How did my Cub break just sitting there?

[KYMike]

After a somewhat brief winter in storage I fired up the cub and as usual it started up the first try. The grass is getting pretty high in the back and thats the Cub's duty. When I put her to sleep in the fall she was working fine as ever. Got through the final cut and she was running with flair.

This morning when I started her I ran her out to the field and when I engaged the PTO I heard the most awful grinding noise. I tried engaging/disengaging the PTO a couple times but when engaged I can feel the PTO lever shake with the noise. I know I have to remove the the back end of the PTO again to check things out but how in the heck do these things happen?

Puzzled.

[Bigdog]

It's the snow gremlins.

[KYMike]

As I suspected.

[KETCHAM]

They kept me from getting a job too!!!!Good thing its spring!!!! Kevin

[deputy jailer]

Mike

If you need any help give me a holler and I may be able to help if you need any

[KYMike]

Thanks Deputy. Just gotta work up the gumption.

[Pony Master]

Pull the oil fill plug and take a look. You can see a lot more than you think through there.

[drspiff]

I've got to tell this story since it is a classic "How did my Cub break just sitting there?" I was using Blue Boy to move some stumps and brush for my new "Cub Road" beside the shop annex. Boy Howdy! the Cub was running just fine, and when dark overtook me, I shut it down. The next day, I tried to start Blue Boy to finish up the job. No matter how much I cranked, not even a sputter. So I started looking for electrical problems. Hmmm... no spark to the plugs. Plenty of spark from the coil. I popped the distributor cap thinking that the points and/or condenser was the cause. When I removed the cap, a small piece of brass fell out onto the ground. I could not imagine where this piece of brass, about 1/2" x 1/2" x 3/32", came from.

Further investigation showed that the brass piece was actually the brass tab on the rotor that makes contact with the plug wire contacts inside the distributor cap. I replaced the rotor, buttoned everything back up and Blue Boy started like a charm. My guess is that the rotor tab was almost broken loose and the sudden force during starting caused the tab to fall off. So the Cub didn't actually break while sitting there, but within the first few milliseconds of startup. But that is close enough for this war story.

Rick (feeling like a stranger in a strange land) Dulas

[KYMike]

Well, disassembled the PTO today. Everything looked fine. The shifter clutch, PTO shaft (and splines), shifter rod and pin look great with no appreciable signs of wear. Everything went back together well but I still get the loud grinding noise when engaging the PTO.

I noticed one thing, though. There is a fair amount of play in the PTO shaft. I'm not sure what is considered normal but I'm thinking the bearing might be on it's way out. The PTO shaft spins freely in hand but I can move it up and down about an 1/8" from the bearing retainer assembly.

Could a loose PTO shaft bearing cause it to slip out of the transmission spline under load?

[Bill E Bob]

EJP has mentioned this before: The transmission input shaft bearing retainer may be in backwards allowing the input shaft to move forward about 1/2 inch causing problems with PTO engagement. Not a problem you want, but something to consider.

[beaconlight]

I had that rotor loose the tip happen twice through the years on the neighbors C.

[Ernie72]

My cub was doing somthing similar. I found that the little lever that engages the shaft onto the transmission shaft was wore a little. It is suposed to be completly round and mine wore a flat spot and it wouldnt allow it to ride on the shaft all the way. I put a new one on and its fine. Im sorry I dont know the terinalogy for every thing yet I'm learning as I go . But you wont find a better forum than this one on the net!!!!!!!!!!!! The people has done a great deal for me here. Thats somthing that money cant buy you ( KNOWLEDGE )
Thanks,
Ernie

[JimT]

How's the pilot bushing in the end of the clutch shaft? Is the PTO shaft actually moving up and down at the bearing end or is it rocking up and down. If it is rocking the pilot bushing at the clutch end of the PTO shaft may be bad.