Archive through May 18, 2012

[cmiracle]

Steering-

It seems the only play I have in my steering is the slightly loose axle. I belive I remember reading here that it could be replaced by a grade 8, 1/2in Bolt. To do this, is the existing pin in the axle just driven out? To what #torque would the new bolt be tightened to?

 

[thoffman]

How do you check to see if the stator is working on a QL? My 800 stopped charging. I have a couple of rectifiers that I swapped out but still shows no charge. Never had to do a stator replacement, is it a PITA or what?

 

[cwestfall]

picked this one up today took a minute to find the power steering when the guy said it had it, first one of these for me.

 

[bkurth]

hey guys i messed up i got my 61 original all back together and running so the boy and i took it for a test dirve and need less to say i forgot to tighten up the front tire bolts and lost one.

 

[cmwkrill]

Hahaha.. Yeah, gotta love bacon.. lol.

 

[jchamberlin]

Tom Hoffman: I believe the usual check is to (1) measure AC voltage on the two wires coming from the stator at the rectifier with the rectifier in the circuit (I want to say you should see about 35 VAC or better, the faster it turns, the higher the reading); (2) check each wire from the stator to ground with the wires disconnected from the rectifier.

My understanding is that there are three ways for a stator to fail (1) wires burn up resulting in an open circuit; (2) wires short out and don't burn up resulting in (a) short to ground, or (b) a shorted winding diminishing the output of the system.

Of course these tests don't really tell you what the magnets are doing. The only way I know to check them is to remove the flywheel, which on a Kohler isn't too hard (its a bear on a Briggs & Stratton).

The Kohler manual has a fairly complicated test for the charging circuit employing not one, but two (2) Volt-Ohm meters to test and measure the current carrying capability of the system. Hopefully, you can figure out what's wrong without having to resort to the full diagnostic.

 

[bkurth]

hey has anyone had this problem with there original with creeper when i turn the steering wheel to the left my lower steering arm hits the drive shaft back by the coupler disk so i bent the arm out and shimmed it a bit but it still hits whats going on? drive shat seems ok do i need a different shaft or what anybody no thanks brian

 

[sareed]

Well, I am getting there. The points fixed the problem, but when the engine is under strain, it boggs down and the governer isn't kicking in to give more power to the engine. Can anyone tell me how to adjust it properly? Is it an easy task? I tried to follow the intructions from the repair manual, but from what they are saying to what i see, doesn't make sense.

 

[dfrisk]

CLARK M - re Loose frt axle pivot. The bolt is 3/4" dia., and a Grade #5 is good enough.

If this is for your 1200, it's best to pull the engine out before installing the bolt, also a good time to check & replace your iso-mounts for the engne cradle and perform the cradle modification if you haven't done so yet. Get the bolt long enough so the frt axle casting & both the frt & back axle pivot holes are resting on the Un-threaded portion of the bolt. Try to find a short pattern "Stove Lock Nut" for the bolt, it's a deformed torque retention lock nut, won't need Lock-Tight or any sort of lock washer. Tighten the bolt/nut until the axle has no wobble. You'll also need to cut or grind the head of the bolt down to about 1/2 it's thickness, it'll be about 1/2" thk as you buy it, but you should grind it to be 1/4 inch thick so you have clearance between the bolt head and your oil pan. The bolt head goes towards the back of the axle, next to the oil pan, and the nut end goes towards the front.

 

[dschwandt]

I have the front axle off my 1450 as well trying to fix the "LAS" (loose axle syndrome) I plan on turning the pin 180 degrees and tacking a flat washer to the back side of the axle to take up approximatley .095" play fore and aft.

Will also weld and re-drill the holes in the spindle arms to size and make sure the bolts are tight enough when puting back together. Looks to me like loose spindle bolts are the problem here as no grease from the zerk can get to the bolts, it all goes between the axle and the spindle bolt insert. It looks to me like the insert should do the turning inside the axle and not the bolt inside the insert. Am I all wet in this assumption here???

The spindle inserts, by the way, just pushed out of the axle w/finger pressure. One of the bolts, however, was rusted insde the spindle and had to be driven out w/a punch. Most if the wear was in the upper and lower holes in the spindle ends.

Dave S.

 

[wshytle]

Dennis-

What is the advantage of using a bolt vs the pivot pin?

I've always just used a 3/4-16 grade 8 bolt to squeeze the channel back and use the pin. The pin also has a cutaway or relief area for grease flow where a bolt wouldn't have near as much. I have had problems with the front collar wear but that's not that hard of a fix. The trick is the pin hole drilling for the roll pin retainer.

 

[mgonitzke]

David S-

The spindle clamps to the insert, and the insert is what rotates in the axle casting, so it should be getting the grease, not the bolt. Make sure the bolt is tight so that the insert is rotating in the axle and there is no relative motion between the bolt, spindle, and insert.

