My Great Grandfathers 1947 Cub!

[AHS]

I am a new member. i have always wanted this Cub! I am 36, my Great Grandfather died in 89. At 4 to 5 years old i remember the sound of that Cub, i remember the rides on it! I am so excited/ don't know where to begin! it hasnt been run since 07? 100% it has been run in 2000 to 2005. The previous owner, Pete (an retired airplane mechanic) said I should take the oil pan off, and clean out the 74 years of sludge!? Pete said the tractor will run for 30 minutes then die. I have read thru "what to do with a Cub that i just brought home". The radiator is empty= a water leak?

what should I use for oil sae 20 or 30 NON detergent?
should I take the oil pan off? Up by where the gasket is, there are no leaks (as I can see)
I am new to this old electrical stuff- so bear with me! instead of a voltage regulator it has a cutout relay? instead of a coil it has a magneto?
I am going to do a compression check. What should the numbers be?
Fill the radiator at the top, where do i drain it?
I have to get it running first, to find out when it dies. What has gotton hot when it dies.
I am so excited to dig into the Cub!!

[Waif]

Congrats on the heirloom Cub!

Take your time and study your Cub a while.
Oil type? Depends what it was run on prior and as the previous owner mentioned , it may have sludge sitting in it.
IF it does , detergent oil will free it up. Maybe too much too fast. Once cleaned out by another method , oil choices /options increase.
Draining oil will give a hint towards the end. So can the filter and it's housing and drain pipe.

Radiator could have been drained before parking for the winter/season. A Cub radiator usually blows off a percentage to seek the level it prefers when fluid expands. If filled to the top , it will blow off a surprising amount. So fill level is often a couple inches or more below the top.

Check the bolster below the radiator for a crack . If coolant is not up to snuff for winter , ice can crack a bolster. That will leak coolant. Head bolts need a sealant when reinstalled to as they go through the water jacket.
Drain for radiator is not coming to mind right now. It has one though. Low and centered on that bolster below the radiator under the tractor should be a square plug...(?)

If in original configuration , yes you should have a magneto and cut out.

Stalling out after getting warmed up and worked a little can be caused by a variety of things. Ignition coil is one. Other ignition components can get worn or dirty too.

Research before changing anything.
Your plug wires should be solid copper core for example.
Once confirmed , 6Volt components.

Quality can vary in replacement parts. Especially in electrical and ignition ones , research again.
Better to pay a little more for longer lifespan , than replace a poor quality component more often. And that will likely be when you are doing something with the Cub when it is least convenient to be working on it.

Compression should be a minimum of 80. But how you test matters as to what readings you get. Yep , more research.
The info you need/want is here on Farmall Cub. Break stuff down to individual circuits or items and dive in.
After you make a few posts you can access more info . Manuals ect.
Info like priming oil system before cranking engine.
Hoe to diagnose certain circuits by flow chart ect..

Be patient. Your Cub will reward you better by your doing so.

[Bob McCarty]

Welcome to the Forum. As stated above, you may need to prime the oil pump. Make sure you have oil pressure before running the engine. The magneto has a coil, it is in the black square box mounted on top of the mag. Let us know if we can help.

[SONNY]

First up welcome to the forum!
Mags are ALWAYS the problem child ! Thats why I trade them for battery dist! Other guys love them and its the matter of personal pref. as to what you have time to mess with. So far I have one cub left with a mag, (dead of course) and need a dist. for this one so I can use the tractor.
You will have to file the points to start with, might get lucky and still have decent coil but it kinda sounds like coil or condenser breaking down when the tractor gets hot.
When it dies check for spark at the plugs first. also get one of the little inline spark testers, (a $5.00 item), these things are a great tool to check for spark even while running, so slap one of them on there and run it til it dies and look for spark when you try to restart it.

[Glen]

Hi,
The Cub owner's manual can help you learn about maintenance that the Cub needs.

