Wheel spacers for BX (older and newer models)

[85Hokie]

As most know spacers are a hot topic and a source that makes the tipsy tractor feel much better on any incline.

I have 2" bro-tek spacers on my BX25D - bought 7 years ago, even at $250 then, they were money very well spent.

Little background before I get to the spacers .

So ..... I found a rather well kept Bx1850 with FEL and 48" MMM on marketplace the other day ......... other than some cracked plastic on a rear fender it was perfect! Had no intensions of even looking at it! I do have a bad case of Kubota disease......

So chatting with the owner - it was posted at 8k - which is a "good" deal, it came with a ratchet rake and a core spiker. After a couple of chats I simply asked him WHY he was selling and what his bottom line was.......... He was moving from the gorgeous water front place on the near by lake to NC to be closer to his children and said he would let it go for 6K ........ damn...... I about bought fell out of my chair!!!!!

He had two other people promise to come and look and neither showed - so I got my truck and double axle trailer and got to his place at 9 am the next morning......
HE had all records - 514 hours - everything perfect .....except the ugly cracked plastic in rear - he backed up into his wife's car!!!!

AS I was shaking hands and throwing down cash - he said, "I have a self propelled vacuum .... you want that too?" .......... so with a huge smile on my face I took it all ........ the other items if new would be over a 1000 bucks - so I am selling the vacuum and spiker...


SO - get the machine home - do a little light work and am really impress with little brother of the BX25 ..... everything works perfectly. SOME things had never been used - the FEL had 95% of it paint - the rear pivot balls had never had anything attached to them!!!

SO .... back to the spacers ......... It needed some - 1.5" or 2" ..............

But I did not want to spend $250 just for spacers ........... did some digging.

The BX1850 and BX25 .... 23s and all those in between share the same bolt pattern for those that were wondering ....... 5 x 4.5 or 5 x 114.3 mm ...... the center hub size is 2.75" - that number is important too!!! BUT there is a difference in the size of the socket needed to remove the studs/bolts/nuts. On the Bx1850 you need a 21 mm on the BX25 and I would image the 23 too - the lug size is 19mm.

With some spacers the counter bore is not big enough to get the socket in there - that was my biggest fear.

Now to the meat of the story - I bought these :

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LY0K8VU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The 21 mm socket fit perfectly in the counterbore - HOWever an impact 21 mm one would not!

I bought the 1.5" ones - and for $61 bucks shipped - yes $61 bucks shipped !!!! These are perfect fit - and for those looking for spacers on a little cheaper side than the big 3 of spacers - give these a shot!

The feeling of balance is immediate - at only 3" wider - I could feel the stance improve.

Just figured someone may want to get the same effect - without breaking the bank doing it!

 

[xrocketengineer]

Well, now your little tractor will perform like a "Mustang".

 

[Tractor Gal]

As most know spacers are a hot topic and a source that makes the tipsy tractor feel much better on any incline.

I have 2" bro-tek spacers on my BX25D - bought 7 years ago, even at $250 then, they were money very well spent.

Little background before I get to the spacers .

So ..... I found a rather well kept Bx1850 with FEL and 48" MMM on marketplace the other day ......... other than some cracked plastic on a rear fender it was perfect! Had no intensions of even looking at it! I do have a bad case of Kubota disease......

So chatting with the owner - it was posted at 8k - which is a "good" deal, it came with a ratchet rake and a core spiker. After a couple of chats I simply asked him WHY he was selling and what his bottom line was.......... He was moving from the gorgeous water front place on the near by lake to NC to be closer to his children and said he would let it go for 6K ........ damn...... I about bought fell out of my chair!!!!!

He had two other people promise to come and look and neither showed - so I got my truck and double axle trailer and got to his place at 9 am the next morning......
HE had all records - 514 hours - everything perfect .....except the ugly cracked plastic in rear - he backed up into his wife's car!!!!

AS I was shaking hands and throwing down cash - he said, "I have a self propelled vacuum .... you want that too?" .......... so with a huge smile on my face I took it all ........ the other items if new would be over a 1000 bucks - so I am selling the vacuum and spiker...


