Cub Cadet 1250, have a few questions.
 

Hello all,

I recently was able to get a 1976 Cub Cadet 1250 with a QA-42A snow blower, rototiller, and 44" mowing deck. None of them are in awesome shape (except the mowing deck, surprisingly is very clean save it missing a wheel). It had the rototiller on it when I got it, and that works fine (including the rear hydraulic lift).

When I got it there were a few things that needed to be fixed, but all were minor (the battery needed to be replaced, the connections to the battery sanded, and the choke cable was frozen) and after they were fixed it starts and runs quite well (the hydrostatic drive transmission is a little rough, but definitely works).

So this is where the questions start to come in; I just removed the mount for the belt to the rototiller today and put on the snow thrower, but realized at this point that I had nothing that assisted with the snow thrower going up and down (there is the hydraulic lift ports in the front [I believe some 1250s were electric lifts, but am not sure--this one is hydraulic], but I am sort of a newbie when it comes to this stuff--this is my first lawn/garden tractor I've ever bought and it's 10 years older than I am--and I didn't notice that there were a few pieces missing when I got it from the guy). I've got a few pictures attached; so my question is what do I need to get to use the hydraulic lift in the front for the snow thrower? (Do I need to take the rototiller off and use that one? It didn't even look like the one in the rear would work...I figured I would leave the rototiller on for weight since I don't have wheel weights).

I found this on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cub-Cadet-16...item564f498d3c

but I am not sure if that is the part I'm looking for, or if that's for the rear hydraulics...

The auger in the snow thrower is in a bit of rough shape but I think I can straighten out most of it with a hammer.

She isn't pretty but she (for the most part) works, was affordable, and hopefully I can make her pretty with time once I get all the mechanics figured out. I just purchased a home with 5 acres (most of it is wooded, but about 1 acre is not and I am into gardening) so I figured this would make my life a heck of a lot easier, especially since I mowed that cleared acre with a push mower this past summer (boy did I lose some weight though!).

Thanks for your help/advice in advance. If more pictures would be helpful I can take more of a specific area/part.

Welcome to OCC! Congrats on your 1250!

Congrats on the nice find. Not only is the hydraulic lift 1250 harder to find (most were manual lift from the factory), you found one with dual hydraulics. Sweet find! :beerchug:

Thanks! I look forward to putting it to work, I've already been checking out some of the extensive restore threads here. :)

Good to know! I only noticed it when I checked out the manual and realized most of the things the 1250 had on it were optional (I guess even the lights? Crazy!). I hear you can use a power angle plow with these, but I haven't seen which models fit on it (I just got a yard truck that I threw a plow on already though, my driveway is 800ft long and would take me a while with a small tractor--my girlfriend might not get to work on time). That doesn't really stop me from being interested in a power angle plow for the cub, though! haha...I've found I'm becoming obsessed with reading up on these things and craigslisting for them.

You are right about the electric lift that is what mine has.

Welcome to OCC. Sorry not any help with your attaching problem.
But I can give you some advice. Stay away from Craigslist, it will only get you in trouble:biggrin2:
Next thing you know you'll be building barns or adding on to store ALL your tractors.
This is how it all starts. Then you'll be buying hats and t-shirts with the IH logo. It's a fever man:beerchug:

Without owning one of that series, I believe that you just need to run a lift rod from the snow thrower back to the lift arm that should already be on the rockshaft. If you don't have that rod with your snow thrower, then you can purchase steel cable and U bolts at your local hardware store for about $3-$5 and substitute that. If your belt is already on your front PTO going to your thrower, then all you would need is a connection that would allow you to lift that thrower. Looks like you got a really good deal!!

I would personally remove the tiller for snow blowing so as not to damage it and strap a set of chains on your tires for added traction.

Cub Cadet 123

Need pics of the right side of the tractor, from the front bottom of the fender to the snowthrower. Looks like the lift rod is missing. I have 2- 1450s so we have a lot in common. I'll get pics of my QA36A tonight & post em.

Ah, what the heck. Couldn't wait. I strongly urge you to get the belt cover for the tiller. Don't need the beltbreaking and flying off. Post in the classified here. Members usually take care of each other. Yeah, I think all you need is the lift rod. Can't imagine the lift cylinder is missing. Use adjustable wrenches to straighten the auger. You can open wrench wide to start straightening, then close as needed to get as straight as possible. Did you get the engine side panels with her?

:Welcome2:

Awesome score on the rare 1250 with dual hydraulics!:beerchug: As already posted we need pics of the right side of the tractor.

The eBay item is for adding hydraulics to a 1250 that doesn't have the setup you have.

