Archive through December 04, 2010

[adonohue]

im not really complaining, im just saying for what im going to put into it, i probably could have had a running 147. im not saying that the 147 isnt a good tractor, im not saying that at all. as far as pricing a new one, lol. you cannot since they dont make them anymore.

i know the 147 is a good tractor, but is it the best IH ever made? im not sure about that, arent some of the cub cadet super garden tractors even better, and arent the wide frames nicer than the narrow frames like the 147. i know the quiet line has its issues.

its a good tractor, but i see cubs all of the time on craigslist going for 4-500 bucks.

i know these are good machines, how much can you invest before you excede the value of the machine.

also i have been spending some time cleaning up the deck and its a mess. its already been patched a couple of times and it has 2 small holes. it has allot of pitting. it looks like it will be useable but its going to require more welding and even then i dont know how long it will last. what do you guys do with decks that are pitting badly? is there something you can coat it with that will stick and keep it from rotting away further. i know that keeping it clean helps allot. what about slip plate or por 15? this tractor is little good to me with a deck that rots beyond repairs. if i could find another deck with no rust that would be better, but i know such things dont come cheaply. someone needs to make brackets that will mount up newer style mtd decks and mass market them.

if im going to keep this tractor i need to make sure that i keep the existing deck useable and maybe locate an additional attachment. so sense rebuilding a tractor that you cannot use.

 

[adonohue]

i might add that i have wanted a IH cub cadet for a long, long time. i have always admired there qaulity and build strenght. i guess what im saying is that if i didnt know that this engine was shot and the block was bad, i probably would have bought a different IH cub cadet. think about it, i bought the tractor for 165 add another 3-400 invested in an engine and now im up to at least 500, could have i bought a nicer 147 for that money, i dont know. maybe i could have had a wide frame?

it disappointing when someone lies to you and the machine you bought wasnt what was being advertised. i thought i was getting a steal, now i think i might have overpaid since there are tractor left in backyards in similiar condition and can often times be had for free since people just want an "eyesore" gone.

years ago i had a off topic '61 garden tractor. i rebuilt the k161 and shortly there after the garage collapsed in a really bad snowfall. my parents had full value replacement, so the insurance company handed them a check for several thousand dollars to go out and buy another tractor. i wanted my mother to go out and buy me an older cub cadet and use the money to fix it up. sadly she said she thought they were old junk and wouldnt listen to her son that knew more than she did. she went out and bought a brand new cub cadet 2135, she couldnt help herself. the paint looked so pretty and it smelled and looked like a new machine does.

that was back in 1998. now that new machine she bought is falling apart. literally, the fenders are rotted and have major rust through. the frame is far rustier than any of our IH machines. the hood fell apart. the transaxle leaks badly and the front axle has more play than any old machine. she could not understand why it fell apart. i gave her a little history lesson on how IH no longer makes cub cadet and they are no longer a qaulity machine they once were.

at one point i hoped i was wrong and that the qaulity was better than i first thought. well sadly i was right and the machine fell apart. it has less than 300 hours on it and its a heap of junk. even the snowblower attachment fell apart. that attachment worked well, was a nice 2 stage but the material qaulity was just extremely poor

so yes, i have the utmost respect for these machines. now i just feel like my 165 could have gone to one in better condition needing less work.

 

[mgonitzke]

Andrew D.-

I bet that all of those $500 Cubs on craigslist need work and parts, regardless of what the current owner says. The last tractor I bought, an 1872, from craiglist, was supposed to be 'ready to mow'. It required 6 weeks of work and $300 in parts to be 'ready to mow'. I have NEVER bought a Cub Cadet (and I've had about 40) that didn't need some sort of work done to it or parts replaced with new ones, regardless of what condition is was supposed to be in or how it looked. What you paid is not that bad for a non-running tractor. I bet I could take nearly any craigslist tractor that 'needs nothing' and find at least $100 worth of parts that need replacing. You aren't as bad off as you think.

As for value, it's worth whatever someone is willing to pay. I restored a 100 last summer and I sold it for just enough to cover my expenses, leaving about $40 for my 350+ hours of time working on it. I got about 2.5x what a used, unrestored running machine goes for. It took about 2 months to find someone that would pay my price, but someone did eventually buy it and we were both happy.

And FWIW, few if any of the newer decks will fit under a NF tractor and have any lift range...they are all too tall.

 

[digger]

Andrew D.
I'll say this.
I doubt there's anyone on here that at one time or another thought they put way to much money in to refurbishing or restoring one of these Cubs.

IMHO, it just depends on what you want in the end and how long you want it to last.

I NEVER said that the 147 was the best, I said one of the best.

Bite the bullet, fix it up and be done with it.
You'll be in a better frame of mind when it's done. And you'll be proud of doing it too!

Personally I don't care for the 169, but after I did some work to it and cleaned it up a bit, I kinda like it.

In closing, there's Cub guys and then there's Cub guys.

 

[jderstine]

<font color="ff0000"> (posted by Andrew) good grief. i spent 165 on the tractor and now will have an additional 100 bucks in a block. then im going to have to rebuild this block which is going to have to include possibly a hone, boring. also is going to have to include a new rebuild kit. 100 bucks if i go stens for piston, gaskets, vavles, conecting rod, rings and everything except machining. i dont know what the machining is going to cost.</font>

I priced getting a block bored at the performance race shop and it was $75. A regular machine shop would be less.

A gasket kit will be $30, the valves and seats can be resurfaced ( $2 each at my local small engine shop )

So you add up to $500 for a hydro with a rebuilt engine. Not as cheap as you originally thought but you should get many years ( decades? ) out of a properly rebuilt engine.

Use that deck until you come across a better one. Look around until you find one at "your" price.

You didn't do bad.

Jeff

 

[jdudding]

Thanks Charlie D. for the info I just want to get it down to the top of the gravel and when it does melt some the tops of the gravel will come through and you can get in and out and walk on it.Joey.

 

[sshaff]

Looking for some advice on freeing up the mechanical PTO on my 123. The wear button is in good shape and the turnbuckle has been adjusted to proper tightness, yet the snowblower remains engaged even when the lever is disengaged. The wear button seems to be making contact with the center of the PTO as it should when the lever is pulled all the way back. We were able to get the PTO to spin free of the engine a few times after turning the snowthrower auger by hand, but it stubbornly spins with the engine whenever we try to start the tractor. Not sure what is causing this...

 

[wshytle]

Steve-

Your best bet would be to just remove the pto. This will probably answer all of your questions. You may have some loose or missing jam nuts on the back side. You may need to resurface the pressure plates due to rust too. I've found most questions will be answered once it's in your hand.

 

[nbartee]

I put a lot of money into my M18 rebuild, more than I thought. But now I have a good engine, hopefully one that will last at least a thousand hours. But mainly, I had fun doing it and I learned a whole lot of stuff about my Cub! I would do it again!

 

[jmuncie]

Steve,

If you tighten the turnbuckle further, will the PTO disengage? Be aware this is not a solution to the problem...just trying to diagnose. Is there any visible evidence of cracking on the ears of the fiber plate? This summer I had a fiber plate gradually come apart. The fragments stacked between the clutch plates. At first it could be disengaged by tightening the turnbuckle, which accelerates wear on the button when you reach the point that it's still in slight contact while engaged. By the time I finished mowing that day, the fragments stacked up bad enough that it couldn't disengage at all.

Jerry