SO - get the machine home - do a little light work and am really impress with little brother of the BX25 ..... everything works perfectly. SOME things had never been used - the FEL had 95% of it paint - the rear pivot balls had never had anything attached to them!!!

SO .... back to the spacers ......... It needed some - 1.5" or 2" ..............

But I did not want to spend $250 just for spacers ........... did some digging.

The BX1850 and BX25 .... 23s and all those in between share the same bolt pattern for those that were wondering ....... 5 x 4.5 or 5 x 114.3 mm ...... the center hub size is 2.75" - that number is important too!!! BUT there is a difference in the size of the socket needed to remove the studs/bolts/nuts. On the Bx1850 you need a 21 mm on the BX25 and I would image the 23 too - the lug size is 19mm.

With some spacers the counter bore is not big enough to get the socket in there - that was my biggest fear.

Now to the meat of the story - I bought these :

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LY0K8VU/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The 21 mm socket fit perfectly in the counterbore - HOWever an impact 21 mm one would not!

I bought the 1.5" ones - and for $61 bucks shipped - yes $61 bucks shipped !!!! These are perfect fit - and for those looking for spacers on a little cheaper side than the big 3 of spacers - give these a shot!

The feeling of balance is immediate - at only 3" wider - I could feel the stance improve.

Just figured someone may want to get the same effect - without breaking the bank doing it!

Good for you. It is so much fun to find a bargain. I'm happy for you.

And, as for the spacers, I would surely like to have them for more stability on my BX23 MLB, too. I think I mentioned here before with no resolution, there is not enough clearance between the tire and the mower wheel holder at the right rear tire to add more than a 1" or 1 1/4" spacer at best. . There are no wheels on the rear of the mower for the same reason. The left side clearance is not a problem. The manual doesn't seem to address adjusting for that particular parameter...or maybe I just don't understand what it says!

Anyway...happy mowing or whatever you're going to do with the new acquisition.

Tractor Gal

 

[Henro]

Good for you. It is so much fun to find a bargain. I'm happy for you.

And, as for the spacers, I would surely like to have them for more stability on my BX23 MLB, too. I think I mentioned here before with no resolution, there is not enough clearance between the tire and the mower wheel holder at the right rear tire to add more than a 1" or 1 1/4" spacer at best. . There are no wheels on the rear of the mower for the same reason. The left side clearance is not a problem. The manual doesn't seem to address adjusting for that particular parameter...or maybe I just don't understand what it says!

Anyway...happy mowing or whatever you're going to do with the new acquisition.

Tractor Gal

I put the jeep spacers on my BX2200 but due to the mmm could only go with 1.25”, due gage wheel bracket clearance on one side. Good quality and just a bit over $40 delivered.

Got some 2” Jeep spacers for my son in law‘s BX23S for about $50 delivered. One set from Amazon, the other from Walmart.

There have been some threads here in the past on this same subject, with photos and happy users reporting.

 

[Tractor Gal]

I put the jeep spacers on my BX2200 but due to the mmm could only go with 1.25”, due gage wheel bracket clearance on one side. Good quality and just a bit over $40 delivered.

Got some 2” Jeep spacers for my son in law‘s BX23S for about $50 delivered. One set from Amazon, the other from Walmart.

There have been some threads here in the past on this same subject, with photos and happy users reporting.

Part of my continued question is...how much "extra' stability is achieved with 2.5" total extra width to rear tires? Is it a $64K question? Maybe only to me.

TG

 

[85Hokie]

TG,

I will tell you this ........ 8 years ago a got my BX25D - and a rode around my yard .... it is about 6 -8 degrees - I had the ol butt pucker some KINDA bad ..... but I had never had a tractor that compact either.... so there was that.

I bought 2" spacers almost immediately and placed them on - that 4" was unbelievable!! Really - you could feel it in your butt!!!

So - moving ahead - the BX1850 ..... same kinda reaction - studied the rear wheels of the 48" deck - I only placed 1.5" spacers on it so that I would NOT be wider at the rear end as the deck itself.

My rear end width on that model is something like 45.5 or something close to that - even with the 3" difference the feeling was instant and solid. That 60 bucks was wellllll spent!

My clearance to wheels and tires on mmm-tire is about 1/2" - so unless I hit something real hard with my deck - that two cannot touch.

you 2.5" will be felt - you will feel the difference.

