Archive through February 16, 2013

[thoffman]

Bullet proof 122, Hmmmmmmm I think the only plactic on 'em are the reflector, choke and throttle control ends and the steering wheel. Done.

 

[bjamison]

Thanks everyone for your 122 input, very much appreciated.

Harry B - I'm thinking

about using my 16 hp QL engine in my 109 and leaving the 14 hp engine in the 1650. I hear what you are saying about putting the 10 hp from the 109 into the 126, but I'd like to put a 12 hp back into it. Maybe I could put the 10 hp in the 122 if I get it and have a 102????

I have to be careful in all this because at some point Momma is going to put her foot down and something is going to have to go down the road.

MY KIDS CAN'T GET THEIR OWN PLACE FAST ENOUGH!!!!!
(to house surplus tractors in their sheds)

 

[jdthompson]

Hi I just got a cub cadet 104 I would like to find out what year it is # 252208

 

[kostendorf]

James, looks like June 1968 according to the list on Cub International Cadet site on top of this page.

 

[kostendorf]

Check the frequently asked Questions (FAQ) thread at top of this page and It will tell you a lot of Info.

 

[dfrisk]

BILL - I'll weigh in on your 122/126 debate. The others have pretty well explained the differences. Both should have the faster 19T 2nd gear. For a mowing tractor either will be a good machine. The lack of quick-attach on the 122 really isn't that big a draw-back. Since the attachments like the snow blade & mower mule drive bolt-on they can't "Fall off" like they can with a worn quick-attach.

The engine clutch release lever bracket Harry talks about really isn't that big an issue unless you install the heavier red or yellow stamping die springs the garden tractor pullers use to eliminate clutch slippage with high HP tractors, large diameter pulling tires and lots of weight. With a stock clutch, which I recommend for a working tractor, the OEM bracket works fine. When I put the K321 in my 72 with the heavier MWSC clutch I did reinforce the bracket but the OEM bracket had survived 37 yrs of use with the stock clutch and NO signs of giving up. The 70 I'm working on now has survived 47 yrs and is in similar good shape. Two years ago I went back to the stock clutch in my 72.

The external dual disk brakes are an improvement to the internal wet disk brake. When stopping on a downward slope with wet grass the internal brake can lock up one wheel, start sliding, and the one wheel can rotate forward and the other wheel backwards. BT-DT... Have the t-shirt. The dual external brakes should stop both wheels if they're adjusted correctly. But the external brakes are costly to replace the linings on. The internal wet brake is "ALMOST" a Life-Time part. The little friction material pucks last almost forever, are cheap, and the only reason to ever replace them is because you take the reduction gearbox off the front of the transmission for some other reason.

We all can't really decide what you should do with your tractors. If the 122 is in decent shape, runs and is cheap enough you could buy it and run it. The neat thing about Cub Cadets is the parts are SO Interchangable. IH only changed things from model-to-model when improvements were needed. A 10 HP Hydro can become a 16 HP hydro with just an engine swap. A 7 HP GD can become a 16 HP GD with just an engine swap. Doesn't get any better than that!

 

[mhomrighausen]

Frank C. I can't remember when I started to remember how to spell my last name. Your edition is the initial First Run Printing of that book. My copy also is one of those. I believe it was corrected in the next round of printing.

Dennis F. Good to know those little plug/rivets are readily available. Mine came in an old toolbox that I bought at an estate sale years ago.

All this talk about re-powering a 102 or any other seven to ten horse Cub Cadet with a twelve horse now has me thinking of re-powering Clarence with a 12 horse. I have one of both the ten and twelve engines. Decision,decisions...!!! And awhile back if I recall someone mentioned removing the creeper if you wanted to use the tractor as a Plow Day tractor???

Plus... I still haven't decided on keeping that danged 147 that I brought home last fall. If I do it will be as a manual lift. I just can't justify those pricey little electric lifts. New (they still make them, I checked, are $450.00 and used are more than I paid for the whole tractor with an almost new 14 horse engine.