 

[jwalker]

Good Morning All, Having a problem with a Original here. 7hp rebuilt 4 years ago, new everything basicly but it keeps fouling the plug (Champion CJ8, not to crazy about Champion)fires up, idles and runs great but when you shut it down it won't start without a new plug. Plug will have gas on it, coil has 12+ volts and the spark plug wire bit me good. Engine only has about 20 min. of run time, do I need to let it run for a while? Any advice would be appreciated, please no flaming 'been a long weekend
Thanks Joe

 

[bwittman]

Good Morning!

I hope this is the week when I am able to finally bring home my recently purchased Cub Cadet 1250. Being brand new to Cub Cadet tractors, I keep reading, in other threads, that the motor mounts are the most important repair that one can do on this machine. I know the machine also has a charging issue. I would like to address these problems immediately. As I would rather PLAY with my new Cub Cadet than work on it, is there a way to check the motor mounts without pulling the engine? I also would like to know if it is possible to pull the engine without a hoist of some sort.

Thank you. I already want a 104. Am I crazy?

 

[dfrisk]

JOE W. - re Your original that won't start without a new plug, YEP, Put that K161 under some kind of load, 20 minutes of run time on FOUR years? You haven't got the new piston rings broke in at ALL, you need heat and cylinder pressure from working the engine to make them seal. You should run that engine for at least a couple hours, work it for 30 to 60 minutes, then let it cool, then work it some more. Have you re-torqued the head bolts yet with the engine warm? Nothing wrong with Champion plugs in my opinion, I use them in everything I own.

WAYNE S. - The advantage of the 3/4" bolt in place of the axle pivot bolt is that it holds the channel together and prevents it from spreading and the axle getting loose again, and if/when it does you just tighten the nut on the bolt a half a turn. My 982 had a bolt from the factory. And the bolt is a loose enough fit in the old cast iron axles plenty of grease can get around the bolt to lube the pivot.

 

[wshytle]

David S.-

I'd also "treat" the bolt with either paint or a good coating of grease. The grease travels around the insert that Matt mentioned but there's no flow around the bolt itself...it's actually sealed inside said insert. I've found a lot of rusted bolts some of which were a bear to get out. Everything should slip apart once the nut is removed.

Dennis-

Thanks. That makes sense.

Brian-

I'd plan on not only fixing/replacing the ISO mounts I'd also learn about the rail modification and do or have that done. You'll hear about using aftermarket rubber bushings but I strongly recommend buying new OEM ISO mounts. You might have some very nice bushings; usually the bushings on top (two to a corner) are in good enough shape to reuse but if there's been any oil leakage or excessive looseness the bottom bushings are probably toast.
Oh, you'll have to pull the engine to do the work and you and a buddy could easily lift it. I use to be able to do it by myself but not any more.

 

[dschwandt]

Brian, look underneath the engine and you will more that likely see the 2 halves of the cradle resting on the cross member, not good, as the engine pan (aluminum) is also more than likely resting on and in contact with the tops of the cradle

There are 2 rubber "snubbers", one on each forward corner of the cradle. There is supposed to be a small clearance between them and the main frame rail. These, again< are more than likely resting on the frame.

I'm going to try to fab some mount sleeves from some 3/8" ID tube and flat washers and use the cheaper aftermarket automotive stlye mounts. My tractor had such worn bushings that even the sleeves were junk, bushings worn clear though to the point they came out in pieces and what was left of the sleeves had destroyed themselve hogging out the holes on the cradle 1/2's

Dave S.

 

[rfuller]

just wanted to update on my 982 PTO. I spent about 2 hours yesterday lightly prying and tapping the OD when it came loose. I had to work it back and forth with some penitrating oil. Now that its all free, I'm surprised it froze up all the way back against the shoulder. By feel you could not tell if it has two parts, that is why I thought something is missing.

The coller must have a spring wire in it that snaps over the balls to hold it in place. I tried to take it apart, to get a better look, but once I removed the snap wire from the shaft I could not get the coller over the balls, I don't know how it can be taken apart.

Thanks for the help Kraig.

 

[dschwandt]

Home made motor mount sleeves.
OK, so I got the engine out of the 1450 and did "the cradle fix". All but 2 of the original mount sleeves were destroyed so I tried my hand at fabbing up some new ones out of 3/8" tubing and some flat washers.

I think they will work just fine as long as the new bushings hold up.

Set the cradle in the frame and I have 1/2" clearance between the bottom edge of the cradle rails and the crossmembember. You can see in the picture where the cradle rails were resting right on the X member when I took it apart.

Now for some paint and the lower steer gear fix
Got the axle spindles all tightened up and removed most all of the slop. Think I'll spring for new wheel bearings also while I'm this far into it.

Dave S..

 

[dschwandt]

Charlie was here!

Charlie was here!

Charlie was here!