Restoration: Charlotte, 1948 Cub (Kansas)

[staninlowerAL]

RE: stripped carb inlet threads. Not uncommon for a cub carb, the metal is soft and repeated removal sometimes destroys the threads. Helicoil is the best option but if that does not work, you can use a 5/16 male thread flare nut from a brake line and thread the inside of this fitting with a 1/8 pipe tap to create an adapter. Seal this adapter in place and you might not have to remove it again. The fuel line can then be adapted to the 1/8 pipe threads nut.

[alfreema]

Lay the cover on the gasket sheet and trace around it, mark where the bolt holes are. Take cover off gasket sheet and measure the width of the sealing area and mark a line that far inside of the line you just made. Cut out, install. No PDF needed.

Nice!

Update: We were hell bent on trying to fire this up after swapping out fluids, filters, gapping the plugs, and really just cleaning stuff up. We wanted to try firing it up before we tackled the compression issue (hoping that just getting some good clean oil up in the engine freed up the valves), since we didn't have gaskets and weren't prepared to be "down" until we made one. So we went the JB Weld route on the fuel inlet as a temporary fix (or maybe not so temporary, we'll see). Heli coil will be the permanent fix should this one begin to leak.

Went to fire up the cub and BAM, she fired right up! Purred like a kitten too! We let her run for a while and then shut her down and restarted just to see if it was a fluke, but nope -- fired right up like she should. As someone mentioned before we found out that the very slightest amount of choke may be the secret to lighting up this old girl. Now bear in mind that it was 65 degrees and I have had much better success in warmer weather, so I don't know if she's fixed exactly, but she's definitely MUCH better than she was. Even in warmer weather it took many attempts to get her going.

Next we will be doing wet tests and all that good stuff, maybe adding some seafoam in to see if that cleans up the compression issue (if there is still one or if that was just due to sitting over the fall and winter).

Everybody's input has been huge and I can't thank you enough. We have a ways to go, but this is exciting!

[alfreema]

Update: Went to fire up the tractor this morning while it was colder (45 degrees) and found a leaking fuel line. The JB Weld held up nicely, but the fuel line is not original and the compression nut is separated from the male connector. The line leaks now between the line itself and the male connector because we can't tighten it down far enough. We sort of assumed this would happen.

The good news is I found a tractor service center that can install a helicoil for us, so I took it in to get it done "right".

[nwfan1]

I've always been amazed at how a quick clean of the commutator on the starter makes them spin faster- check out the maintenance section of the owner's manual if you haven't already cleaned them.

[Scrivet]

Update: ..... but the fuel line is not original and the compression nut is separated from the male connector. ......

The good news is I found a tractor service center that can install a helicoil for us, so I took it in to get it done "right".

On the original setup the ferrule is supposed to be seperate from the nut. New ones come as one piece but are designed to break apart the first time you tighten them down. You can also use 5/16" brake line and the nuts that come with the premade lengths. The premade brake lines have flared ends, cut those off and save the nuts. You will need 5/16 compression ferrules (the minature wedding ring). Slide a nut on the end of the brake tube and then a ferrule. Slide the brake tube (with a square cut end) as far into the carb or sediment bowl as it will go, slide the nut up the tube pushing the ferrule into the carb or sediment bowl, and tighten with your fingers, NO WRENCH! until you are sure it is threaded correctly with several finger turns. Then snug it up with a wrench. Snug not gorrilla tight. All you need to do is deform the ferrule just a bit so it seals to the tube and is snug in the seat of the carb or sediment bowl. If it leaks the seat may be bad. The next time you remove the line the ferrule will stay in place and the nut will slide up and down the tube.

Hopefully your tractor service place knows the correct size threads and procedure to get the helicoil right.

[alfreema]

I've always been amazed at how a quick clean of the commutator on the starter makes them spin faster- check out the maintenance section of the owner's manual if you haven't already cleaned them.

I haven't touched the starter yet, but I really want to dive into it once I get some other more basic procedures done. I want to keep my starter as healthy as I possibly can. Same for my generator -- but I'm not even convinced it's working. I'll address that after the basics too.

[alfreema]

Update: ..... but the fuel line is not original and the compression nut is separated from the male connector. ......

The good news is I found a tractor service center that can install a helicoil for us, so I took it in to get it done "right".

On the original setup the ferrule is supposed to be seperate from the nut. New ones come as one piece but are designed to break apart the first time you tighten them down. You can also use 5/16" brake line and the nuts that come with the premade lengths. The premade brake lines have flared ends, cut those off and save the nuts. You will need 5/16 compression ferrules (the minature wedding ring). Slide a nut on the end of the brake tube and then a ferrule. Slide the brake tube (with a square cut end) as far into the carb or sediment bowl as it will go, slide the nut up the tube pushing the ferrule into the carb or sediment bowl, and tighten with your fingers, NO WRENCH! until you are sure it is threaded correctly with several finger turns. Then snug it up with a wrench. Snug not gorrilla tight. All you need to do is deform the ferrule just a bit so it seals to the tube and is snug in the seat of the carb or sediment bowl. If it leaks the seat may be bad. The next time you remove the line the ferrule will stay in place and the nut will slide up and down the tube.

