I have my dad’s old Cub Cadet 70 with the 42-inch mowing deck, having inherited the thing in 1988 on my dad’s death. He used it for 20-25 years mowing his 1.5 acre lot (minus the house area of 1100 sq.ft.) in Cobb County, GA. I brought it to Florida in 1988, and used it some to mow my 1-acre lot. However, it developed engine trouble that I tried to fix by replacing the head gasket in 1991. This failed because the exhaust leak was out the front of the engine, and before I detected the problem, both the head and the block had been eaten out locally a few thousandths, thereby preventing a good seal with the new head gasket. So, it has been sitting in my tool shed for about 13 years or so. The only other known problem is that in the ensuing time, the tires leaked flat and are probably rotten.
Now the question I have for the Cub Cadet community, is it worth repairing? In 1991, a new engine would have cost something like $800, so now it would be even more. Can the block and head be repaired by welding, grinding, etc?
Now as to the tractor serial number, I am baffled. I looked on the right side of the reduction drive housing. I found one stamped letter and an 8-character raised number:
D 385058R1
These numbers are upside-down relative to the ground, making it more difficult to read. This does not match the information for a 1960’s Cub Cadet that I found on this website. My dad’s operator’s manual is dated 1964. I suppose that somewhere down the line, Dad had to replace the unit; although since he was a first class auto mechanic, I would think that he would have simply replaced only the internal parts that were worn. But maybe the complete unit was the only way the parts were sold. Can anyone provide an explanation?
Robert Wittmeyer
Orlando, FL