Archive through January 03, 2012

[hydroharry]

Steven B - I gotta couple cents to thro out here. The IH HyTran Spec B6 apparently allowed the HyTran to hold up to 50% moisture by volume. This is why I always like to use the original IH HyTran. 10-20 years ago you could find other brands claiming to meet this Spec but IH did have it's own refinery in the Chicago area where it made this stuff. As for changing and how often - when the tractor is used under normal conditions, and run time is normal (which I rate as grass and snow with about 100 hours per year) then I would change every 2-3 years. The IH operator manuals only mentioned changing the filter every year and not the fluid (not sure what was listed in the '82 series manual), so I would think every couple/3 years should be more than enough.
That's my few cents worth,

Hydro Harry
Old Cubs Never Die
(they just find another resting place)

 

[jbaker]

Steven I believe in pulling the upper rear end cover and inpecting the color,smell, and any water globs.

But you must know for sure its HyTran. When I get a new hydro, I first change the fluid and filter.
Once you've done that the fluid should remain good for a long time. The filter changing depends on time used and type of use.

IMHO

what do you others do???

 

[dfrisk]

HARRY - Actually, VISCOSITY OIL made Hy-Tran for IH. They were not actually an IH facility.

 

[ljones]

WhenI do it for the first time to a tractor I pull the rear cover to check things out after that I use the bottom drain plug. I change it every year, since we get a lot of temp swings that make the trans condensate.

 

[mgonitzke]

Lucas-

IMO you are throwing your money away if you are changing Hytran every year, particularly if you have a gear drive. Temperature swings don't matter a whole lot if you are using the tractor. I can assure you that any minute amount of condensation that might get trapped in there in a year isn't going to bother anything; I have had a a couple gear drive tractors that I drained several quarts of WATER out of in addition to a bit of Hytran, and there was zero rust inside, probably thanks to the Hytran itself. There was a pretty good article about Hytran in Cub Cadets in a recent Red Power magazine...I think 500 hours was recommended for a Hytran change interval.

 

[ljones]

Matt, my cub dealer sells it to me at $2.00 a quart, he says nobody else buys it and he needs to get rid of it.

 

[mjrobilotta]

been trying to mess around a lil with a tiller i got recently and plan on putting onto my 100 on an as needed basis as i still like having the hitch on and have come across two problems
1. i think the main bearings where the shafts for the tines enter the gear box are froze up
2. i was trying to just put it all in place and theres a hitch plate on the gear box mount that is not allowing me proper clearance so that i can get all pins hooked up. Should i take the hitch off? this wouldnt bother me at all as i dont plan on using the nitch anyways as i could see it overstressing the mount and snapping it basically in half(partially because there are welds from PO that are cracking) any pics of the tillers mounted would help greatly thanks

 

[pwarfle]

I have a set of Farmall H front wheel wts on my 10.50 turfs w/ chains. The H weights fit perfect in the outer lip of wheel. Then I added two sets of cast Cub Cadet weights. Then about 20-30lb of barbell weights on the hitch. I figure about 200lb + / - total.
This is all on a 104 and it pushes snow very well on my 80' or so of gravel drive and about 1400 sq ft of concrete approach in front of garage. 8" snow is no problem. If we get more than that and I don't want to mess with 104, I grab my Brothers Super A from next door.
I actually put a blade on my Spirit 76 this year as well - 80lb of barbell weights hanging on a bracket on back - I'm anxious to see how it plows, all we need is snow! Central lower Mi and I have not needed to plow once this year.

 

[bflyons]

Calling all NF Hydro gurus...

I've been working on reviving a 125 that had been sitting for about 8 years. Got the electricals working, cleaned the gas tank and carb. A bit of oil in the cylinder, some fresh gas, and she started right up!

After I tuned the carb I eased the hydro into forward gear and it crept forward. But unfortunately no reverse. I pulled the seat and fenders to get a better look and discovered that one of the relief valves was stuck. So time to split the tractor. But now I'm stuck. I removed all parts as described in the service manual. But the rear end still will not split away from the frame. It will wiggle and feels as though the drive shaft is holding it up. Shouldn't the drive shaft just slide out at the engine coupling? Maybe the 8 years sitting in the elements rusted the driveshaft to the coupling. Anybody have any ideas how to free it up? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Brent

 

[kphill]

Brent, You will need to drive the pin out of the rear coupling in the driveshaft..Where the drive shaft meets the trans input shaft..A punch will work...A roll pin punch will work better...

