Archive through August 16, 2009

[aschumacher]

Don T. The ideal voltage out of the REGULATOR/GENERATOR pair is about 13.8-14 volts. If the regulator goes erratic/bad you can get voltage sufficiently higher to damage the battery. Recent posts have shown welded reg. points and dirty pitted points causing erratic charging. Put a meter on the battery when running and see what you get. Don't have one? Look around you can get them for under $10.

 

[mgonitzke]

Well, Illinois is one less Cub today, and Iowa has one more...

Had a nice visit with Josh S. today as he was picking up a tractor. I hope he didn't get too wet on the way home...it's been raining on and off. I got some shelves at an auction yesterday, so now I can organize more of my parts in the barn. As of today, I'm down to 11 tractors, of which only 5 are non-running, the least I've had in more than 5 years. I have a lot to organize before I leave for school on Thursday.

 

[gerickson]

Hey Matt, good to see you this summer. have a safe trip south and have fun at school!

 

[kfreeman]

Matt S.

I think you were trying to determine the deck size without blades to measure. IH designated deck models by their cutting width. So you can measure the maximum distance outer tip of one blade to outer tip of the opposite blade. Since you do not have any blades, try this: Measure along the three lines shown and add them up. You should get a value just a little larger than the deck model. For instance if you measure 39" you have a 38" deck. With that and the parts lookup from Cub Cadet you should be able to figure it out.

 

[mstetar]

thanks ken ill do that next time, but thanks also to Jim Larsen because his measurements match up to mine exactly to mine so it looks like its a 42 inch!
thanks to all!

 

[kdortch]

Speaking of mower decks,

Working on my 42 deck for my 149 and the outside pulleys seem somewhat tight. Are they supposed to be that way and if not is there a way to loosen them up. I pulled the pulleys and shafts out and they look fine, everything's there, the shafts are in good shape, the bearings are also in good shape and it's well greased. I'm just not sure why they don't spin a little more freely. Appreciate any thoughts or suggestions. Thank you.

Kenneth

 

[kdortch]

Richard Palmer – Nice lookin' work crew there bud!

Vincent Thomley – Sometimes ya just have to shake your head and shrug your shoulders. I've spent countless hours reverse engineering many things on several of my tractors as well. At times it's laughable to see what PO's have done to tractors in the name of repairs when they would have been better off performing that repair the correct way in the first place.

Lucas Craig Hockensmith – Get yourself a sheet of 3/8" th. plywood cut it to the depth of your deck and leave it the 48" width. Place the plywood sheet close to the tractor place the deck on the sheet of plywood. Now push or pull both the deck and plywood under the tractor being mindful of where your gauge wheels are located while pushing or pulling. Now, if your gauge wheels are set lower than the deck this may be an issue. I've done this method before with good results.

 

[jspicer]

Matt,
Just wanted to say thanks. I actually missed the rain the whole way home. It was nice to meet you in person and see your projects. Have a safe trip and keep us posted from sunny Florida this fall. BTW, that 124 with loader looks mean in person. Great now I want a loader!! And yes, Iowa is one cadet heavier than Illinois now

.
Later, Josh

 

[tdaugherty]

Ok, i will check the gauge. That is probally the problem.

 

[tdaugherty]

Wayne,
Do you know how to fix the steering wheel grommet on the 124? My 124's steering wheel moves out of the shaft slot sometimes.

 

[tdaugherty]

Its a shame that International Harvester lost it in 1982. My 124, is just 1 of many IH garden tractors that were built to last. These are unkillable machines.

 

[tdaugherty]

Matt,
Love the cub cadet with the bucket! Thats nice man. I love my 124. It runs perfect, cant kill it!

 

[dross]

Tim, if your steering shaft is moving up enough to allow the bushing out of the tube it may be time for a rebuild. Faq #13 and 16.

 

[rpalmer]

Kenneth Dortch,

GREAT looking deck.

 

[lhinds]

Kenneth i think the bearings you have in that deck will turn harder than the old style. I have both decks and mine with the ST745 style bearings turn harder. Just my 02c
Luther

 

[bnolte]

Tim D.
If the steering wheel grommet, actually a plastic bushing on the end of the steering column keeps popping out, the plastic bushing is worn and should be replaced, but I've come up with a couple of tricks to keep you going until you get around to rebuilding the steering box. You don't want to continue using it when the bushing pops out because then you will now transfer a lot of stress onto the lower bearings.

One trick is to drill a small hole through the side near the end of the steering column and insert a short sheet metal screw to retain the bushing. Yeah it's mutilating things a bit and the purists will have a fit, but it's better than having all that stress now leveraged on the bearings at the bottom of the steering column when you try to steer when the bushing pops out.

Another thing you can do is to take a short piece of Schedule 40 PVC or plastic electrical conduit that matches the diameter of the steering shaft and use it as a spacer between the bushing and the steering wheel. If you don't want to bother removing the steering wheel right now, split the PVC and you might be able to just slip it on and either zip tie it in place or use a hose clamp. Either trick will keep you going until you get around to pulling the steering box and replace the plastic bushing.

Disclaimer:

This is information from the MacGyver School of Cub Cadet repair and is not intended for permanent repairs or on show tractors.

 

[dfrisk]

KENDELL - I'm the KING of CHEAP, I can make a lot of wooden rollers, brackets, & axles for what materials for a lawn roller would cost. Plus I'm kinda fussy about what I pull around behind Me when I mow. With all my trees & bushes I can't have anything that turns inside of where the deck cuts. There's a couple spots in the back yard my narrowed up 38" deck barely fits too!

WES - I was hoping You'd post, We talked a lot @ RPRU about mowing. I'll have to check the "Bone Pile" at Charlie's favorite dealership next time I get over there and see what they have for "orphan decks".

KENNETH D. - Nice job on the 42" deck. My 38" decks turn hard too. My old 44A & 50C on the 982 turn much easier. I always figured it was the deck pulley ratio between the drive & driven pulleys to get the outer blades to turn fast enough to cut because they're so short. There will always be resistance to turning in the spindles from the grease and the two grease seals. Once the grease warms up in operation they turn much easier.

 

[dfrisk]

Ohhhh Forgot to mention, got a package in the mail the other day, maybe southern WI. has been so dry because I didn't have a rain guage to measure the rain with. But PAUL ROSSLER sent Me one! It's GREAT. Looks like maybe We'll get to try it out here in a couple hours.

THANKS PAUL. I OWE You a Coffee or something next parts run!

If anyone wants a REALLY Good rain guage shoot Paul an e-mail. It beats anything I've seen at hardware stores.

 

[cdlong]

Been a while, but I'm back looking for info on the 1450. I'm getting my hands on one w/ a front end loader. I would like to know which mower deck, tiller & dozer blade will fit. Was there a manual or hydraulic 3 point hitch? What should I do about counterweight for the loader? I have 110# wheel weights for each rear wheel.
Thanks in advance Steve & Digger!

 

[wshytle]

Tim - Dave R. probably has the best, more permanent advice by guiding you to the cubfaq.com her on this site but Bruce N. has good ideas for getting the grass cut now. Just be careful, like Bruce says, not to put too much strain on those lower bearings. I actually have about 3 tractors needing this attention themselves. Good luck!