86 ARGO 8x8 SNOW PLOW ATTACHMENT

[brian brown]

Howdy Ya all :
Brian (BUSHWACKER) Brown here from Ottawa Ontario Canada.
I'm new to the forum. After owning an 1987 SUKUKI LTF 4wd 4 wheeler for the past 20 years, I was tired of going places you just should not be with a 4 wheeler . Namely 3 foot deep mud bogs , and trails that turn into rivers etc.
I was also tired of the cost / insurance of High performance sleds, and 400 HP jet boats that you spin the tach one way ,and watch the fuel guage go the other way .
The other thing that I have found is that the more you own , the more you have to fix , all the time ! If you want to go fast it costs money and you break a lot of parts ! I wanted to simplify my life , but as they say :
You can't go boating with a 4 wheeler,and you can't go 4 wheeling with a boat! So I thought about getting an air boat or a hovercraft but they have thier limitations and pit falls .

So I finally decided on an ARGO . Just bought it on the weekend .
It's an 1986 8x8 with 20"x11"x8" RUNAMUCKS. It originally had a 14 or 16 HP. TECHUMCIE ,but the previous owner put in a brand new HONDA 20 HP V TWIN which now has only 6 hours on it . It turned out to be a nice fit.In fact it was a bolt in swap except for the air filter ,which meant a bit of cal -customification !
He had to cut out about 8 " of the front hood panel and hinge it so that the rear edge of the hood is roughly 5 1/2" higher than stock . He then filled in the gap with a stainless steel wire mesh insert which he pop riveted in . It has a bilige pump, front winch and rear winch mount, out board bracket , hitch and hook for skidding logs etc.
It came with a MINN KOTA 3 speed electric trolling motor, spare drive chain ,sprocket , axle and break calipers and a few brake pads for $ 2500.
Also has a MICKY MOUSE R.O.P.S made out of 1/8" x1"x1" square bar with plywood top . I guess it was good for hauling and hanging his Moose, or hauling crap etc. I would rather build a real ROPS out of 2 " round tube because I wouldn't trust my life to it in a roll over ! Not that that could ever happen in these things, but it wouldn't be hard to make a winter enclosure .

Sorry no pictures at this time, but if requested I can email .

I have a full machine / welding shop at home which brings me to why I am writing this thread .
I am planning to sell the 4 wheeler , but keep and modify the snow plow and harness to fit the ARGO.

What I would like to know is:

If there is any viewers on the forum that have a similar year machine with plow, that could possibly email me pictures and dimensions of the ( " BEARING EXTENIONS -PLATES ) and length / distance of plow harness away from the front wheel and or front tip of bumper etc. and length of drop down plates. The harness itself should not be a problem, but I'm not sure about the extentions . The way I see that they should go ( from what pictures I have seen ) Wroughly 3/8 x 6" cold or hot rolled flat steel rounded at ends with a hole a little bigger than the axle flange ,with 4 stainless steel carriage bolts that go through plastic body into the frame,with 1/4 " back plates , flats, locks and nuts, with RTV windshield sealant around perimiter and around all bolt holes .



I talked to my local ARGO dealer who recently took over from his uncle, but has never mounted a plow ! To his and my way of thinking it would be better to sandwich the plate behind the axle flange, but with out longer axles the sprockets and chain won't line up because of the wider dimensions , not to mention it would look wierd !

Also I have brand new " ITP MUD LITES " on my 4 wheeler which I found good all around mud/ all terrain tires. Since I have not put any real miles on the ARGO since getting it , : can any one suggest if this or other tires would be good / better for mud /all terrain or if they would be any good in the water or should I stay with the RUNAMUCKS ? Any real water miles would be with an out board .

Are the RUNAMUCKS any good for snow plowing without tracks ?


Also : I have one issue with the tranny. When I try to shift into foward, neutral,or reverse with machine running , the tranny grinds and won't go into gear ! But when I start it in gear ,there is no problem .

Is tranny on the way out, or is it some thing simple on the input side?
Any one have any ideas as to what it would cost to rebuild tranny?


My email addresse is : brianbrowny@sympatico.ca

Any help from viewers would be much Appreciated !

THANKS: LETS GO PLAY IN THE MUD!