Archive through July 07, 2012

[wslombo]

tom do you know what that tractor is in that pic you posted?

 

[bwittman]

I continue to have steering troubles with my 1250. I know this problem has been discussed before, and I think I have done an ample amount of research, by reading the threads on the subject that I can find, and by reading the FAQ answer to the problem.

I have rebuilt the steering column, but I still have nearly a quarter turn of steering wheel play, and the front axle is loose in its carrier. When the steering wheel is turned, the axle moves before the front wheels do.

It has been said that the correct fix is to remove the axle and get a 3/4" bolt and nut and squeeze the axle mount to fit the axle width, and then replace the carrier pin. I have a new carrier pin and it seems as if it is a better design than the one that I removed from the axle/carrier. It seems to me that the method of compressing the axle carrier with a bolt would change the geometry of the carrier, throw things out of alignment and could stress or break welds. Thus, I have two questions. First, would shimming the axle in the carrier be a better fix? Second, does this method of compressing the axle carrier really work? I have measured over and over again and cannot see that things are that far out of whack. Taking the tractor to the machine shop to have the carrier bushings replaced, line bored, and a new pin made seems like a very expensive route to go, and I am not sure that will fix it either.

I am really confused and really don't know what to do about this most current nightmare with this tractor.

 

[stanner]

Brian W,

You can shim the extra space out, but you'll still want to do the bolt thing.. I don't think you'll break welds. I did the shim-n-bolt deal on my 149. Because of the angles, a little bit of slop adds up to a lot of steering wheel play. The spindles, tie rod ends, axle, and steering gear all add up...

 

[pbell]

Brian
Do the bolt thing, and you will have to compress or squeeze the "axle mount" (your term) closer together than the "axle width" because it will spring back open a bit when you remove the bolt. You are not going to break any welds (unless something is already brocken/cracked) because you are compressing a piece that was formed by bending and not welding, and you are not going to change the geometry of anything. Shimming with 1 or 2 very thin shims to to "fine tune" the fit after compressing is OK , but trying to use a stack of shims is not. Yes, compressing the axle carrier does really work, that is why it was recommeded as a fix, but it is your tractor, fix it however you want.

 

[jbaker]

I have read thru the manual but did not see anything on this, but with the extreme heat around here is there a temp point when to stop running air cooled engines in our cubs due to heat?

I am mnot running mine now just something i was wondering?

 

[fcurrier]

Jeff: If you can stand it, I'm betting the tractor can!

Sorry, all I can do is sympathize with you guys dealing with the extreme heat. I wore a jacket on the morning of July 4.

 

[rchristensen]

Jeff
I live in Arizona and during the summer it is normally over 100 when I am mowing. That is why most of my mowing tractors have covers on them of some sort to keep the sun off me. I have used some of these cubs for over 20 years and have never lost an engine.

The important thing is to keep them full of oil and keep all of the covers and side panels on the engine and the tractor.

When I get done mowing I stop in front of the garage and blow every bit of dirt and dust off the tractor. I have a long air wand so I can reach down and blow directly into the flywheel area of the engine.

I use a synthetic 10 30 oil in the engines and run MMO in the gas.

Works for me.

 

[cmiracle]

It was 102 when I mowed yesterday, and my 1200 ran like always. I relized I almost drank as much water as my cub did gas out there!

 

[teroberts]

Please help.
My 105 ceased forward or reverse movement.
The engine runs.
There is oil in the rear end.
The release lever does not seem to have much pressure and I can fairly easily move the tractor when the release lever is in the drive position and the release lever stays in the release position when pushed down.
The deck is off but I can not see much back there from underneath.
I wonder where I should start?
Thanks

 

[dclinansmith]

I am having a problem with a K341 engine. It will slow down like it is starving for gas. Sometimes it will recover with the choke and other times it will stall completely. It will restart immediately and may do the same thing in a minute or a couple hours. When it is running it has plenty of power. I was convinced it was a carb problem so I replaced it with one that had just been cleaned and a new kit installed. Here is a list of things I have done and still have the problem. Cleaned gas tank twice. Installed new fuel line, filter and shutoff valve. Replaced gas with fresh without ethanol. Replaced rebuilt carb with a new one. Replaced spark plug with good used one, then a new one. Replaced the coil with a new one. Tried two new spark plug wires. Replaced points & cond. with a used set then replaced with new. Disconnect 12V wire from coil, wire coil direct to battery. Disconnect wire between coil and points, replaced with new temp wire. When it begins to stall I have given it a shot of either directly in the inlet with no change. Timed using a light. Checked valve adjustments. When it stalls the timing light will flash until the last revolution. Use MMO in fuel. I may have forgotten something that was done. I only did one thing at a time trying to isolate the problem. Thanks in advance for advice, I have run out of ideas.

