No power at all

[Rufus]

I am sure that this topic has been covered before, but I really don't know where to start, and after looking over the FAQ's I still didn't find anything. Since day one, I have never had any trouble starting the tractor and it seems to idle fine but it doesn't have very much power. It will spit and spudder around if you move the throttle up but smooths down pretty quick. When I come up the drive way (clear, no snow not pushing or pulling anything) I have to use first gear and if I am towing a trailer or such, I have to rev it all the way up. The whole trip up, the drive the engine keeps getting slower and slower unit I reach the summit and then picks back up. I had a real time plowing the garden this spring as it kept stalling out. This summer I rebuilt the carb and nothing changed, checked out the timing...right on, new plugs, checked points, and compression was acceptable. I do plan on trying the kholer modification on the carb since it still leaks gas..... I guess I just don't know where to go from here since don't have much experience working on tractors. Does it sound like the govenor is working.....how is that checked?

[FCUBMAN]

Others with more expertise will have more to add, but it sounds like it may well be your governor not working. I checked mine by idling it at about 1/2 throttle, then opening or closing the throttle, gently!, using the linkage from the governor. There is enough free play in mine to do that. As soon as I let go of the linkage, the governor compensates by moving the throttle plate in the carb to adjust the speed back to the set point. This will determine if the governor is responding.
Any smoke coming from the exhaust? Color? If your carb is leaking gas, the needle and seat may be leaking, causing too high a fuel level, making you run rich, causing poor power. Since you need to address that anyway, try doing it soonest, and then see how she runs
I yield the floor to those more knowedgable...

[TJ]

I don't know if this is a question or a answer but anyhow Can you check the gov. the same as you do on a H or M farmall by going up and down a hill in high gear.To make the engine rev when going up and slow when going downhill?

[FCUBMAN]

That works on mine - it backs off on the throttle going downhill, and opens it when going uphill, trying to keep the RPM's where I set them. I can hear the difference in the exhaust note.
Brian

[Matt Kirsch]

Rufus,

You definitely have a governor problem, probably a broken spring inside which will require removing the governor, taking it apart, and seeing what's going on inside.

If you go over to the left side of the engine, grasp the rod coming back to the carburetor from the front of the engine, and try to rev the engine, the governor should push back against you. If you can rev the engine, the governor is not working.

The carb leaking gas just means that you don't have something right inside. Probably the float level is set too high. Don't get discouraged because these old Farmall carburetors are the most fiddly things you'll ever run into. Dad and I took the carburetor on my JP-special Super H apart no fewer than four times to get it working right. First time, the old brass needle wouldn't seat and it just pee'd gas all over the place. Second time, the new rubber-tip needle wouldn't UNseat, and the tractor would die as soon as the fuel bowl ran dry. After the third time, the float was set way too high, and the old girl smoked like a diesel. FINALLY, after the fourth time, a good whack to create a set on the rubber needle, and careful realignment of the float, it finally worked as it should...

Once you get these carbs set, though, they will run for many many years and not give you a lick of trouble.

[Rudi]

Rufus:

Well, I am no expert, but Ellie has had a few problems like that. So have a few others that I have worked on. Each and every time it was the governor. For the following, make sure that the fuel is turned off and the Cub is not running.

1. Lubricate the Connecting link, arm and springs well with a good lubricating/penetrating oil. Solvo-Rust by Loctite has worked well for me in this application. Rock the governor shaft back and forth until it moves freely. Don't be afraid to oil it well.

2. Check to make sure the bumper spring is well oiled as well and as you move the throttle lever, you can see the spring opening and closing well. Blow it out with air if there is a lot of crud and stuff to make sure nothing is busted.

3. If the connecting link is not sticky, but moves a lot, you may have a wear problem. There is a fix for this.. use the Search feature at the top to look for Governor.

4. Oh, yeah.. and I almost forgot - NOT, read Lurker Carl's Cub Governor Rebuild on the Cub Manual Server for some good tips. It will show you all the parts quite well.

Now, start her up and see if there is an improvement. Take it for a run and see if there is more responsiveness.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

rufus, in addition to the governor problems the others have metnioned I would suggest checking the timing.

[Eugene]

Couple of things to solve the problem. My feeling is that carburation is one if not the major factor. I would follow this order.

1) Clean (dip) the carburator. Blow out and clean all passages and orifices. Repair the leaking needle valve. Make sure the carburator is function properly.

2) Remove and clean the entire air cleaner. Not just the air cleaner cup.

3) Double check your tune up. Include valve tappet clearance.

4) Move on to the govenor.

Eugene

[junkman1946]

Reading Rufus's post confused me. Rufus 3rd line from the bottom you mention Kohler modification to carb. {sp} Im not aware of any modification by Kohler to the carb on a Cub. Do you have a Cub Cadet with a Kohler engine, or do I just have egg on my face again? Frank

[Bigdog]

Frank - there is a Kohler needle valve (Kohler 25 757 02) which has a neoprene tip which is a direct replacement for the IH needle valve. Many who had trouble with leaking needle valves switched to the Kohler valve with this tip to alleviate the problem.

