Thanks thvigil, they even do USPS flat rate so I'd pay less for shipping than the tube...

brings up a good point, I need to go spark test the drive line to determine what metal it's made of (probably mild steel of some type, but it is splined)

I'll look up the gear ratio in the front axle to see what RPMs it's running at, since it's a tractor it spends around 1-2% of it's life at max speed

When I get some time, I'll post up pictures of this project- it involves a broken axle casting (where it mounted to pivot point) leading to cast iron welding, brazing, 6" steel I-Beam reinforcements and re-mounting. Decided to move the axle a bit further forward to improve balance when using Front End Loader. Decided to try fixing it when I didn't get much interest in buying parts (except for, you guessed it- "how's the front axle?")

and before you ask, it's a mid 80's Mitsubishi import (not grey market), so there are virtually no parts available- Mitsubishi made a deal with Case to build their compact tractors and agreed to stop importing.