Archive through December 26, 2015

[sblunier]

Check the little holes in the sides of the emulsion tube.

A full carb cleaning and rebuild kit is usually the best medicine when you suspect fuel issues in the carb.... chances are it needs it anyway.

 

[bwstevens]

I have recently added a 149 to my small fleet of cub cadets (72 and 1250). I am having the trouble of the engine kicking or back firing upon cranking it . My 72 was fussy about where the points are set and the 1250 doesn't seem at all sensitive.

 

[lhinds]

Brian I would be sure you have the correct spark plug and gaped correctly. Then I would static time the engine.

 

[elamott]

One question on my 129 is that it that after it starts it will run good for about 15-20 minutes and then it will start to knock and die. What would change that it will run fine and then later it will start to knock and die. I know that the fuel can cause problems like that but why after it has run for a while. That is the part that I do not understand.
Earl

 

[aschumacher]

Earl, I have a feeling the experts are going to say heat sensitive capacitor(condenser) or coil. Swap or get new condenser first.

 

[elamott]

Allen:
Thanks for that thought. I have installed a new coil and condenser but I will swap the old one back in to see it there is a difference. I also have the carb pulled and will go through that too. I have done everything else and the timing is right on with a light. This problem has been there for too long and I cannot find the answer.
Earl

 

[aschumacher]

Earl, way off the wall consideration...is the vent hole in the gas cap open?? Think motor runs too long for that problem but who knows....

 

[elamott]

Allen:
Thanks for another thought. I think that the vent is big enough, but I will check. Any thoughts are welcome because I have run out of ideas and I want it to run like a Cub Cadet.
Earl

 

[dtanner]

Earl LaMott
How long has it been that the engine has the carbon cleaned and a new head gasket .?

 

[aschumacher]

Earl, as Don noted, past conversations sometimes mentioned that an exhaust valve could hang open and kill the engine. Seems carbon and other trash could build up on the valve stem and hang the valve. One resolution was to add MMO (Magic Mystery Oil) to the fuel and crank case to dissolve the build up. You maybe able to check that if you take the cover plate off that covers the push rod cavity and see if both valve stems are at the same level. Mine did that once a few years back. Maybe Don will tell you how to blow water into the carb to de-carbon without taking the head off.

 

[dtanner]

ALLEN / Earl
I used a plant spray mister and sprayed water in the throat of the Carb with the engine running . It will die pretty fast and you must play with the engine to keep the revs up . There are also a few good products on the automotive market that work great also.

 

[belliott]

If I buy a clutch disc from Cub Cadet will it be the style that is laminated with a metal disc in the middle? The original clutch on my 1000 was made that way and I wanted to replace it with a similar disc.

 

[digger]

Bob E.
Yes it will have the metal center.

I think you'll find that one or more of the sponsors listed above will be much cheaper than Cub Cadet!

 

[wcompton]

x2 on what Steve said-
I'll soak mine in the parts washer (or what used to be just one of those NAPA carb buckets), and then I'll go through every passage I can get through with a set of welding tip cleaners (GENTLY). Note that even your high idle screw has tubes that can be cleaned out. I then blow air through everything, and pass the tip cleaners (just the tip) through again.

 

[hydroharry]

Earl L - x3 on what Wyatt and Steve said. Also, I don't know what a "welding tip cleaner" is that Wyatt suggested. I like to use a bristle from a polyester paint brush to make sure the little holes in the high speed needle are open and clear and even in the rest of the holes on the carb as well. It may take multiple efforts of cleaning and blowing with compressed air. The carb on my 169 was packed full of sand when I first got it. The 169 had been rolled onto what must have been a sand pile. It had no air cleaner cover and was packed solid. After multiple efforts cleaning out the sand, soaking and spraying compressed air, and then finally removing the main jet (which required very delicate heat being applied by a known expert, not me) I got it all cleaned out and she works perfect today. Hopefully you won't have to remove your main jet.

I do have some concern that since your 129 seems to run correct for awhile that your problem could actually be a valve sticking or condenser/coil issue. So, I'd start with the carb as suggested, then if the problem persists I'd switch the condenser back, and if it still persists switch the condenser back to the new one and the coil back to the old one. If that doesn't resolve it I'd get another new condenser since some brand new are known to be bad. If all this still doesn't resolve the problem then I guess you'll have to investigate the valves.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

 

[sblunier]

Harry,

A torch tip cleaner is a set of fine wire cleaning "picks" for cleaning the holes in cutting and rose bud torch tips. Typically "tag wire" is specified for small cleaning applications, referencing the very fine wire used to hold parts tags to replacement parts.

