Cub hood mount question

I looked at the first Cub this morning, and there were some good and not-so-great things. First, the sheet metal is all fouled up in the front because they just didn't put fasteners back in. About half of the hardware of the whole hood/tank/grill is missing. The tabs on the hood are still there, nothing looks damaged, it's just not bolted together. The owner said he bought it that way. He bought it, then moved and stopped farming, so it's sat almost all the time he's had it. It runs like a top, has zero smoke, and all the gears are quiet. Good tires on the back, the front were OK tread-wise, but showing dry rot. The bolster/radiator support has been heavily brazed but shows no signs of leaking. The red flag is that the touch control was not working well. At first, there was zero response from the lever. After playing with it for a bit, it would partially go up and down but not smoothly, and would do it randomly. He thought it might just need oil, but I feel like the valve was sticking. I've never played with a touch control unit before so that some feedback would be helpful.

The plot twist on this unit is that he has a second Cub. It's a manual lift machine; it's rough and smokes, BUT the bolster is good, the front tires are brand new, it has all it's lights and the hood is as straight as can be. We didn't get into prices because I want to look at the second cub first, but he said he would give me a "good deal" if I took both. I hate to buy two, but in this case, if the deal is good, I think it makes sense.

The second Cub did not sell. I'm going to look at it tomorrow. I did get a few more pictures, and it's pretty crusty. It has a newer rear tire and an older, dry-rotted one. There looks to be pretty significant rust around where the fenders mount to the drop axles. It doesn't come with anything but the mower, not even a drawbar. It does have wheel weight. I curious at how well it runs, I'm thinking if the first person passed on it there might be some gremlins that the seller didn't list. Also, if all it ever did was mow, which is what they said it did, I bet that engine has some hours on it.

K
 
The two Cub package may turn out to be a good deal. Get a price on them. You cold make one nice Cub from the two and sell what's left.
 
unless they are junk price,----- WALK AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are looking at some serious damage/work AND expense there! Its the "hidden" abuse damage that gets costly!!!
 
unless they are junk price,----- WALK AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are looking at some serious damage/work AND expense there! Its the "hidden" abuse damage that gets costly!!!

I'm not sure which machine or all of them, but they are old tractors. Most need something. None of these are perfect unless you get a restored one.

I was long-winded, but I think the first one, other than the touch control, was better than I expected. The bonus might be a spare tractor to make one really decent unit.

The second one could be a bit worse than I originally thought

K

EDIT: I'm 99% sure the bolster was broken by freezing. They just went over the top fixing it with braze.
 
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The Touch-Control problem really sounds like it is low on oil. Adding oil is no big deal but the question is where did the oil go? The likely answer is a bad seal (or o-ring) in the hydraulic pump that is leaking oil into the engine. Check the engine dipstick for an over-filled crankcase! The fix for the hydraulic pump may be a new o-ring (cheap) or could turn out to be an excessively worm pump shaft (price could go up - a lot). A leaking hydraulic pump is a frequent topic of discussion. Do a site search to see some of it.
 
The Touch-Control problem really sounds like it is low on oil. Adding oil is no big deal but the question is where did the oil go? The likely answer is a bad seal (or o-ring) in the hydraulic pump that is leaking oil into the engine. Check the engine dipstick for an over-filled crankcase! The fix for the hydraulic pump may be a new o-ring (cheap) or could turn out to be an excessively worm pump shaft (price could go up - a lot). A leaking hydraulic pump is a frequent topic of discussion. Do a site search to see some of it.

OK. I'm familiar with Farmall pumps leaking into the crankcase. A friend has a Cub with a leaky pump. I always keep an eye on my SM, just in case.

That wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, like you said as long as the shaft it OK. The same guy with the leaky Cub pump is a hydualic repair guy, I need to check with him to see if he fixed his.

The Cub was holding the cultivators up (they were up when I got there, and the tractor had sat overnight), so the valve seemed to hold; it just didn't want to go up or down.

K
 
Put some prices on these units, they might all be over priced.

I wasn't sure what the etiquette was on this forum. Some don't like using them for appraisal. Also, I think location matters a lot. That being said, I've been looking long enough to know what most Cubs bring around here.

I went with the first deal. He ended up throwing in the second Cub for nothing. I'll end up with (after some work) a single, clean machine. I can flip the other one and get some money back. It's set up the way I want, has new tires, and other than the hydraulics, no mechanical red flags.

The second Cub I looked at was decent. If I were looking for a tractor, no implements, I would have gone this way. Its big downside was tires; it needed fronts pretty badly, and one of the rears was badly weathered cracked. The rims were pretty crusty as well.

So as of this Sunday, I'll join the Cub Club.