Here's the guide from the tech section on how to make your own lift rod.
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ead.php?t=4616

1650
 

I have the same setup - have the lift rod somewhere - you can copy if you need to. If I could find the material in the piles could bend one and send it . Take a close look at the Aluminum chain drive bearing before use. Bob

I do have that rod in those pictures--thanks! I will install it like you have there, I just wasn't sure if that yellow thing even moved.

I did get the engine side panels with her, but I have left them off while I've been tinkering (haven't really put her to much work yet, only did about a 10-15' stretch of tilling to see how it worked). I'll make sure to look for the belt cover for the rototiller.

Here are the pics of the right side of the tractor (they have the lift rod installed now, first thing I did this morning after seeing your pictures of the 1450s). 2nd picture is the rod that adjusts the direction the snow throws, but I think I might be able to weld those two pieces back together if I can't find a replacement part (also, positioning it manually is the worst case scenario).

So after I got the lift rod installed, I tried using the outside lever (the one that's broken off and has vice grips on it is for the rear as far as I know [that's how I move the tiller up/down]). However, when I try to move the outside lever, I noticed that the tiller was going up and down too (not like if I were just using the vice grips, but it was moving). So I'm guessing I need to take the tiller off--or perhaps adjust that big plastic knob to the left of where I installed the lift rod?

:Welcome2:

Congrats on the 1250!

The deck hydraulics are tied into the lift lever for your blower, as well as the rear lift - it's all one system.

Your 2nd handle is specifically for just the front hydraulic ports.

That black plastic knob and bracket are so that you can set a pre-set height for the lift (for mowing) so that the deck/hydraulics will only lift up to that height. For your blower purposes you just want to rotate it back and snug it up so that it doesn't flop around, so you have the full range of motion.

So, yes you'll need to take the tiller off, otherwise you won't really be able to use the blower.

Take a look at the manuals in the tech section, and it'll make a lot more sense.

Thanks! I'll check back after I look over the manuals and get the tiller off. Just saw a few flakes of snow so hopefully I can get it done tonight.

I think there's a chute rotator on Evil bay now.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/CUB-CADET-SN...item3a7c2d2d79

That guy?

Looks like I'd have to snipe it from at least one person ;) and for $20+, I might see how good my welding skills are (I have the torch, just need to grab some stock) as the whole piece is there, it's just snapped.

Is there an easy way to find out which model tiller I have? The snow thrower had a plaque w/ the model/serial # on it, but I don't see it on the tiller (unless it's underneath, in which case I would imagine it'd be gone anyway). I do see that it's an International tiller, it is 42" wide. I can post pics if that would help. Trying to find which manual I need to look at to figure out how to get the thing off the tractor.

Also, would this 12hp be to small to grade a driveway with? I have a gravel driveway that gets spotty in areas, and if this could handle it would probably be worth me getting a plow or some sort of hitch grader, but I wasn't sure if that was something this could handle or not.

All of the cub belt driven tillers are installed and removed the same way, so any of the manuals will help with that. But a picture would help possibly determine what tiller you have.

The 12hp motor will more than be enough to do your driveway.

Here is a vid of my nephews 12hp cub doing my driveway.

http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/b...t=MOV04010.mp4

Thanks for the information on that they're all the same--gonna give it a go now.

Watched that whole video! Impressive, his 12hp is sharp looking too! Does he have it hooked up with a 3pt?

Yeah, a standard 3 point lift with sleeve hitch adapter.

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/b...0/DSC04005.jpg

1A Tiller - or 2A - differance is in tiller configuration and sheer pin?.

Not sure which one it is, but I got it off. I was afraid switching implements would be a nightmare with older tractors but removing and putting on what I have so far has been rather straight forward after I sit there and stare at it for a few minutes.

Few pictures of the tiller now that it's off (yes, that is someone's skivvies in the tines--came with the tractor that way!). I left the gearbox on the back, figured there was no real reason to take it off at this point.

Fourth picture is of the snow blower with it all the way up (the all the way up position is really where I want the low position to be--it's barely off the floor all the way up, just a hare). I'm going to look in the manual on how to adjust that tonight and see about messing with it tomorrow.

Last picture is of the side panels and the mower deck that came with it (I need to clean up the mower deck soon, it's still got some grass on it).

Thanks for everyone's comments and help thus far!

That is either a #1 or #1A tiller with an extension on each side. A #2 tiller is made that wide without extensions.

What's the difference between a #1 or a #1A? Also, were those extensions white originally? I noticed they're super rusty compared to the other part..

If you read the manuals they list certain Serial numbers that each model was made for. There isn't a physical difference.

Yes the extensions should be white just like the main section.

So I would find out by looking at the serial # on the tractor assuming all parts were bought at the same time?

There's a tag on the tiller that gives the serial number and model number. No way to tell if it was bought all at the same time.