What to do with a Cub you just brought home

[Nycuber]

What great advice for how to treat a cub or any tractor when you bring them home.

[5acrehome]

Glad I found this...Bringing my '51 Cub home tomorrow I hope! Great memories of one of these tractors at my grandfathers growing up. Now my children will also be able to experience it on our 5 acres!

[oscar4pbr]

This list has been very helpful since bringing cub home. Radiator looked fair as antifreeze looked new. Oil had been changed recently, very clean. Cleaned breather including small line to engine block, badly needed. Changed steering gear fluid and trans/rear fluid. Hope to do finals soon. Adjusted steering to remove lots of slop, more work needed. Gas tank looks clean but valve and line are going to be replaced. Valve, aftermarket, and fuel line is rubber. Ordered, adjusted and installed carburetor. Is foreign knockoff but works good so far. Someone, PO, installed carb kit that didn't fit. I have no idea how it was even running. Hopefully I will get correct kit and rebuild original IH carb properly. Installed new, free, gas cap thanks to this site. New metal fuel line, sediment bowl, and gasket to allow me to adjust tappets on the way. Lots to do but thanks again to all for informative site which helps getting issues resolved.

[Griffinsark]

Great post! Everything makes sense to me, but lots of things I mightnotof thought of until it bcame an emergency. It's good to be back working on a something with a carb and timing marks!

[Clem]

I updated this list with notes of the things I do when I get a Cub in the shop. I would like to add my deepest gratitude to this forum, members of this forum, and good friends like Phil Lenke and many others who have helped and advised me along the way. Remember to remove the mag or distributor wire prior to any work to ensure no accidentally starting of the tractor.

This is in no particular order. Sometimes I start at the rear and work forward. Sometimes I start at the front and work back. I just pulled a Cub into the garage last week and I’m starting at the back.

Empty/refill Breather Cup
You can take this a step further and remove the breather tube and clean out. You can also remove the small air tube and blow it through it, maybe use a small wire to clean it out.

Grease all zerks-
In many cases, I just swap out every single one.

Drain Oil/replace with fresh oil
Clean out the oil filter drain plug with a screw driver from the bottom of the drain and flush it with cleaner.

Drain Radiator/flush with water
Take it a step further and remove the lower radiator hose and plug and flush even better.

Drain radiator/add 50/50 radiator fluid (pre-mixed)
Cubs do not have water pumps, so it must be pre-mixed.

Drain Tranny/ re-fill with kerosene
I take the all three plugs out (fill, overflow, and drain). I will even take the shifter cover off and replace the gasket and fill the system with kerosene.

Drain rear finals remove and inspect pans. Fill with kerosene.

Drive cub around in low gear
I fill it the case with kerosene and drive it in low gear. Then flush.

Flush kerosene/replace with tranny fluid and gear fluid. Replace rear final pan gaskets.

Drain Stearing Box/re-fill with kerosene
While I’m draining the steering box I always locate the small pin hole in the fill plug and clean that out with a small wire and blow air through it. It must breathe or the seals will not work and you’ll leak.

Drain and Replace oil in steering box

Remove front wheels/fix dents in rims.
Make sure you wedge the front axle under the steering bolster. Before you jack up the front end. While working on steering I remove the steering wheel and grease the woodruff key. There is a great “how to” on restoring your steering wheel on the forum.

Tip: Heat and penetrant may be needed to loosen the nut. Sometimes a gear puller is needed.

Remove Draw Bar

The draw bar is attached to the Cub using tapered bolts designed to seat on the drawbar hangers perfectly. If the previous owner used regular bolts and washers remove and replace with proper tapered IH bolts or you will risk cracking out the rear finals.

Repack front wheel bearings.
I also remove the steering arm set screws and grease them.

Replace spark plugs
I make sure I am using the proper spark plug wires. Solid copper core wires, not automotive wires.

Remove and fully charge battery
This is a good time to remove the battery box clean under the box and inside the box.

Clean posts/grounds
Also a good time to make sure the ground is a thick gauge ground wire or strap. Good ground is important. Replace it if it’s not a good thick gauge like a #2 gauge copper wire.

Drain fuel in tank
Scrub fuel tank
Some have suggested a deep cleaning of the tank with nuts and bolts and various cleaners.

Clean fuel bowl/replace screen & gasket
If your cub has an in-line fuel filter, get rid of it. It does more harm than good by slowing down fuel flow. Instead, make a new fuel line or purchase a new line. There is a “how to” on fuel lines on this forum.

