Farmall Cub

I use my 70 cub cadet to haul my butt around my property. I was going to get my 1200cc to mow today. From sitting with all the rain we had the clutch was stuck in my 70. Not thinking i ran it into a pile of dirt in the street on the side of the road. She went up the pile of dirt and the clutch stayed frozen. I put it in reverse and not thinking fired it up. I was on an acute angle tettering already. As it went back i was almost thrown off so i slammed it in first gear. Not smart again it wheelied and thru me off. Now i'm under the tractor bent up like a pretzel. Somehow its still running and in reverse. It backed the 29''- 1250-15 tru power tires with two sets of wheel weights right over my bad leg and my worst leg to boot. Then as if that wasn't enough the front wheel got me too. Now its still running backing up in a circle and aiming for me again for the second time. Somehow I managed to get up and turn the key off as it made it to me.

Its not a good day today. My knee is twice the normal size it is now. Luckily the tractor being higher with the over sized front and rear tires saved me it could of been worse.

My point is we need to spray the clutch pressure plate that releases the clutch disc often with a lube so it can't get frozen. Its the pressure plate withy the slot in it so it releases. Lifes lessons learned. I just wanted to drive to my 1200 and cut the grass today before its too high and hay. I don't really drink anymore but today its time for a cold one for sure. I cold one and some hotdogs on the wood fire sounds great. I think its a great day to sit and watch the corn grow. Bill

Wow....glad you're OK....for the most part. Thanks for the reminder. Nobody needs those kind of adventures.

Glad you were able to walk away with no more damage than you received. Your lucky.
Spraying the pressure plate is not the answer. If the clutch gets wet, the pressure plates (both of them) will rust and stick to the clutch disc itself, not the driveshaft. If the pressure plate is sticking to the driveshaft and not moving, I think you will find that the shaft is worn, and should be replaced. If the tractors are going to set outside or in a wet/damp environment or even high humidity, park them with the clutch/brake pedal locked down, and it will help prevent, if not eleminate, the clutch from sticking. The Originals are very bad about the clutch sticking, and have been known to stick even with the pedal down, if they have been sitting for a period of time. Always check that the clutch is free on any Cub Cadet that has not been used for awhile.

Boy you guys are always right. After i composed myself i hobbled out to put the 70 away and grabbed a can of PB blaster and soaked the shaft / pressure plate were the slot is. No help at all the disc was stuck to the pressure plate the one with the slot. I took a small ball pein hammer and with a little nudge it broke free. Then i put the tractor away for a while. My hip is bruised, my leg has road rash on it, my leg is about twice its normal swollen size. I can just move enough to go to the bathroom, get my meds and eat. Of course now comes the 70's weather and i'm laid up. go figure. Its not going to keep me down much longer i have work to get done. I'm down for the count but don't count me out yet i'll be back for sure.....

I had the rpm way too high when i tried to break the stuck disc loose so learn from my mistakes, get a freaking hammer and lock the pedal down and hit the disc gently do not try to force the disc loose by driving the tractor into something as a back stop. I was in a hurry to cut the lawn as the sky was getting dark. In a few more days i'll have hay to cut.

Wow you are lucky. Good advise too.

I often start my cub while standing on the ground. We all need to remember to be 100% sure that we're in Neutral. Recently I acquired my first Cub with 12 Volts. It starts instantly. If ever it were in gear, could kill somebody.

I work as a paramedic, about 3 years ago transferred a man about 45 years old who had by-passed the safety switch on the clutch, then made the mistake of starting his John Deere from the ground. He lived but his life is changed forever, will never walk again, lives with chronic pain and disability.

Thanks again for sharing your story.

I to usually start my Tractors from the ground. I'm usually very aware of neutral. What I am now realizing as I advance in years, is that I cannot "throw" my right leg over the seat to mount the tractor. I must step on the left step and "step thru" with my right leg. This makes it VERY easy to give the gearshift a little accidental kick into gear. This happened to me once, of course I was holding on to the steering wheel as I mounted the tractor. Need I say more?

by Big Bill
My point is we need to spray the clutch pressure plate that releases the clutch disc often with a lube so it can't get frozen. Its the pressure plate withy the slot in it so it releases.

Lubing the clutch plate leads to more problems....mainly a clutch that slips. Them it's time to spend some money. As Paul said there is usually something wrong in the drive shaft or clutch plates.

Running into a pile dirt is the last thing I want to do.....especially one with wide oversize tires on it. Wide tires are good for floating.

I had a good friend that tried to crank start his old tractor. He thought he had it in neutral. It wasn't. Tractor pinned him against the barn wall for a long period of time. Droctors said he never walk again......4 years later he proved them wrong. Best place to be is on the seat and the tractor is in neutral. There is something wrong with the clutch if you have to grind the gears. Not worth getting hurt.

My int154 with my duo-cross trie chains with the ice links grabbed my pants when the tractor started in gear as i was on the side of it. I was on the ground right infront of the tire looking at the chains comming at me. I rolled out of the way just in time too. The tractor went into a snow bank and stopped. Then i turned it off. I got lucky on that day too.

I had to cut the grass yesterday and i forced myself to get on the 70cc to get me to the 1200cc at the other end of the property so i could mow. It was tough to get back on the horse again after being thrown. Its a wake up call these are machines and not to be taken lightly too. Even with there little size they can still hurt us.

We just took the snowplow off the 70cc too. I don't want to even think about that.

You sure learn how powerful these little cub monsters are when something happens like this.
Glad you made it out the other end of the tunnel on this one. We could all slow down a notch or two when we go to do something.

Ida Red wrote:You sure learn how powerful these little cub monsters are when something happens like this.
Glad you made it out the other end of the tunnel on this one. We could all slow down a notch or two when we go to do something.

I did not feel comfortable riding the 70 to the 1200 to cut the grass. I cut two acres of grass with the 1200 in second gear slow. I'm a wee bit tractor shy for a while anyhoo. You gotta get right back in the saddle when we fall off right?

Its a good thing i raised up the 70 cub cadet with the larger tires for more ground clearance and i had the snowplow off of it too. I would of went thru a meat grinder for sure. Right now i know what an squirrel feels like when we run it over. Sometimes were the windshield and sometimes were the bug, i was both that day ouch. Of course the new clutch just wore in and its locking up now good too she spins the 29'' 1250-15 tru power tires like there 6-12's. That little 8hp engine too don't let it fool you its got power too. My body took everything it could throw at me, i'm still tough.

As i get older i'm thinking a tether line for the ign power like on the dirtbikes and quads then it would of sshut off right away.

I need to throttle it down a lot, i'm not young anymore and i'm not as fast as i once was too. My battered body just can't keep up with the warp speed of my brain. I need a safer hobby soon maybe bird or animal watching. I never made mistakes like this a few years back. I just turned 60yo.

Bill how about a bit of all 3, bird-animal watching and Cub farming too.
Moderation in all things works. Good luck!