Archive through November 30, 2010

[T-Mo]

Think of the possibilities - they could make one of these to move project tractors, or cars, or trucks around.

The Crawler Scaffolding Thingy

 

[jbevans]

Is there a way to make a QA-36 Snow Thrower work on a wide frame tractor? Someone local has one for sale but he said it's for a narrow frame only.

Thanks!

 

[digger]

Lucas J.
It's not a hard fix.
Take the back cover off, un-solder the wire, replace with new stud, re-solder wire, put back cover on!

 

[kmcconaughey]

JB, not without cutting and welding.

 

[dfrisk]

JB - Kraig is correct. My QA-36 was modified to work on a WF, think a 149. I had to mod it back to NF configuaration to put it on my 72.

You could do it by just bolting on two pcs of 1/4" x 2" or 2-1/2" angle iron but welding is more secure.

 

[pbell]

Terry,
There have been some forum members that have used drills, corded or cordless, connected to the driveshaft/hydro input shaft to move CC's with hydro transmissions around their shop (Kentucky Ken for one) with success, and I can see how one mounted to a scaffold would have a place in the construction business, but I think I would have to throw the BS flag on the pulling of the motorhome. I can understand how with the correct gear reduction a drill could have enough power/torque to move that amount of weight, but I can't understand how you can get enough traction with that single 10-12" (or whatever) caster wheel that has no more downforce than its own weight, to pull the weight of the motorhome at what appears to be an uphill angle.

Kinda fall's into the "can't believe everything you see" category. I would think a "store bought" version rigged to move tractors around would be a bit pricey for most of us, but feel sure there is enough expertise among the forum members to come up with some shop built "movers".

 

[dtanner]

Terry Reed

LOL I watched that video and had to chuckle when he towed that big diesel pusher.At that rate he could use six of those and save fuel lol. I can`t see how that could be done with the weight difference and traction problems with That .

Funny how we get off topic

(I haven't been on the site in a few days, but let me summarized what I missed. Spark plugs, fuel storage, Monday sales, chainsaws,.....I think I saw at least a 125 somewhere in there.)
We are all guilty of that !

 

[adonohue]

i know you guys kinda gave me an idea of what attachments were made for the 147 when it was new. how common are the attachments today? if i wanted to find a blower or a mower deck in better condition than the one that came with it, how hard is it to find them? the mower deck that came with the tractor is on the poor side of fair condition. what i mean by that is i've seen worse, but its not great. it was aparent to me that the prevous owner did not believe in keeping it clean. he told me he only mowed when it was dry. well, we all know that any grass stuck to the deck and left on the deck will rot it out, dry or not. all grass contains acids and acids and decks dont mix. i always wondered that with the price of these machines, why these machines didnt come with a deck made out of someone other than steel. aluminum or stainless would never rust, ever. it would last 100 years or more.

when i bought my jd 112, the 39 deck was much more gone than the cub deck, it was really toast. i ended up buying a newer style 38 2 blade deck for it, partly because i love the muchling ability, it works wonders on the leaves. its a nice rot free deck, and its fairly heavy for a 38 inch deck. every time i mow, i grab the pressure washer and blast all the grass away. i have mowed some wet grass with it too. the deck still has NO rust and i have owned it 3 years already. if you keep them clean the will last almost forever.

anyways the deck on the cub might be savable, but its going to take more welding. the deck has already been patched before. why patch a deck if you arent going to make an effort to take care of it. its allot of work to go though to abuse it.

anyways, how available are good rust free decks, and how much would i expect to spend on one? what about qa42 blowers as well? how does the qa 42 compare to my 37a on my john deere, performance wise? by the way, its snowing out so im going to getting some "seat time", lol.

 

[jbevans]

Thanks for your input! I will just keep my eyes open for one that is in better condition and that I can just put right on.

Thanks!

 

[digger]

Andrew D.
This will get you started.
http://cubfaq.com/questions.html
Then question #52.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Andrew, decent mower decks for your 147 should be readily available, however, finding one close by will be the problem. Figure around $50 to $150 or so for a decent 42" mower deck with or without the sub frame mount. The QA42 can do a great job provided it's setup AND maintained properly. If it's all rusty inside the auger housing and inside the discharge chute it'll plug up. Many years ago I refurbished my QA42. I replaced the auger bearings and the needle bearings on the drive shaft sprocket end. I also checked the gearbox gears, bearings and seals, it was OK so I only had to replace the lube. After I painted it I coated the inside of the auger housing and discharge chute with two coats of brushed on graphite paint. Wow, what a difference in performance.

Also be sure to check out the FAQ:

Cub Cadet FAQ # 54

Cub Cadet FAQ # 63

Cub Cadet FAQ # 66

Before.

Here's the graphite paint that I used, made by Valspar and sold at Fleet Farm stores. One well known widely available brand name is "Slip-Plate".

After.

 

[dfrisk]

ANDREW - For me at least, CC's/equipment and water do not mix. I don't even wash mine, just wipe them down with a damp cloth and blow them off with compressed air. And if I do wash them for major repair work I spray them with GUNK foaming engine cleaner and a garden hose before I disassemble them. Even plain carbon steel & cast iron takes a long time to rust if it's kept dry.

