Winter To Do List

[PKS]

Now that I own a Cub, I would like to "harness" a to do list from all you experienced Cub owners to get to know my Cub mechanically. I have had little time since I brought her home a few weeks ago but she runs quite well. I have ordered my manuals and I do know the previous owner rebuilt the carburetor. The lights do not work, tires need replacing and there is fluid leaking around the rear tires. She also hesitates a bit while in third gear. I have never worked on a tractor and have very limited mechanical experience. I will shut her down for the winter and Rudi suggested to remove the gas tank and have it checked for pin holes and then sealed with Red Kote as well as getting the six volt generator its "check-up". Great suggestions that I will follow through on. What else would be on your winter shutdown list? Thanks for all your help.

Paul

[Bob McCarty]

This Forum probably saved me from having a cracked block. Check the anti-freeze. If you need to add, then drain it, add to the temp you want and refill the radiator. Without a water pump, adding to the top of the radiator does not promote good mixing. Do all the other fluids need to be checked and possibly changed? How about a thorough greasing of all the zerks.

Bob

[Rudi]

Paul:

If you are going to redo the Cub over the winter.. you may want to totally drain ALL of the fluids. This would be a good time for a good brush'n'flush

If I remember you are going to keep the Cub in the garage, so freezing won't be an issue especially if you drain. Then check the Lubrication section of the Owner's Manual and go through the check list..

How is that for a to do list

[Eugene]

Drain and replace all fluids including the final drive pan.

Complete tune up and lub.

On the tires. If they are only checked and worn and this is a working tractor - keep using them. If you do replace the tires and tubes. Clean and paint the inside of the rims.

Pull the front wheel hubs, clean and repack.

If you are going to replace the antifreeze. Pull the manifold from the block. Flush the block and bottom of the radiator.

If you are not going to operate/run the tractor for several months, top off the fuel tank and add Stabal to the fuel tank. Start and run the tractor with the fuel shut off - shut off (drains the carburator).

Cover the exhaust pipe even if it's stored indoors.

Chock the rear wheels. Transmission out of gear. Brakes off. Block or tie the clutch pedel down. Let me repeat that BLOCK OR TIE DOWN THE CLUTCH PEDEL.

Fully charge the battery then disconnect one battery cable.

Eugene

[Eugene]

Souc10:

One thing I forgot. You might pressure spray off the grease and grime before putting the tractor in the shop/garage. That would make things much nicer to work on.

Eugene

[Mag Man]

Unhook your battery and put it on a trickle charge or give it a charge every few weeks. You could send your Mag to me if you have one to get her in top notch shape for spring.
I would also run some marvel or something through her and run it for a while if not rebuilding the motor.
Just a few things I can think of.
JON

[Rudi]

Eugene:

Trust me:

If you are not going to operate/run the tractor for several months, top off the fuel tank and add Stabil to the fuel tank. Start and run the tractor with the fuel shut off - shut off (drains the carburator).

that isn't even in the cards....

['Country' Elliott]

Hey Paul...From your description, it sounds like your rear tires ("fluid is leaking from") are full of CALCIUM or possibly ANTIFREEZE for WEIGHT.

If you're storing your Cub over the winter...You should DRAIN the fluid out of your rear tires as soon as possible. The EASIEST way to do this is to trailer your Cub to a CO-OP or tire store that services TRACTOR TIRES. They will have the equipment to drain off the fluid properly. While you're there...have them REMOVE the tires and CHECK the RIMS for CORROASION & RUST! If you don't have any...You'll be LUCKY! If you DO...You'll know that NEW rims will be in order in your near future. New Hampshire winters can be COLD & UNFORGIVING...so be sure to store your Cub INSIDE where you can work on her over the LOG WINTER!

[PKS]

OK! Lots to do and much of it a foreign language to me. The manuals will help I am sure. How about a preference to oder of tasks (beyond the obvious) since I have never done this? Caveats that the manuals do not cover from your experience? The fluid is near the rear tires (final drives?) not the tires themselves. Both rear tires have slow leaks and need new tubes or tire replacement. I love the "old" used worn appearance of the tractor so the plan is to go through it mechanically without any cosmetic change. A refresh if you will. The engine has no smoke or knock of any sort so a rebuild I don't believe is necessary. There is a lot of flaking and pealing paint that I would guess will be reoved with a good power wash. Any other body protective measures? It will probably be "down" for about six months depending on how long it will take me to complete Eugene's very thorough list.

Paul

[brian kov]

like Country said , ya want that fluid to quit leakin . cause when its a leakin its a rustin too . with my newest cub the rears were leakin but the tires are real descent just a lil crackin . so i bought new tubes and took em to the tire shop , 20 bucks and they changed them over for me ,i had a spare set of rims so u might want to remove the tires and clean and paint the rims then have the tire put back on with the new tubes .

[Rick Prentice]

Let me repeat that BLOCK OR TIE DOWN THE CLUTCH PEDEL.

Ok guys and gals. I know completely why Eugene suggests blocking down the pedal. My 48, after setting for several years in the previous owners garage, had the clutch stuck and took several attempts to free it up.

My only question or concern is this: I worked with a guy who built race motors for his hobby and visited some big machine shops with him. I spent alot of time running with him and learned some things that I never thought about till then. For example, If you hang an engine on an engine stand for a long period of time, the steel will somewhat stretch . I'm not talking alot, but just a couple thousandths (support the front of the block) The same goes for having your block bored. The proper way to bore an engine is with boring plates torqued down on top of the head to duplicate the head, and then bore the block. There's stretching of the metal around the head bolts when this process occurs. I know this is meant for the "HIGH TECH" engines and is probably meaningless to our little 10hp cubs, so Please take this lightly.

I said all that to get to this point. If the clutch pedal is blocked down for several month's, what effect will it have on the springs inside the pressure plate. We're talking about alot of pressure being applied constantly. Probably the same reason valve springs get weak over time, there's always a couple springs compressed on any given cylinder.

This is just a thought and not meant to cause any problems . I'm just curious myself .

Rick

[George Willer]

Paul,

The fluid leak you mention is probably transmission lube leaking from a damaged seal on the differential shaft. It's far too common! It usually coats the brake bands and makes them ineffective.

The problem is often made worse by an over-full transmission, so there's your clue to change the transmission fluid first. Over-full can be caused by the entrance of water... especially if the Cub has been stored outdoors.

Enjoy your "new" Cub.

[Rick Prentice]

Yep to Mr George's comment. I worked on a Cub once and had to pull a final off. To my amazement, Gear lube came pouring out the seal opening. Turned out, there's was the correct amount of gear lube in there, plus about 5 gals of water

This is why we need Mr GW's high tech "Shifter Seal Set-up"

Rick

[George Willer]

The proper way to bore an engine is with boring plates torqued down on top of the head to duplicate the head, and then bore the block. There's stretching of the metal around the head bolts when this process occurs. I know this is meant for the "HIGH TECH" engines and is probably meaningless to our little 10hp cubs, so Please take this lightly.

Rick

For this same reason it's important to have the main bearing caps in place and torqued to specs.

If you go to the trouble of mounting dial indicators in critical areas when applying torque to the bolts you'd see the cast iron acting like rubber. That's why I never worry about a warped head on a Cub... the head bolts will straighten it out when properly torqued. OHV engines are a different story because of their greater thickness.

[PKS]

This may sound over simplistic but in the process of working on the machine over the winter, why not just depress the clutch a number of times during that period as opposed to blocking it? Unless this would not be appropriate without running and changing gears.