Gurus HELP! trading for a Hustler - need help!

[Praetorin]

Ok i am new to this Forum, so be patient with me! =D So I am trading some of my high end camera gear for a hustler.

I went out and test drove this thing and here is what I know. It looks to have a Kohler 25, and a skidsteer transmission (don't know much about that). It's got a rigged throttle that seems to work fine but shouldn't be a problem to replace. I think its one of the bigger ones 950 and above. He doesn't have a title for it but i checked with richard and he said that they didn't come with a title new. So i guess thats all fine. We took it out into a pond and it seemed to do fine. A little water was getting into the interior but he showed me it's because he doesn't have a proper plug for it and is using a makeshift. I couldn't see anywhere else where the water could get in so that seems good to go. It has a modified air breather on the back that you will see in the pictures.

I drove it and it felt a bit bumpy and it would smooth out, if i hit bumps it would kind of go up and down a bit, i think it might be a tire pressure thing. When making turns if i didn't do it right it would start stalling the engine but it didn't sound like there was any binding or problems with the transmission. When the owner drove it he could make turns easily and didn't have many problems so there must be a bit of a learning curve.

heres what i need to know!

1. How much would tires cost? - Tires look like they have some dryrot.
2. How much would it cost to replace the seals where the axle goes through the body? - just in case that turned into an issue
3. Is the drain plug a standard boat style plug? can i get one easily?
4. Is there a generic throttle lever i could easily get for it?
5. Can i drive this thing in national forest or state parks? No title so no sticker right? i live in Arkansas.
6. Does anyone know what model this is?
7. Am i getting hosed? LOL I'll be getting this thing for about 1600 thats about what my camera gear is worth.

Heres some pictures

ImageShack Gallery

[rdr]

hi and welcom i'll try to answer your ? tires depend on what's size www. small tires . com .your link is not working . axel berings are chep betwin 10 and 20 doll0rs the t cable can be brought from rec the makers of the max 1800 255 2511 the tranny is a t 20 still make them rec agin you might want to upload you pic here we can give better answers as for price sounds great robbie

[rdr]

where you located at . robbie

[Praetorin]

Link to pics

hi and welcom i'll try to answer your ? tires depend on what's size www. small tires . com .your link is not working . axel berings are chep betwin 10 and 20 doll0rs the t cable can be brought from rec the makers of the max 1800 255 2511 the tranny is a t 20 still make them rec agin you might want to upload you pic here we can give better answers as for price sounds great robbie

ImageShack Gallery

Here is the link again maybe it will work if you just cut and paste it.

I am located in Arkansas.

[mudbug3]

Praetorin



Welcome to the amphibious forum. The link to the pictures that you posted looks like a Hustler 950 to me , because it does not have the tall sides that the deeper tub 980 has. That model is called a Bigfoot. All of the Hustler 980,s that I,ve ever seen came with 26 inch , Good year , Terra tires on them. The Hustlers were originally built in Jonesboro, Ark. I think. The 950 model that you recently traded for is seen most often, but the deeper tub 980 models are getting VERY hard to find. You,ll have lots of fun with the Hustler when you get it all lined out. Don,t do things half way, or you,ll live to regret it. I lived in Little Rock, Ark. for about 8 yrs as a teenager, before we moved to Louisiana. What part of Arkansas are you located in?

[Praetorin]

Good?

I live in Fayetteville, Arkansas. So is the 950 a good model? And is that Kohler 25 a good engine?

[brushcutter]

Welcome to the forums.
The last time I checked down here the local forest did NOT allow amphibs, due to width/ length restrictions. But check with your local Forrest Rangers because it seems that evey district has its own rules regarding ATV's. I have seen on the outdoor channel, that in Virginia people are not only allowed to ride their atv's on the highway and even into town they even encourage it! Tourism- gotta love it!

Try that down here and you'll have every Forrest Ranger who has a radio chasing you down to write you a "safe driver" award. We (thanks to a horse loving division chief) have been reduced to riding one trail and that only when it's dry. W A B

[coosaridgerider]

I live in Fayetteville, Arkansas. So is the 950 a good model? And is that Kohler 25 a good engine?

Hi Praeton.I have a 25hp kohler,They are good motors and the air breather is stock.Looks like a rubber hose was used to relocate the breather.tires very from $60 to over $100,You can get the trottle lever and cable from RI For about $60.I used 2 large bolts with rubber washers for my drain plugs.You can get bearings and seals from a local bearing company.Hope this helps...

[Praetorin]

Thankyou! Yes that does help. I finally got the thing in my garage and I've cleaned it up. I took it out on it's first drive outdoors and there are a few things that concern me that I hope are easy to fix. First off I threw a chain off a sprocket. That was easy to get back on, looks like the chains might be a bit loose. I could probly adjust the tensioners and hopefully that will fix that issue. When i get going a bit faster it has a up and down wobble, im not sure if thats just because of tire pressure or bad tires or what. All the axles look straight so im not sure what could cause that. Any ideas? And when im making turns with this thing if im not moving a bit it seems forced. Are you always supposed to be moving when turning this rig?

Any help or answers would be nice!?