Yes, a SS deck would be nice but I think the fact it would always be a low volume part it would cost about four times what a steel deck would cost. I don't think aluminum would hold up real well, and you can get aluminum to rust/corrode also.

Finding a 42 or 48 inch deck in really good shape isn't impossible but IMHO isn't easy either. Those decks are all 40 yrs old now. On the 38, 42, & 48" decks I think the only parts available now are blades, bearings & housings, seals, wheels, and belts. On the newer 44" & 50" decks I know you could get new deck housings as little as 2-3 yrs ago but they were VERY expensive. There are newer MTD decks that fit the old IH CC's, MATT G. has a newer 46" deck (I think) on one of his IH CC's. It takes some switching around of mule drive parts to put a 44"/50" deck or newer MTD deck on a NF tractor. I've thought about doing that swap but never really researched it. Maybe MATT can give some advice.

The availability of QA-42's should be much better. I'm not familiar with a JD 37A but if you look at pic's of IH blowers in action, I know KRAIG & CHARLIE post them frequently there's no shortage of throwing distance. Lots of people put a smaller driven pulley on the input shaft of the right angle gear box and speed them up a bit from stock. Actual throwing distance depends on how fast you feed them, how heavy the snow is, wind conditions. A stock blower should throw 15-20 ft and a speeded-up one 20-30 ft. I always kept the discharge chute on my QA-36 aimed rather low for a short throwing distance, seemed to keep the blowing snow from flying back on me and the tractor as little as possible.

 

[masmith]

Does the graphite paint work good on the mower decks.

 

[adonohue]

i dont know if you realize it, but even fairly "dry" grass still contains plenty of moisture (water). if you leave grass against the metal it will rust quite badly. not only is it the moisture, but grass also contains acids. when you wash a deck off, sure its wet for a little while, but will dry fairly quickly. if you dont clean your deck it will be wet until the grass looses all moisture which could take weeks.

in my opinion washing them down is the best thing for them. if you want it dried fast, you could always used compressed air. i have seen plenty of rotted out decks, they all share one thing in common, they have loads of grass stuck to them.

another option is using a scrapper, you wont get all of the grass off, but its better than doing nothing. most people i have seen dont even do that. the just mow and part the unit. with the cost of a deck i will do my best to keep my equipment clean. once all of the deck are gone, what good is the tractor. you could still remove snow with it, but one of the major tasks i used my tractors for is mowing my 2 acre lot. thats one of the major things with were designed to do, not saying its the only thing they are capable of.

i dont even plan on mowing with a newer tractor, a light weight POS box store unit. no thanks.

 

[jupton]

first post: restoreing old 147 jeff u

 

[dtanner]

Dennis Frisk

I have a off topic mower deck here and I clean it once a year. ,I then spray undercoat on and every fall clean it with a wood paint scraper. The paint fell off the bottom ,but the deck has no rust.I think the deck is a 1996 42". Works for me

 

[adonohue]

here is a video of a 37a blower on a '75 210. i like cubs, but older john deere's work well too. if anyone was interested in doing a 37a vs. 42qa comparision, i think it would be interesting. the even larger jd snowblower was the 49 used on the 140. seems like hydrostat garden tractors in general have larger attachments.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC555U1oqyY&feature=related

 

[jupton]

147 cub cadet AKA -- moses bad wiring / drive shaft bad on both ends / head gasket bad / streeing bad... you get the idea. i have had this 147 for 5 yrs or so came from IN . lots of good info on this forum pick up some good tips here... work started about 30 days ago have had 1/2 the part sand blasted some painting has been done .. lots to be fixed .. have some pics but said that they were to big KB,s I,ll try to send pics soon as i can... Dale Hollow Lake TN Thanks Jeff

 

[dfrisk]

ANDREW - I don't doubt there's acids in the grass clippings. But to do a thorough job of pressure washing I'd have to remove the mower deck from the tractor. Plus you run the risk of pushing water thru the seals into the bearings. Also the 44" & 50" decks have a 1/4" thk steel stamping bolted to the thinner stamped or drawn deck housing where water can get into but take forever to dry. Perfect conditions for pealing paint and rust to start.

I pull the deck every 3-4 mowings of my 2 acres and sharpen the blades and scrape all the surfaces down with a sharp putty knife. Normally any accumulated clippings are dry and starting to flake off the underside of my deck in 3-4 days.

Seems like most summers we get a long dry spell and the clippings flowing thru my 38" & 50" decks almost polish the dicharge areas where the blades throw the grass against the frt side of the deck. I gave up mowing wet grass about 15 yrs ago. I walk under my big Locust tree in frt of the house, in the shade, and if the toes of my boots get ANY dampness on them I wait another hour or more to mow. I'm probably not the best neighbor in my rural area since I have mowed till 2 AM a time or two. My nearest neighbor is about 1/10 mile away. But when I use my little 38" mower on my CC 72 gear drive it takes 5-6 hours to mow & trim, stop for gas, grab another beverage, etc. I've got lights on all my tractors for a good reason!

 

[kmcconaughey]

Jeff U., WELCOME!