Archive through September 14, 2012

[jbaker]

Amy a creeper is "almost" required when blowing snow with a gear drive, you can get away without one but it makes blowing snow alot easier.

That is my youngest daughter Hailey

 

[kmcconaughey]

Hydro, ah, that is the PTO snap ring.

Joshua, after thinking about it, the end of the crank is beveled so the snap ring in the bearing should set back into the bevel and bring the bearing just about flush. I would leave the snap ring in the bearing. And remember to rotate the locking collar in the proper direction.

 

[wheinsohn]

Mike, only genuine Kohler parts were used in all of the overhauls. A stock engine like yours and the K241 in my 106 can get away with running lower rpms to a point but my 129 has some high performance in that it is running higher compression therefore more cooling is needed to remove the extra heat. My 106 has about 1/3 of its 1800 hours running about half throttle. But also over half of that third is running during the cooler winter air. I very seldom add oil to this engine between oil changes I plan on putting a new piston, rings and connecting rod in the 129 this winter and maybe a little more killer kohler work done to it.

 

[hydroharry]

Kraig and Joshua - sorry Kraig but this time I do not agree with you (even if you are the Oh Great One, Keeper of the Photos). The end of the crankshaft does have a slight bevel as you say, but if Joshua leaves the "inside" snap ring in place the bearing will NOT be flush with the end of the crankshaft. I believe Joshua already indicated it keeps the bearing about 1/8" from being flush. This would put the PTO clutch about 1/8" forward of where it was and the fiber disc clutch may ride on the edge of the basket and not work correctly. You don't want to move the basket pulley forward to compensate since this would put the Starter/Generator belt pulley out of alignment with the basket pulley. I believe Joshua noted the internal snap ring was not on his old bearing so in my view he should not install one with the new bearing. In the end that little 1/8" may not make any difference. As a minimum it will put the PTO clutch closer to the fiber button on the engagement lever, but that clearance is adjustable with the turn buckle.

 

[mhomrighausen]

Jeremiah C. I just haven't decided on those danged hub caps yet. I'll keep you in mind though.

Jeff B. That is one smart little girl to lay claim to those Cub Cadets. She needs her own Plow Day tractor.

Amy K. Finding you another Cub Cadet wouldn't be a problem. We could even get it out to you via the Cub cadet Transportation Network.

Right now I need to go and see if I can find a good used belt for the 125's mower. I just wore our the spindle drive belt and I don't feel like a trip to town at the present. I'll check a spare deck that I have on hand. Hopefully its belt is good.

 

[kmcconaughey]

Hydro, if the end of the crankshaft were not beveled it would set out about 1/8" but with the bevel it actually sets out 1/16". I know this because I was just out in my shed where I installed one of the old bearings with the snap ring onto the crank on one of my spare K301 engines and I measured the distance the bearing sets out from the end of the crank. The two bearings that I have were removed from Cub Cadets that had properly functioning PTOs up until the moment that they wore out which was after many years of service. After thinking about this for a bit I believe the 1/16" gives a little extra clearance and might explain the issue I was having several years back when I replaced the old bearing with a new one without the snap ring. I installed the new bearing flush with the end of the crank per the manual. I adjusted the engagement lever per the specs and the PTO would not fully shut off. In order to get it to shut off I had to adjust the engagement lever so that there was less clearance. I believe what was happening was the center button was hitting the end of the crank and causing enough friction to spin the PTO. With the 1/16" extra clearance provided by the snap ring I believe I would not have had the issue I had. That's my story and I'm sticking with it. I'll know for sure if I ever have to rebuild the PTO on the #2 125 again...

 

[bjamison]

Did a little Heavenly mowing today

- mowed the grass at my Church. The 109 did great! No pics - but about 1-1/2 hours of seat time. It's great to have a hobby that get's the job done around the house, but also benefits other people too.

Quick question - The rear quick connects to the deck on my 109 don't seem to penetrate the holes in the deck hanger and every now and then one will fall out. I'm thinking the only ajustment is to spread the deck hanger, i.e. bend it outward on each side? Is this a common problem with the 1x9 and later series tractors?

