Archive through June 08, 2010

[fcurrier]

Wow, Gary! You and Robert should get together! 1450, 1650, close enough to start a heck of a discussion!

 

[mschutz]

Robert,dont give up take another look at it when your ready to deal with it. You'll kick your self if you sell it.

 

[dross]

Gary S, In the most respectfull way possible. DUH

A lot of guys on here are do it yourself types. the tools get used on more than just cubs. I firmly believe the more I can do by myself the better off I am. Most importantly, it ought to be fun. Course fun can have a whole lot different meaning from one person to anouther.

 

[jdiederichs]

Gary S,

I am from that group of American slide rule pushers of the 70's, and if I recall, our men and women did know precision. Landing men on the moon and returning them safely was our thing.

Building garden tractors that last and last over 40 years of actual service, not thrown to the curb, our thing too.

If you believe our tolerences were off, you should try to attach equipment on one of "today's finest" garden tractors where bearings gave way to bushings etc. Often installing a snowthrower drive system requires more time and tools then it did 25 years ago, not to mention the "new" use of belts driving everything, including hydrostatics that are designed with a 300-400 hour life span to match the engine and frame. (If that, some mfrs consider 30 hrs/yr to be typical of today's user and build for a 120 hour life span, that is all, and yes, it is sad but very true). I know this to be fact as I have spent much of my life in this industry.

Take a country drive, see all the old Farmall M's and old Olivers etc still working daily on farms? Compare that to all the European/Asian tractors parked as junk, like the Belarus and Leyland tractors, we American manufacturers were doing just fine until the global influence brought planned obsolesence into being.

Sorry, just had to vent....

BTW, I include our Canadian counterparts in my statement as we have a great history of joint development and manufacturing excellence!

 

[jdiederichs]

Makes ya wonder why an 8 hp model 86 tractor can cut grass as quickly and efficiently as today's 27 hp counterparts that simply can't match cut quality, those big box units are simply mind boggling aren't they?

See what happens when us older guys can't sleep....maybe I will sit up and clean my old Winchester M12 or 94, no plastic there either, thank you......

 

[bproctor]

Gary
I know many of the new more user friendly, ergonomically designed mowers (I can't call them tractors)don't even compare to these 40 year old cubs. I will take my narrow frames any day!!

My opinion is, part of what's wrong with america today is the lack of quality. Everything is max profit minimum quality. I recently worked on a newer MTD product. If that is supposed to be user friendly and more ergonomicly designed then I choose the 40 year old CC.

 

[bproctor]

Exactly correct Jim !!!

Most of the product built today is part of the new "disposable socety". Buy it, use it, throw it away!

 

[bproctor]

I've stepped off my soap box.

Does anyone know if I can get head bolts for my k181? Where?

I looked on a few sights and it seems you have to get the head and bolts as a package. $$$

 

[T-Mo]

Gary,
I'm a mechanical design engineer for a major aerospace company. I started in the mid 80's on a drafting board, using calculators and mylar and ink. What you posted about engineers not caring is absolutely wrong. We did think about the design, how things fit together, about documenting everything. Believe it or not, but we had departments looking over our shoulders to be sure the design was maintainable, easy to access, easy to get to parts to repair or replace them. If you get thinking about it, these old machines were designed so attachments can carry over from one series to the next. In lot of ways CAD has taken the place of actually thinking about your design. I now use Unigraphics and other tools, but sometimes I miss my drafting board and my ink pens.

 

[gbraddish]

Gary - ever try to work on a new car? Can't even find the fuel intake most of the time! All those plastic covers hide the actual engine. Not too much different with the new mowers.

 

[kmcconaughey]

All, I think you are focusing too much on the first items in Gary's post. While I agree with your comments on Gary's post, have another look at how he summed up that post and reread Item 5 again.

Gary, sounds to me like you have the beginning of Yellow and White fever.

