Another noob with yellow fever....

[rdeyoe]

Hey y'all! Been lurking around this site for a couple of months now looking at older Cubs. We have a 2 acre property with gravel drive that always needs patching / moving around. Our friend with an older Mitsu tractor FEL came over and did it for us and I thought "I could use something like that, but maybe smaller". My co worker was selling a 318 from that "other" company, which was a nice machine but the only reason I know this is because he brought it to me three times for repair, mostly electrical. He's decided to sell it after getting a big Husqy and wanted $1500 for it...a bit more than i wanted to give. I already have two mowers

So I starts looking around and see these Cub Cadets. Heavy frames and axles, various options and implements, shaft driven hydro drives etc....y'all know all this. Zeroed in on the 1x9 series, the 1x50 series and the x82 ones. I started cruising the craigslists and ebays. Had a deal scoped out on a 1711 (not in my model selections, but a nice looking one anyways), but it sold in 12 hours (for $150!?!?). Some were pretty local, but many were 4-8 hours away in other states. Like I said, I already have mowers, so i wasn't in a hurry...

Until yesterday. This purty little 1450 comes up on craigslist for $400 with 44" deck and a plow blade and it's an hour and a half away. It's been on for 11 hours already so I hurry and call the guy (after checking with my financier. She said OK .. . He'll meet me at lunch at his place. Now it's hurry time.

We get there and he's got vehicles all over some nicely kept acres. Had to look around them to see the cub. First thing the guy asks me is "Are you a Cub guy?". I told him "not sure yet, that's why I'm here". It's in very nice shape. Very low rust on the machine or deck, no large leaks, spindles on deck feel good and it has no holes (didn't realize those things are so heavy!). He tries to start it and no crank. Not a big deal for me (I'm a mechanic) but he looks embarrassed. It finally cranks and starts right up. No smoke, but shaking at 8.9 on the richter scale! I take it for a spin and it drives like it should...surprisingly fast too. He says the plow blade is in the log pile up the hill. We go take a look and it's buried a bit in the logs and fencing. He says if you're sure about buying the tractor, i'll dig that out. I told him i think it's safe to dig it out (i was sold when I looked the tractor over anyway). It was his grandfather's machine, picked up from Louisville in 1975 and kept in good shape. Seller said it had a lot of sentimental value and he wanted it to go to someone who would take care of it. I was going to negotiate, but with the deck, blade and condition, i figured i was getting a deal

I've been studying this site quite a bit so I have a good starting point (damn ISO mounts! That thing is shaking something fierce. Got a welder, so the cradle mod is first). I'm sure I'll be back with questions on details for some things. Thought I was going to have to post a "How do you get the damn deck on" thread, but I got it on and she's already eaten some grass! (fairly good cut too). Probably the first in a while.

Sorry for the long intro, but I'm pretty sure that every Cub on this site has a story. This is just the beginning of mine...

(I know, i know...."pics or it didn't happen")

Left
Rear
Right
Dash
Deck under
Deck top
Front
Deck and blade

[Terry C]

Sounds like a good deal to me. Looks to be in good shape.
Welcome to OCC, and yellow fever

[Yosemite Sam]

After you get the shakes worked out of that 1450 you'll be dropping your lawn mowers off at the scrap yard.

With the onset of Yellow Fever, I feel sorry for you. You might as well stop what you're doing right now and start building the biggest pole barn that you can fit on your property. It won't be long until you have a whole sloth of Cubs to fill it up.

You probably should start looking for a bigger motor home and a good sized trailer to pull behind it as well. You will need them for all the garden tractor shows, plow days and other events that you will want to attend.

Good luck with your 1450 and welcome to OCC.

[rdeyoe]

Thanks guys! I am planning on selling an old Yard Machines to recoup some parts bucks, but honestly, i don't think i'll have to put too much back into it ot get a good running tractor. Looked at the carburetor a bit and i think its been replaced...sure looks pretty new. A bit of tuning and it'll be smooth again. Governor seems to be set kind of low too, i don't think it's hitting the 3600 rpm number. Gave her a little crank tonight and with a half second of choke, she fires right up. No oil or hydro spots on my shop floor.

I'm looking forward to this. My poor woman though. Are there Cub Widows, like the football widows in the fall?

[Terry C]

Take the tunnel cover off and check for dirt/grass in the fins of the hydro before you run it a lot. From the sounds of it, she was well cared for and you are probably good to go. Look at your rag joint while you are there. Check the hydro fan out too.
I'm kind of picky about things but I always drain the hydro and change the filter too.
Wait till you look in that rear end while changing fluid. That's when I really got yellow fever.
If you really want to get crazy right away pull the rear fenders off and do the trunion repair too.
You got some work to do but its all pretty straight forward and FUN. Remember that.

[rdeyoe]

Thanks Terry. I did get a slight glimpse of the hydro fan from underneath past the axle. Looks like it only has three blades left. I'm going to pull the driveshaft cover to get a better look. I'm assuming the cover is just bolted straight down and lifts off. Wanna get a good look at the flex joints. I already know I'm pulling the motor for the iso mounts, so I'm going to get a part list for the rest of the shaft while I'm in there. I figure i'll be doing the motor mount / cradle, hydro fan and possible flex couplings. On the hydro unit, I know there's a debate on Cub fluid vs. Traveller at TSC. Any thoughts? TSC is close to me and it seems everyone has their own opinions...

I haven't taken anything apart yet so I'm just looking and peering through holes and panels, but it looks like there's two hydraulic lines going to the steering gear. I could be completely wrong, going to go check some pics but that's what it looked like. I've seen pics of the Ross upgrades / gear assembly and never saw anything that looked like fittings for lines. These looked like they were coming in laterally toward the top and bottom of the gear cylinder. Maybe it's not the steering gear...maybe some other cylinder. Seemed to be more to the right side of the center console rather than centered like the steering shaft. Once I get the motor out it's going to be pretty obvious, whatever i'm looking at.

[Terry C]

Your preference on the hydrolic fluid. I use Hy-Tran. As long as it's compatible you will be ok.
You should look at the manual section here. It will help
No power steering on QLs lines are for the hydrolic lift
Let the fun begin...

[rdeyoe]

Ah, that makes sense. Must be the lift cylinder then.

Noticed a lot of people saying to try the local Cub dealer for bulk HyTran. I didn't realize that the local co-op is a cub dealer, i'll be checking with them on that then. Pretty epic battles on fluid choice on all forums / sites, but if i can get the HyTran reasonably, that's what i'll be using.

Thanks again.

[Terry C]

I get filters from NAPA. Hy-Tran from CaseIH dealer
Here is a handy link for NAPA stuff:
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=36314