Archive through October 25, 2018

[mfrade]

Finally the rain has left us so I thought I'd start some basic maintenance for the winter.. the first 2 I worked on needed batteries, can't really complain about them tho' , checked the records and they are 10 years old! Okay, let's try and start the 169! Argh.. battery number 3!

This is an auto zone battery that's 2 years old so I guess I'll be spending some cash!!

 

[lkortkamp]

Well, my 12 hp rebuild is finally coming to a close. I brought the block home last Saturday. Bore finished, valve job for the new valves. I file fitted the rings due to the custom oversize to make the aftermarket piston fit properly. I installed the Kirk plate on the crank and did a quick weight check on piston/pin/rings. Seems the new stuff is 30+ grams heavier then stock. Going by the Kirk instructions it says to compare and maybe run the lighter Kohler pin to help reduce reciprocating weight. Pin was only 10 gram lighter. So, the shop is going to spin it and balance it up all proper.

Why did such a simple(what was suppose to be cheap) rebuild turn into a full blown, high performance, blueprinted engine? Just because I suppose?? We've been joking now for weeks about dome pistons and big camshafts LOL!! I'm a drag racer, so the thoughts are always there. But, I decided to leave well enough alone and just get it back together.

Still need to buy the book so I can put this thing back together correctly and not just

 

[mfrade]

Larry K., I'll be curious how it all works out for you. I HATE the vibrations from my 169. And when I got my kit from Kirk it didn't mention the pin weights or else I would've gone looking for the other pin.

I am an old rodder/racer as well. so I did set the cyl. head into my mill and took a few thousandths off as well as verify it was flat. Then I reset the head and moved it off level (flat) and remounted it about a half degree from level. Ran a fly cutter over it again with the intention of raising the compression "a touch" and influencing the flame front to favor the valves. A terribly old trick and I cannot say it helped or hurt. But it was fun to do.

But the motor vibrations are literally a pain in the butt!

 

[hydroharry]

Larry - make sure you let us know how the balancing works out and whether you have vibrations. I didn't think the early K301 without balance gears had much for vibration but with you changing things and adding Dave Kirk's plate, and then tweaking the pin, I'd like to know how you end up.

Hey Mike - I still gotta report back on my K341A in the 169. I didn't run it long enough to comment on the vibrations being better or worse. I had oil leaking so had to remove it. Thought it was the pan gasket but ended up being the cam cover gasket. Changed the pan anyway and put on a cast iron pan. She's back together and sittin in the 169 but not bolted down yet. Hopefully this weekend I'll get the remainder together.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Not much Cub activity for me, though I did haul my Original back to the farm on Monday to store it for the winter.

It seems to me that this fall has had more rain than typical of the past several falls. It was a little drier last week so I got some work done in the yard and garden.

I should probably post this elsewhere but it's been rather slow here so... I used my new off topic tractor to clean up the leaves in my yard last week, it works great! After I cleaned up the leaves I got my garden cleaned up for the winter and got my garlic planted. I hauled my new off topic tractor to my mom's (aka the farm) yesterday and spent over 4 hours collecting leaves with it and I didn't come close to getting them all collected. I mostly got the ones around the house and on the driveway. There are two huge Silver Maples, two very large Ash trees and dozens of other large Maples with some Birch and Walnut trees. It's a very big yard. I kept away from the Walnut trees as I didn't want to suck up any Walnuts. After it got dark I called it good enough and removed the mower deck and bagger attachment and stowed them in the garage then loaded the tractor back on the trailer and hauled it home. I'm still tired from all that work. I should have kept track of how many times I emptied the bags there's a very large pile of leaves out in the field, probably at least 15 feet in diameter and over 4 feet high in the middle.

I've also been working on my other off topic tractor recently, my Allis Chalmers 620. I drained all the old gas and cleaned out the tank with muriatic acid, basically the procedure listed in the CubFAQ I replaced all the fuel lines, the filter and shut off valve. I changed the oil and fired it up. It ran great for a minute or so then started to smoke and run rough. I quickly shut it down because I'd seen this behavior before. The fuel pump likely has a hole in it because gas got in the crankcase.

Sooo, I drained the oil, again, put on a new oil filter, again and put fresh oil in, again. I then changed the fuel lines so that it was set up like a gravity system, (more like siphon), bypassing the fuel pump to see if it would run. Nope. I have an electric fuel pump on order from Kirk Engines. Once I get that in hand I will plumb it in and be rid of that stupid diaphragm pump.

 

[mfrade]

Hi'Ya Harry! I haven't forgotten that I was awaiting your reply... I just grew tired of harassing you for it!

 

[klindstedt]

I've been mowing/collecting leaves with my new-to-me Grasshopper mower the last few weeks. Just like with Cub Cadets, I've run into a few previous owner repairs, or neglected repairs that have had me busy. Very first mowing, I was 90% done and rolled one of the drive tires off the bead. Previous owner had tubed them, but the dang valve stem tore off and let the air out. Ended up replacing both drive tires. Couple of weeks later, was again almost done, and shut off the mower to answer my cellphone. Would not even crank when I tried to restart. Brought the 109/129 (109 with a 12 hp replacement engine) out to jump start it. Got the Grasshopper back to the garage and finished mowing with the 109/129. I could almost hear it laughing at me for replacing it on mowing duty. The non-charging issue was a connector plug where the terminal had backed out of the backside of the plug. I still plan to plow snow in my driveway this winter with the Cub Cadet, so it's not going away.

 

[bbranstetter]

Nothing real exciting here but a little fall leaf munching with the 782. Mainly an excuse to play with the camera that I have had forever and never used till this fall.

https://youtu.be/yqXA0ttG0YE

 

[lkortkamp]

I got online and printed out the assembly portion of the Kohler book. That should get me through it okay. Like 20 pages.

I can't say much about balancing, like on my 149. It runs pretty smooth overall. I don't think it shakes me enough to complain about it. Though, like I've mentioned, I don't run it WOT, only like 3/4 throttle at the most. Runs smooth, constant, doesn't lug and after a number of years it still hasn't used a drop of oil and it is all original yet.

 

[wshytle]

Larry K.-

I totally understand about running a 149 at 3/4 throttle but I did learn that once the engine is tuned properly and the throttle is set properly it is so nice to push the throttle lever all the way forward to close to 3600rpms and get to work. That's what the engineers designed and what the engines will do. And they will last just as long running at those speeds as at lower speeds like used for putting along. IOWs, if it's working as in mowing or tilling 3600rpms is what you want; getting to and from the barn may require less rpms.

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