 

[bjamison]

Quick manual lift/deck height question. On my 109, the manual lift has a series of detents as you lift up and let down, but also has the cam/knob on the side too. When you are mowing, are you using the detents or the knob/cam for deck height setting?

Craig - Geroge & Charlie - I've got a Johnny Bucket for one of my other color tractors. It is a rear sleeve mounted version - one of the first he made. I moved a lot of gravel with it one time, but haven't used it for a number of years. The bad thing about mine is it doesn't lift very high and therefore doesn't have a steep dump angle. If I get a sleeve hitch on my 1650, the lift height might be better.

It mighty hot in my neck of the woods...

 

[dfrisk]

BILL - My old 129 & my current 982 have the same mower height adjusment cam, but the 982 has hyd lift. I use the cam to adjust mowing height and set the manual lift lever to float on the old 129. I used the detents when I wanted to not mow as low for a brief time.

 

[jbaker]

Tom R
sounds like you broke the drive pin at the point where your drive shaft connects to the engine

 

[mhomrighausen]

Tom R. Here goes... It sounds like you may have broken or sheared a drive pin. Does the rear shaft of the hydro turn when the engine is running? I'd check the pin on the front of the driveshaft and the pin on the rear of the driveshaft.

Or it could be the charge pump gave out. I'd suggest going through the Service Manual procedures in the FAQ section. However without knowing all the circumstances involved here I'd say it is a simple sheared driveshaft pin.

 

[digger]

I just as well chime in too! LOL

Sounds like a dive pin broke!

NEXT!

 

[teroberts]

Hey thanks,
When I first checked it the deck was on and I could not see underneath. I reached up and grabbed the biggest thing I could find and turned it but turns out that was the engine side.
I thought I would drive the remnants of the pin out with a punch and try to find a substitute.

The one thing that puzzles me though is we can push the tractor when the release lever is not in the release position.

 

[ralbert]

Charlie...

To quote Tom H. post recently..... "

"....

 

[jbaker]

Tom R this is just my guess after the pin broke you used that hydro release lever for the first time in a while and when it pushed in the release buttons and now there stuck untill you charge the pump.

fix that pin and it should run again.. it can be bought thru the Sponsers above and is still available localy for me.

 

[bwittman]

Paul and Scott,

Thank you for the advice on the front axle carrier squeeze. I got the front axle tightened up, After going a bit too far and having to spread the axle carrier, I was able to tighten the carrier to remove most of the lateral play in the front axle. I think new tie rod ends will help a lot too, and will make the steering tolerable. Actually, the job was fairly easy and I didn't feel that a lot of torque was necessary.

Now for another general question. I am about ready to re-install the engine on my 1250. After replacing the motor mounts and snubbers, the service manual asks for a clearance of .06" - .12" between the bottom of the snubber to the frame. Is this with the engine sitting on the engine cradle or for an unloaded engine cradle? With the style of motor mounts that I used, there is nearly a quarter inch of clearance. I need to get more shims to bring down this distance.

Thanks everyone, for the support. I might get this thing back together before fall.

The only things that should be green and yellow are the NDSU Bison. GO Bison!

 

[kfreeman]

Brian W.

The snubber clearance is with the engine installed. The idea is that the engine will be supported by the isomounts, but when a PTO belt is installed you are not putting undue strain on the front isomounts and have a more solid mount to use to maintain belt tension.

If you are 1/4 higher than spec, you have changed the length of the PTO belt by 1/2" and changed the angle and length of the driveshaft. I assume that this is not enough to be a problem and that the PTO belt adjuster, and the driveshaft flex joints can accommodate this much change. If I am wrong, I hope someone will chime it to correct me.