 

[Henro]

Part of my continued question is...how much "extra' stability is achieved with 2.5" total extra width to rear tires? Is it a $64K question? Maybe only to me.

TG

All that I know is you will get more stability with wheel spacers than if you don’t have them.

If you’re going to be on a side slope every little bit helps.

85Hokie summed it up pretty well.

In my case, did I feel a difference after the 1.25“ spacers were installed? Not really. But both my front and rear wheels were foam filled (heavy) before I got the spacers, so that added to my comfort level to begin with.

 

[Henro]

Part of my continued question is...how much "extra' stability is achieved with 2.5" total extra width to rear tires? Is it a $64K question? Maybe only to me.

TG

By the way, there is a method that is used by off-road enthusiasts to get an idea, at least in the static sense, of how much slope it takes to tilt their vehicles on the side (or worse). It’s called a tilt table.

The vehicle is driven onto a flat surface that is hinged on one side. It’s chained in a way that will prevent it from falling on its side if it starts to lift off the flat surface on the high side.

The flat surface is raised on one side until the vehicle wheels on the high side lift off the surface. This gives them an idea of how much slope they could possibly cross in the most ideal extreme situation, something that does not exist in the real world. Never heard about this being done with tractors, but I’m sure someone has somewhere/sometime.

This is a best case assessment of the extreme angle that could be reached in theoy. In the real world there are dynamics at play: bumps, holes and so on. All such things decrease the angle that the vehicle might traverse best case.

 

[Tractor Gal]

TG,

I will tell you this ........ 8 years ago a got my BX25D - and a rode around my yard .... it is about 6 -8 degrees - I had the ol butt pucker some KINDA bad ..... but I had never had a tractor that compact either.... so there was that.

I bought 2" spacers almost immediately and placed them on - that 4" was unbelievable!! Really - you could feel it in your butt!!!

So - moving ahead - the BX1850 ..... same kinda reaction - studied the rear wheels of the 48" deck - I only placed 1.5" spacers on it so that I would NOT be wider at the rear end as the deck itself.

My rear end width on that model is something like 45.5 or something close to that - even with the 3" difference the feeling was instant and solid. That 60 bucks was wellllll spent!

My clearance to wheels and tires on mmm-tire is about 1/2" - so unless I hit something real hard with my deck - that two cannot touch.

you 2.5" will be felt - you will feel the difference.

My explanations are not very good. So, here's what I mean by clearance. It is not between the tread of the wheel and the mower deck or front of the tire clearance...as in straight ahead of the tread to the mower. I'll call that position 0 degrees. It is the side clearance. The side of the tire will hit the spot where the wheel of the mower inserts...I'll call that 90 degrees.

If I could get the mower either pulled ahead or pulled more to the left, spacers were work easily. Here's a picture of the current clearance at the left tire (I think I said right earlier but it doesn't matter at this moment.)

 

[Tractor Gal]

All that I know is you will get more stability with wheel spacers than if you don’t have them.

If you’re going to be on a side slope every little bit helps.

85Hokie summed it up pretty well.

In my case, did I feel a difference after the 1.25“ spacers were installed? Not really. But both my front and rear wheels were foam filled (heavy) before I got the spacers, so that added to my comfort level to begin with.

That would be a very interesting process but I don't think it is practical for me at this moment. Additionally, the rear tires are not filled...with a backhoe they are not to be filled if I have read the manual correctly. Good idea, though. Wish I could do it. Instead, if I feel uneasy about the slope, I won't do it...simple as that. Everyone would be making the same decisions.

TG

 

[85Hokie]

My explanations are not very good. So, here's what I mean by clearance. It is not between the tread of the wheel and the mower deck or front of the tire clearance...as in straight ahead of the tread to the mower. I'll call that position 0 degrees. It is the side clearance. The side of the tire will hit the spot where the wheel of the mower inserts...I'll call that 90 degrees.

If I could get the mower either pulled ahead or pulled more to the left, spacers were work easily. Here's a picture of the current clearance at the left tire (I think I said right earlier but it doesn't matter at this moment.)

View attachment 62349

Makes perfect sense !

