Cub 2nd gear ratio input wanted

[MiCarl]

I have a 1948 F Cub that has a significant knock in 2nd gear. I presume there is a broken tooth and plan to tear into it this winter.

The only work the tractor does is pulling a moldboard plow. I've been using 1st gear since I noticed 2nd gear knocking but would prefer a little more speed and will plow in 2nd gear after the repair.

Since it's a '48 it will have the higher 2nd gear ratio of the earlier tractors. I'm thinking that since IH decided to drop the ratio in 1955 their Engineers decided that was better for some reason. I'm inclined to chase up the lower ratio gear set when I do the repair.

Any thoughts of pros/cons of dropping the 2nd gear ratio while I'm in there?

[Jim Becker]

The change was minimal. They moved 1 tooth from the drive gear to the driven gear. 35:17 for a 2.06 reduction changed to 36:16 for a 2.25 reduction. That is less than a 10% difference. I use both early and late tractors and don't notice the difference. You probably won't either.

IH made the change when the Lo-Boys came out. I suppose it made for a better mowing speed.