Archive through October 01, 2011

[gcoleman]

Thanks Allen! (wasnt meant to sound like a want ad, my apologies, it was meant to say I should really install one to keep track)

Dave, what do you mean by "pull it", tractor pull or pull the head and then piston to check? Its a K301A bored .020" over in a 149

 

[dross]

Glenn, After the initial break in, change the oil and use it. Mow tall grass, blow snow, rototill. Use it.

 

[gcoleman]

Ahh gotcha Dave! Ive been workin it hard lately, mowing, pulling, dozing, and as cool as its getting as fast as its getting, its gonna tote my splitter and firewood around so that should help it break in some, as well as pushing snow should Maryland see any haha.

 

[mhomrighausen]

Jason H. If you had to bypass the safety switch on your tractor then perhaps your linkage may be a tad out of adjustment. Sometimes it doesn't take much. The finger that pushes the switch in may need to be bent just a little to make contact sooner. Or maybe you didn't have your foot down far enough.

Everyone .... Have a great week!!! Off to work now.

Just remembered... Norm B. About your jerky hydro. If you do move the lever back or forward a bit fast especially under full throttle then yes, those hydros will tend to be a little jerky. On the newer lawn and garden tractors they've added an accleration valve which if I recall correctly helps eliminate that jerkiness.

 

[dfrisk]

GLEN - Dave is 100% correct about new engine break-in. You need lots of cylinder pressure and heat to force the rings out against the cylinder walls to break them in. As Dave said, Plow Days are actually a good way to break a fresh engine in. They get pulled rather hard for several minutes and then while turning on headlands the RPM can be varied and load reduced so they can cool off a bit. Cycling heat and pressure is good!

Worst thing you can do is a lot of idling around at low load. I had to use my fresh K321 in the 72 to spread fertilizer and spray when it had about 20-30 hours on it. Even with a 50 gallon load of spray in the tank it was NO load for the tractor. I was planning on using the tired old K181 in the 70 to spray but I was having PTO clutch problems so had to use the 72.

An occasional puff of blue smoke with only 25 hours is nothing to be worried about. As long as oil usage is stopping and there's no bad noises I wouldn't even think of pulling the engine apart.

And Dave is also correct about the piston rings "rotating" around the pistons. According to Gordon Jennings who wrote some fantastic technical articles years ago in CYCLE Magazine about everything from pistons, to rings, to bearings, the rings rotate once for every roughly 1000 revolutions of the crankshaft in 4-stroke engines, so the rings are no where close to where they were installed. In 2-stroke engines like old motorcycles, chain saws, string trimmers, & leaf blowers the rings are "Pinned" with small roll pins so they can't rotate and an end of the ring stick itself into one of the intake, transfer, or exhaust ports and cause problems.

And as Dave also said, by now with 25 hours on that engine you should have changed the oil at least twice. I've broke new rebuilt Kohler engines in with both detergent and non-detergent oil and really haven't seen much difference. The K241 I ran for 1400 hours was broke-in with detergent oil and then the oil was changed after about an hour, then five hours, and then every 25-30 hours after that.

 

[jlgordon]

ok guys i heve a kohler k 241 in my cub 108 i had bored it out and all that good stuff i hade replaced the main barings bc it has a slight knocked. well it is not the barings i had miced out the hole engine and i have cam the the idea that its the clearince of the cam gear and the ceank gear dose any one know how to check the clearince for that please wright back

 

[nbartee]

Jesse,

Usualy a mandril wil tell u, do u hve 1?

 

[brhodes]

I’ve got a lot of slop on the front of my 1962, was going to replace the bushings but got to thinking about putting in bearings instead. Has anyone put bearings in there instead? Part of me thinks no, keep it original, but then……
I haven’t pulled the tires yet but would the ¾ “ bearing work? What would I gain? / lose?

