Find a Deere 200 series (210, 212, 214, 216) or a square-fender 110/112 that is no longer running. The trans in those is indestructible , 4 spd plus Rev. Lots of those units were built so finding one won't take long.
I offered a guy $200 for a pair of mostly complete 110 square fenders... Said no "at this time" so there is some hope. But I also made an offer on a case 442. The 200 and 400 series case tractors use a hydraulic motor on the transaxle. It looks like it would work well just need to hook up a couple hoses.
The only problem is every time I think I finish my dream splitter the dream gets bigger…. It will happen to you too its worse than having a CAD addiction! Before ya know it you will have a mud bogging wood splitter with 45" Micky Thompson tires!
http://maine.craigslist.org/for/4642403486.html I think I'll be calling about this... 35hp diesel, tires and wheel motors and a power steering setup on the jockey wheel for $1000 (or less)... And a few extra hoses, hydraulic motors etc. @MasterMech any experience with these?
Some, but not the diesels. I've got a bit of wrench time and plenty of seat time on it's gas cousins. I wonder how big those pumps are? There's more than one.... And a few cylinders for small things like a hyd 4-way .... You could sell the cutting units for more than what he's asking for the whole machine. $1000 is stupid cheap for one of those, especially if it's an operational machine with good reels on it.
I don't think the pump would work...it's a 5 or six section pump putting out various flow to different motors. I'd probably go with a single stage pump of around 1.5 cubic inches. With 35 hp I could move 25gpm at 2000psi or 20gpm at 2500. Loaded cycle times would be in the 8 second range for a 24" cylinder.
Have you thought about running your aux hydraulics (4-way, lift, etc) off of a separate pump than the splitter itself?
I still have units mowing tees that have 4000+ hours on them with the original Briggs Vanguard motors. Air-cooled, gas. One old Toro 3000 with a Kohler Magnum 16hp on it, single cylinder thumper, 5000+ hours, runs fantastic still. Still use it to verticut greens. Golf equipment gets used daily, and is generally well cared for as most places have a mechanic on staff.
Had a pair of Toro 325D Front-mounts that we used for rough-mowers. They have a Mitsubishi 25hp diesel on them. One went 9000 hours before the engine started to knock bad and the other is still cutting grass. The Groundsmaster 3500D we use for side-hills and banks around tee boxes has probably a very similar if not identical 35Hp diesel on it and it has well in excess of 4000 hours on it. Still goes out 4 days a week.
Do you know if these are closed center hydraulics? I might be able to combine the output of the pump sections externally to get the right flow... But if it's closed center I'm not sure if I could use the hydraulic steering control valve with an open center log splitter valve.
I just went through this issue with my wood trailer - thought about putting the pulloffs from my foreman on the 4" hubs. First off the center hub hole was too narrow, second there is no additional flat surface to re-drill the wheel to accept the studs. I do have two new ITP wheels(in boxes) that have a larger hub diameter and plenty of flat surface to drill a 4" pattern. The wheel offset would have made the trailer track so wide that it defeats the purpose of a small trailer in the woods
I couldn't find any trailer hubs, hydraulic or not, that have a metric bolt pattern which would allow atv tires/rims to be used off-road on a trailer build. I've thought about getting 4 on 4" trailer hubs and welding the holes up and redrilling for studs on a metric offset. Or using the rear rims off a garden tractor with atv tires. The older, better built garden tractor often use a 12x6" rim with 4/4" or 5/4.5 bolt spacing.
Some of the newer ones are closed center with axial piston pumps for the traction drive rather than open center with a stack of gear pumps. My money is on OC with that machine.
Would something like what I made fit your needs if you put the splitter on wheels? Got some splitting to do soon will get some pics of it attached.
So I know I should give up on this idea and use a Chonda engine and harbor freight trailer to build off of but this johns deere looks interesting as well. (Though it's closed center) http://maine.craigslist.org/grd/4604030099.html But after down loading the 500 page service manual and reading 75 pages on the hydraulic theory of operation my head is spinning. I could probably salvage enough parts to sell on ebay to pay for it and be left with the wheel motors and Diesel engine that I want... Just not sure I want to mess with reworking it all. ( KISS) Old golf course mowers would be the way to go though --buying the hydraulic motors, wheels and hubs individualy would cost more than the whole mower.
It would be easier to find a wheel&tire that has a flat surface and drill them to a 4" pattern. Like I said the offset on these would make my trailer track too wide, and I'd have to swap the tires off the original rims. There is plenty off space to drill them and the center hole fits a standard 4" hub
Well, I just sold my old splitter. Sold it a lot quicker than I had anticipated so now I have to make some decisions.