Archive through October 25, 2012

[digger]

Since we're talking about cold weather and starting info.

 

[bwittman]

Thank you all, for the wonderful information concerning oil and winter operation. I never thought of a heater, but I will get a couple of them; one for the transmission and one for the engine pan. I do know that GM marketed an adhesive attached heater for their Quad-4 engine, and I will look for one of those for the engine oil pan. I am not intending using my tractor this winter, as I don't have a snow blower for it. I may, however need it for a parade in late November and may need to move it sometime this winter to new quarters from its current storage place.

Most say a cold day is 5-10 above zero. Where I live, that is a decent winter day. Cold weather here is 10-20 degrees below zero, and 30 degrees below zero is common. Along with the cold temperatures, wind is very often a factor to make the temperatures feel much colder.

I don't want to run the Nightmare at all in the winter unless absolutely necessary.

 

[bjamison]

Charlie - in the cold start procedure, wonder why IH recommends the throttle be in the slow position vs medium or high throttle position?

 

[kmcconaughey]

Brian, most likely the engine oil pan is aluminum. If so, the magnetic style heater will not stick. Heating the Hy-Tran in the rear differential (on a Hydro Cub Cadet) will do more good than heating the engine oil anyway.

 

[fcurrier]

I wonder why the loop is recommended in the "breaker point lead". Maybe to allow a little slack so it's easier to install the grommett into the points cover?

 

[kide]

Charlie... ROTFL... My starting procedure is exactly opposite of IH's ... WOT and full choke, start cranking and pulling the choke back at the same time.. Never has failed and the 129's motor was never a real eager starter at 0 degrees with 30 weight, but it never started with idle throttle...

 

[kide]

Frank... drip loop to keep condensation from running down the lead into the breaker compartment....

(I'm sure the EE's in the crowd will suggest it's a 1 coil choke to prevent A/C from back feeding to the coil....)

 

[jdiederichs]

Isn't that cold starting procedure for Cadet lawn tractors? Ya know, the Briggs ones.....

 

[jdiederichs]

On second thought

 

[jsalatino]

Since you guys are talking about oil thought I would mention this. This year I decided to try Castrol Full Synthetic in my 104. It was left over from somthing so I decided to try it since I was getting it ready for the spring.It was 5w-30 , Anytime I start it I check the oil,just habbit. I noticed it doesnt use as much as it use to. Before it seemed like I was always addin just a lil here & there. It stayed cleaner lookin and seemed like it wasnt breakin down and getting thin. Before that I was just using 30wt. briggs oil,. Every once in a while I gotta add a shot but its not much at all.

The batt on the otherhand has been giving me issues. This might be a dumb question but does the engine have to run at a cedrtain rpm to charge the batt. The batt is maybe a year old ,I dont have any lights on it,The wiring is good,everything was replaced with 10awg. Unless I'm mowing the grass , i usually dont run it past 1/4 maybe 1/2 throttle. I do start it and move it outside outta my way alot when I'm in the garage,I try to let it run a few min to warm it up,IDK whats goin on with it. I'm wondering if my st/gen is gettin wore out . Been a few times when I had to run the extension cord out and charge it to start it up. Its gettin old I know that. Any ideas on that one.

 

[rmcshane]

Johnathan- Most garden tractor batteries only last around one year anymore. Trust me, I buy batteries like crazy, and I know which tractors charge and which dont.

 

[jbaker]

Jonathan my batteries are 3 to 5 years old and all three turn over hydros, you may want to check the output from your voltage regulator, and they do need some high throttle charging now and then, but more the better.

 

[bwittman]

Kraig,

You are correct. The oil pan is aluminum. The GM Quad-4 was all aluminum as well. (Probably one of the reasons it wasn't any good) They marketed a pan heater that was attached by some sort of an adhesive. I thought I would look into that for the Kohler oil pan. Perhaps I could get one on a good deal, since there are few Quad-4 engines still on the road.

 

[lcarter]

Gerry, I have not heard the work choke used in ages. An old electrician told me to put a loop just prior to a connection, never knew why, I always thought it was as Frank said just for slack. Anyway I asked a few days ago about filling pits prior to paint, anyone with tips on how to go about it.

 

[drglinski]

Jonathan--


My dad's 125 is like that, and we run it the same exact way. Once in a while we just had to put the battery booster/trickle charger on it overnight just to boost the batt. up again. This happened even with a new battery, and the s/g always charges great.

 

[wshytle]

Jonathan-

When the tractor is running put a volt meter on the battery and see if you're getting 13.5 to 14.5 volts with the engine at least half throttle. If you're getting less then you might simply have charging problems and need to check other components as in the s/g, the v/r, or even grounds. I'd check all grounds first...it's sometimes the cheapest fix.

 

[jsalatino]

jeff..Sounds good, I'll have to check the volt reg soon. Now that I think of it, I've never looked into that. I did notice when I rewired it 1 of the tabs that hold the rubber on was kinda screwy, meaning it was a little bent and isnt clamped around the rubber mount very good. It didnt seem like it was a big deal,I do look at it once in a while to see if its getting worse . Before its starts gettin cold I'm gonna put the turfs on and take it for a spin around the block. I'm sure the neighbors are really gonna think I'm strange riding my cub around,but I really dont care. Some people dont understand why we love doing this stuff.Untill you get 1 or get a chance to use sombodys,they'll never know. lol And it is very addicting.

 

[digger]

Larry C.
Sand blast, prime with a good primer.
Fill with glazing putty, let dry, sand putty, fill with putty again, sand putty again. Spot prime, sand again, then paint.

 

[jbaker]

I opened up the k321 from my heavy smoker 149. Good news no balance gears inside. After pulling the head here is what I have.

My real question is with very limited budget I plan on pulling the rod and replacinging the rings and running a ball hone up and down the cylinder.

Will this be enough or am I totaly wasting money??

TheCylinder wall is clean and smooth even at the top, I do a good job cleaning the head and valves.


I figure rings and a head gasket,, I might be in business

 

[jchamberlin]

News Flash: For the first time in all this debate about the ignition system, I agree 100% with Gerry Ide. The only reason I ever had to go to a condenser designed for an automobile was because the top of the one on the tractor had popped off, due, I suspect to water getting in and freezing.

So the "loop" is an important point to remember in the installation of a condenser (capacitor).

Good catch, Gerry!