Your brush bristle method would work well also!!!

Important thing is to get all of those little holes clean!

 

[jmulloy]

Hello Cub Cadet Enthusiasts!

My name is Jared. I recently purchased my first tractor… A Cub Cadet 109! It came with several attachments and, at first, would zip around like a go-kart. That was at the guy’s barn I bought it out of.

I had no idea the length of a learning curve that me owning a tractor would involve. Lubrication chart? Grease gun? Hours of operation, not miles? Once I got it home it took me days to start it. The choke and throttle cables… bad or frozen. The spark plug, ignition switch, and right front tire...bad. Ugh, it was a rough few days of troubleshooting before I had her running and the snow was getting deeper and deeper.

Once I had the snowblower correctly attached, I started taking small bites out of the two feet deep snow that covers my quarter-mile-long gravel driveway. The snow was layered like a cake with fluffy, icy, and wet bits.

She (My thumper one-cylinder cadet) quickly got stuck and I started checking manuals. I knew the rear-end was too light, but what could I do… Wheel weights!... shoot I don’t have time to search <font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font><font color="ff0000">&#149;</font> for them… free weights? I used a few trucker’s hitches and double half-hitches (standard knots) to tie 80 pounds of weights to some bolt holes on the back of my cub. Success! We were moving again just like sandbags in the back of a 2WD pick-up truck.

It took me a while to figure out how much snow the front PTO (anyone want to remind us what that stands for?) could handle before I could make steady progress without stalling or clogging the auger. My skinny trail towards the county road was getting longer faster! I took a break and installed the cup holder I had bought in advance. All I needed was coffee and ethanol-free gas to get my road clear! I was ready to rock.

I continued onward. The weather changed and I was losing some power. The snow was rained on and had refrozen while I worked… so I thought it would just take a little longer and a bit more ease on the old cub, but I’d get the job done.

Then it happened, that simple-chrome-plated transmission lever suddenly had no resistance and traveled freely. The tractor was running, but no power was going to the wheels. I was halfway done. That’s halfway to feeling self-sufficient… halfway to my girlfriend worshipping me like a god who has no fear of inclimate weather!... halfway to a good night’s sleep.

When I bought the tractor, I tried to purchase every lubricant, belt, filter, etc. that I might need, but hydraulic fluid for a transmission??? Apparently, this is a main ingredient and you need to keep gallons on hand. I assumed my problem was that I was low. I was almost right. It took about a pint to get to the fill plug. (FYI, it took me a day to get the stuff. I snow-shoed 5 gallons of IH Hytran B-6 compliant hydraulic fluid with water, propane, and food into my property on an inflatable raft in freezing rain. That’s not a complaint though… Some people pay for ‘crossfit’... I get it for free.)

So, I start my properly lubricated 109 and tried to shift. Resistance started to return to the forward/neutral/reverse lever. The wheels twitched slightly and now a smile started building on my face. Suddenly, a faint bit of smoke and a horrible burning smell came from the transmission. I rush to turn the ignition off, but before the engine stopped there is a loud *clank*. Hydraulic fluid leaked to the ground. Defeated again, I gave up and hiked home.

The drive/cam shaft had split apart. The transmission cooling fan no longer has fins. The transmission filter was pierced. I think the transmission is locked-up and I have no idea what is broken inside of it.

The closest Cub Cadet dealer/shop is a few hours away and they can’t get a replacement transmission and they don’t open them up. All the parts I need are indefinitely ‘out of stock’. I’m on my own and persistently attached to the investment I’ve made… to a fault?

So what next? Find a forum of cult cadet lovers and hope they offer you support, advice, and parts, right? I don’t just want this baby to run, I want her to shine. Plus, I can’t shower at home until I can get my chevy luv truck out of the snow to collect water. Thank you for reading my first post.

-Jared

 

[kmcconaughey]

Jared, WELCOME!

You came to the right place! There are plenty of used parts available that will get you fixed up. Photos help if you can take some of the damage. It's possible that there is water in the transmission and it froze between the time it stopped and when you added more hydrostatic fluid. If you can get the tractor into a garage where you can warm it up and tear it apart enough to remove the rear transmission cover plate, be ready with a catch pan, you'll find out what if any damage is inside. The Hydrostatic pump could also have damage. Oh and PTO = Power Take Off.

 

[digger]

Oh crap!
He's out in Hydro Harry's neck of the woods!

 

[bigsteve]

Jared Check to see if the rubber coupler that connects the drive shaft to transmission is intact they can come apart and cut into transmission filter.