Hopefully your tractor service place knows the correct size threads and procedure to get the helicoil right.

@scrivet, is the above description how I should be addressing the fuel line once I get the carb back with the helicoil in it? Or is that how I should have handled it before I completely screwed it up? I'm not exactly sure what to expect once they install a helicoil? After the helicoil is installed, assuming they do it right, will I have an inlet that is 1/2 - 20? Or does inserting a helicoil change that into something else and I will need to come up with a new fuel line? Of course they will tell me what I have ended up with, but they may call and ask me tomorrow what I want them to do, so I'd like to know what the recommended end game is of inserting a helicoil per all you experts.

[Bob McCarty]

Scrivet's directions are what you want to follow to correct your gas line problem. I sent you a link showing the fitting with the ferrule attached to it. It should be 1/2-20.

Bob

[alfreema]

Excellent, I appreciate the feedback. Now I know what to expect and can communicate my intentions if they call me.

[Ironlegs]

An acid battery at 20F has half the electrical power it has at 70F. Temperatures in my storage building dropped to nearly 20F this past winter, several times. The SAE30 engine oil was thick and sticky. The hydraulic oil thickened too and caused the hydraulic pumps (two IHC tractors) to whine until enough flow passed to warm and thin it a bit. I perform all my yearly tractor maintenance in the fall when I remove the mowers and before I mount snow plows and traction weight. Six volt ignition systems do not have much extra electrical where-with-all therefore, they must be set up optimally. All the direction provided here by others address the devices and their set up.

Another frequent problem I must guard against during winter is condensation in the fuel. When temperatures are forecast to rise above freezing, I make sure the fuel tanks are close to full to reduce the air volume atop the fuel. When my fuel tanks are about half full and air temperatures climb above freezing after being below freezing, enough moisture condenses into the fuel to cause starting and running difficulties. I had to drain and replace one of my tractors' fuel this past winter to remove the moisture...what a difference! Fuel additive helps but keeping the moisture out of the fuel is best.

[alfreema]

I have a port without a plug in it right behind the transmission fill port. Could someone tell me what that port is for and what the likely damage is since it doesn't have a plug in it (and therefore rain, snow and dust can get in it)?

[alfreema]

I have a port without a plug in it right behind the transmission fill port. Could someone tell me what that port is for and what the likely damage is since it doesn't have a plug in it (and therefore rain, snow and dust can get in it)?

Sorry to bump this but I am still unable to find a reference to this threaded hole in the manuals. I am sure it's there somewhere but I don't know where to look.

[Bob McCarty]

There are three blind bolt holes that the rear rockshaft or left side deluxe seat bracket bolt too. None of the three should open into the tranny case unless a PO did something.

Picture from TM Tractor

Bob

[alfreema]

Ah perfect, thanks! It's the big circle right in the middle that I was concerned about, as its accumulating a bit of rust. I think I will tap it and throw a plug or bolt in it just to keep it from rusting. I will look for the other two and do the same. Just have to figure out what size bolts those receive.

[alfreema]

Agh. Bought a carry-all from a farmallcub.com member and got excited to install it. So I worked through removing the Woods 42 mower ... it's the first time it has been removed since I have owned it. Went to pull the drawbar off and bam:

1) the plates that bolt to the rear finals are welded to the drawbar. Agh! No way for the drawbar to pivot on the plates! Pulled out trusty pneumatic air cutoff and was able to do surgery and get them apart and ground down fairly nicely though. There's no question regarding this matter, I'm just whining to anybody that will listen. LOL

2) there is a massive stud and bolt combination in place of one of the standard bolts on one set of the finals. I mean it took a 36 or 39mm socket to remove this beast of a nut. 1 1/4" socket wasn't big enough and that's the largest SAE wrench/socket I had. Fortunately had the 36 or 39mm whichever it was.

Any hope for popping that stud out and replacing it with a helicoil set up of some sort in the future?

3) my new rockshaft setup is wedged against the rear wheel fender. Is that generally a symptom of a bent wheel fender? Are those pretty straight forward to bend? I have pictures but I am on my mobile and can't easily post them at the moment.

Edit: I used the term rear final above but I don't really know what a rear final is. I thought it was the rear hub assembly thingy that the wheel connects to. If that's not what it is then my post above probably makes no sense so replace "rear final" with "rear hub assembly thingy".