Archive through November 02, 2009

[fsnerd]

"Frank: If it was a bad ignition switch, it'd drop out totally during cranking - as a matter of fact, get a 12 volt test light and make sure that it isn't dropping out while cranking - a test light is easier to detect that with than a meter. Put the probe on the + terminal of the coil. You may see the light dim a little during cranking, but if it goes out altogether or blinks, something's bad further up the line towards the battery. If you put it on the point ( - ) side of the coil, you should see it blink every time the points close ....."

i will try it.

 

[fsnerd]

testing for spark at the spark plug on the K301.

besides holding the coil wire, or plug, close to ground, or using an inductive spark plug wire tester, is there any way to test for spark?

i can not use a voltmeter, can i ? isnt the voltage too high?

just wondering if it would be a good idea to go buy the spark plug tester.

 

[rpalmer]

frank snerd,
besides holding the coil wire, or plug, close to ground, or using an inductive spark plug wire tester, is there any way to test for spark?

Those are excellent ways to test for spark.

i can not use a voltmeter, can i ? isnt the voltage too high?


Well you can set your meter to ohms and test the coil wire. It should read very close to zero. IMHO a spark plug tester will not out preform the tried and true methods you already asked about. But it's your money.

 

[rpalmer]

Frank if you think you may have flooded your engine doing all this. Go ahead and change the spark plug. A flooded out plug will get etched on the porcelain and then the current leaks to ground.

 

[pbell]

Ryan W
The rear end fill plug is not in the same place on a gear drive (Matt's 100) and a hydrostatic drive (Josh's 147), because a gear drive holds 7 pints of fluid, and hydro holds 7 quarts (14 pints)

 

[lpalma]

Frank Snerd,
You can one of these firing indicators ,or use a timing light...

 

[jott]

Ryan W, Pbell is right. the hydros need more space for oil because some of it goes through the hydro and filter.

 

[dfrisk]

PAUL, KENDELL - When I put my "Wings" on the set of vacuuming blades I put them 90 Deg. to the bottom surface of the blades, standing straight up. I tried mowing the grass one time without the vac on and gave up after about 5 minutes and switched blades. It was like I pulled the K241 out of the 72 and dropped a K91 (4 hp) in it's place! The vac sucking the clippings out really eases the load on the mower.

I may try making another set of blades, lay the added wings down and see how they work. I still think GATOR's would be about the best.

When I mow next time and hopefully the last time I'm going to block off the discharge chute at lewast partially, keep the leaves in and chew them up good. IH used to include the block-off plate with every new mower deck.

KENDELL - I've been pretty well beaten-up about welding on mower blades also. My biggest fear when running the vacuum blades is if one of the added wings would ever bend, crack, fly off it would puncture one of My "NLA" Firestone rear tires. That is "IF" the piece would ever be able to get out from under the mower deck.

 

[dtanner]

Josh Ott
<Im still not sure what the hammering would do to help it.??>
I`am not the one who said that ,but i know what they meant. From the rear cover being torqued tight the rear cover will bend around and near the bolt holes. Use a straight edge to see if it is all a flat surface over the hole cover, If the bolts have the cover bent, lay it on a flat surface and use a BFH to pound it all flat . BTDT
later Don T

 

[wmiller]

Josh O, When looking for a leak try to find the highest point that is wet is is usually the source. This might be a good time to remove the fender pan assy and check further forward. I also have a 147. If the hydro stat leaks the little fan can tend to blow the oil rearward. Even slight seepage at the hydrostat over time can result in a huge accumulation of oily mess around the upper area of the unit which can keep it from cooling properly. Even though the tunnel cover is not removable on these,with the fender pan off access is not to bad. You may have to power wash the area and run it some to know for sure. When I was an auto mechanic in the era of tin valve covers we used to "pound" the bolt holes back sligtly past flat,so that when you tighten the bolts and normal flex occurs the metal will end up flat around the bolt holes.

