Archive through March 21, 2009

[jwjones]

Greg,
The breather on the rear end just keeps the casing from going to a positive pressure. If you painted over it I would just try and remove the paint around the breather holes. You should be able to spin the dust cap on the top freely, that'll let you know it's working.

Good question because if that is plugged up on a hot summer day the pressure could be high enough to blow a wheel seal and leak gear oil

 

[dfrisk]

TERRY - In My BEST Q-A Manager impersonation "That's some Interesting DAMAGE!" I hope You looked at the gear teeth closely on the crankshaft that turn the balance gears and even the drive gear on the camshaft. I'm about 99% sure the balance gears are cast iron. It's brittle and any static sand casting like that can be FULL of imperfections. But the way it pealed all those gear teeth off the first gear really makes it look like something was hammering back & forth pretty hard.
Pretty impressive. Glad all My balance gears from engines are safely stored in a Ziploc bag on a shelf in the shop! I do save the shim washers from them, they're the same size as the shims required for the camshaft.

 

[tcbusch]

Dennis,
I too was amazed that the busted pieces didn't get caught in the camshaft gears. I guess it is one of the lucky ones. I looked over the teeth and they looked fine. It runs good too, I guess that's what counts. I put the pan back on after cleaning everything the best I could. I put 2 quarts of diesel fuel in and spin the engine without the plug for 30 seconds. I then drained the fuel, pulled the pan with the engine upright and I looked for more pieces. I didn't find anything so hopefully its clean. I am going to change the oil again just to be sure.

 

[tfraser]

I got my k301 installed and running in my 70. That additional horsepower is amazing. I am pulling a brinley box scaper to level out some gravel on the driveway. I got smiles ear to ear.
I do have a question about mounting the gas tank. Can I get the tank mount base for a 301 and mount my old tank? I am wondering if I will have any problems with fitting and the hood? I may eventally go to a bigger tank but $ is short after the new engine.

 

[ljerickson]

Interesting picture, Terry.

I can't quite decide from the picture whether it's made from a cheap gray iron or sintered powdered steel. Got any idea on that?

Lee

 

[dwilkinson]

I am in the process of rebuilding a 48" deck and someone before me has removed the shrouds that surround the blades. I assume they were there for a purpose and would like to replace them. How deep are they? It looks like the blades are about 3" from the deck and I would guess that 2.5" would be about right. Can someone please measure theirs. Thanks you.

 

[rjbean]

Good afternoon, y'all.
I have a 122 that I'm trying to get the mule drive and deck hanger off of. I removed the front bolt, but now I have a slotted head (bolt?) that I can't get a screwdriver on (even if I had one that large). Is this correct, it's on both sides, and if so, what is on the other side of the frame?
Here's a pic.

 

[dfrisk]

Lee E. - I'm pretty sure the Gernade Gears in Kohlers were a cheap gray iron casting like almost everything else Kohler made. Remember most of these engines were made in the 60's & 70's. Powdered metal technology was still REALLY expensive back then, and actually still is. You can only justify the $$$$ for PM if You can use PM to make net shape parts. Kohler's claim to fame was and to a large extent still is their cast iron casting ability. Takes a really good foundry to cast something like a kitchen sink or bathtub with ALL the surface area and so little volume of iron.
A former Supervisor was Materials Mgr. @ KOHLER until about 15 yrs ago. We never discussed Kohler's business in detail but I got a REAL strong impression that small engines were just a "Sideline Business" to them. Plumbing fixtures was where the $$$$ and volume was at.

 

[dtanner]

Hi guys,i`am at it again with the paint.I don`t like the way my gun was spraying the paint. so i have to change guns and try again.This is 1 coat so far on the frame and i think it will take 3 coats to get a nice finish. Later Don T

 

[bborchers]

Ok, I have been reading the posts and have a question. This last week Terry pulled the balance gears out of his engine, very clear on why, what I'd like to know is. Does having them removed effect the over all performance? If not really needed why are they used? Also can balance gears out of a K321 be used to replace ones out of a K301? Sorry about all the questions.

 

[kfreeman]

Marshall,

There are two different mule drives. One with the pulleys "square" to the shaft, used on older decks where the center deck drive pulley is in the center of the tractor. And one with the pulleys on "twisted" brackets so that the pulleys point to the offset deck drive pulley on the 44 and 50 inch decks.

