Small Engines (Lawn Mowers, etc.): riding mower transaxles, dana spicer, shaft length

Question
Sir. thx in advance    I m at a loss.   I have a Murray 38inch mower MB12538LT (96012005800)and the transaxle is shot.   On it is written spicer 4360-139. is there anyway of knowing what other trannies ie peerless or dana/spicer that can be substituded? the spicer 4360-149 perhaps or the Peerless MST 205-544c?   once again thx for any help you can give me

Answer
Most of the Spicer and Peerless of that period have the same mounting holes so you should be able to bolt a Peerless to the frame.  The internal parts are pretty much the same within the family of transaxles.

Items that could be different are the output axles, the length, key way as well as the wheel retention setup.

How shot is your transaxle?  Are there any local mower repair shops near your that have a "bone yard" of old mowers that no longer run?  If they do you can probably work with them to let you measure a few transaxles and see if something will fit. We keep a large selection of used parts on hand but mainly for push mowers as we do not do much rider business.

I did some internet searching as well and noticed the link below stating the MST 205 will work.

http://www.ecrater.com/p/7193144/upgraded-peerless-mst-205-544c-transaxle

I'd recommend measuring your out axle shaft length and emailing the seller for the axle dimensions on the MST.  Attaching a picture and showing the seller how you measured could be helpful as well.

Did this help at all?

Eric