Archive through January 09, 2006

[rbedell]

Ted B:

Yeah....I had the same problem with my 1450. It was a bad Ignition Switch. Here is a Schematic I drew for additional help.

 

[rbedell]

Ted B:

To further help you diagnose your problem, here is a Ignition Switch Wiring Diagram and Legend. The Legend indicates which contacts are made in the different switch positions:

The Legend terminology is:

B = Battery (through the Ampmeter)
S = Start Circuit
A = Alternator (from the V/R)
I (or R) = Ignition (or Run) Circuit

 

[tbordeleau]

That's what I was looking for, Roland!

The switch makes the most sense, but I didn't consider it because I hadn't touched it during the downtime.

Seems my coil contact isn't contacting anymore when I hit the starter contact.

I'll hot-wire the switch tonight and use an old toggle switch I have to hook to the starter to check it out.

Thanks again!

 

[pkordik]

Thank you all for the wheel weight info. I currently have two 50# weights on my rear wheels. The weights I have are some type of platic covered material and looks like they are the Sears or MTD type cheapo weights made in the last 15 years. I plan to replace them with 3 sets of IH cast iron weights. I can have an extra 28# per wheel and be able to keep on just 26# for mowing season etc. (I have a driveway that is on a hill and tough to plow and one particular hill in my yard that causes me grief during mowing season.)

New question(s).

I just gave my 1250 a little clean-up/tune-up. It seems that the oil fill tube is very loose, is there any solution to this, or can I just leave it that way?

I was attempting to check my motor mounts and found that I would push the top of the motor to the right or left over 1", meaning there is lots of play down at the motor mount. Any thoughts? Is this bad, should I replace the motor mounts and/or weld in a cross bar on the mounting rails like I have seen here?

 

[jstouffer]

Marlin: Would gladly post pictures if I had capability to but sorry I don,t only get on computer at work during lunch hour. I have a 124,149,& 1450 I just picked up 1450, sold a 107 to friend at work just last week. I have a question does anyone have a 149 with 50inch deck and gator blades on seems to lug my tractor down with regular blades seems pretty good. Thanks Jim

 

[jharvey]

Paul
The tube was loose on my 1250 also, to the point it came out very easy. I found a socket that wouldn't quite fit in the tube but would with the help of a hammer thereby expanding the tube slightly. Now it required a hammer and block of wood to reinstall. There should also be a clamp part way up the tube to hold it securely.
JH

 

[mhomrighausen]

' Morning All. These four/ten second shift workdays are hard to take. gotta work tonight also. Oh, well it'll make for a nicer check. Plus they told us yesterday that as of this coming Monday sll present assembly temps are going full time. (They've been on me for two years for that. Now I have no choice.) They also asked if we knew of any good hard-working people.

Here you go Ray L. This is a couple of my stash.

my 125

127 that will be going to daughter and son in law and their girls once reconditioned.

 

[wheinsohn]

James,
I have 50" decks with Gator blades on both my 129 and 149. It does work the 129 when in taller or thicker grass but that is why it is a hydro, find the speed you need.. The 149 handles it good and usually only works it hard when I mow the nearby ditches once a month. But I expect that when cutting grass that is almost a foot tall.

 

[tbordeleau]

James:

Thanks for the view on gator blades. I was planning to get a set for the spring/summer mowing season for my 1450, but one guy told me they suck too much up (rocks, sticks, etc.). Are they very effective as a mulching blade? 'Cause that's what I'm hoping for...

Paul:
I had the same 1" movement at the top of my 1450 engine before I replaced the rubbers and did the engine rail mod. When I took the engine out, I discovered that the left side engine bolts that bolt the engine to the rails were gone, and the lower rubbers all around were non-existent, so basically my engine was resting on the cross-beam above the front axle and that was it. Yours might be in the same boat. I WOULD have just kept running mine until later in the spring, but I had to change the exhaust manifold, so that's when I opened the Pandora's box with the engine mounts. I'm glad I did it, now though.