There are also two types of ladder frames that support the mower deck. When looking at the side of the tractor/ladder frame, the older ones had straight sides on the ladder frame. The newer style were curved (humpback, by some). These were for the 44 and 50 inch decks as well.

Is there any chance that a wrong mule drive or ladder frame is causing your problem?

I am new to these Cubs, if this is not correct I am sure someone will chime in with clarifications.

 

[kfreeman]

Doug,

The shrouds, that I have seen, extend down to the elevation of the bottom of the blade (i.e. the cutting edge). They are usually close (maybe 1/4") away from the blade tip. I think it is all about creating vacuum to lift the grass blade to get an even cut.

This is my recollection, I could be wrong!

 

[dfrisk]

BRAD - If Your looking for a HP increase to justify removing the balance gears I'm afraid there is NO noticable increase in HP. BUT if You factor in the chance the snap rings holding the gears onto the stub shafts in the crankcase could pop off and the gears create a nasty hole in Your engine block, then Yes, There could be a "Longevity" increase by not running them.
The larger displacement engines do vibrate more at certain RPM's because Kohler tried to use the same parts like crankshafts and conn. rods in different size engines. The balancing factor was not the same in all sizes of engines. Kohler did make versions or spec. numbers of All their engines without the balance gears so they all do run without them.
Can't answer the question about balance gears interchanging between a K301 & K321. A quick check of the CC parts look-up should answer that question.
If smooth reduced vibration operation is wanted I'd suggest having someone like DAVE KIRK balance Your engine. He balanced My K321 and it vibrates a whole lot less than the K241 ir replaced. The K301 I rebuilt about 15 yrs ago I left them out of also. I called an Engineer at Kohler and discussed leaving them out and He gave Me no other reason for using them other than they reduced vibration. The engine in that tractor was mnissing five of the twelve blower fins or blades off the flywheel, all in a row so it vibrated VERY bad for a while. With a good flywheel and no balance gears it was much smoother. I just happened to think, the new good flywheel, blower housing & main bearing are still in the K321 I'm running now.

 

[lbuttke]

Timothy Tteaque

Those tires are called SwampFox and I ordered them from http://www.tiresunlimited.com/default.htm

 

[kfreeman]

Brad,

Now I am way out of my league, but here goes.

A single cylinder engine is unbalanced when in motion. Some engine designs are more balanced that others. A two cylinder engine with opposing pistons might be more in balance than the single cylinder, a six cylinder may be better balanced than a V-8.

Engineers can counterbalance the engine by adding rotating mass that is equal but opposite to the imbalance forces. This can reduce vibration, noise, and bearing loads. But it also adds complexity (more stuff to go wrong). It seems that many engine builders believe the balance gears to be more liability than asset. Other members have reported slightly more vibration at idle, but nothing noticable at operating speed/load, without the gears.

If you read this site, you will find some who would remove balance gears ASAP, others who would remove them if they were otherwise that deep into engine repairs, and others who kept the balance gears after an overhaul.

I once overhauled a 4 cyl. Mitsubishi motor and removed a bunch of balance shafts, and chains, with no problems.

As to which gears can be used in which engines, I haven't a clue. But you might look in the Kohler manual.

 

[jbaker]

Ok Ive come to terms that its time to buy another cub as it will cost to much to put a tiller on my 128, I am looking at a 1100 with a tiller, deck , and blower but i cant find any info here on the 1100 does anyone want to give their 2cents?

 

[mstetar]

Jeff i got one and i got to say its built better that a normal lawn tractor, but not built as well as any other cub cadet, i know others here will agree or contradict me but that's just my 2 cents
i brought up the topic about a month ago before i got mine, try the archives... if the price is right go for it, you might like it!

 

[nhasson]

Anyone ever have exhaust problems with the jam nuts coming loose on the elbow and the whole assy wanting to keep turning downward? Here is my solution...I got some heavy duty conduit jam nuts and redid the whole exhaust. I used a stainless steel 90 degree street ell, and a stainless steel nipple. Will try it out tomorrow, but I can tell it is already tighter than the original one was. The original jam nuts kept cracking. Nick
The old one with the cracked nut

The new setup

 

[mjohnson]

Ken, Thanks for the response. Anything is possible as I just noticed the difference yesterday between the quick hitch and the old type. I'm not to up on the finer points of the cubs. Thanks, Marshall

 

[jbaker]

Matt what makes the 1100 differnt as far as parts and well built the one im looking at has tiller,mowdeck,snowblower for about 600$ i need it for tilling alot?