Archive through August 03, 2009

[aaytay]

Ryan-
The balance gears are not too difficult to remove....or at least do not require you to disassemble the entire engine.

Just remove the engine from the tractor, flop it over on the work-bench, and remove the oil-pan..

You'll find the balance-gears near the bottom of the engine. The lower gear comes off with removal of the snap ring, the upper gear will need to be "disassembled" with a hammer and chisel. Just rotate the gear so that the "webbed" portion is facing you, and it will crumble easily.

Slap the oil pan on with a new gasket and your back in business.

<font size="-2">Speaking of which, I have a 169 that needs this same thing, but I'm in the "one project at a time" mode, so it will have to wait.</font>

 

[pmccarthy]

What size & length belt do I need for a 100 with a 38" deck?

Thanks!

 

[mgonitzke]

Ryan-

I used Art's method to remove the grenade gears from my 1650 when I had it...they were loose on their shafts...bearings were bad. I couldn't tell the difference in vibration. A magnetic drain plug would probably be a good idea after this, too.

 

[digger]

Pete M.
Here you go.
http://cubfaq.com/belts.html

 

[bnolte]

Ryan, I know the 129 definitely does not have balance gears, since I pretty much built that engine from scratch. I suspect the 125 may have them, it does tend to run a little smoother under a light load than the 129. Running uphill through heavy grass, they both bark and shake about the same.

While I'm considering pulling the engine on the 125 and freshening it up a bit, I decided to tackle the more immediate problem of a binding brake/hydro centering pedal. I removed the little access plate near the left rear fender and squirted WD-40 at pretty much everything in sight to see if it made much of a difference. It didn't so I dropped the mower deck and crawled underneath, armed with a can of WD-40 and a tub of axle grease. While I got lubricant on most of the linkage joints underneath, the binding problem still persisted. There was one more joint, buried behind the steering column deep within the dash tower that turned out to be the main culprit. I managed to get some WD-40 on it, but I'll need to get a spray can of white grease to adequately lubricate it over the longer haul, or at least until I get around to going over the whole tractor.

I also found another reason to perhaps pull the engine sooner rather than later, as you can see below. This part will definitely need some reconditioning.

 

[wmiller]

Bruce, My 147 had the same problem when I got it. I used PB Blaster to free it up. There are friction washers on the lower end of the shaft. If you get things in there too slippery you may have trouble not having the necessary amount of friction required to keep the lever from moving on its own (the hydro will try to speed up on its own),see the shop manual hydro section for specs and procedure. My 147 went from bound up to needing the resistance set which requires adjusting the nut down in the tower (its kind of a stinker to get to).

 

[kdortch]

Art – Thank you for your always colorful input on my cover plate and RTV sealant inquiry. LOL - Funny you mentioned the 3 lbs hammer because that's exactly what I did and the plate's as flat as I can get it.

Dennis Frisk – That's what I was thinking but thought it better to ask others advice. I sure don't want to get any foreign material in the drive case (such as any RTV sealant). Trust me I won't

Okay on another note:
I know this subject's been discussed to the point of nauseam but the images below are for those of you who think using tire sealant products such as Slim and others is a cool thing to do. I had an idea the front tires on my 149 were suspect so I started tearing them down and low and behold there it was – as suspected. After several hours of using words I haven't used in years, cutting the tire from the rim, cleaning both the rim and my tools, sanding, priming, and painting I think the rim's salvageable. I still need to apply a couple coats of paint. This is not the first time this has happened to me and I'm sure won't be the last. Let me ask please think twice before using tire sealant products. What a darn mess. That's all I have to say.

Kenneth

 

[T-Mo]

Ryan,
I removed the balance gears from a K321 from an off-topic red tractor when I rebuilt the engine. At low idle there is some slightly noticeable vibration that goes away as you throttle up.

Ken,
Yuk, that rim looks nasty. I remember reading on another forum the effects of slime in tires. I don't use it myself.

 

[lhinds]

I removed the balance gears from two 301s and there was no noticeable difference. I removed the gears from my 341 in the 169 and there is a noticeable difference, but not enough to go back and install them.

 

[bnolte]

The whole Hydro linkage on the 125 needs a good going over. While I was poking around underneath, I noticed that some of the ball joints on the linkage had about 1/16 of an inch of play, and I haven't even looked at the trunion yet. On my lawn I have to always keep my hand on the hydro lever, its always speeding up and slowing down, even worse than my 129. At least it tends to stay put when I put the lever in neutral. One thing that will help when I get serious about fixing things is that a have an engine hoist that can pick up the entire front of the tractor, and set it on its haunches to work on it. Still those narrow frame Hydros are a pain to work on.

Gotta do some Hydro linkage work on the 129 as well, but I figure I'll tackle that when I switch the hydraulic lift hardware over from my 1650 parts tractor.

 

[dfrisk]

KENNETH - Another cure to stay away from Green Slime and all it's problems is to install inner tubes in ALL tractor tires.