TAKE THE HOOD OFF
Soak the dog leg screws in penetrating oil before trying to remove them. The dog leg screws connected to the radiator bolster has got to be in my top 10 poor IH designs. They are small and almost always froze.

INSPECT WIRES AND GROUNDS/REWIRE IF NEEDED

ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS CHECK
Oil the generator and magneto( if equipped) while the good is off. Otherwise, with the good on take a coat hanger wire and go through the holes in the hood (if equipped) and put the wire in the oil fill inlet on the generator and run oil down the wire and into the oiler.

CHECK/REPLACE RADIATOR
HOSES.
This is a good time to oil the hub on the fan. When the screw is in the top position turn the fan a 1/4 turn until the screw is at the 3 or or 9 o’clock position and remove the screw and fill the hubwith oil until it just starts to run out the screw hole. Then rotate the fan with the screw still out so the hole points down. Excess oil will run out. When it stops running out it is at the proper level. Rotate the fan so the hole is on 3 or 9 o’clock position again and install the screw, there should be a gasket on the screw. Your oil is now at its proper level.

Remove clutch inspection plate
Grease throw out bearing

[Camemdad]

Thanks a lot for this checklist...much appreciated. Getting on it now.

Regards.

Camemdad

[Camemdad]

Thanks for the checklist. Just brought home my first Farmall Cub (1947) runs by cranking. Needs quite a bit of work. Thanks to all the great members here with suggestions and advice on problem solving these issues regarding the Cub

Regards.

Camemdad

[trekrider69]

I have a suggestion for this thread since most new Cub owners read this one early on. I did not know about using wedges and what can happen if you don’t use them. I jacked my Cub and used jack stands to work on the rims. I didn’t have any problems, but from what I have read in the Safety forum, I could have been in trouble.
Is there anyway information about using wedges can be posted at the beginning so it is brought to everyone’s attention right away?

[Clemsonfor]

Welcome back to the Forum. It looks like you made a post in 2012, so you have two now. That gives you access to the implement manuals on the Forum. Click on "quick links" top left of the page, then on "PDF manuals", then on "Farmall Cub". You can then look for the implements you need info on. Let us know if we can be of any help.

Bob

I just joined after reading this post. I will be interested in these. I just was given my grandad's cub after visiting a cousin that got it over twenty years ago. He has lots of attachments for it.

I see myself spending a good bit of time here. I am very mechanically inclined and do lots of work on all my own stuff. My other tractor is an old Japanese diesel so it's a bit different. And all my gas stuff is not this old so there a few things that I will need to pick up along the way. This is the only thing I have with points for example.

[Dale Finch]

Check out the HOW TO section...good reading on a rainy day. Most of the common problems encountered with these great little tractors have posts showing you how to tackle them.

If you don't find the answer to a question you have, just post it and you will probably get a flurry of answers!

WELCOME!

[Clemsonfor]

Check out the HOW TO section...good reading on a rainy day. Most of the common problems encountered with these great little tractors have posts showing you how to tackle them.

If you don't find the answer to a question you have, just post it and you will probably get a flurry of answers!

WELCOME!

I will do that. When I get something new I read about everything I can about it. How to do things on it, common problems so that if it arises and research what I will do to it, if needed. Plus I am like a sponge , I like to know everything I can on something.

[jamesjsilver2000]

new to owning cub dad had one growing up but that was thirty yrs ago it is a project for now did a lot to get it running would love to find people close by for advice

[Barnyard]

new to owning cub dad had one growing up but that was thirty yrs ago it is a project for now did a lot to get it running would love to find people close by for advice

Send a PM to Dale Finch in Chapel Hill.

[Dale Finch]

new to owning cub dad had one growing up but that was thirty yrs ago it is a project for now did a lot to get it running would love to find people close by for advice

Hi! I was going to send you a PM (Private Message) but there is no link on your User Profile page for sending a PM.

I'm less than an hour from you, so feel free to send me a PM if you want to get together and talk cubs! I'd be happy to lend a hand on a project if you need some help...always more fun with extra folks. And I can fill you in on Cubfests, if you are not familiar.

I'm no expert, but have done many of the more common tasks/repairs needed with the Cubs and Super A.

[Moss1980]

Heres a cub I just picked up , first time poster here but long time reader, hmm says file is too large to post , will have to look into that , well its a 1949 cub , from how it looks , it looks to have been restored properly about 20 years ago from what im told but has sat for around 14 years in a barn , the carb and starter needs rebuilding or replacing , and needs the back light and battery , i also need to go thru everything , but i hope to have this beautiful machine up and running in the next month or two will get pics up as soon as i can