[Joe Howard]

Rufus, I fought the very same symptoms you described. Would level out and run fine until I needed some power going up hill or thru thick grass (with the mower) It would spit and sputter until I'd push in the clutch and then it'd lever out but still no power. Problem always got worse when the engine heated up, maybe after 15 minutes or so. Fought it for the better part of 20 years! Finally got talking to a shade tree mechanic one day and after describing the problem he said "electrical". I said "no way, how does the mag know when the engine is needing more power?" He said "way". I loaded it up and took it to him; he reworked the mag (new coil, mainly) and it worked like a brand new tractor and still does to this day. I don't know if you're dealing with a mag or not, but there is a "magman" who posts here; I wouldn't be too long before I got hold of him and get a sounding from him. The other big hitter was getting rid of my old plugs and getting some Autolite 388 (Ithink that was the number) but I sure have a running machine now. Lets be sure to "close the loop" on this one; post back, it's just as important (maybe more so) to know why something is running good and what fixed it. JH

[Rufus]

I have a four year old running around and have babysitting duty during the week so I have to really manage my time:) Anyway, I started it up and let it warm up for about 5 minutes at an idle and started playing with the govenor linkage, trying to pull it both towards the carb and away towards the fan. There was some resistance pulling towards the carb, but much, much less towards the fan. Then I started raising and lowering the snow plow and did notice that the linkage to the carb was moving toward the carb as the blade moved and when it found the correct hight, the rod would back off and find a steady spot again. If I went from an idle to all the way open, it would sputter and spit for around 10-15 seconds and then level out. All of these tinkerings were done stationary since I didn't want the neighbor to watch me leaned off the side of the tractor trying to observe the govenor linkage, they already think I am wierd...err eccentric. These are the only observations I had time for today 15 minutes or so.....can't wait till the weekend! From this description on the govenor linkage, can I assume that the govenor is acting as it should? My Cub has a distributor, but when I get my carb parts, I will get a new coil too, haven't tried that.

[Patbretagne]

Just an old euro centime's worth.
Last year Viki the workohollic, started to spit and pop rather as the current problem here, I was cutting the roadside verges with the mid mounted finger mower in the village, this doesn't use too much power when on the level or downhill, but the moment power is needed to go uphill, the engine practically died, this was most noticable when the tractor was hot.
Tried all the usual fixes as stated above; govenor, fuel, coolant, worn driver's seat bearing, all to no avail, so I had a cup of tea and considered the problem and didn't come to much of a decision.
Went back to the tractor, it started up and ran fine for about 5 minutes and it started to splutter again.
Jump down off the tractor and look around, touch, feel and WOW was that hot!
It was the coil I was touching and it was way over working temperature. Borrowed the coil off Baby, and immediately no problem.
So now Viki has a lovely new black coil all the way from TM Tractors at a very reasonable price.
Problem solved, all the verges have been cut regularly since and Viki has even found a winter job ploughing, indeed if today turns out fine I will be going up to a friend's at Brasparts (yes that is the correct spelling) to plough a part of his field ready to sow some late wheat for a threshing demonstartion that we are hoping to have again at Vieux Quimerc'h again this summer,

PAT

PS Last autumn I had a similar problem, but it was not electrical in any way, When I filled up with gas, I accidentally selected the "Super" button on the pump and got high octane leaded gas, indeed it worked till again the engine was warm and would die and splutter till I realised what I had done. How do you dilute high octane to make it low octane??? When you are some way from home??? I found a bottle of white spirit paint thinners (naptha) and dumped about 1/2 pint in the tank and away we went, Viki back to his normal self again.

[junkman1946]

Egg- thoroughly installed on and in my face. Seriously I had pretty much the same problem on a 432 Kohler on my Bolens- went through the same drill, went nuts for a year. One day looked at the coil while it was acting up, sure enough there was enough arcing to weld with. A little water sprayed on coil will magnify this problem. Remember K.I.S.S. try the simple stuff first. Good Luck Frank

[Rufus]

I changed the coil out today and still the same thing. I did notice that if I advance the throttle slowly, from idle to fill tilt the tractor didn't seem to mind but if I just shoved it right up to the stops it would sputter and spit and carry on. I tried adjusting the govenor as I have heard it described by others here: Turn the bolt in until it touches and back it off a quarter turn but I ran into a snag. This bolt never seems to bottom out so I turned it in as far as I dared and still was able to use the lock nut. This made the throttle even worse if I moved too quickly from idle and the fit would last much much longer.....in some cases the only remedy was to back the throttle back off. My question is what should this adjustmen hit and by the parts diagram on TC-37F group 12 page 18, the adjustment bolt (17) seems to be working against a spring (18) can acess be obtained without taking off the governor housing (20).