I was the "Tire Buyer" @ FARMALL in Rock Island for three years from 1979 to 1981 and one of the biggest complaints We got back from Farmers & Dealers was the fact We used tubeless front tires. Combine a 1000# of frt suitcase weights and a hard pull and a low front tire WILL roll off the rim in a sharp turn. About the only permanent fix then is to install a tube in the tire. Any dirt on the tire bead or rim sealing surface will cause a constant slow leak and the tire WILL come off the rim again. I know someone WILL post that they have never had a problem with tubeless tires on a CC but I can make the same claim, I just install tubes first chance I get! Only tires on ANY tractor I own I'm pretty sure don't have tubes are the Carlisle frt turf tires on the 982.

We also used three sizes of tubeless rear tires at FARMALL, and the repair rate to fix slow leakers on tractors sitting in the yard waiting to ship was TEN times the tube-type rate. And those tractors only sat at FARMALL at most 2-3 days before they were on a truck and gone. Except for mounted duals which except for one size were all tubed tires the tractor tires were mounted on the tractor within ten to twenty minutes of being mounted and aired up. Not enough time to check for leaks when Your mounting 700-800 tires a day.

 

[dfrisk]

TERRY, LUTHER - re. Balance gears, I ran a K301 without them for close to 15 yrs without a problem. The K321 I put in the 72 a couple years ago I had Dave Kirk balance. Except on a hard pull when the engine tries to twist the whole frame of the tractor it idles & runs as smooth as a K161.

 

[digger]

Yes Kraig,
I'm on it.

http://cubfaq.com/balancegearremoval.html

 

[aaytay]

 

[kmcconaughey]

Charlie,

Nicely done!

Art,

 

[rwilke]

Ok - Thanks, Fellas,,,this is what I needed.

I'm with ya, Matt. I have a magnet on the drain plug or filter of my car, truck and the cubs.

Since my cub engine is out now (I need to do some PTO clutch work), I will do as you suggest and flip it over, pull the oil pan off and see if my engine even has the balance gears. Since this engine came out of a 125, I highly suspect it has them. In fact, here is the data plate info:

Engine model: K301AS
Serial #: C 062929
Spec #: 47138B

It appears from the pics that both gears are located at the upper LH corner. I understand about a snap ring to remove one gear - but it appears as though BOTH gears are on a splined shaft and it doesn't look as though their inner splined section was split. How do you get that portion off of their shaft?

Ryan Wilke

(Yes, I'll admit it - I'm afraid to screw up my engine! But even more so, I don't want to leave a potential grenade inside.)

 

[kmcconaughey]

Just in case... before you go flipping or flopping that Kohler over you might want to make sure that you've drained the oil. Art left that step out of his description.

 

[rwilke]

10-4. Thanks, Kraig!

Yep, the motor oil has already been drained (I will need to get me a new oil pan gasket though).

Ryan Wilke

 

[mhomrighausen]

Art A. A BIG Thank You for the info on the balance gear removal!!!

Just before my foot/ankle surgery, I noticed some vibration starting on the Keepsake 1650s engine while mowing the lawn. Then the front seal went south in a hurry. So, the poor little guy has been sitting since. I've some awesome neighbors and friends that have been mowing the lawn. I'm going to be taking the Keepsake 1650 to a shop to remove the gears and install a new seal. Hopefully after the next doctor appointment I can start to mow our lawn at least.... (and maybe go back to work.

)

Kenneth D. I am with you a thousand percent on using those tire sealants. Two years ago I bought two 23x10.50x12 rims with nice looking tires. When I had the tires removed so I could repaint and put on Ag tires I had the same thing on one rim. Fortunately I could save the rim. Another time I had a flat the afternoon before my first Plow Day. I took the tire to the store and asked to install a tube. When I took the tire off last year .... you guessed it. The store used SLIME.

 

[dfrisk]

RYAN - The balance (Gernade) gear shafts are just 1/2" dia stubs pressed into machined bosses inside the crankcase. There are snaprings in grooves on both shafts and shim washers of varying thicknesses also on the shafts. Remove both the snaprings and both gears slide easily off the shafts once You split the second one as Art explained.

Another way to tell (MAYBE) if Your engine has gernade gears is where the dipstick is located. If it's part of the cam gear cover You probably have the gears. If the dipstick tube enters the block in the front right top corner of the block right in front of the cylinder You probably don't. If Your dipstick tube enters the block in a small stamped steel cover on the right side lower front corner of the block (like a Q/L engine) you probably DO have the gears.

As the engine sits in the tractor the gears are in the upper front RIGHT-HAND corner of the block, or the upper LEFT corner in ART's picture. And if I remember correctly, the first gear runs off the integral gear on the crankshaft, and the second gear runs off the first gear. NO splined shafts involved. Make sure You get all the shim washers and needle bearings off the shafts when You remove the gears.

BRUCE N. - From personal experience I would say You have about 15 more YEARS of life left in the drive coupling on that 125. BT-DT! I replaced the dowel pin in My old 129 which was worn half in two and then it started spitting the pin out, even after I put a worm gear hose clamp around the coupling. I should have NEVER messed with it! It worked fine for ten years in the same condition Your 125 is in!