[cubcadet147]

I was going to mow the other day and when I turned the blades on, i lowered the deck the whole way and then went up a little bit to find a good height, I went up and down a couple times then all of a sudden, it wouldn't go down any more. it would go up but not go down. then eventually it wouldn't go up either and just quit working altogether. I'm telling you this in case the way it stopped tells you right away that it was the motor burning up and probably not just the toggle switch.

first off, i feel like the switch doesn't seem right. it doesn't toggle up and down like it used to, feels stuck or something. so i was first hoping it was just the switch.

secondly, i tried to test the motor by hooking jumper cables to the battery and then to the "terminals?" on top of the electric lift motor and nothing happens. if i'm testing it right, i guess this means the motor is fried. i saw another post somewhere mentioning the terminals on top so i assumed the only 2 flat head screws i found were actually terminals?

it seems my options are to replace the motor and possibly the switch but the motor is $180+shipping and the switch is around $54+shipping, or to replace everything with a new actuator and switch(around the same price but would be a more reliable setup?), or to convert it to manual lift and i have no idea how to do that.

can anyone tell me how hard it would be to replace the actuator with something like this?...
http://www.surpluscenter.com/Brands/I-E-I/4-01-STROKE-500-LBS-12-VDC-LINEAR-ACTUATOR-5-1679-4.axd

and the price on this switch is looking pretty good...
http://www.surpluscenter.com/Electrical/Switches/Toggle-Switches/DPDT-CO-30-AMP-MOMENTARY-TOGGLE-SWITCH-11-3334-A.axd

thanks in advance for any help with this matter! i love my cub but every time something like this happens it ruins my whole week.

-Nate


quick history: got the 1970 cub cadet 147 for free from my family after my uncle passed away. i later blew it up because i let the oil go too long and it was apparently empty (really dumb i know), had the engine rebuilt last winter and other than replacing a few belts and the starter, it's been a great tractor.