 

[jott]

Wayne M, It hasnt been like this for very long because iit wasnt there when I put the weights on about two weeks ago and it hasnt moved much since. I put the windbraker cab on it and i really dont want to take it apart again, but i guess i still have the snow plow. i will look into it when i get home today.

 

[rwilke]

Dave R./ Paul B./ Josh O.,
Thanks - I guess I made it obvious now to the world I haven't been around many nor do I know much about Gear Drive Cubs!

Josh O.,
If you're not loosing much lube, maybe you're just need to check the level periodically over winter and plan on a thorough investigation come Spring....

Ryan Wilke

 

[kmcconaughey]

Regarding the rear cover plate. I believe it was Kendell that mentioned using a ball peen hammer to dimple the mounting holes in the cover plate so that they bend out away from the cast surface, this will allow the cover plate to bear tighter against the gasket. see the left hand image in the drawing below. Usually the cover plate has the area around the mounting holes slightly bent in or toward the cast surface this prevents the cover plate from fully bearing on the gasket and can allow for leaks, see the right side image in the drawing below. Hopefully my quick sketch will help illustrate the point. Please note that the dimpled or bent areas in my sketch are exaggerated to illustrate the concept.

<font color="ffffff"> . . .</font>Good dimples<font color="ffffff">. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .</font>Bad dimples

 

[fsnerd]

just tried test light on + side and - side of coil during cranking.

very little drop on + side . blinks on and off on - side.

i do not think i can go any further until i clean the carb, which will probably be Thursday.
i really think i need to eliminate a gummy carb before i go any further.

as i said earlier, it might just be the new wiring harness fixed the no power to coil problem and the stalling problem, now it wont start because gas sat in the carb while waiting for the new harness.
i always use gas stabilizer, and since they did whatever it was they did to gas to make it gum up the engine if it sits more then a day, i always run everything out of gas before i put it away, but i couldnt do it with the tractor, because i could not keep it running.
so, i think, a carb cleaning might be my only problem.
probably Friday i will have it back together and try starting it.
i will let you all know what happens.

 

[kide]

Frank:
Not sure what kind of gas they're selling you in CT - I use the local stuff here with 10% Ethanol and rarely if ever have a problem with gumming (did have problems on a Mikuni carb on one of the Cushmans - that's when I bought the gallon soak bucket this spring). I actually had more problems if I used a stabilzer, if I left it in more than 3 months or so.. The one issue with running dry is if the main jet sets right in the bottom of the float bowl (lots of older Briggs products do). The "dregs" of gas after the engine quits can dry out and varnish up the mainjet..

I think your test on the coil sounds OK, the wiring sounds good. If you do still have a coil problem, it'll most likely be as has been said, something that shows up after some running - you should be able to see a totally failed coil by just checking for spark when you crank it over..

 

[ddillon]

Hey guys, installing headlights in my 100 and noticed there is no hole for the switch to mount does anyone have a good picture or measurement of where the hole is supposed to go? Thanks a bunch.

 

[kmcconaughey]

David D., from the 70/100 Operator's Manual:

 

[ddillon]

Kraig, thanks a bunch you are a tremendous resourse.

 

[lkortkamp]

Since we're on the discussion of leaf pickup......I got my yard all done Sunday. Started at 8am, finished at 5pm. 4 very full, packed loads in the pickup hauled to the township dump.

I hopped on the Cub to run around and detail the yard and cut/mulch up the rest of the stragglers(leafs). As I'm buz'n around I notice on my left turns the LF wheel isn't straight. Hmmm, closer inspection let me know the outer wheel bearing had failed. Ack! Lucky I only had a few laps to go, I was careful, then put Cub back in barn with nose out so I could repair it.

I put a couple 4x4's under the nose and let the air out of the tires an then removed bolt/washer and removed tires. No damage to axle, luckily. I bought 4 new bearings at local bearing house. Simple fix, should be ready to remove deck and install blade for winter. Can't wait to use it!!

 

[jott]

Ryan W, Too late. i was loosing too much so i started to tear it apart and put a temporary donor tranny in till spring. I need a snowblower,a sowplow isnt enough around here.