59 " Mowing

[ScottyG]

Probably a dumb question but I have to ask.

I'm currently having some carb problems but wanted to see if my problem is attributed to fuel or cubic inches. This is the first season where I'm really using my mowing deck. I know the Cub engine is small and the PTO is coupled directly to the drive shaft so that all of the load goes straight to the engine. However, am I alone in having to feather the clutch to start the deck up to avoid stalling? I mean, I really have to feather it for a good 15 seconds or so until the blade RPMs are up. I'm thinking about adjusting the high end on the governor a bit to help. Whatddya all think?

BTW, compression is good to average. Approx 110 in all cylinders.

[Bigdog]

Scotty, 15 seconds is excessive. Is your governor working correctly? How does the tractor handle the load after you are up and running? If the governor is working right, go back and fix your carb problem. The compression looks good so the rings, valves etc. should be OK. Also check your timing.

[ScottyG]

Hi Bigdog,

So, just to clarify, I shouldn't have to nurse the deck along to get the tractor to drive and also turn the Pto from stopped position? I'll put it another way too. If I'm on a flat road and want to start in the highway gear, I usually have to feather the clutch a bit to get going. Is this normal or does this indicate that the governor isn't adjusted properly?

Another dumb question coming up here...

How do I know if the governor is working correctly? Apart from the obvious of course where I can see the throttle rod working independently under load, how do I know if the governor is "tuned" so that it can handle large loads like that of the PTO? To let you know a bit of history, when I restored the tractor, I had the governor completely apart, cleaned it, freed up the linkage and lubricated the springs. I can actuate the governor by hand. It does not surge and returns back to idle properly. When it was all put back together, I followed the service manual specs on adjusting at just above idle and at high speed. I guess my assumption is that we're really looking for a surge free system here so I want to squeeze out more from the top end.


Thanks for your help!!

[ScottyG]

and oh yeah...

timing I will check that too,

Thanks!!

[artc]

You should be able to hear the governor come in as you release the clutch. my c3 deck on the 48 will get going with a minimum of clutch slippage, a couple of seconds. i can back onto my trailer at an idle without stalling. best test of a governor i can think of.

check for slop in the gov. linkage and get as much as possible out of it. particularly at the point of the cross - shaft entering the gov. linkage the keyway there gets loose in the housing and then the governor works, but is very lazy. mine i drilled and set screwed, others have jb welded it

[ScottyG]

hmmm. Maybe, it's never really worked right then. The only time I could ever hear the governor kick in was snow plowing when pushing the real heavy wet sloppy stuff and that was just as the engine was about to putter out. Sounds like I have a little work to do...

Thanks.

[Ken (48 Cub)]

ScottyG, here is the PO answer to a sloppy govenor.



He drilled a hole throough the collar ans shaft, it works.

[cowboy]

Hi Scott

This may be a foolish qustion but do you give it full throttle before letting out the clutch I mow in 2nd gear with a woods 42. With the mower deck up not in the grass within 6'-8' feet it is up to the correct rpm.

[Patbretagne]

Again perhaps a foolish question?
Ny Number 2 Cub had a very slow tickover which was fine, quiet and nice to hear. This was achieved by thge previous owner adding a small spring from the throttle bell crank at the LH front of the engine to the radiator support.
When I first had the tractor, I was somewhat unimpressed with the power and top speed in each gear, although the throttle, foot or hand, was fully engaged, there seemed something missing.

I detached the spring, had a slightly faster tickover but a Cub that performed, as soon as the govenor cut in it really did cut in. I'm going to follow the instructions given in another thread for setting up the carb adjustment and I am sure the tick over and power will be OK TOP.

You could try attaching a piece of string to the carb/govenor rod to pull the throttle open to over-ride the govenor to see if your engine has actually the power needed on tap but just niot tapped due to the govenor. Sorry to be so long explaining, hope you get your power back
Pat
PS don't overdo the string job and over rev the engine!

[ScottyG]

Hi all,

Thanks for the great responses. In answer to your questions, I do throttle up all the way to mow and most, if not all of the slop was taken out of the governor control before I reassembled it.

Believe it or not, I think I've solved the problem (I'll know tonight when I take it for a spin). It looks as though BigDog was on to something with timing. My amateur foolhardiness at work here. Read on...

When I reassembled the governor body to the engine, I made sure that I lined up the timing marks, perfectly. In doing so, I didn't think I needed to worry about placement and could correct the distributor a few degrees if I needed to. When the tractor was converted to battery ignition by a previous owner, they made a coil bracket that prevents distributor adjustment. So, unless you adjust by pulling the governor body out, you're sunk. To make a long story short, I've been running with the timing retarded by about 30 degrees! The only thing that I can think of is that the previous owner did some engine work and didn't put his gears in the right place and therefore the timing marks were off.

Anyhow, after about 2 hours of monkeying and now, with the timing retarted about 1 degree (hey nobody's perfect), the tractor runs like it's brand new. No loping, surging, I get maximum RPMs at full throttle, etc. Smooth as glass!!

Like I said, I haven't tried mowing with it yet but I have a feeling that my problem is fixed.

[ScottyG]

Just a followup and some clarification. I retimed the Cub and wow, what a difference. I can now mow in 3rd gear if I want to. No clutch feathering and if I happen to pop the clutch accidentally with the PTO engaged, the rear wheels will actually chirp. Unbelievable what a little bit of adjusting will do. Now with my 5-foot deck, I've cut my mowing time down from 3 hours to 1 1/2!

Thanks to all for your advice.

[artc]

[Bigdog]

Thanks for the feedback ScottyG. It really helps everyone when we find out what worked.