Auxiliary transmission for Max T20

[greg pinson]

I have searched all over the web looking for some sort of small 2 or 3 speed, stand alone, transmission that could be mounted on top of my T20 that I could use to get some lower gearing. The only thing that came close was a 5 or 6 speed custom motorcycle transmission for custom Harley Davidson style motorcycles. The cheapest of those I could find were $700 to $900. Problem is, besides cost, the input and output shafts on these transmissions are together on the same side. I'm thinking about something that resembles a tiny 4 speed truck transmission with an input shaft on one end and an output shaft on the other. I would still use the CVT the Max came with, I would use the transmission as a transfer case.

A 2 speed with 1 to 1 and 2 to 1 would be ideal.
Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions???

[mudbug3]

max 4 with a 3 speed trans - Amphibious ATV Pictures

[thebuggyman1]

My thought would be a garden tractor trans with the driven clutch mounted on it, chain drive between its output shaft and the t-20 input. Otherwise you would need 2.
Check Ebay or a local small engine repair shop, usually they have parts machines that people decided not to fix.
Keep in mind shaft rotation direction......cw on one side may give ccw on the other, but this may be what you want anyway.

[greg pinson]

I've looked for garden tractor transmissions, but all the ones I found were transaxles, which wouldn't work.

MUDBUG, that is perfect, but what kind of tranny is it and where do I find one? Wish we had some internal pics of that machine.

[mudbug3]

greg pinson


Gus marrone is the only person that I,ve read about that owns an amphib with a three speed tractor transmission in it. An oil feild company had this modification done to the Max IV before Gus bought it he told me. Gus had it for sale at one time and I asked Gus to email me some close up pictures of how this was done. From what I remember the 3-speed tractor transmission was mounted on the engine stand next the briggs motor. The driven clutch was mounted on the shaft of the 3-speed transmission. Gus told me that a machinist who worked for the oil company did this modification to the Max IV before he bought it.

[thebuggyman1]

Jim Dandy 1612 Tractor Primary T-92 Transmission - eBay (item 200530859863 end time Jan-10-11 18:57:42 PST) some rwd car/truck transmissions had removable bell housings and look similar to this. It might be hard to find a small light weight one though.

[TripleTriple]

Suzuki Samurai transfer case gets my vote (small, light,bulletproof and a huge aftermarket for gear swaps) Also is self contained- it is divorce mounted and has flanges already mounted for adapting it.

[thebuggyman1]

Suzuki Samurai transfer case gets my vote (small, light,bulletproof and a huge aftermarket for gear swaps) Also is self contained- it is divorce mounted and has flanges already mounted for adapting it.

Same as a tracker? I know where I can get a couple of those. I know the samuri had a different front axle (tracker was independant).

[greg pinson]

I looked at a divorced Suzuki transfer case. One was on Ebay for $170. How small are they? What do they weigh? Wish I could see one in person. My main concern is getting something that doesn't take too much power to run it in high range. What do you guys think?

[TripleTriple]

NOT like a Tracker- they are bolted to the transmission (married) the Samuria is attached to the tranny with a short driveshaft. Wieghs maybe 30-40lbs. High range does have some reduction as well so they don't take much power to turn (1.23 :1 if memory serves). Take a look on google- lots of pics. I have one under my Samurai I could measure if it wasn't so wet out but, they are as small as it gets for a divorced style case.

[FREQ42]

I know I had an old riding mower that had a 2 speed transmission in it, Hi/Lo F/N/R but i cant remember the manufacture.
there is one on EBay that may work for you it is item# 180607159985 or 180605979880 or 200530859863 or 350425293933
The last one has an open deferential that allows you to lock up one side. Magnatrac used them in their MT1800 to MT3000 Mini dozer's.
I have a MT1800 with this transmission and it operates like a skid-steer. It is possible to use this instead of the T20 but you will need to make an adapter for the input shaft.

The transaxle in my MT1800 works just like this

[greg pinson]

tripletriple, I would sure like to know the dimentions on that transfer case when you get the chance. What kind of parasitic loss do you guys think I would have if I ran that Suzuki transfer case between a 20 hp Kohler and a T20? Think it would suck a lot of power? The low range would sure be nice for crawling or towing.

FREO42 Thank you for the info, but I'm not interested in replacing the T20, only putting some sort of reduction box between it and the engine.

A tiny 3 speed with direct in high would be perfect. Does anybody out there have an idea?

[thebuggyman1]

I think the transfer case idea would work, but there has to be a more readily available one to use. One from an S-10, or Ranger/Explorer should work. They do bolt directly to the trans, but have separate fluid so the input HAS a seal. The linkage to shift it is also a concern.....these have electric motors and can be shifted on the fly most of the time.
Imagine running around in hi gear, halfway up a steep hill you bog, flip a switch and crawl the rest of the way up. Some custom machine work would have to be done, and they are more like 60-70 lbs. I'll check on gear ratios next week.

[smog]

the Suzuki Samurai T-case are realy small, have sealed input/output and you won't have to mess with an internal differential

[thebuggyman1]

Hey Smog, The problem is Suzuki's are very rare in these parts. I think I've seen 2 in my life. Car-part.com links to most of the salvage yards in the country (that are very big anyway), they only list a few, and they are pricey. My buddy owns a salvage yard and had a samuri in it, but with the price of steel up and little demand for parts I'd have to check to see if he crushed it or not. The GM and Ford t-cases are very common and cheap.