On the plus side, the 10 hp had plenty of power for the 44 inch deck w/speed-up pulley. Grass was very dry, I mow with the deck all the way up and get about a 3 inch cut - which I like, no scalping, nice thick grass left behind for the next mow. The 10 hp is right thrifty on gas too - at least compared to another color tractor I've got with a 20 hp Onan. I saw gas at $4.07 in driving through West Virginia last week. If it hits $5/gal, I might have to trade everything for an Original with 7 hp engine or a diesel...

I don't know if it's that this 109 is so heavy or if it is the smooth front tires and/or the turf tires on the rear vs ag tires, but if I could mount some kind of roller between the rear tires, I could get some nice striping with the mowing height I'm using. I get partial striping with the weight of the tractor/turf tires. Some kind of striping kit might be an interesting Winter project.

 

[hydroharry]

Now Kraig - Oh Great One, Keeper of the Photos - 1/16"? Maybe there is another way to determine if the button could cause what you experienced. Maybe there is someone on here that is really inquisitive and has a PTO clutch assembly and a bearing and they could rig up something so they could push on the button and see how much it moves and possibly how close it would be to the end of the crankshaft if it were installed. Now, on the other hand Joshua could install his bearing with the internal snap ring in place and see how it works out. Based on my recollection of how far the fiber disk goes into the basket pulley I now don't think 1/16" will cause a problem with it. Maybe you are on to something here Kraig. I'm gonna have to make a slight change to these titles. You'll be, Kraig - Oh Great One, and I'll be Hydro Hairless (by 1/16").

Bill J (under edit) - I've had the same problem with those quick attach rear hangars. I think the springs get a little weak and don't fully snap in place so you may have to help them and push them in. I've also done what you suggested, and bent the end bar of the sub-frame out slightly.

 

[dfrisk]

BILL J - I've never had a problem with the spring-loaded rear attaching pins coming out once they snapped in. I do have some clearance between the brackets that hold the pins and the back bars on the mule drive, but not enough for the pins to come out.

There was a discussion on another forum about "stripping kits" last spring. Guy wanted to make something quick & "Inexpensive" to try. EVERYBODY had their own idea of what Other brand of parts to buy, steel, stainless steel, some suggested sealed greaseless bearings, some thought Oilite bronze bushings would work. I suggested using hardwood, preferably Oak. Cut the roller segments out with a 2-1/2 to 3" hole saw, then bore the center hole out to 1/2" dia, sand the rough spots off and slide them over a length of 1/2" rod to suit the width of the mower. Well, everybody said that the wood wouldn't hold up but the guy eventually made the rollers from wood. They must have worked O-K because that was in April or May, and he hasn't posted about having a problem with them.

I replaced the worn-out plastic roller, (maybe it was wood, can't remember for sure, but it was one-piece) on the frt of my 38" deck about 25 yrs ago with four roller segments made from pine 2X4's. They still haven't worn as much as the plastic/wood? roller was. I made an internal anti-scalp roller for my 50C deck about 14-15 inches wide, mounts behind the center blade inside the mower deck 2-1/2 yrs ago. Those segments were made from Oak 2X4's, and granted we haven't used the mowers much this summer in the midwest, but they have taken a LOT of abuse and have held up really well. They make the space between the tire tracks appear "striped", which with the 12" wide rear tires covers almost all of the 50 inch width of the deck.

Some people have just attached a piece of heavy chain behind their mower decks to stripe the grass, but be careful when mowing when backing up. Steel chain & running mower decks don't mix well.

 

[bbranstetter]

I also did some mowing at church today, that is after I replaced the ignition switch and the pto switch. The tractor was not starting very well when going to the start position, not to mention that it felt a little spongy. Got that replaced but the tractor was still not starting each time I turned the key to the start position but seemed to work after cycling the pto switch. Replaced the pto switch and problem solved.

Also, took the rear tires in to have them loaded with Rim Guard on Friday. Should be done by Monday.