Robert B., please don't give up. Sure a new lawn tractor might feel good for the first year but then when stuff starts to break and you have to fix it you'll be having seller's remorse regarding the Cub and buyers remorse regarding whatever you replaced it with. It can be frustrating when the grass is growing and your Cub won't run, BTDT. Instead of a T-shirt, I bought some parts and kept the Cub going.

 

[kmcconaughey]

 

[dross]

Kraig, your "it"

 

[kmcconaughey]

Dave, I figured everyone must be busy reading and rereading Gary's post.

 

[dross]

Hey, I used a smiley face. Jim had a point, but they did have computers to help with the moon landing, they were about 2 ton and took up a couple hundred square feet.

 

[jdiederichs]

Hey Kraig, no problem, I did re-read the post and I intended my reply to focus on the new techno-gizmo world as opposed to "good old days" when Cub Cadets and everything else were built to different standards.

Everything changes look at our WI dairy industry, now trending towards massive high output milk "factory farms" while the older concept of family farms has diminished so much.

I was not faulting Gary, and if I offended you or him I apologize. Don't worry, Ken will reappear soon to chastise me....

 

[kide]

I can remember the first time (about '86) I replaced the rag joint and tried to do it without pulling the engine mounting bolts....and I grew up with wrenches in my hands and grease under my nails. As with all kinds of DIY maintenance, you need a minimum of tools, patience and being willing to figure out how things work and why they're assembled the way they are... In the case of the driveshaft and rag joints, it was never a low hour "maintenance" item, therefore you're gonna have to do some serious disassembly to get 'em out.

American craftsmanship and design pushed us ahead of the rest of the world and is in part responsible for the freedoms we have today. My dad was a toolmaker in the early <u> 40's</u> (and again in the 60's and 70's) and worked to tolerance's of a 1/2 tenth even then... I have never had to push pry, bend or mutilate parts on the 129 to get 'em back together, unless they were damaged in the first place.... And as far as engineering for maintenance - the imports are no better (like I have to remove exhaust on my Yamaha 1100 cruiser to CHANGE the oil filter..). My neighbor runs a garage - I cannot believe the contortions he has to go through on the Volvos, Hondas, Toyotas, etc. to do things as ordinary as change spark plugs...

OK. I'm through....

 

[jmacdonald]

Trying to static time my mod 70 with and K181 that I recently installed, and is overheating. I pulled the point cover and the points look very bad: all black and heavily worn at an angle. I did note with some surprise that when I was removing the K181 from the parts tractor that actualy ran that the PO had installed the battery connections reversed.
Could that have realy burnt the points. I am not sure if the point capacitor is polarized or not.
That said I have been searching for the timing hole on the engine shroud, but think I found it on outer edge of the bearing plate.
I have two pictures that I tried to show what I mean. The first photo has three arrows I am hoping that if I can find the "S" timing mark it would line up with the red arrow?
Lastly the elusive timing mark itself I haven't found it yet still searching and rotating the flywheeel would it likley be on the side of the flywheel with white arrow or of the forward edge with the green arrow? I am hoping the mark was stamped into the metal?

 

[aschumacher]

Gerry, you wouldn't believe how many years it was till I discovered where the sparkplugs really were on my wifes Kia. Thats when I really had to get them changed. My Cub is real easy<font size="-2">(provided I remember to lift the hood!)</font>

 

[kmcconaughey]

No offense here, I was just pointing out that Gary has learned and gained confidence and a willingness to do more work, if required, on his Cub Cadet. I didn't want that portion of his post to go overlooked.

Gerry, I much preferred to work on the 1958 Willys Station wagon I had back in the 1980's then the 2001 Isuzu or 2006 Toyota I have now. To replace the back 3 spark plugs on the 1998 Camry that I had you needed to tear the engine apart to change them.

I did the smart thing and sold it before it need new plugs.

The Corolla I replaced it with is only a 4cyl so it's plugs, should they ever need replacing are easy to get to.