 

[dfrisk]

BILL R. - If you mean the front wheel bearings, then YES, they would work very well.... just don't know what size you'd need, probably need different wheels. If you mean the AXLE PIVOT, then NO, bearings do not work better than bushings.

JESSE - If I read your question correctly, you think there's too much free play between the crankshaft and camshaft. There's very little load on those two BIG gears, they don't wear, plus they're helical gears. I've read posts on other forums about the fact that Kohler was NOT very good on holding tight tolerances on things like centerline to centerline spacing. And things that were supposed to be parallel are not always parallel. There's really NO WAY to move the camshaft closer accurately in a K241 which would allow the gear teeth to run deeper into each other and reduce backlash (technical term for the looseness). I've never even seen a spec for the backlash of those gears. There IS a spec in the Kohler and IH manuals for the END CLEARANCE between the camshaft and the inside of the block. And if you don't hold that tolerance to the LOW SIDE of the range you will get a knock. Seems to me the tolerance is .005" to .010" and you should try to hold that as close to .005" as possible. I think what your hearing is the camshaft sliding back and forth on the shaft it runs on and hitting the inside of the block. A tighter tolerance reduces the knocking.

 

[kmild]

Thanks so much guys! Part #5 in that diagram is what I need. IH-489607-R4 Somewhere along the line they switched and went with the threaded rod on both sides, but I do not know when that was. Both would probably work. I bet with the spring tensioner the belt probably had more tendency to come off the idler pulley?

 

[gcoleman]

Dennis, Oil change number two was just completed about...I'd say a week ago now, looked good too, not as much metal and good smell/color. I just figured I'd ask the pros about moreso all the blowby because it didnt seem right to me. Only noise it has is from the camshaft sliding back and fourth a little bit (worn shim that I stupidly put back in without thinking about it)but according to David Kirk its nothing harmful except to the ears haha.

 

[pbell]

Bill R,
Like Dennis said, if you are talking about the front wheels, you can replace the bushings in the wheels with the 1-3/8 x 3/4 bearings used on the other model Cub Cadets, BUT, the spindles/axles on an Original (you said it was a 62) are 7/8" so the wheels won't fit if you do. I would just replace the original bushings with new ones.

 

[sbauer]

Has anyone replaced the front seals on a 982? Mine seems to be leaking and was wondering if it is something hard to do or if someone has instructions. I would like to do it on the garage. Also are their any other things that should be repalced at the time. Thanks.

 

[dross]

Stevem B, If your going to do that kind of work "on" your garage, I'd take some spare shingles and make sure your insurance is paid.

 

[twible]

I bought a QA42 snow blower several years ago, tried it once and it didn't blow snow very well. I would really like to use it. What can I do to get the most out of it I can? It didn't throw snow very well. I was thinking of setting the throttle a little faster ( I would have to adjust the throttle cable). Also, would it help to change pulley size?
Terry

 

[twible]

I am thinking of getting a second engine to have on hand for my 1250. Is the 16hp out of the 1650 the same foot print as the 12 hp out of the 1250?
Terry

 

[trutherford]

i had just bought a haban sickle mower for my cub cadet i need to figure out the mid mounting sections where it fit onto the mower with the center chain. Can someone give me pictures on how it mounts please. I have already looked through the manuals and i still cant get a clear picture on how it mounts so can someone help me out thanks.<center><table border=1><tr><td>

haban sickle mower
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[jbaker]

Terry W to help with your questions i have a QA36 hooked up to my 12 horse and it throws snow fine, yes higher throttle and just the right ground speed with your hydro should do it. you can also put slip spray on there to help snow slide out.

wish I had pics on this computor

And yes same foot print on the 12 to 16 horse.

 

[digger]

Troy R.
Go to the manuals section and download the installation instructions.

 

[pfunk]

Troy, if you look here there's some pictures of my mounted Haban. I had to make special mounts for the front since it wasn't originally made for a Cub Cadet, but the center section should be the same. Hope this helps.