1949 Cub Natchez MS Updates

[Bob McCarty]

No o-ring, just a snug fit on the air cleaner. DEFarmallcubs.com has used levers. If you have access to a welder though, they could build up the lever and then grind down to the proper shape.

Bob

[Bill Hudson]

... My control lever won't stay in place at high RPM. I filed the notches a bit but the lever has a groove worn in it. TM is out of stock on the lever and I don't see the clip on their site.

If you have the time and the inclination, here is a fix that will work very well. http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=147&t=28536&p=224137&hilit=notches#p224137 George Willer was a master at taking what he had and making it work. Sure do miss his sage advice.

Bill

[cavingreer]

So here's todays tidbits, lucky charms and improvements! I was cruising every aisle of the parts store today. I discovered the seal washers in 1/2" size and up on the rack with the OIL DRAIN PLUGS. I picked up a combo pack for a couple bucks that had 5 or 6 different material 1/2" washers, including a copper or brass one, an aluminum one and a bonded seal washer (the metal on with the rubber around the inside). I pulled my oil filter cap bolt, cleaned up the top of the lid with a little sandpaper to make sure it had a good surface to seal to, and going with the "don't reinvent the wheel" method used the copper washer. It ran to the mailbox and back this afternoon without any leaks.

Combo pack of 1/2" Seal Washers

I also had in mind that if I found a small cable or wire clamp it might work well to replace the broken governor rod clamp on the head. Sure enough I found a 2-pack of metal cable clamps that looked the right size for a couple bucks in the electrical section. All I had to do was drill the hole out a bit to fit the bolt. I probably could have installed it with the rubber pad but again I figured don't reinvent the wheel.

Pack of Cable Clamps

I also ran upon a small plastic battery box, and I've been stressing having the battery exposed. I can always get a reproduction steel box later but I really wanted it covered for now. This one fit nice and snug completely under the seat. I drilled holes to match the mounting holes in back of the floor pan and bolted it down. I'll add a rubber pad later to make absolutely sure they aren't rubbing the bottom of the battery. Hooked up a disconnect as well, and trimmed just a bit of the cover to keep it from interfering with the PTO lever and it's good to go.

Battery Box showing Disconnect

Battery box lid

[Scrivet]

Something didn't look right in those pictures . Took me a second to realize you don't have a PTO shifter guide.

[Glen]

Hi,
Looks like you are making progress on your Cub. Scrivet and I see in your pics you have no PTO shifter guide. It bolts on the corner shifter bolt by the PTO lever. Maybe you have it and it isn't on the tractor, I don't know.
Here is a new one from TM Tractor. It holds the PTO lever so it doesn't move forward while you are using the PTO. Thought you would like to see it if you don't have one. If you buy one, it has to be adjusted right when you put it on, it should be turned on the bolt so the PTO clutch engages as much as it will, so the PTO doesn't slip out of gear when in use.

http://www.tmtractor.com/new/pt/245fp.htm

[cavingreer]

Scrivet is right mine came missing the PTO guide. That's on my short list along with the 40psi oil guage since they used a later 75psi guage on mine when they rebuilt the engine. Blows my mind that every casting code on the tractor including the engine block and head is '49 but the hood, tank, grille and dash are all 50's. I guess the worst damage or wear to the tractor was the body not the superstructure. I've also noticed the air cleaner cap and a couple other things had a noticeable dent in them so they may have rolled it or hit something. I still haven't shown you guys the repair made to the final drive. Glen may have noticed it when he was over that day. My fiance's Dad was plowing, snagged a stump and almost tipped over backwards. The stump popped loose, tractor came down hard on the front and broke the final drive in half. Her Paw Paw brazed it back together. When I start cleaning up the final drive more and possibly changing seals I was going to get detailed pics of it.

[cavingreer]

Haven't accomplished much actual work the last couple weeks but thanks to a new friend I have a working starter with a good contact on top. I cleaned and lubed it up a bit and cut a rubber strip to seal the bottom instead of duct tape. Installed and working with the rod!

[BullDAWG]

Scrivet is right mine came missing the PTO guide. That's on my short list along with the 40psi oil guage since they used a later 75psi guage on mine when they rebuilt the engine. Blows my mind that every casting code on the tractor including the engine block and head is '49 but the hood, tank, grille and dash are all 50's. I guess the worst damage or wear to the tractor was the body not the superstructure.

Another possibility is that you have an early 1950 or very late 49 that they used the parts from the other year at the factory... they sometimes made the changeover before the next model year actually came out or used parts left over from the previous year... But you may also be right as allot of 65+ year old equipment might be 3-4 tractors pieced together to make one good one.

[Glen]

Hi,
Glad you got a starter that works better.

[cavingreer]

Glad you got a starter that works better.

