Greenhorn Questions

[KYMike]

Just got a 1953 F Cub and she looks good and seems to run fine, but I have a couple questions about how she is "suppose" to run.

In all four gears she runs smooth and strong but in neutral, or when the clutch is in, the engine RPM cycles up and down. Is that normal or is it time for a tune-up?

Also, it came with a mower and when I engage it I hear a loud banging on the housing that goes away when it gets up to speed. Do these belly mowers have a centrifugal clutch or something? Can't believe it is normally that loud.

Thanks for your time,

Mike

[Bigdog]

You may have to adjust the governor. Sounds like it may be a little sloppy.

If you have a woods mower the noise you hear when engaging the mower is simply the swinging blades being "thrown out" to their operating position. The blade is a 2 piece set-up where the blades pivot on pins and are held in cutting position by centrifugal force. When the shaft starts turning, the blade ends tend to stay stationary until the blade slams back against the shaft and then they start to turn. That is the noise you hear.

[denton]

Ease out on the clutch when engaging and the sound will diminish but will still be remarkably loud. My Woods 42 with articulating blades sounds like it's being lauched when first started up.

The governor is probably "hunting", trying to find a sweet spot. Many more complex governors have dampening systems to remedy just that. I have found that by increasing and decreasing speed manually very slowly will help stop the hunting. I find it remarkable that these very simple governors hold RPM's as well as they do.

Enjoy your cub. They are great little machines. I wish I had a couple. ds

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

Mike, Look your linkage to the carb over to make sure it's not binding or dragging on the edge of the block. also check for play where the cross shaft enters the governor.

[SundaySailor]

If there may be a little trash in the sediment bowl or the carb. Mine had a little trash in the IH carb and wouldn't idle correctly either. Only when I had the choke open a bit would it run somewhat decently. I removed the plug on the bottom of the carb, opened the gas up for the sediment bowl, and let the gas run just a bit. Put the plug back on the bottom of the carb and started it up. Now I don't even have to use the choke except when the tractor has been sitting for some time. Just something to think about.

Rick