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I'm rebuilding (replacing *all* parts associated with) the front axle of this 1993 Wizard (Western Auto brand) AYP with all new parts - was able to find *everything* else on the internet, including the spindle for the *right* side and the axle itself even though they have also been discontinued (searspartsdirect.com happened to have them still in inventory). This part is common to many brands (like Sears/Craftsman and Wizard) of AYP over a range of years.

The old one is probably not that bad, but it's frustrating to have all new wear parts except this one. If anyone knows where one is (new) that I could buy, *please* let me know. I've Googled and Googled, but no joy. Found one site today that listed it as being in stock, got all excited - but called them, and it turns out that they were also out of it and were behind in updating their inventory status.

Thanks.

Hay Peva

Is it possible to take your old one to a machine shop and have them make you one, its just a shaft with a 90 degree bend in it and i'm sure there is something welded to it for steering.And some holes drilled in it. Might be a idea to get one, might want them to give you a estament for how much it's going to cost before you have them start. Cold be expensive to make.

Thanks, Noma.

That would have been a last resort - you never know what the quality of the work is going to be (I just moved to the area) and if you'll have continual problems with a part that is "almost right". And - yes - I have to wonder the cost. I'm an engineer and tend to like things exact (and demanding of detail that some craftsmen don't see the value in - can create problems). :confused2: :laughing:

Similar to what you suggested, one clean option I did consider was having the wear areas of my original spindle welded up and turned down to the right dimension (like they used to do with crankshafts). But I guess that could have been expensive too - but less risk of not fitting/tracking right due to inaccurate angles and dimensions.

Anyway - I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but I did a search on ebay about 20 minutes ago, and dang if there wasn't a set of both spindles (used, but appear to be in great (low wear) condition based on the description and photo): 50-7 Craftsman Steering Spindles 135227 135228 - eBay (item 270694885056 end time Feb-10-11 03:38:59 PST) - oh - and yes - I'm the one that bought it. Glad I checked when I did - the auction was due to close in 2 hours.

I figure those are in 90% better shape than the heavily used parts I have - haven't taken it apart yet, but the original axle is about to collapse - literally. Too bad I ordered a brand new spindle for the other side, but it was only $12-13 - anyway - it will be new, and now I'll have a used spare (that I probably will never need/use).

I bought the ball bearing equivalent of the standard bushings for the wheels, which is one of the reasons I wanted new spindles - but I'll settle for used/low wear on the one at this point.

Anyway - problem solved.

BTW - it looks like that guy sells used parts on ebay regularly. I have no connection with him - didn't know he existed until literally minutes ago - but it might be a good future source for others here looking for obsolete parts in good used condition.

Thanks again.

Ebay is a great source for almost everything...
I have bought Everything from Cars & tractors to electronic components, You can find almost anything you can imagine there... Love Ebay... :smile:KennyV

Well - funny thing about the new right side spindle that I ordered from searspartsdirect - they were the *only* place on the internet that showed they had stock on that part. *BUT* they emailed today saying that the source they were pulling it from was out of it - so they canceled that part from the order. As long as the pair of used spindles I bought off of ebay is in as good a shape as they appeared to be in the auction photo, then Sears lying to me and telling me they had it in stock isn't so bad - they will refund me $13 - rather have that than two of the same part.

My only concern now is that the axle pivot bushing (for which they also were the last place on the internet claiming stock on) isn't real either - their web site shows that as not having shipped yet, but they haven't yet notified me that they are canceling that one - so fingers crossed on that one. The other two parts I ordered from them did in fact ship 4 days ago (one of which was the axle itself - which many places were showing as no longer in stock, so at least I'm safe on that).

So I won't be surprised if they do notify me that they are canceling the bushing. At least if they do, I should be able to have one made or make one out of a piece of pipe or something for not too much $$.

So - again if the used ebay spindles are in decent shape, I should be OK.

Peva said:

then Sears lying to me and telling me they had it in stock

My only concern now is that the axle pivot bushing
I should be able to have one made or make one out of a piece of pipe or something for not too much $$.

Click to expand...

Do you REALLY feel that they deliberately told you they had the part KNOWING that they didn't??? That does not even make any sense!
Telling you something with the intent to deceive is lying... stating something in error isn't ...


As to the bushings you will find bronze, plastic and steel bushings as common stock at most Hdw stores... for that location I would fit graphite impregnated bronze. :smile:KennyV

KennyV said:

Do you REALLY feel that they deliberately told you they had the part KNOWING that they didn't??? That does not even make any sense!
Telling you something with the intent to deceive is lying... stating something in error isn't ...

Click to expand...

I could accept that if the description they gave wasn't the *definite* "In stock" (and - yes - I know nothing is this world is 100% - but it's expected that a reasonable effort be made to be close). I think that saying a part is in stock when it turns out it isn't is too common to put it into the category of a once in a blue moon occurrence - we're not talking about a mom and pop operation there. With suppliers computer inventorying and being networked like they are, it should be a very rare occurrence. I suspect it is not, and no doubt we've all experienced cases where we were inconvenienced by a similar occurrence and suspected that the vendor was telling a little white lie when they initially told you something was in stock when it really wasn't, and logisitcs is used as a convenient excuse for them claiming not to know.