Below is the 1947 Cub owner's manual. The experts on here recommend people read it. It has lots of info about operation, maintenance, and lubrication. There is a table of contents on page 1.
It shows how Cubs originally looked in it. The lube section begins on page 14.

http://farmallcub.com/rudi_cub/www.clea ... index.html

It shows the electrical system that a 1947 Cub originally had.
Cubs made before mid 1964 originally had 6 volt, positive ground electrical systems.

The charging system originally has a cutout, or Relay, IH called it on top of the generator, there is a pic on page 33 of the manual with the hood off, showing the electrical system.
It has a 4 position charge and light switch on the dash, to control the gen output.
It was before Cubs had voltage regulators, you had to choose the charge rate yourself.
The switch has 4 positions, L, low charge, H, high charge, D, dim front lights, and B, bright lights.
The electrical system info begins on page 32 of the manual, and using the switch is explained on page 34.
You should be able to see what it is charging on the ammeter, when the engine is running.
The engine has to be above idle speed for the gen to charge.

There is no Touch Control info in the 1947 owner's manual. It is in later owner's manuals.
The Touch Control uses Case IH Hy-Tran fluid. It is sold at Case IH dealers.
There are other brands, be sure it works with IH hydraulic systems before buying one.
The newer manuals tell how to check or change the Touch Control fluid, and remove the air from the system.
Be sure to check the fluid level with the arms in the rear, or down position. The manual says that also.

Below is a post I made about checking and changing the Touch Control fluid.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=106664

I would check or change all the oils before using the Cub. Using it with low oil in a gear housing can damage the parts in the housing.
There are 3 separate gear housings, with 3 separate oil levels to check, in the rear area of a Cub, the transmission, and 2 final drives.
The manual tells how to check and change the oils.

The transmissions in Cubs commonly get water in them, from rain, or condensation inside the housing over time.

The air cleaner is an oil bath air cleaner. Dirt that is sucked in settles to the bottom of the oil cup. It should have clean, light motor oil in the oil cup to work right.

There is a search box at the top of the page, to the right of the Farmall Cub, you can find info in posts that have been made.

The engine oil pump can lose it's prime sitting, then if you run the engine, it may not suck oil up again.
Running the engine with no oil pressure can damage the engine.
Below is a link to a post I made about priming the oil pump, my post is about half way down the page.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=91765&start=60

The engine stopping after 30 minutes of running can be caused by the ignition coil going bad, it is a common thing on Cubs.
Some of them work again when they cool down.
TM Tractor at the bottom of the page has a new magneto coil, and points and condenser.
Below are their listings, you can look at the pics.

http://www.tmtractor.com/new/el/367fp.htm

http://www.tmtractor.com/new/el/713fp.htm

The ignition points get old and burned from use, and sometimes corroded from sitting.
The engine may not run if the points are burned or corroded.
The owner's manual tells how to replace the points, and set their gap, it's important the points be in good condition, and have the right gap. You need a feeler gauge to set the gap.

The coil has a rectangular bar that goes through the middle of it, for the mounting. Keep the bar you have, and use it again in the new coil.

The cooling system drain plug is on the bottom of the housing, below the radiator.
Remember to pull the wrench the right way, the plug is upside down in the housing.
To loosen the plug, if you are sitting in front of the Cub, facing toward the Cub, put the wrench on the plug, with the handle sticking out the left side of the Cub, and pull the handle toward you.

It tells how to fill the radiator in the owner's manual. Fill it to slightly below the filler neck, like the manual says.
The coolant expands as the engine warms up. It will push whatever is extra out the overflow pipe.
When the engine is off, and it cools down again, the coolant level will be about at where it needs to be. You can look in with a light and see it.
Usually it is just covering the baffle below the filler neck, when the engine is cold.
Don't keep adding more coolant to fill it full when the engine is cold, it will probably just push it out when the engine warms up.
Check the coolant level some in hot weather, it can get low, then the engine can overheat.
The engine has no water pump, the coolant won't circulate if the level is too low.

[Stanton]

Welcome to the Forum!

