would be good to know the size of the OP driveway. As mine is 20,000 square foot of concrete pavement and a snow blower isn't an option.

LtF

 

[BMoscato]

You bring up a very good point! It wouldn't be my first choice for Snow Plowing either. With my experience and seeing many non experience plow operators as the snow gets stacked up drivers try to push the pile besides pushing too much snow and you could very easily over work or damage the tractor. You are absolutely correct with a snow blower being able to blow it over the top of the piles and easily directed where wanted.
As far as Maintenance and changing the Motor oil I've been using Full Synthetic 5w30 weight oil for years now and after one full season it still looks new! I use Synthetic oil in all my small engine's. It's well worth it to me.
I guess It would be good to know the size of the OP driveway. As mine is 20,000 square foot of concrete pavement and a snow blower isn't an option.

LtF

I probably have 750 to 1,000' x 15' of asphalt. The driveway starts at the road and loops around 2 of my stables.

 

[LiketoFix]

Yeah besides the Garden Tractor not being the first choice on your 15 foot wide drive a 4 foot wide blade isn't optimal. You know yourself that once you clear a path you wind up going over that path at least overlapping it. Conditions vary also and depending on where you live and what kind of winters you get would also help me to determine what I needed.
LtF

 

[MoonRise]

1000 ft of driveway to clear?

A 4x4 pickup truck (3/4 ton or a 1 ton truck, IMHO pushing lots of snow with a 1/2 ton truck is tough on the truck) with an 8 ft blade. Heat in the cab, more power and more weight to push the snow faster and easier than a lawn tractor ever could.

Or a 'farm' tractor with a blade or bucket or a snowblower attachment (4 ft wide or bigger on all those attachments would be good). Again, more power and more weight to move the snow.

Last choice would be the biggest most powerful walk behind snowblower I could find. Even then, that would be over a mile of walking (15 ft wide path with a 3 ft wide machine x 1000 ft long means at least 5 passes with the machine and over 5000 ft of walking.

A lawn/garden tractor with a blade would not even be on my list of viable options. Not enough power or weight to reliably push snow, and not for that length of driveway.

btw, my Craftsman garden tractor with wheel weights and tire chains and the blade and me in the seat was easily over 1000 lbs of mass. Still not enough machine (power or weight) to push major snow amounts. Light and fluffy snow wasn't too bad, heavy wet snow that packed itself (good snowball type of snow, as opposed to fluffy fresh powder snow) was MUCH more difficult to move.

 

[JradM]

I realize people do it and that a blade was made for it at one point, but I think you might be disappointed by the amount of snow a tractor of that size can move. I've had a few 20-22hp garden tractors, and they're just not heavy or powerful enough to get a lot of work done and get easily stuck.

If you don't get a lot of snow, I think it could work, but I would much rather have even a small, self-driven snowblower. You might be better off putting the dollars towards that.

Changing the oil in the hydro can be a real pain - but it's still a good idea. Lots of people wait until they start having issues, but it's better if you do it ahead of time. I'm not familiar with your model, but many tractors require you to remove the rear axel entirely so you can flip them upside down to drain.

Since you're not having problems, I've had decent results just sucking out what fluid I can and not worrying about getting it all. Just do that more often.

 

[LiketoFix]

I realize people do it and that a blade was made for it at one point, but I think you might be disappointed by the amount of snow a tractor of that size can move. I've had a few 20-22hp garden tractors, and they're just not heavy or powerful enough to get a lot of work done and get easily stuck.

If you don't get a lot of snow, I think it could work, but I would much rather have even a small, self-driven snowblower. You might be better off putting the dollars towards that.

Changing the oil in the hydro can be a real pain - but it's still a good idea. Lots of people wait until they start having issues, but it's better if you do it ahead of time. I'm not familiar with your model, but many tractors require you to remove the rear axel entirely so you can flip them upside down to drain.

Since you're not having problems, I've had decent results just sucking out what fluid I can and not worrying about getting it all. Just do that more often.

Good Points but on these particular Model there is a drain plug at the bottom.
Very good info on the Hydro Gear Website. Extremely detailed as I remember researching it when I did mine.
LtF

 

[dael]

Good evening, Folks,

I have a 1999 Craftsman Kohler Pro 20 V-Twin Garden Tractor and I would like to put a snow blade (plow) assembly on it. Would anyone know what options I have? I think the original plow was 486.24443, but trying to locate a complete assembly from that time period is a pain in the a$$...

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Bryan

Still in the market? I have one in Central Ohio. $150 good shape, manual

 

[dael]

Good evening, Folks,

I have a 1999 Craftsman Kohler Pro 20 V-Twin Garden Tractor and I would like to put a snow blade (plow) assembly on it. Would anyone know what options I have? I think the original plow was 486.24443, but trying to locate a complete assembly from that time period is a pain in the a$$...

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Bryan

Still in the market? I have one in Central Ohio. $150 good shape, manual

 

[finn]

I realize people do it and that a blade was made for it at one point, but I think you might be disappointed by the amount of snow a tractor of that size can move. I've had a few 20-22hp garden tractors, and they're just not heavy or powerful enough to get a lot of work done and get easily stuck.

If you don't get a lot of snow, I think it could work, but I would much rather have even a small, self-driven snowblower. You might be better off putting the dollars towards that.

Changing the oil in the hydro can be a real pain - but it's still a good idea. Lots of people wait until they start having issues, but it's better if you do it ahead of time. I'm not familiar with your model, but many tractors require you to remove the rear axel entirely so you can flip them upside down to drain.

Since you're not having problems, I've had decent results just sucking out what fluid I can and not worrying about getting it all. Just do that more often.

Even a Ford 8N ***** for plowing snow.

Just too light.

Same for the old CJ and prior Jeeps.

 

[seber]

The odds of finding the specific plow for that machine are very low. On the plus side, it is an MTD product so there were a lot of them made. Nonetheless, if it were me, I'd be looking at something I could modify to work.

 

[dael]

The odds of finding the specific plow for that machine are very low. On the plus side, it is an MTD product so there were a lot of them made. Nonetheless, if it were me, I'd be looking at something I could modify to work.

snow plow fits craftsman mtd pouland ariens husky and more

 

[LiketoFix]

I have modified several over the years to my liking, on different units. Last year a friend gave me a New Holland tractor blade with all that was needed to convert over to one of my 4 wheeler's and it works great. Where there's a will there's a way!

LTF