Only Cub Cadets - My 1641 Story (With Pics)

So, the story actually begins with my 1210 and it’s blown motor (my first Cub btw). I had rebuilt it once and took a chance that didn’t pan out. Toying with thoughts of fixing the 1210 or buying something brand new, I came across a general tractor forum. I sought advice on there for my situation when I was already leaning toward giving up and buying something new. However, someone on there had intervened to steer me in a new direction. That person was Sam!

Sam had recommended that I consider re-powering my 1210 with a 16hp Vanguard from a Cub. I looked around for quite a while to find one but didn’t come up with a deal I was satisfied with. Finally a local CL ad for a 1641 came up. The 1641 had been sitting for more than 2 years but the PO “didn’t have the time to fix it.”

So this seemed to be exactly what I needed to fix my 1210. I went to look at it and I was able to fire it up by jumping it and using some carb cleaner. I knew I was in business with the motor. However, the rest of the package seemed to be in rough shape as there was hydro fluid spilling out all over while the motor was running. The seller then offered to sell it to me for $100 if I dragged it out of there that weekend, so of course I jumped on it.
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After I got it home and cleaned it up a bit I had a good conversation with Sam about it and he got me thinking I may want to save it instead of rip the motor out.
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So, after playing around I decided to try to fix the leak of the hydro fluid and narrowed it down to the Hydraulic Lift Valve area. It appeared at first glance that the valve itself was leaking but after I took it out it seemed to be in pretty good shape, so I ordered a rebuild kit for it. I got the kit and started messing around with it. First I just replaced the o-rings because it seemed to me that that may have been the issue. But it still leaked. After some additional inspecting I realized that it was in fact the hydraulic line itself. So I actually had my dad braze it (up to this point in my life I had never known that he could even do that!).
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At this point I decided to start it up and get the engine running smoothly. This is when I discovered that the carb wasn’t getting any gas. So, I started with the simple things. I took off the tank and washed it out with a hose and let it air dry overnight. I also replaced all of the fuel line and fuel filter. Still no go. So, I messed around with the fuel pump, but that wasn’t the issue. Sam again stepped in to tell me about the fuel solenoid. I tested it and it was getting voltage when the key was turned on, but it wasn’t moving. So, I backed it out and sprayed an excessive amount of carb cleaner in the bowl and let it sit for an hour or so. I came back and turned the key again and all of the sudden it was alive!

Problems solved. I began putting everything back together. At this point I also decided to clean out the rear end so I ordered up the gasket and opened her up. I drained out all of the fluid and flushed out the dirt and grime in the rear. I scraped off all of the gasket sealer the PO had used to seal it up, reinstalled the new gasket & filter, sealed it up, and filled it with fluid.
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Then I fired it up and began to slowly move it around a little bit. I noticed the rear was loose in the frame, so I went to tighten the bolts and noticed the axel tubes were cracked in all four spots that the bolts went it. What a devastating discovery!!! I felt like I was really in over my head at this point.
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But once again Sam came through. He ended up having a rear/trans that he gave me a good deal on and even replaced the seals and gasket before sending it up to me. In the meantime I cleaned up the CV joint and got that all put back together.
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I received the rear this past Wednesday and put it in the same night. I reassembled the whole deal in about 4 hours. Fortunately it worked out perfectly. Got it all together without a hitch. Filled it up with fluid, started her up and she finally seemed to be together! I wanted to get the engine running a bit more smoothly so I put in some sea foam with the gallon or two of gas in the tank and ran it dry. It seems to have worked pretty good, as the engine is definitely running better.

Today I ran it around the yard, and even used the cart to pick up some tree limbs from Sandy that I didn’t have a chance to get to yet, just to test this thing out and make sure it was working well. I brought it back into the garage and re-inspected. Success!!

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Thanks to the help of Sam and the others on this forum I have successfully revived a great tractor and saved myself from the trap of buying a subpar machine to replace my first Cub Cadet. With the knowledge I’ve gained in just the past four weeks since I’ve obtained the 1641 (Nov. 3rd) I feel more confident than ever that this is the right path. I now have a great Garden Tractor and have become part of the Cyclops fan club! My next move is to get it looking a bit better cosmetically, but it has already come a long way!

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