 

[pbell]

Harry,
I agree with part of what you say about the GD/Hydro thing, but just because "IH discovered", as you say, that 9 out of 10 people bought hydros, does not mean the hydro is better. I would be willing to bet those 9 out of 10 had no idea of, and really didn't care about, the the mechanics of a gear drive or a hydro, didn't care about the number of ratios, or the slightly higher to speed, or the fact that the hydro could foam the Hy-Tran when worked really hard, etc., they bought them because it was something new, it was a garden tractor with an "automatic" transmission, just like their car. The begining of the hydros was a time that more and more people were buying autos with automatic transmissions rather than standard shift transmissions, buying them for convenience, for ease of use, not because they were better, more probably because we were lazy. Each has it good point and bad points, and it is all up to the individual to determine which best suits his/her needs. I like my gear drives, but also think a 149 is one of the best all around use models IH ever built. I plow with a gear drive, I mow my grass with a zero turn, but liked my 107 better for mowing (robbed the engine for a project) because of the trees, flower beds and other stuff that was/is in the way, a hydro was easier. Mowing open areas I would choose a GD. But mine or your likes or dislikes, does not make one better than the other. They each have their place, and it is up to the individual to determine which is best for them based on the facts we provide them, not just on our preference.

 

[mfrade]

Very well said Paul B., very well said indeed!!!

Thanks for the clear head / voice!

 

[wshytle]

Paul-

Well said and I agree. I will add that I think the fact that women were getting more interested in getting outside and helping with the grass/garden lead to the increased sell of hydros. I own and like both GDs and hydros. One other thing that hasn't been mentioned is the GDs will keep a steady speed going up and down hills better than a hydro from my experience. If the trunion and linkage is in very good shape the hydro keeps a good speed but I run a tiller behind a 1650 with rebuilt trunion/linkage and I have to keep one hand on the shifter almost all of the time.

I really wish this wasn't even discussed. We are all here because IH made the best GT period. There are pros and cons to everything.

There will always be opinions as there are other things.

 

[thoffman]

Paul,
If you were running for President you would have my vote! Well said. It's all about what <u>YOU</u> like best for your specific needs.

 

[dfrisk]

MARLIN - Yes, many places to buy those little rivets. I looked at OEM tractor parts first, they didn't carry them. I know there's a retired former IH Hinsdale engineer that makes the best reproduction serial number tags available for all IH tractors that advertises in Red Power magazine. He has the rivets too.

You can plow with a GD tractor with the creeper installed. You just don't need the creeper to plow. I normally ran in 2nd gear plowing with my 72 when it had the K241 in it. But at PD #2, the fall after PD#1 in Roanoke, think it was Steve B's Uncle's field, the beans had been combined when the ground was wet, and was packed hard from heavy combine & tractor/grain cart traffic. Dirt was coming off the moldboards in huge slabs, some 2-3 feet long. Pulled really hard. I never even tried 2nd gear. Plowed all day in 1st. Some Hydro tractors were boiling over the Hy-Tran after 1-2 rounds. Now with my K321 I'm sure I could run 2nd in those conditions.

I agree with you on the elec. lift on the 147's. About 1980 before I found my 72, I went to a household auction in residential East Moline, IL that had two CC's. A 147 and a 104/105, maybe a 124/5, model or so older than the 147 and 2-4 HP less. I looked both tractors over close and decided that I was going to bid on the other tractor, not the 147, because it should have sold cheaper, was in better condition.... and the box of spare parts with THREE old elec. lift units replaced on the 147 in the ten yrs since it was built and sold would not be required. Never been a fan of them since I saw that!

As it turned out, both tractors sold really well, no bargains that day. Every week I'd watch the Moline paper for used lawn & garden tractors. Could have bought a couple rail cars full of year or two old green tractors but finally I found a 12-13 yr old Cub Cadet in Jan '81.