BTW - if you look the part up on their site, it still shows it as being "In stock". It can't be claimed that their inventory tracking system doesn't know it's out of stock, yet they are still saying "In stock". Their system had to change the status of that part in order to trigger the "part canceled" form email. Hard to believe that the systems of an otherwise smooth operating system like that couldn't be set up to do a global change of status. It's not that it can't be done - I suspect that they don't want to. Their not having one item out of a handful could convince a buyer to decide to consolidate his order elsewhere, so it isn't that they would just lose the sale of that one part that they can't do anything about - it means the loss of multiple-item orders ($$).

The cost to the customer can be a delayed project or in some cases a prohibitively expensive or difficult one - and they know that. Hence why they don't set it up the way it can be just as easily as not doing so.

As to the bushings you will find bronze, plastic and steel bushings as common stock at most Hdw stores... for that location I would fit graphite impregnated bronze. :smile:KennyV

Click to expand...

Ahh - good info. Hopefully its a standard ID and OD combination.

Thanks.

It's even worse with Sears. The bushing is also still showing as on order but not having been shipped, and they haven't heard from their supplier yet that it is even available. I ordered it on the 6th, shown as of that date as "Ordered: Part has been processed in the system, but status from the supplier is not yet available". Figuring another bogus claim of "In Stock" (10 days of not even having found a source, much less it being shipped!), I called them Sunday and asked for it to be canceled. They refused, but said they would issue a "Request" in their system for cancelation - and that it would take 3 days for that request to be processed. Yesterday the status changed to "Pending: Check back in 24 hours for updated status."

Sunday, I also found the bushing brand new on ebay. I couldn't risk missing that opportunity for getting the actual part brand new while Sears plays their shell game. I ordered it then (from the ebay source) - received it today. Amazing. I did tell Sears when I talked to them Sunday that since their order process was so deceitful and because of that I couldn't wait to find out if they were going to actually ship the part that their site said was "In Stock", that if they ever did ship it, I would refuse it and would have my credit card company refund the money.

I will *never* use searspartsdirect again. There were 3 or 4 other suppliers who stock the same types of parts as they do, yet those other sites accurately and honestly show both parts as not being available (within their supply systems - likely the exact same sources as Sears uses) - yet Sears can't keep their system even close to updated. Again, I have to believe that the slop in their system is intentional to capture orders that include other items that are in stock at Sears and every other supplier but that the other suppliers are honest enough to say "Not available" or something similar on a given part that *is* in fact no longer available thru the standard supply chain. Yet Sears only cancels the part in limbo on their terms. They lure you into ordering the parts, but will not let you cancel - they decide when cancelation is allowed even though it is clear that the part was not available from their sources in the first place.

And BTW - Sears *still* shows not only this part but the one that they sent me the cancelation email on a week ago as "In Stock" on their site. What you want to bet they will show both parts as "In Stock" a month from now?

On the positive side, the used spindles I received from the other ebay vendor are like brand new as far as wear - basically the wear went thru the paint, but there is absolutely no detectable wear of metal at all. I'm puzzled by how such an old part could be in the used parts system and have zero wear - not complaining, but puzzled. I lucked out on that one.

Anyway, thanks for letting me vent. Maybe my experiewnce will help others.

"On the positive side, the used spindles I received from the other ebay vendor are like brand new as far as wear - basically the wear went thru the paint, but there is absolutely no detectable wear of metal at all. I'm puzzled by how such an old part could be in the used parts system and have zero wear - not complaining, but puzzled. I lucked out on that one."

Why puzzled?
Age of a part doesn't really have any relationship to wear. You definitely "lucked out" in getting one from what was obviously a lightly used machine. It could have been from a machine with a very early blown engine, or from a "low mileage" trade-in, one that was used very little per year, or one used for only a year or 2, or from one used for a few years with excellent maintenance.

Many people, especially those with money to burn who could easily afford paying a shop to do all their required maintenance, simply can't be bothered to take a machine in to do something as simple and necessary as changing the engine's oil (some will not even add oil when low) or to do anything themselves that might result in getting themselves or their clothing grease-stained, so they don't ever get around to greasing anything on their machines, or preparing them for long period of disuse-just trading them in every year or 2 on newer models.

My stepfather is one of those, a good woodworker, but when it comes to turning wrenches-forget about it.
He has a total grassed area equivalent to about 50' x 40' and is on the 4th walk-behind mower in 12 years. He gives the old ones away when he gets a new one-which is usually when it gets too hard to start. (My Poulon garden tractor/mower is 14 this year, I use it year-round for mowing and other things, and do several acres when I mow.) He never changes the engine oil, or cleans or replaces the air filter, or stores his mower properly. (In his defense he at least does his own mowing and sharpens his own blade.) Others, such as yourself, are much more conscientious about maintenance-and make things last-until some parts wear out from years of long or hard use.........

I hear you, goodolboy.

For us DIY'ers, the ones who only keep a mower for a couple of years and get a new one are a good source for "new" lawnmowers. That's how I got this one - from a family friend who actualy takes good care of them, but because he pays a shop to work on them, considers relatively minor problems as major, and therefore buys a new one often. It's a win-win!

