IMHO, the best quality of a cast iron axle is that it's cheaper to make a strong one out of cast iron than it is steel. It's also heavy, and unlike automobiles where weight saving is considered a good thing as it helps the ride and handling to lower unsprung weight, in a tractor more weight is on your side to aid traction.

It's possible to make a good steel axle (I think my old snapper LT11 has one), but I think front axle failure, even on cheap lawn tractors, is rare.

Thanks guys, that's pretty much what I've been thinking anyway. Unless they're cheapening-up on the steel, the steel axles have been around for a long time and have held up pretty good. Just thought maybe someone knew a revelation that I haven't run across yet. Thanks.

In regard to the question of splash lube vs. pressure lube, I will go so far as to say (my opinion) that a well designed "splash lubed" engine, operating in the correct, intended, conditions......will do anything a well designed "pressure lubed" engine (with all things being more or less equal) will do. The actual, critical "need" for having a "pressure lubed" engine is if the engine has OVERHEAD VALVES. In a flat head engine design (old school type), the valves are in the crankcase (block) and run directly off the camshaft (also in the crankcase) and all the moving parts of the valve train can be arranged to receive lube & cooling oil from the "cloud" of oil spray/splash/mist....that is present inside the crankcase when the engine is running. "Overhead valve engines" have their valves, rockers, and upper end of push rod/tubes actually situated away from, and shielded from the oil bath environment of the crankcase. Because the oil splash cannot reach these areas of the engine, it is necessary to "pipe the oil" to them and to do that requires an oil pump system of some kind. In recent years, some of the older F-head engine designs have begun featuring oil pumps (even though the engine is splash lubed). This might be just to provide a means of filtering the oil or it could just be a "sell-ability" ploy to make these engines appear more "sophisticated" than they actually are.

If your referring to the transmission, the transmission case is cast iron, not the axles. Steel is stronger the cast iron, but its more expensive to produce. A lot of garden tractors have cast iron for the transmission case because its strong and heavy and you want the extra weight in a garden tractor. You could make a similiar case out of steel, but it would cost much more. Lawn tractors use a light gauge steel or aluminum case and usually have cheaper gears, bearing etc inside the tranny which will not handle more extreme usage such as ground engaging attachments, heavy pulling, or plowing. If your only mowing your lawn, cast iron is not needed.

I was surprised to hear a lot of garden tractors have cast iron transmission cases, especially the newer ones. When I purchased my JD325 garden tractor, it did not have a cast iron transmission case. At first I was disappointed, but then began to think about the aluminum transmissions in automobiles and vans that handle weights many times heavier than a small garden tractor. My old Cub Cadet had a heavy cast iron transaxel. I personally prefer a cast iron front axel, but would not worry if it was steel. Charles Ranheim

The key is being able to grease the axle where the wheel spindle goes through at a minimum. The more HD axles are great if you have the use for them such as in a garden tractor application. Change your oil as directed- not neglecting the break in oil change and you will do fine.

I am disappointed that I did not examine the OHV lubrication system of the Intek and Vanguard twin cylinder B&S engines I recently wrote about. Never thought of it until I saw the post above that OHV engines required pressure lube for rocker arms etc. I would point out that most of the single cylinder OHV B&S engines are what some call splash but are actually a slinger system and I don't know of a problem directly linked to that.

Walt Conner

I used to own an older 90's gravely tractor with a rather large cast iron front axle and didn't think much of it until a few years later when i sold it because of a move.I then purchased a white (mtd) lawn tractor as a temporary replacement.Night and day difference in handling...the steel axle on the white was very shaky and caused "bump" steer even on smooth ground.Now i know thats like comparing apples to oranges but my current tractor is a jd235 and i noticed a big difference again when going back to cast iron.Even though the two axles are the same size,the jd is cast iron and just more rigid.If you have more than an acre to mow,i recommend cast iron just for better handling and more comfort.Thats my two cents worth.

My 1996 JD GT275 GT has a formed steel axle - my 2002 DLT2000 Craftsman LT has a cast iron axle. Both have grease zerks.

No opinion - just the way it is.

Thanks for all the input folks. A lot of good info here.

tomslildeere, I went through a similar switch (MTD/Yard Machines to a Husky) and agree, but I got to thinking after looking at my MTD; how much of it has to do with how the axle is connected to the frame. At first glance, the MTD's looks to b e part of the frame, while the Husky's is a bigger, much more durable unit. I've also noticed on a few nicer tractors, the gears for the steering are down much closer to the ground, which I assume also helps control some shock that could cause the steering to feel a bit loose, along with generally better made and fitting parts. It's hard to pin down if steel axle's are that bad, or if it's just because they are mounted on lower end stuff to begin with.