 

[kmcconaughey]

Brent, yes the drive shaft should slide out of the coupler, however over time they tend to wear a slot into the coupler that will hook the dowel pin into the coupler. Make sure that the dowel pin is lined up properly. Here's a photo from the archives that shows how the pin wears a slot into the coupler. If you remove the mesh shield from the frame just behind the engine you should be able to see if this is the cause of the drive shaft not letting go. If you still can't get it to slide out, unbolt the drive shaft from the flexible disc coupler at the hydro end.

 

[bflyons]

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for the response. It seems that the pin coupling the drive shaft to the input would be difficult to get at (under the tunnel, item 51 in picture). It looks as though the drive shaft should just slide out of the front coupling since the coupling is slotted (item 2). Minimum it seems the pin at that coupling (item 3) would be easier to remove.

Am I looking at this wrong? Thanks - Brent

 

[kmcconaughey]

Brent, here's a photo showing how the drive shaft slides into the coupler. (I once had a parts 125 that someone had welded the drive shaft into the coupler at the engine.

I had to cut the drive shaft to get it out of the tractor.)

Here's a photo of a repainted, slightly used coupler that is just starting to show the formation of the slot.

 

[thenrie]

Ken: Thanks for that breakout diagram. My 1650 has the single-spool valve right now. I think I'm going to get a three-spool valve off a JD (don't worry, I'll paint it yellow!) and add both front and rear ports on separate spools, so I can operate them separately. I'll have to fabricate the lines and handles. As for my 682, it's going to end up as a bucket/backhoe tractor, so it will get a custom hydraulic system anyway. What fun this is!

 

[thenrie]

Oops! Sorry, Ken. I just saw your post was for TROY, not TONY! I had some questions about hydraulics a couple days ago and thought it was for me.

 

[bflyons]

Kraig -

Thanks for your response as well. This morning I took the mesh screen off and looked a bit closer at the coupling. No "slotting" has occurred. I believe that the hangup is simply rust between the driveshaft and the coupler. I sprayed it with a bit of PB Blaster and will check again tonight.

Question: Could I remove the 4 bolts holding the coupler to the engine? This would at least allow me to slide the rear end out of the tractor to a point and gain access to the relief valves.

And just to make sure I am thinking correctly and not missing anything, here is what I removed/unhooked:

Seat, Seat support, Fenders, 6 frame bolts (3 each side), ball joint at speed control cam, and brake rod. I'm not missing anything else am I?

Thanks again - Brent

 

[kmcconaughey]

Brent, yes you can remove the bolts holding the coupler to the engine. That is in fact what I did when I took that 125 apart that had the drive shaft welded into the coupler. I removed the engine first but then had to cut the drive shaft to get it out of the frame. It sounds like you have all the other stuff disconnected.

Welded Coupler.

Note the small hole in the bulkhead. The coupler wouldn't fit through it so I had to cut it off.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Brent, when you finally get that apart, and you will, it would be a great time to inspect the hydro springs/trunion slot for wear and repair if necessary. There is good info in the FAQ and Charlies CubFAQ on repairing a worn trunion slot. Also would be a good time to replace the Hy-Tran and hydro filter.

 

[dtanner]

Brent
Just a thought , if it was me wanting to change a hyd release valve on a 125 . I would just remove the three bolts on each side of the frame that holds the rear end into the frame and lift the body up so I could use a socket wrench to change that bad valve.I thought I read earlier that you have remove all the tin down to the frame? The two front frame mounts will have to be loosened and
move so the frame can be lifted up. I slid the rear end in my 125 yesterday and forgot that the brake rod has to be lifted above the rock shaft

. so I now have to take it apart again lol.

 

[bflyons]

Thanks guys!

Kraig - Thanks for the pictures. Yes, I figured that the coupler would not fit through the bulkhead. However this should give me enough room to just pull the rear end back far enough to expose the hydro unit and clean it up/make any repairs. Also, I've already read up on the FAQs regarding the trunion springs, etc. I'll be taking a look when it is apart. Funny thing, the filter looks almost brand new. My guess is that the previous owner lost reverse and decided to just throw a hail mary and change out the fluid/filter in hopes that it would fix the problem. Regardless, I'll be taking a look anyway while I have it apart.

Don - Thanks for the idea. I may give that a try, but I figure I should clean out 40yrs worth of dirt/sticks/stones, etc anyway so I'll probably end up just splitting the tractor completely to give myself an open area to work.

Thanks again guys - Brent