Take some time and read through a few threads to acquaint yourself with the Forum:

• Welcome Wagon
• How to Upload Pictures to a Post
• Forum Picture Posting And Other Interesting Things You Can Do
• Using the Forum

Don't know if you have any of the manuals to your Cub, but after you’ve logged your 2nd post, you'll have access to the all the PDF Manuals on this site. There’s a few ways to do that:

• From a desktop or laptop, go to "Quick Links" in the upper left corner of your screen. Hit that and a pull-down appears where you'll find "PDF Manuals".
• You can also go to “Cub Info” in the upper toolbar, then hit “Rudi’s Manuals”. From there, you can access a variety of information.
• If you're using a phone, go to the "Links Directory" (second category down the main page). Once in "Links Directory" , scroll down to the second section "Tractor Parts & Manuals" and you'll find them there.

You'll be able to download any manuals that interest you. Implement Manuals are also available.

We’d encourage you to take the Safety Test located in the Safety Forum: http://farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=68084

Take some pictures of your tractor and post them, we’d like to see them.

Remember:
• When you have a specific question, start a new thread in the appropriate sub-forum.
• Before posting, use the Preview button before hitting Submit--it'll show you exactly what your post will look like, including pictures.
• When adding your comments to a thread, be sure to look at the date of the last poster. If it’s more than a 6 months old, the posters are probably not going to see it. Consider starting a new thread.

Glad you joined us.

[T-Mo]

AHS, I'm glad you made your way over from Red Square. The above posts are all a good starting places to get yourself familiar with your Cub and to ascertain more information and how-tos.

[Clemsonfor]

I too got my grandfather's cub last year. Although I was 18 when he died he hadn't run that tractor for many years before that. I would bet almost 8 to 10. You are the same age as my younger brother. Mine is a 52 and I just cleaned the points and put it back together and it ran. Even hand cranked it off for the first few weeks. Fired second pull of crank after I cleaned everything up.

[AHS]

Wow! Thank you for all the information! I was just wondering how does the water circulate in a Cub? Ok, what the point gap in a Cub? The book said .013” and I remember someone said .020”? Oh, and I’m on page 25 of the manual!

[Don McCombs]

The Cub cooling system is a thermosyphon type system. Therefore, no water pump.

[Bill V in Md]

Wow! Thank you for all the information! I was just wondering how does the water circulate in a Cub? Ok, what the point gap in a Cub? The book said .013” and I remember someone said .020”? Oh, and I’m on page 25 of the manual!

Point gap for magneto ignition system is 0.013”. 0.020” is the point gap for a battery ignition system.

[Glen]

Hi,
.020" is the point gap for a Battery Ignition unit. The magneto uses .013".

Battery Ignition came out during 1950 on Cubs, and info for it is in the 1952 and newer Cub operator's manuals.

[Glen]

Wow! Thank you for all the information! I was just wondering how does the water circulate in a Cub?

Hi,
Below is a page from the Cub service manual, explaining how the cooling system works.
This manual was made in the 1970's, so the radiator cap shown is for newer Cubs, the Cub serial number they show was made in 1975.

http://www.farmallcub.info/manuals/gss- ... 001-58.jpg

[AHS]

Wow! Thank you for all the information! I was just wondering how does the water circulate in a Cub?

Hi,
Below is a page from the Cub service manual, explaining how the cooling system works.
This manual was made in the 1970's, so the radiator cap shown is for newer Cubs, the Cub serial number they show was made in 1975.

http://www.farmallcub.info/manuals/gss- ... 001-58.jpg

Unbelievable! It’s so simple. It works! Enough said!

[AHS]

I too got my grandfather's cub last year. Although I was 18 when he died he hadn't run that tractor for many years before that. I would bet almost 8 to 10. You are the same age as my younger brother. Mine is a 52 and I just cleaned the points and put it back together and it ran. Even hand cranked it off for the first few weeks. Fired second pull of crank after I cleaned everything up.

Awesome! I know my great grandfather is watching me! Making sure that I don’t screw it up!