Hi Praeton.I have a 25hp kohler,They are good motors and the air breather is stock.Looks like a rubber hose was used to relocate the breather.tires very from $60 to over $100,You can get the trottle lever and cable from RI For about $60.I used 2 large bolts with rubber washers for my drain plugs.You can get bearings and seals from a local bearing company.Hope this helps...

[Mike]

Since you say that you don't have any bent axles, the up and down movement has to be your tires. One (or more) is probably low on air or has a flat spot from sitting for a while?

As for the turning, they do get easier to turn the faster you go but you should be able to turn from a stop fine as long as you aren't on asphalt/concrete.

[Praetorin]

rims

I was watching the tires while i was driving and it looked like the front right rim was wobbling a tad but that axle looks fine, I let pressure out of the tires, they were all at over 10 psi, i need to get a better pressure gauge. but they definitely felt way too hard. So that helped quite a bit. Still a bit of a wobble but not as much at all, this thing has been sitting for a while, im not sure how to spot a flat spot, there isn't any that i can notice offhand and im not sure how much of a flat spot would affect it.

Is a bent axle easy to see it seems like it would be quite noticable when driving if you had a bent axle. With the naked eye they all look fine.

-Justin

Since you say that you don't have any bent axles, the up and down movement has to be your tires. One (or more) is probably low on air or has a flat spot from sitting for a while?

As for the turning, they do get easier to turn the faster you go but you should be able to turn from a stop fine as long as you aren't on asphalt/concrete.

[coosaridgerider]

You might want to take your tires off to see if some of them have water in them,That would throw them out of balance.If a chain keeps jumping off usually that means the chain is stretched and need replacing.You can get chains at a bearing co or farm supply.

[brushcutter]

Praetorin, the up and down wobble sounds like a bent axle. With these things a slight bend can seem like a lot. If you would set your machine up on blocks you can locate which axle is bent by rolling the tires and watching for the wobble, there could be more than 1 bent axle. While you have it up you can also tighten the chains and check the sprockets for alignment, a loose chain by itself should not normally cause the chain to be thrown. There is usually a root cause other than slack that starts the chain off the sprocket, the slack just allows enough room for the chain to run off the sprockets. The thrown chain could easily be caused by the same problem that is creating the up/down wobble. If you watch the way the chain feeds on/off the sprockets you can tell if they are out of alignment. Also check them for worn/broken teeth.

If you pull the pin that goes through the sprocket sleeve(1 axle at a time, starting with the center axle) lube the sleeve so it can slide side to side then roll the tire on the unpinned axle backwards and forwards you can check alignment by how the hole in the sleeve re-aligns in respect to the hole in the axle. This works on the shortest distance principle: The chain will seek its straightest line between the sprockets and if the sleeve can slide across the surface of the axle as it is spun then the sleeve will center itself on that line. If the holes are more than half a hole out then you can align them by loosening the locks on the axle and sliding it in or out as needed. Once you have done the middle axles and locked them down, then you can do the others. there is no particular order for them, but you have to start with the center so that the tranny chain is aligned correctly. Also it will be easier to do the center axle if you remove the front and rear chains and then replace them as you need to. I know this sounds like a lot of work, but this is the method I used on my 950 and in the time I have run it I have yet to throw a chain, and I have none of that annoying "popping" noise.

[Praetorin]

axles

Very detailed answer, thankyou brushcutter! Now you have me worried! what if an axle is bent, that sounds expensive to fix. =(

Praetorin, the up and down wobble sounds like a bent axle. With these things a slight bend can seem like a lot. If you would set your machine up on blocks you can locate which axle is bent by rolling the tires and watching for the wobble, there could be more than 1 bent axle. While you have it up you can also tighten the chains and check the sprockets for alignment, a loose chain by itself should not normally cause the chain to be thrown. There is usually a root cause other than slack that starts the chain off the sprocket, the slack just allows enough room for the chain to run off the sprockets. The thrown chain could easily be caused by the same problem that is creating the up/down wobble. If you watch the way the chain feeds on/off the sprockets you can tell if they are out of alignment. Also check them for worn/broken teeth.

If you pull the pin that goes through the sprocket sleeve(1 axle at a time, starting with the center axle) lube the sleeve so it can slide side to side then roll the tire on the unpinned axle backwards and forwards you can check alignment by how the hole in the sleeve re-aligns in respect to the hole in the axle. This works on the shortest distance principle: The chain will seek its straightest line between the sprockets and if the sleeve can slide across the surface of the axle as it is spun then the sleeve will center itself on that line. If the holes are more than half a hole out then you can align them by loosening the locks on the axle and sliding it in or out as needed. Once you have done the middle axles and locked them down, then you can do the others. there is no particular order for them, but you have to start with the center so that the tranny chain is aligned correctly. Also it will be easier to do the center axle if you remove the front and rear chains and then replace them as you need to. I know this sounds like a lot of work, but this is the method I used on my 950 and in the time I have run it I have yet to throw a chain, and I have none of that annoying "popping" noise.

[brushcutter]

Well don't worry yet, there are ways to deal with that. I broke the front left axle on mine twice. But it only took a little grinding/welding/turning and drilling to fix. Hustlers are actually fairly easy to work on. And if you have a buddy that has a metal lathe or a machinist friend you can fix almost anything on them. Besides Mike could very well be right, it could be as simple as a tire thing or a bent rim.