OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums Welcome to Outdoorking Forum HELP Area Introductions Gday from Nowra...

Hey guys just thought I'd start off with a quick gday... I found this site whilst looking for some more info on an old Rover I have here. It's an ancient Rancher 2 that's in a pretty sorry state... has been sitting round the paddock since I was 15 and resurfaced not long ago. All the same if I don't find a better example around then I'm game to have a play with it. At this stage I'm looking at restoring the frame, reassembling the driveline and then getting hold of one of those stupid-big 21hp Intek donks for it just for something different. The biggest issue I think will be working out where everything goes, and getting hold of a rear axle for it as the one in it is bent outside of the left hand bearing. I've also got an early 90's? Victa 11/38 that I'm getting up and running.

Anyway, seems to be a wealth of info and knowledge at hand here, so you'll know doubt see a bit more of me around!

Cheers!
Kieran

Hi Kieran, welcome to Outdoorking.

If the damage to that bent axle is slight and is completely outboard of the bearing, not inboard of it, you may be able to straighten it successfully given enough time and enthusiasm, plus a hydraulic press, some V blocks, and a dial indicator. Of course if you can find a straight axle shaft that fits, even better.

Please remember to take before, during, and after photos - they are an enormous help when you are describing what is going on, and we all like to see them. And be careful not to increase the engine power beyond the capacity of the rest of the powertrain - you'll just make yourself unhappy when everything keeps breaking.

Hi Schmoburger, and a warm welcome to the forum, we all like to learn new things and tinker here. Don't forget to take some before pics and post some as you go along with your project.
Looking forward to seeing your posts and the pics,

Cheers for the welcome guys! Yeh the idea of straightening the axle did occur to me today... I'm just concerned as to what effect it may have on the strength of the member. I guess it's not going to be under a huge ammount of load tho so I'm probably just being paranoid!
But yeh, having read a post or two on here from a while back about the effects of altering PTO pully sizes on the rest of the driveline and reading of gearboxs being trashed within a few nanoseconds, I am starting to think that cool as it would be, the 21 horse might be a little too much clout to be putting through a 35 year old gearbox... might go for something around the 13-15hp mark instead... at least until and if I can be bothered with engineering some kind of way to put a later Rancher transaxle in.

Oh I forgot to mention, I am also restoring a Series 7 8/30 Victa which will become my backyard beast when I move into urbania in a few weeks. it's currently got an 8HP I/C in it but I'm probably going to repower it with a 4hr old 12HP Tecumseh motor that my old man got years ago to put in a Rancher we had that threw a rod.Obviously I'll have to do some wiring up for an electric starter, but no big deal... while I'm at it I will probably modify the bonnet to accomodate some headlights too!

Anyway, I will definitely post up a project thread shortly for that one, which is the current timewaster!

Cheers!

Kieran, I can't tell from here whether the axle shaft is mild steel or a heat-treated higher strength alloy. You can tell by applyiing a file to the exposed end of the shaft (don't remove a whole lot of metal, of course). If it is a heat treated alloy that has yielded, its strength will never be the same again unless it is heat treated again after straightening. However you do not seem to have a lot to lose by making the file test, and then making a decision.