Speaking of obsolete, I have an old WeedEater (WE-50) 20hp rider, almost identical to a Craftsman rider of that year (late nineties). The parts manual even referenced Craftsman parts. Most wre made by AYP.

Since I lost the manual, I can't locate parts for it. Any suggestions on how to find the comparable Craftsman rider so as to find parts numbers?

Bruce

megg_104 on EBay. She has an Ebay Store of small tractor parts. Interesting life story too.

Peva said:

Thanks, Noma.

That would have been a last resort - you never know what the quality of the work is going to be (I just moved to the area) and if you'll have continual problems with a part that is "almost right". And - yes - I have to wonder the cost. I'm an engineer and tend to like things exact (and demanding of detail that some craftsmen don't see the value in - can create problems). :confused2: :laughing:

Similar to what you suggested, one clean option I did consider was having the wear areas of my original spindle welded up and turned down to the right dimension (like they used to do with crankshafts). But I guess that could have been expensive too - but less risk of not fitting/tracking right due to inaccurate angles and dimensions.

Anyway - I don't know why I didn't think of this before, but I did a search on ebay about 20 minutes ago, and dang if there wasn't a set of both spindles (used, but appear to be in great (low wear) condition based on the description and photo): 50-7 Craftsman Steering Spindles 135227 135228 - eBay (item 270694885056 end time Feb-10-11 03:38:59 PST) - oh - and yes - I'm the one that bought it. Glad I checked when I did - the auction was due to close in 2 hours.

I figure those are in 90% better shape than the heavily used parts I have - haven't taken it apart yet, but the original axle is about to collapse - literally. Too bad I ordered a brand new spindle for the other side, but it was only $12-13 - anyway - it will be new, and now I'll have a used spare (that I probably will never need/use).

I bought the ball bearing equivalent of the standard bushings for the wheels, which is one of the reasons I wanted new spindles - but I'll settle for used/low wear on the one at this point.

Anyway - problem solved.

BTW - it looks like that guy sells used parts on ebay regularly. I have no connection with him - didn't know he existed until literally minutes ago - but it might be a good future source for others here looking for obsolete parts in good used condition.

Thanks again.

Click to expand...

Bruce - In addition to cottom's ebay suggestion, you could just Google 'weedeater' and the model number and 'parts', and you'll probably get a few pages of hits - most of which will be garbage or multiple dupicates of legitimate hits, but likely a handful of legitimate sources for parts. Going to the few legitimate sites will quickly clue you in on which are the best for parts availability, ease of use, and pricing.

I haven't searched for Weedeater parts, but for both my '93/'94 Wizard (AKA Craftsman, AKA AYP) rider and my early 90's Toro self-propelled walk-behind, I found parts-selling sites that have the original parts lists with sketches for parts identification (sometimes in downloadable pdf format, in other cases it will be an online database). From there it's a matter of plugging in the parts to the search lines on the same and other legitimate selling sites. It also works to simply put the manufacturer name and the part number into Google search, and also on ebay search. It can be time consuming, and you have to sometimes be creative/clever to verify you're looking up the right thing (part numbers change and get superceded), but it's fun to find the real bargains.

Getting back to ebay: I have found brand new - in original unopened bag parts - obsolete or hard to find. Just yesterday I bought a Toro cable for under $10 + $3.50 shipping (new in unopened bag) - cheapest I found from the on-line distributors was over $25. I suspect a lot of the ebay bargains are brick and mortar dealers getting rid of older inventory at true bargain prices (or closing up shop due to economy or retirement).

Peva said:

Bruce - In addition to cottom's ebay suggestion, you could just Google 'weedeater' and the model number and 'parts', and you'll probably get a few pages of hits - most of which will be garbage or multiple dupicates of legitimate hits, but likely a handful of legitimate sources for parts. Going to the few legitimate sites will quickly clue you in on which are the best for parts availability, ease of use, and pricing.

I haven't searched for Weedeater parts, but for both my '93/'94 Wizard (AKA Craftsman, AKA AYP) rider and my early 90's Toro self-propelled walk-behind, I found parts-selling sites that have the original parts lists with sketches for parts identification (sometimes in downloadable pdf format, in other cases it will be an online database). From there it's a matter of plugging in the parts to the search lines on the same and other legitimate selling sites. It also works to simply put the manufacturer name and the part number into Google search, and also on ebay search. It can be time consuming, and you have to sometimes be creative/clever to verify you're looking up the right thing (part numbers change and get superceded), but it's fun to find the real bargains.

Getting back to ebay: I have found brand new - in original unopened bag parts - obsolete or hard to find. Just yesterday I bought a Toro cable for under $10 + $3.50 shipping (new in unopened bag) - cheapest I found from the on-line distributors was over $25. I suspect a lot of the ebay bargains are brick and mortar dealers getting rid of older inventory at true bargain prices (or closing up shop due to economy or retirement).

Click to expand...

Thanks, Peva.
Don't know why I didn't think of that myself. I'll give it a try. Wish me luck!
Bruce