Awkward clacking sound....

[dmacarthur]

So we were raising beds today when the old Cub started a new noise, a rattle/ clanking coming from (it seems like) right underneath the shift lever. Related to road speed not engine speed, in second and third only, and not steady but intermittent like a playing card in a bike wheel with about a quarter of the spokes missing. Here is the kicker: after engaging and disengaging the clutch a few times it went away, I was not even changing gears the time it finally quit. It sounded to me like a cog of a gear had popped off and was getting whacked around. Any thoughts? It worked fine the rest of the day. While we are at it, any ideas why the Cub engine is offset to the left, when cars had been shifting with the right hand in the US for decades before the Cub was deigned? Why not look down to the left of the seat? Was Sir Alex in town?

[Eugene]

Tighten the rim and lug bolts on the tire.

Tractors with the seat off set to the right or the engine off set to the left were designed to make it easier to cultivate row crops.

[dmacarthur]

Thanks Eugene, I like your fixes! Unfortunately, the wheel is tight. And as for offset, I get the reason for offsetting just not why it is offset to the side they chose back in the forties- if I were starting today I might go the other way....

[Eugene]

Most folks are right handed. And most right handed folks are right eye dominate. And most tractors were set up for right handed folks.

The Cub as with most machines, some controls operate differently and are in different locations. You will quickly get use to the Cub.

[Scrivet]

I would think one of the main reasons for offset left was sickle mowing. 99.99% of sickle mowers stick out to the right and you circle the field in a clockwise direction. I don't think having the mower on the right and being offset to the left, looking across the tractor, would go over very well (either mounted or pulling the farmer's old horse drawn mower). Nor would having to design a left handed sickle mower that you drove around the field counterclockwise go over very well either. The right hand position with a mid mount mower can't be beat.

[havoc1482]

Most folks are right handed. And most right handed folks are right eye dominate. And most tractors were set up for right handed folks.

Really? Ocular dominance and hand dominance isn't lateral. Also, both brain hemispheres control both eyes, so dominance can actually shift (temporarily) depending on what you're focusing on and the direction. I'm left handed, right eye dominant. It might have just been a "who cares" thing IH did and just set it up that way without giving it a thought. Or the sickle thing as mentioned above, but then again, the A (which introduced Culti-Vision) had the mower in the back behind the tractor, so it wouldn't matter.

[dmacarthur]

Right Scrivet- the mower makes it a no-brainer.... Right offset it is. And I have been using this Cub for over fifty years so I am, by now, used to the way it works! Just not used to the clacking rattle, which might just go away (which is REALLY my kinda fix!)

[Scrivet]

............ the A (which introduced Culti-Vision) had the mower in the back behind the tractor, so it wouldn't matter.

Trying to keep the right hand tire as close to the uncut grass as you can, while sitting offset left and watching the actual cutting bar from farther away than you are used to on either a rear mounted mower or pulling an old horse drawn one can't be an easy task. I doubt IH just winged their decision.

........ Just not used to the clacking rattle, which might just go away (which is REALLY my kinda fix!)

In my experience they never heal themselves the symptoms just aren't as noticeable for awhile before the problem comes back worse. Best to figure it out now while it may be a minor thing before it turns into a major thing down the road at the least convienient time.

[Jim Becker]

Scrivet is on the mark on both points.

Before the A came out, they did a lot of work on which way and how much to offset the engine. They even experimented with a tractor with the engine and driveline running at an angle. At that time, "right handed" implements weren't universal but they dominated most of the equipment market. Besides the already mentioned mowers, other right handed equipment designed for the Cub included plows (moldboard, disk and harrow). Many that have used a two-way plow on their Cub have discovered that plowing with the right hand bottom works better because the heavy side of the tractor is on the land side with the lighter side in the furrow. Other already existing right handed equipment that could be pulled by an A, if not a Cub includes hay rakes, balers, binders and some specialized equipment like the grape hoe.

As a side note, most early cars were built with right hand drive. Most horse drawn wagons (including stagecoaches) were set up to drive from the right side. Ignore all those movie shots of stage drivers on the left, the brake lever is on the right side. Wagons and cars were both built that way so the operator had a good view of the ditch or whatever obstacles were along the edge of the road (much like the farmer needing a view of a right located implement). Car drivers were moved to the left when it became more important to have a good view of oncoming traffic rather then the ditch.

Back to the first question, bad noises rarely fix themselves for long. Assuming you have checked for loose wheel bolts, both at the rim and at the hub as well as the wheel weights, time to look at the next place. I suggest you pull the cover off the top of the transmission and look in there. Put the transmission in neutral, unbolt the cover and lift it straight off. Closely inspect the shifter forks for any breaks, cracks, out of square position etc. They are each held to a round rail by one bolt. Make sure both are bolted tightly. There are little paths that direct oil to the bearings on the upper shaft. Make sure the holes directly above both bearings are open so oil can get into the bearings. There are several top views of open transmissions in past threads.

[Don McCombs]

[Bus Driver]

Shifting fork is my guess also. I welded a broken first-reverse fork long ago and it held until it was replaced several years later. But the less-than-perfect alignment resulted in some transmission noise.

[dmacarthur]

Thanks folks- time to get off the seat and pull off the shifter cover.....