Farmall Cub

I know this question will tag me as a Cub novice, but since I had not driven my Dad's Cub for 25 years or more, I cannot remember how the hydraulics behaved when the engine was turned off. If I have my Woods 42 in the raised position when the engine is turned off, will the mower drop to the ground immediately, or will it slowly lower as fluid leaks past valves and seals. I can hear most folks just say, "why don't you just crank it up and see what it will do?", but here is why I have not done just that. I have been doing all the rebuild of the Cub in the basement of my Mom's house (because my basement is smaller and is filled with my woodworking shop). I have not cranked the Cub in here basement for safety reasons. I just open the garage door and push it outside before cranking. Well, my son and I reinstalled the Woods belly mower for the first time Friday with the TC in the lowered position, which places the mower skids on the concrete floor, and I am not sure that I can push the tractor out the door with the weight of the mower on the floor. I would prefer not to crank it inside in case of a backfire and possible flames. Any input would be appreciated.

Both my Cub and my 140 hold the mower decks up when shut off in the raised position. The decks don't drop at all after at least a week. If it's a concern, maybe you could rig a short chain to hold your deck up until you get your rebuild done.

Tell your mule thanks for the info.

Don't worry about being a novice, all of us were at one time. One mule has it correct. They normally do not drop at all with the engine off, unless the system is really badly worn. As he suggested, just raise it up with a jack and use a short chain, etc. to hold the mower up for pushing in and out. something else I learned the hard way is do not take the hydraulic lines off with the TC system under load. I needed to replace the rear main engine seal on one of mine once and with the blade mid mounted, I just ran the blade down and used it to hold the tranny, etc. up while I pulled the engine. When I got it all back together the hydraulics would not work. It was apparently air locked. Ended up having to pull the head off the TC unit and pull out and reinstall some of the check valves to get it going again.

Thiggy,

If you are having a problem with it lowering the mower after its shut off, then the hydraulic block needs a rebuild. We've got an old 1956 Farmall 100 that was caught in the tragic tornado that passed through Oak Grove back in the late 90s. The tractor has definitely seen its better days, but runs perfect and holds a 2 bottom fast hitch plow up after sitting for 6 months.....and still holding (and yes, we normally don't practice that for safety reasons).

If you need the implement (or mower deck in your case), just crank the engine over (if it's possible, I know you're doing a rebuild) and the hydraulic pump should raise the deck without have the "start" the engine. Just make sure you pull the wire going to the distributor to prevent it from actually starting up. This will raise the hydraulics when you're in a pinch or the engine won't run.

You can pull the coil wire and raise the mower and you wont have all the exhaust fumes in the basemant.

This shouldn't be a big deal. Just lift it up and chain or tie it. Use a jack if you can't lift it by hand.

Hindsight being 20/20 and all, it probably would've been better to have left the mower off the tractor until it was running

Yeah, it's supposed to stay where you put it.

To hold the mower up, I would thread a bolt into the nearest implement mounting pad, disconnect the mower linkage to the TC, and hang it off the bolt with some baling wire.

Oh, the Cub is running, I just don't want to crank it inside the basement due to the (remote) possibility of a backfire and fuel fire. It sounds like that I can just crank it enough with the ignition off to raise the mower, then push it outside to actually start the motor. Thanks for all the good advise.

RESULTS REPORT: I got my Cub outside this afternoon and cranked her up. The touch control raised and lowered the mower with ease and the mower spun smoothly when I put the PTO in gear!!

One minor question remains. When I move the TC lever from the up position to down, or down position to up, I experience an initial resistance to movement. It makes no difference if the engine is running or not. Once I have gotten the lever to move slightly, it moves back and forth smoothly. I am pretty sure that the resistance is not in the lever linkage, but seems more likely to be within the TC unit itself. Has anyone else had a similar experience, and if so, what was done to correct this?

You know, I think that I will need to give my little gal a name. "My Cub" just seems so impersonal...

thiggy wrote:You know, I think that I will need to give my little gal a name.

You are absolutely right. She deserves a name.