K
 
Don't be afraid of a handlift. That's all l've ever had. Been operating the same Cub since l was 9. Ran cultivator when l was 10, learned to plow at 11. I remember having to put my left foot on the back of the gas tank to raise the handlift arm back then using both hands.
As long as the handlift is useable, it saves time rebuilding the hydraulics.
Congrats on your purchase. Keep posting updates on your progress.
 
I looked at the first Cub this morning, and there were some good and not-so-great things. First, the sheet metal is all fouled up in the front because they just didn't put fasteners back in. About half of the hardware of the whole hood/tank/grill is missing. The tabs on the hood are still there, nothing looks damaged, it's just not bolted together. The owner said he bought it that way. He bought it, then moved and stopped farming, so it's sat almost all the time he's had it. It runs like a top, has zero smoke, and all the gears are quiet. Good tires on the back, the front were OK tread-wise, but showing dry rot. The bolster/radiator support has been heavily brazed but shows no signs of leaking. The red flag is that the touch control was not working well. At first, there was zero response from the lever. After playing with it for a bit, it would partially go up and down but not smoothly, and would do it randomly. He thought it might just need oil, but I feel like the valve was sticking. I've never played with a touch control unit before so that some feedback would be helpful.

The plot twist on this unit is that he has a second Cub. It's a manual lift machine; it's rough and smokes, BUT the bolster is good, the front tires are brand new, it has all it's lights and the hood is as straight as can be. We didn't get into prices because I want to look at the second cub first, but he said he would give me a "good deal" if I took both. I hate to buy two, but in this case, if the deal is good, I think it makes sense.

The second Cub did not sell. I'm going to look at it tomorrow. I did get a few more pictures, and it's pretty crusty. It has a newer rear tire and an older, dry-rotted one. There looks to be pretty significant rust around where the fenders mount to the drop axles. It doesn't come with anything but the mower, not even a drawbar. It does have wheel weight. I curious at how well it runs, I'm thinking if the first person passed on it there might be some gremlins that the seller didn't list. Also, if all it ever did was mow, which is what they said it did, I bet that engine has some hours on it.

K

Congrats!

Careful. The worst looking one could be the actual workhorse. l.o.l..
 
I guess I need pictures or it didn't happen!

1952:

IMG_2110.jpeg

IMG_2112.jpeg

1950:

IMG_2111.jpeg

IMG_2113.jpeg


So I know why the hydraulics are wonky on the '52, when I started it up to put it on the trailer, it started to leak oil from what looks like around the valve. I loaded quickly and have avoided a victory lap at home. So that needs to be addressed. I read somewhere that you can work on the valve without pulling the whole touch control apart?

The '50 is a farmer's fix special, though cosmetically it isn't bad other than the missing grill. The front end is rough, it smokes pretty badly (though starts really easily) and the transmission makes bad noises. We will have to see what I ended up doing.

Anyway, a little TLC and I think the '52 should be good to go.

K
 
I read somewhere that you can work on the valve without pulling the whole touch control apart?
Hi,
The Control Valve is on the front of the Touch Control, and moves when you move the lever. The Control Valve has an o ring, and they can leak when worn. Then fluid will run down the front area of the Touch Control unit.
If you want to only replace the Control Valve o ring, and not rebuild the whole unit, you don't have to remove the Touch Control head, which is on the rear of the unit.
It is less work to replace only the Control Valve o ring. The Control Valve slides out the front of the unit.
Below is a listing for the o ring at TM Tractor Parts, you can look at the pictures, there is a picture of where it goes on the page. They have said on here the o ring is a special size. It is a Case IH part, it says.
https://www.tmtractor.com/new/hy/674fp.htm

Feel the opening before putting the valve in to be sure it is smooth, any roughness can cut the new o ring. Sand off any roughness, wipe off all sanding with a clean rag.
Use plenty of new Hy-Tran fluid on the valve when putting it back in the unit.

Below are pictures.
Pic 1 shows fluid leaking where the Control Valve would leak.
Pic 2, from TM Tractor Parts, shows the front of the Touch Control with the rockshaft off, the Control Valve is at the lower right in the pic.
The unit could be leaking from the piston, which is above the Control Valve.
I would use a light and try to see where it is leaking.
That is a good wheel width on the Cub with the grille, a Cub is more stable with the wheels spaced wider than narrow. :)
 

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Hi Glen,

That's exactly what the leak looks like. There's a boot on the valve that's soaked. It showed no signs of leaking when I looked at it the first time. Of course, I only noticed after we had made our transaction. It has been sitting for a while, my guess is that starting it up and moving things around did it in.

I think I'm going to have to narrow it. I bought it to cultivate, and my rows are 42". We will see, I do prefer the wider setup, but it may not work. Luckily, where I'm planning on using it is flat. That being said, that's the only thing that is flat around here, so....

The other cub has a fixed front end.

K
 
the valve that is leaking is not hard to fix, it pulls out of the touch control from the outside, the "special" oring on it is bad
 
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