Do you do all the work on your cubs?

[nikster]

I try to do what I can. I am somewhat surprized myself at some of the things that I have been able to do all with the help of people from this site. Never broke down an engine, the most complicated thing i've done is replace a head-gasket & honing down the head & engine, Carb. re-build, & I dont think i'd be capable of breaking down the entire engine? Maybe when the time comes ? A BIG ?.

This is why i'm so ANAL in keeping up with my oil-changes, hydro filter & top off on a yearly basis, not wanting for the un-expected to happen. Grezzzze EVERY zerk every second cutting.

Thats why this sign hangs in my garage;

Nik,

[Nightow1]

I found a junk engine FREE and tore it down and reassembled it several times. After the fourth or fifth time I was comfortable enough to tackle my K301.

[RLemke]

I was doing all of the work on my 1100 until I just couldn't get it running smooth and took it in for diagnostics. That's when I found out it had piston damade and needed a rebuild (confirmed by 2 shops).

Lets just say I have been severely dissapointed with the quality of work! I have a QuietLine tractor, and when the shop was putting the engine cover plates back on, they didn't line up perfectly so they pounded them on with hammers. There were several "extra" sloppy wires left over, the engine was covered with oil, and, although they charged me for a complete rebuild, they reused some of the old cracked, leaking hoses. They also dented the rear fender and attempted to fix it (without telling me) with the same hammers they assembled the engine with, cracking the original paint off.

When I complained, the owners response was, "Well, we're not a restoration shop". Needless to say I have learned my lesson.

If you really need an engine rebuild, I would recommend removing the motor yourself, as well as the vintage tins, and just bring the block up to the shop. It seems hard to find a good shop that will treat a vintage tractor with care. They seem to see it as just a piece of lawn equipment, and not the classic that it is.

Okay, that was my rant. Good luck!!

[Peruvian]

I used to own an old VW Camper (liquid cooled) that eventually had problems that I could no longer fix. I sold it as I didn't trust any mechanics around here to give it the same love that I had for it.

I feel like I'm in the same boat again. I'm having a really tough time finding someone that I can trust to tear the engine down and put it back together.
It definitely makes holding onto these tractors more difficult.

[vartz04]

Originally Posted by J-Mech

I'm going to take this a little further.....
To accurately check the bore.... you need either: A bore gauge, or a set of "T" gauges and micrometers
To accurately check the out-of-round on the crank...... you need: Micrometers
To set crank end play..... you need: A dial indicator

I could go on. There really are a lot of special tools needed to properly rebuild an engine.

T Gauges are cheap at HF. The quality of those do not matter as long as you have a good micrometer. Most people can find one of those to borrow.

See above on the micrometer for the crank.

You can rent a dial indicator at Autozone I believe. I borrowed one from a mechanic friend.

The valve spring compressor cost me $15.99

The cylinder honeing tool cost me $19.99

I had the valve lapper, just had to buy the compound.

Also as I stated previously, take the block to the shop for the machine work. If you don't want to buy the measuring tools let them measure it. Everything else can easily be done yourself with maybe $100 invested in tools that you will have forever.

Once the machine work is done and the crank is set up its really just put rod A into Slot B, tighten to 25 Ft LBs and move to step 2. Its not all that hard. Just takes patients.

[TheSaturnV]

Engine rebuilds have seemed to be out of my league in the past, but on my current project (14hp Kohler) I decided to go for it. I farmed the machine work out, which turned out to be very reasonably priced. I've got the PDF of the Kohler shop manual and as someone mentioned, the tools required are not specialized, at least for the reassembly phase.

Think of this, once you do a proper motor rebuild, the machine might just outlast the owner.

[jimbob200521]

I do what I can, which to say is a large majority of it. Oil changes, points, plugs, condensers, hydro fluid change/cleaning, filters changes, etc. Where I draw the line, or have so far, is internal engine work. I have, in the past, changed rod bearings on a car and that didn't turn out well. I haven't ventured back inside an engine since but that's not to say I wouldn't. This next spring, I plan on taking the head off of my 1050 while it's in pieces and de-carboning it and putting a new gasket on it.

Hope that helps

[cubby102]

So far I have done all the work on them myself shy of kachine work. Rebuilt a few engine the first few I didn't do that well on and ended up redoing but that's how you learn right? My advice is buy good quality torque wrenches and other tools as the cheepies just don't cut it!

[J-Mech]

Originally Posted by vartz04

Once the machine work is done and the crank is set up its really just put rod A into Slot B, tighten to 25 Ft LBs and move to step 2. Its not all that hard. Just takes patients.

This is the stuff that scares me...... There is a lot that goes into doing a motor. If you don't know what to look for, you can miss something that can make it fail...... and FAST. Not saying it's not easy, but I've built more motors than I can count.

[cubfixer]

I am glad to see what others do. I do my own work, but I haven't had to rebuild completely, the engine - yet. My 100 has an engine that had burned oil for years, is getting worse, and has a blown head gasket for the last year. But I am not looking forward to working on the 10 HP engine.

I did install new rings in my 124, which I ran low on oil running it for 8 hrs straight while moving dirt last summer. I opened up the engine, the bearing was perfect, the bore just needed honing and new rings. Did that stuff myself. Apparently the engine was just refreshed just before I bought the 124 for parts. It ran so well I refurbished the tractor. Needed a spare tractor anyway.

I'll probably take my 100 to a shop to get it measured, bored, crank cut, and accept whatever the shop will do to reassemble (they say they won't, so I expect I will reassemble). I rebuilt V8 engine many times over the years, but I will take my time on this rebuild. BTW, I got a 12 HP engine for a temporary replacement for my 100 from an OCC member last weekend. It is a replacement 12 HP with (probably) low hours.

Otherwise, I do all the repairs on my cubs. I used to work on big tractors and trucks over the years, and now I find that cubs and regular cars are enough fun.