ON some B7100's there was a problem with the wheel spinning around and hitting the tire - thus they had a place to allow it not to spin - rather it could only move forward and backwards.

Have you cut grass yet with your MMM?

 

[Tractor Gal]

Makes perfect sense !

ON some B7100's there was a problem with the wheel spinning around and hitting the tire - thus they had a place to allow it not to spin - rather it could only move forward and backwards.

Have you cut grass yet with your MMM?

Yes, I have used it several times...love it! My JD lawn tractor was 38" cut so this 60" is a dream. I have removed the rear wheels from the mower for that very reason. That does not seem to impede anything. I've mowed both in the yard and in the field.

TG

 

[85Hokie]

Ok - and that is what I thought..... now the crazy part........

cut that holder off! Yes - I know it is there for anti-scalp but if you are satisfied without the wheel on it - remove the holder - it can always be welded back on later if need be.

If that was the case - I would get 2" spacers!!! I swear to you the difference is instant !

 

[Tractor Gal]

Ok - and that is what I thought..... now the crazy part........

cut that holder off! Yes - I know it is there for anti-scalp but if you are satisfied without the wheel on it - remove the holder - it can always be welded back on later if need be.

If that was the case - I would get 2" spacers!!! I swear to you the difference is instant !

85Hokie, you're a genius! I never thought of cutting those off. I would really love the spacers, especially if I knew I could mow out by the road where the slope is troubling! I'm going to give this some thought.

Now...I don't have a grinder or a sawzall. I'll have to look to see how thick that metal is.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[85Hokie]

85Hokie, you're a genius! I never thought of cutting those off. I would really love the spacers, especially if I knew I could mow out by the road where the slope is troubling! I'm going to give this some thought.

Now...I don't have a grinder or a sawzall. I'll have to look to see how thick that metal is.

Thanks for the tip!

Well.... for the cost of it - get you a corded grinder at Lowes or HD or where ever ........ shoot - you can get them for under $75 ..... buy a cutoff wheel - they are about 3 ..4 bucks a piece ......

glasses on - maybe a face shield - hold tight and cut near the weld but out side the weld. Switch out cut off wheel for grinding wheel and clean up the cutting.

here is a grinder for under $50

 

[Tractor Gal]

Well.... for the cost of it - get you a corded grinder at Lowes or HD or where ever ........ shoot - you can get them for under $75 ..... buy a cutoff wheel - they are about 3 ..4 bucks a piece ......

glasses on - maybe a face shield - hold tight and cut near the weld but out side the weld. Switch out cut off wheel for grinding wheel and clean up the cutting.

here is a grinder for under $50

Is there a wheel of some sort to fit on a regular drill? I've got variable speed drills by the thousands...well, three.

 

[85Hokie]

Is there a wheel of some sort to fit on a regular drill? I've got variable speed drills by the thousands...well, three.

Well - a drill will not spin fast enough to cut I do not think, a sawsall could do it too.

Maybe you neighbor has grinder or sawsall?

 

[Tractor Gal]

Is there a wheel of some sort to fit on a regular drill? I've got variable speed drills by the thousands...well, three.

I see a 4 1/2" 5 amp corded grinder at Harbor Freight...$20. I'll look at it tomorrow. I'll be going there to get a 31/64" drill bit to install a helicoil for the HST drain.

 

[Tractor Gal]

Well - a drill will not spin fast enough to cut I do not think, a sawsall could do it too.

Maybe you neighbor has grinder or sawsall?

I'm sure my neighbor would have a grinder but I have asked for his help so many times that I hesitate to keep asking. I'll look at the grinder at Harbor Freight tomorrow. $20 would be worth it and who knows? I may need to use it for something else another time.

 

[RCW]

I see a 4 1/2" 5 amp corded grinder at Harbor Freight...$20. I'll look at it tomorrow. I'll be going there to get a 31/64" drill bit to install a helicoil for the HST drain.

I have 2 or 3 of the Harbor Freight corded angle grinders with paddle switches. They have several grades. I think mine were $18 6-8 years ago. Keep different discs on each for quick task changes. Work great!

HF also has the 1/16" (?) cutoff wheels in multi-packs for a few $. (Some don't care for them, but I've never had one break).