Brake rods

[tomstractor]

I bought a set of used brake rods for my 57 Cub online. They are nice and straight with good threads. I went to put them on and found that they are 3 inches too short. The old rusty ones that came off are 21 inches hole to hole and the replacement ones are 18 inches. They look like the same thing just shorter. Does anybody know what they fit? The parts book that I have says the Low Boy takes the same one.

[tomstractor]

I also found tabs welded to the bottom of the fender to raise up to clear the tires, 7.2x30. I can't see why it would change the length of the brake operating pull rods.

[tst]

the 7.2 30 tires were for the high crop package, is yours a high crop with 15" wheels in the front? there were no mods made to the fenders or brakes from the factory to work with those tires, sounds like some back yard engineer was redesigning for who knows what reason

[tomstractor]

I think I just found the answer. My tractor has Low boy finals that are swap sides, left to right, and then they are turned 90* so they are straight up and down. This moves the opening for the toggle back about 3". Anybody seen such a thing??? Now I need to find a pair of final drives

[Jim Becker]

That seems like it must have been a lot of work for questionable results. You have mentioned several other oddball things about your tractor. Can you post some pictures? There must be more to the story.

[Glen]

Hi,
Below are pics from TM Tractor of a LoBoy final drive, it is designed to be used in the different position than a Cub final drive.
It has one brake rod hole, and the casting for the brake is in a different position than a Cub.
The 2nd pic shows that the oil fill and level hole is at the rear of the casting.
The castings are different for the left and right sides.

If someone turned a LoBoy final drive so it was in the position a Cub final drive is, the brake rod hole would be facing down. You probably couldn't connect the rod with it in that position.
The 1st pic below has the LoBoy final drive in that position. It is the left side final drive, it would be mounted 1/4 turn counterclockwise from where it is in the pic. Then the brake rod hole would be facing ahead.
The 3rd pic is a Cub final drive, they have 2 brake rod holes, the final drive casting is made to work on the right or left side of a Cub.

Some pics of yours would be helpful, like Jim said.

[ntrenn]

McMaster has grade 8 all thread. Order a couple of 2 footers and cut to length...

[Slim140]

McMaster has grade 8 all thread. Order a couple of 2 footers and cut to length...

Get you two threaded rod connectors and cut you some short pieces to make it work.

[tomstractor]

The guy that did this cut the drive open on the other side so it kind of looks like the standard drive. He switched sides so he could use
the pivot hole for the toggle. The pivot hole is a little out of position, that's why he needed longer rods.

[Glen]

Hi,
If the Cub has LoBoy final drives turned to the position the Cub final drives would be, there would be no oil filler and level plug in the position the plug should be, to check the oil level.
The plug for the LoBoy would be at the top of the casting.

Probably the only way to know if it has the right amount of oil in it, is to remove the pans, clean them, and change the oil, then put in the right measured amount of oil, through the filler hole.
The Cub owner's manual tells the amount, 1 3/4 Pint for each final drive.

[tomstractor]

Yes the fill plug is at the top and I did remove the pan and cleaned it then pored the correct amount of oil in the top.

[Supercub]

If the level check is on the top now and you have the pans off I can think of 2 possible solutions if you are going to keep the drives the way they are. Possibly you can drill and tap a new plug to check the level or after the pans are back on and the correct amount of fluid is in you could fashion a dip stick that fits in the top and then mark the correct level on the stick for future reference. I’m a complete newbie so it’s just a guess at what might work.
Good luck, Rick

[Glen]

Hi,
Supercub, the final drive has a large gear in the lower part of it, there's probably no way to make a dipstick go down to where the oil level is, which is just above the oil pan.

Below is a pic from Dale F. showing the gear in the housing, with the oil pan off.

[Scrivet]

If you pour in the correct amount I wouldn't worry about the level changing over time. It isn't going to change without you finding a big puddle on the ground under it. There's nowhere else for it to go. It's not going to vaporise into thin air or burn up from heat, The only thing it can do is leak, which you will see. Oil condition would be the only (minor) concern I would have. That can be checked by driving around and then quickly opening the fill plug and shining a flashlight on to the oil on the bull gear.