Glen it's not as strong as my original one with the fresh rebuild but it only takes about one revolution to crank the tractor. I will probably have this one rebuilt too but I want to pull my original one apart and see if I can replace the contact bolt myself to keep as a spare.

[cavingreer]

PROGRESS!
Got the skids off the extra deck a good buddy gave me and mounted them with new bolts.

Bolts drilled, new castle nuts and pins, and LOTS of anti-seize!

Installed and pinned

Old vs New. I'd never have believed those were the original style blades if I hadn't seen them side by side

Now it's mounted on the tractor and I just have to figure out the belt and start mowing!

On the tractor! Starting to look like something now!

[danovercash]

Battery box looks good! If your braided strap is long enough, it can be attached under a bolt under the battery to give a cleaner look. Thanks to Big Dog for the how to.

http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewto ... 40&t=82170

[cavingreer]

If your braided strap is long enough, it can be attached under a bolt under the battery to give a cleaner look.

Awesome idea! Thanks!

[cavingreer]

Mowed the front yard and some of the grove where the weeds are really high today. The C2 deck does a beautiful job and the tractor under medium speed in 2nd gear does good. Went down to 1st gear to try the thicker stuff. So 3 things that I need advice on:
1 - When I was mowing at higher RPM in 2nd the tractor eventually started to "stutter"? Seems to be when it's not under load, because once it gets into more grass it levels back out. I idled back a bit and never had it happen again. Is that the blades overdriving the engine and what the Overrun Clutch prevents if the deck has it? Mine doesn't have the clutch.
2 - Following the manual as best as I could, I tightened the belt with the deck all the way down leaving a respectable amount of deflection. Today 1st thing I kicked in the PTO without lowering the deck first and the belt flew right off. When I got into the high weeds I tried putting the tractor in 1st and raising the deck a little to get through it but the belt again popped right off. Have I got it too loose or can you just not mow with the deck up near 1/2 way?
3 - I noticed a little drip of oil on top of the deck after mowing for almost an hour, and right before I hit the tall grass, threw the belt and called it quits. Once I parked and got a look at it I discovered I'm missing a plate on the bottom of the engine that covers the flywheel and bell housing. So I've got a little drip from probably the rear main seal? After it cools down I'll be checking the oil and water levels.

[cavingreer]

Just sitting up late a thought I'd post an update. The C2 mower does a great job once you get it set up right. I've mowed the entire yard that I normally do with the lawnmower and the C2 cuts prettier and the Cub is way more fun to drive. I've also cut down huge patches of bramble, weeds and thorns that I've been dying to reclaim. I still need to replace my governor handle so I can keep it at a higher idle, but I'm managing not to choke it completely down in the thick stuff with the deck up halfway.

I've learned the blades can not be tight they have to be free to swivel, which is a bit of a challenge because instinct is to tighten the nuts well. Problem is when you hit a chunk our something it wedges a tight blade out of place and the whole deck goes out of balance. Problem is the gap between the upper and lower plates collects everything and winds up jamming them up anyway. So I have them free to move with the pins holding the castle nuts in check, and I stop when needed to clear the debris and wiggle them back loose.

The manual says no tension on the belt when the deck is up to prevent stress and damage to the PTO shaft and bearings, but I've had to snug it up enough so the belt doesn't pop off if I have to raise the deck.

As I use the tractor and keep cleaning I find more interesting things, like I do have the clutch on my deck but it seems to be frozen up. I'm continually spraying it with penetrating oil and greasing the fitting hoping it will start working. If not I'll eventually open it up to clean it. Also finding that mowing downhill causes a water purge so I try not to run it too long and fill it back up. How would I know if it's getting too hot?

The tiny leak from the main seal isn't causing problems, after a few hours of running it's barely dropped off the full mark. My touch control is working great. My replacement starter seems to be a bit stubborn and doesn't want to kick out and engage sometimes so I my need to get it rebuilt soon.

One issue I have is if I clutch, the mower continues to drive the gear box. I have to flip the PTO lever sometimes so I can stop without fighting the brake. I greased the clutch fitting the other day and adjusted the pedal to get a fuller throw on it but the first time I tested it, it made a really bad sound like it was hitting something inside. I backed it off until it returned to normal.


In the "things that make you go hmmm" department: finally realized one day that I only had a wheel weight on the left side. TMays thought it was odd that it wasn't on the right side to help prevent tipping over. No idea why it's on the left. Removed it today along with the little ant colony happily residing in it all this time LOL.

My front end worked loose again and I lost 2 bolts before I realized it. The other 3 tightened up well but apparently I need Loctite on them ... Blue or red?

Lots running through my mind when I should be sleeping, but it helps to put it out here. Thoughts and suggestions always welcome.