One thing to remember is cast iron is often much thicker than the 14-16 gauge steel commonly used on lower end machines. By that virtue, it's going to last longer and be tougher. Part of why I choose this is I often mow a neighbors yard where I need to go over rough curbs and through some nasty ditches to mow. That all said, it's hard to tell as if it makes the differences as most machines with steel axles are in the trash before it would likely start to make a difference.

If the front axle is well-enough made, steel should be BETTER than cast iron because it doesn't crack or break. If you take a look at farm tractors, they always have steel front axles these days. Some components may be made from forged steel castings, but that's for convenience in manufacturing complex shapes.

The only reason why cast iron axles are a selling point on lawn tractors is that it's a cheap way to add weight. But a strong welded-steel axle will add weight too, as will fitting heavier wheels and tyres or a heavier cutting deck - and moving the engine an inch or two further forward in the frame, or placing a full-size automotive battery there, would have the same effect on handling. You have to consider the design as a whole.

I have both ,a tractor with a boxed steel front axel and one with cast iron.
The boxed steel axel will bend and deform when abused ,especially around the frame mount as mentioned by jagstang41.
Cast iron will break but it will not deform.
The tractor with the boxed steel axel is so bad that the turning radius is different from left to right.
This idea about the only reason for cast iron is the added weight is BS.

I would consider how long I intend to keep the LT. Few years either will preform well. But, it you intend to keep it for along time then I would go with the cast iron. IMO they will wear less and have less slack in the steering .also IMO the hole front end more heavier made than just the front axle.

stamped steel and the rest of the steering parts are cheaply made and will get loose quicker, wear faster, and steering will be poor IMO.

I have both also and the cast iron and hardware is WAY better than the stamped steel and hardware.

Guys, I said IF the front axle is well-enough made, steel is better than cast iron. If your steel front axle bends, it isn't well-enough made.

If you take a look at professional grasscutting machinery you don't find a lot of cast iron EXCEPT when it's used as ballast weight. As just one example, you get cast iron in the front wheel spindle-mountings of a Toro Z42 homeowner ZTR but on the top pro machines like the Z597D they're steel.

well, teh cast iron front axle on my L130 and several others of varying manufacturers certainly did not hold up to the rough yard and weekly travels ont eh trailer. mine snapped last year and when researching it i found a BUNCH of folks onthe net with teh same issue. CI is heavy, but repeated hits and jarring will snap it in a heart beat.

you just have to choose the option that fits you and your situation best.

BTW, i jsut got a new machine and it has a heavy duty CI axle as well.

I don't think we are talking about forged steel front ends on low end tractors. more like thin stamped steel. IMO the hole design is cheaply made were mid grade LT cast front end parts are better and last longer and tighter. Are they made to bounce off trees? I don't think so. LT are made for lawns not brush hogging pastures. Alot of people go to fast don't smooth out there yards from ruts and roots, bang into trees and anything else from kids banging into shyt and popping the front end up and down. Naturely there are going to be some failures on either type. I think we are talking about normal wear Light LT's vs. longivity of the two types of front end designs.

Weight costs money, whether it is cast iron or sheet/bar steel, although cast is a bit cheaper. There is no doubt you could build a very good fabricated front axel from sheet and bar steel,it could be stronger than a cast one, but it would probably cost more than a cast one to make.

The low end guys use fabricated front axels because they can get "acceptable" strength at the lowest cost. The weak points seem to be at the pivot, as was mentioned, as many use extruded sections for pivot support instead of welded in tubing and bushings. The typical "I beam" style they use also seems to be pretty weak when it sees twisting style loads.

When it comes to the strenth of non fabricated axels, as was said, a forging would be by far the best, but are very expensive. Casting materials also vary a lot, but if nodular iron were used, it would start to approach the strenth of a non high strength forging. Plain old grey cast iron is not very strong, but it is the cheapest, so sections can be a bit thicker at the same price point.

Cast iron also has pretty good internal damping characteristics, so it will take out some vibrations and such. It is also somewhat self lubricating, so they will eliminate bushings to save some money.

I can't say what is up with the lawn and garden stuff, but there is getting to be a LOT of asian and other 3rd world cast iron showing up in products. It is usually of pretty poor quality both from a metallurgical (made almost completely from scrap) and from a casting methods standpoint. The castings I have cut apart are full of inclusions, poor mix, hard spots, sand, etc., and are very prone to failure comapared to good clean castins.

I tried to reply several times, bu they must have had a glitch with the site. Thanks for all the replies...appreciate it.

I would have been more attentive but my son just got back from his 3rd (3) deployment to the Persian Gulf, and as you might imagine, we have been catching up.

Anyway, thanks guys. I really value your input.