 

[sblunier]

They suck up too much??????? That's what they are SUPPOSED to do!!!! IH blades don't produce much lift, that is to say, they don't stand the grass up nice and tall before cutting it. Gators will fix that.

Yes, they pull harder, but it's because you are moving much more air.

As a mulcher.....they don't make that much difference if the chute is left open, and IH decks are not designed to have the chute blocked. I run them exclusively...for the cutting quality, not for the mulching.

 

[jstouffer]

Guys; When mowing my leach field i've got to mow with throttle wide open and just barely moving it puts that much strain on my engine, engine was replace new couple years ago timing is right on am I down on power or do you think that's normal with the gators on?

 

[bmoore]

James S,
I don't have Gator blades, but I can't imagine them putting that much strain on an engine. The lowest-powered tractor listed in your profile is a 107, and I would think that would be plenty. My 109 (now "129") had a horrendously weak K241, and even it had enough grunt left to till our garden, which has to be harder on an engine than mowing. Several witnesses, however, will testify that it had no chance of plowing more than about ten feet at a time before threatening suicide.
How are the bearings in the mule drive and on the deck mandrels? I'd check them by spinning each one (with the belt off) to see if one or more has a heck of a lot of resistance or a bunch of sideways play.
I was just in your city for a few days over Christmas. Mother-in-law lives there. Didn't see a single Cub Cadet on the whole trip of over 2300 miles, but I did get to read some of Hank's book. I had an afternoon out with my brother-in-law and his uncle at Southend Brewery. They had a pretty decent pale ale. Made a nice escape from three of us staying with my MIL in her one bedroom apartment.

 

[prightmyer]

Finally finished the snowthrower. Only one problem, it was 60 degrees here in upstate NY yesterday!!! My son "J-Cub" (Jacob) loves his dad's cub. I'm sure he will be driving it around the yard soon enough.

 

[wheinsohn]

James S.
Like Bruce said, check all the mandrels and pulleys. You have somthing that is binding up. Like I said, I have a 50" deck with Gator blades on my 129 and mow my grass just fine. When I get in tall or thick grass, I have to slow down a little but I am still moving right along. Gator blades do pull a little harder because of the extra air movement and you are cutting the blades of grass twice, which makes the clippings smaller. But still the 149 should have no trouble pulling the deck.

 

[jstouffer]

Pulleys and deck spindles all feel fine, had already checked those I must be down on power. Beer is good!

 

[elamott]

I have a question for the Gator blade users. Do these blades cut the trimmings smaller or what is the advantage of using them? I am not real happy with the job my 129 is doing.
Thanks for the information
Earl

 

[dphelps]

Earl L

Gator Blades are a mulching blade, I have them on some single blade mowers, they do mulch. Leaves usually get torn up real good, generally about the size of postage stamps. The blades do keep an edge also. I do not have them on a CC deck yet, but if I were replacing the blades that is what I would get. They are made by Oregon.

http://www.oregonchain.com/OEP/oep_blades.htm

 

[fcurrier]

Peter A.
You helped make it a better day here in snowy Northern Maine. I know a Harley (named for his Dad's motorcycle), an Ashley (named for a wood stove), and now, "J-Cub". Great!!
Took a fit last night and started stripping down the latest 149, planning to do some transplants into a 129 (hydraulics, etc). Have a great day, everyone!!

 

[thoffman]

BEARS, BEARS, BEARS, BEARS, BEARS, BEARS, BEARS...

 

[kortman]

Hi All. I just got back from the farm toy show in Winamac, IN this morning. Even though I'm from over on the "green" side of the fence, you guy's would be proud. I came home with a small stack of older Cub manuals & Updike's new book (to keep this post on-topic) and the Precision Farmall 1206 (to match my dad's real tractor that I posted pictures of here last spring in the "big tractors" forum). Boy, they Ertl did a very nice job on that 1206......

Kent