 

[dfrisk]

SINCE we've been discussing the 16,17, & 19T 2nd gears in Cub Cadets.... Anybody know if IH made the same changes to the 2nd gears in the FARMALL CUB's & LoBoy's at the same times? Afterall, the Cubbies were designed to use the same transmission & rearend as the Cub's, stands to reason that the CUB's would change too.

 

[etopel]

On the subject of serial plate rivets, they are known as drive screws. Mcmaster has them in different sizes by the box of 100.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#drive-screws/=lir2ps

 

[thoffman]

At one time I thought there was a guy who's neighbor was making the 82 series "stripe" but with a "chrome" look to it. I'm going to be needing something in that order for a project I'm working on. Anyone remember who that was??

 

[hydroharry]

Paul B, et al - yes, very well said and I actually agree with you and most of what others have said. I think I'm biased toward Hydros because that's what I started with. I also like to stir the pot a little and especially get comments from Tom H who probably thinks if it ain't got a clutch it ain't worth having (any comments Tom?) I also think Dennis may have been lucky with his clutch hangers, or possibly I was more unlucky with the gear drive units I picked up, almost all were cracked where I described (probably had 5:1 hdyros vs GD units). Since I actually don't recall others mentioning a similar problem on here it may well have been more me and my units. I will say the wide frame clutch hanger design is much better. Overall I'll say one thing further (and I don't know if this was IH or CCC)
"Cub Cadet - One Tough Tractor"

 

[pbell]

Dennis,
According to the TC-37F parts manual for the Farmall Cub and the International Cub and Cub Lo-Boys, and the TC-131 parts manual for the numbered series Lo-Boys, the Cub used a 17 tooth 2nd gear up to S/N 192112 (1955) and a 16 tooth 2nd gear for the Cub S/N 192113 and up and all Cub Lo-Boys including the numbered series. They did not use the 19 tooth 2nd gear.

 

[fcurrier]

Harry: The beginning of the minus 100 point "restoration".

 

[mhomrighausen]

Dennis F. Even the aftermarket electric lifts really don't impress me. I'm thinking the 147 once made completely usable would let me do some regular maintenance on the 125 again this summer. I just like the way the 125 mows in smaller places over the convenience and smoother ride/more power of the Keepsake 1650 or the 782D. The 782D shines when mowing the big lawn for the town since I refuse to disconnect the backup safety switch. With rising fuel prices (again) it will be my mowing tractor of choice for the big lawns. The 147 should have no problem with the 125's 42" deck. Plus I'll want a tractor w/o a deck since I'll be needing a cart to haul some dirt for a project for Angel. Thank goodness the town has a huge nearby dirt pile that Fancy and I can borrow dirt from.

The hydrostatic garden tractor was actually started by IH after Sunstrand has just signed the contract to build the 22 Series (used in other manufacturers combines also) hydrostatic pumps for International harvestor combines. I think but am not sure that the IH hydro farm tractors had the 22 series in them also. So the hydrostatic propelled garden tractor seemed a natural fit to any Agriculture Manufacturer. After all once a farmer discovered the benefits of having the "infinite" speeds available for his combine during harvest then a hydrostatic garden tractor would be a definite must. Faster where the harvest/grass is thinner and slower where heavier. I think most self propelled combines were like the garden tractors and that is just three forward speeds and one reverse. I may be wrong on that one since all combines are now hydrostatic and almost all the older ones have been cut up for scrap. And one final note... some farmers when trading/buying a new combine or a new tractor would wait until the "last minute" before signing the papers and say something like, "Come to think of it. I could use a new garden tractor also." Naturally the dealer would then have to re-negotiate until the farmer was satisfied that he got a new garden tractor "for free" or close to it.

 

[hydroharry]

These just in from Thurman Swafford in Indiana. Pics of the very 1st IH Cub Cadet Model 169, Serial No. 506737.