44A Speed-up pulley swap!
 

I'm very excited... I got my speed up pulley a few days ago and I think tomorrow night I can finally get it put on.

So... A couple of questions.

It appears that I can just run the nut off of the spindle with an impact, put a 3 jaw puller on the old pulley, pull it off, collect the key, install the new pulley, replace the key, and tighten the nut back down.

Is that all there is to it? Am I missing anything? Anyone have a torque value for what that nut should be tightened to?

That's all there is to it. Don't forget the different belt! I just put them back on with an impact, so I cannot answer your question about torque specs.

Yep, I've got a shorter belt on the way! Probably going to be some trial and error to find the exact length I will need.

One other question, are the grease zerks on the the spindles threaded or pressed in? If I need to use a puller to remove the old pulley, I'm going to have to remove that grease zerk (or maybe find a socket that will fit over it?). I really hope it's not a press in... :(

Oh... I lied, I have another question. Any idea what size the spindle nuts are? My selection of impact sockets isn't great so I may have to pick one up.

Thanks for your help!

Spindle nuts are 1 1/8 that hold on the blade.

I'm asking about the size of the nut on the other side of the spindle. It looks like a nut anyhow...

I think the upper spindle nut is 1-1/8 too.

yes it is.The pulley itself is 1 1/4

Oh, awesome! I should be all set then.

The new belt hasn't arrived yet (tomorrow), so I'm not going to do it until then.

Thanks guys!

We need a couple pics showing the "discharge" doing its thing!!

The clippings should be a flyin'!! :bigthink:

True....

my 48" does not have a speed up pulley and it'll throw clippings 6-8 feet easy.

I hope so! That 44A has been a dog ever since I was like 10 years old! :)

I'll try to see if I can get an action pic. I have purposely let the lawn grow a little long to give it a proper test!

I'm going to try to take a few pictures of the swap process too. It seems pretty basic, but there appears to be little information on "the 'net" about how to go about it.

Where did you find the pulley.

IHCCW and CC Specialties both have them. IH-126393-C1

Our sponsor vendors may as well.

Finally got it done today!

Here's the "How-To"

1. The tools you will need:
*1 1/16" Socket and some method of turning it (I used my 3/4" ratchet since I don't have that size in 1/2 for my impact)
*3 Jaw Puller and method of turning it. (2 jaw would probably work OK too. I prefer 3 because it is less likely to bend up your old pulley coming off.)
*Junk 3/8 socket from your China tool collection, to put over the grease zerk on the spindle
*Some sort of penatrating oil (I didn't notice that was actually chain lube until I took the picture.. Oh well. It worked!)
*Anti-Sieze
*Chunk of 2x4 (I couldn't find a nice beat up and greasy one, so I had to use my "Sunday only" 2x4)
*(oh... and a 1/2" wrench/socket if you have to take your belt cover off... I leave mine off)

2. My 44A with the old pulley still installed and the new pulley laying on it.

3. A better shot of the two pulleys. There's a pretty clear difference between them. If you're unsure of which pulley your deck has, the "speed-up" pulley is the same size one both cogs, the "slow" pulley is not. It's that easy to tell!

4. Flip the deck over and stick your chunk of 2x4 between the center blade and the sheet metal lip. Make sure to leave your pulley belt on during this step because you can keep tension on the wood and keep it from falling out while turning the deck over just by grabbing anywhere along the belt.

5. Flipped over and my 1 1/16" Socket ready to go!

6. Nut came off nice and smooth... Was on with maybe 50 Ft-Lbs torque? Flood with spray oil to help pull slip off.

7/8/9. My 3 jaw puller (which used to be somewhat hard to find, mine is a Craftsman), my junk 3/8" China socket on top of the spindle (3/8" is the one that just wanted to sit there the nicest... happens to be 1/4" drive, though I doubt it matters), and the entire assembly ready for some torque! I chose to put the ears of the puller on the bottom of the first pulley. They didn't seem to want to slip around or anything and it worked well!

10/11. Popped right off with no drama. The old pulley did get bent up a bit, but nothing that can't be fixed.

12/13/14. Cleaned up the top of the spindle and the treads, then anti-seized the snot out of it. IMHO, you can't use too much anti-seize. Maybe next time I won't need the puller?

15/16/17. Pulley slipped right back on, tightened nut down to ~50FT-Lbs, put the belt back on and ready to work!

18. Deck back on the 149 and ready to MOW! (Sorry about the finger in the pic... I took that one with my phone since the real camera got put away w/the tools). Also, I don't normally roll grill-less.. :) I pulled it to get some extra working room to replace the PTO button and lost one of the springs. New springs are coming.

18a. No picture here, but I was able to use the belt that was on the tractor already, thought it is at the very end of its adjustment.

Impressions: EXCELLENT INVESTMENT. I took a video with my phone, but it really doesn't show you much so I'm not going to bother. Essentially, the thing just cuts way better now. The blades still do not seem to turn as fast as newer mowers, but they are clearly quicker and the difference while cutting is very apparent. I'm so happy with it I'm considering having an OVERDRIVE pulley made (3"?) to really get the blades singing!

Anyhow, if you think you want this upgrade, you DO! Makes a big difference! :beerchug:

Nice work and thanks for the pics.

looks good, nice write up too.

are you able to mow at the same speed as the bigger pulley?

Speed up pulley
 

Pardon me for asking but what is a speed up pulley (I have a 1200 w 44a)?
:American Flag 1:

Thanks for the wright-up.
I would think extra care is required for flying rocks and debris.
I wonder if that and ?gator blades? would work with a regular bagger. I like the nutrients from the clippings to go back into the soil but I'd like to get a bagger for when I need to cut some very high grass.
Good job.

Deck blade "tip" speeds appear to have been regulated differently at different times.

(In other words, the government said "Make the blades turn slow!")

The slow speed kills the quality of cut. If you "speed up" the blades, OHHHHHHHH,,,,, you get a NICE mow cut!!:bigeyes:

In the 1950's, my next door neighbor had a 28" cut push mower with the blade directly connected to the BIG vertical shaft engine.

The large diameter of the blade made the tip speed VERY high. It could launch a BIG rock 100 feet easily. The machines were in the news constantly for the damage they could do. It could throw a piece of wire like a bullet.

Lots of people had lost spoons and forks stuck into the sides of their home.

:HeadScratch:

See attached pic

The 44a deck on my 109 has the speed-up pulley and does a great job. Even though the 10 hp engine is tired, it still has plenty of power to run the deck with this set-up.

CADplans THANKS
 

I appreciate your explanation CAD. I was thinking that was it as i have noticed my newer husky has super high blade speed compared to my 1200. But i will say my 1200 cuts nicer than that new fangled husky all day long.

I'm not too worried about chucking stuff out of it. It's pretty low to the ground. I did run some math today while day dreaming about how sweet my 50A will be when I get it up and running. Assuming blade lengths (I didn't have a handy source to look them up), a 5" pulley on a 44A should see tip speed of around 60mph... 50A and a 4" pulley should be near 90mph!! :) I CAN'T WAIT (call those numbers +/- 5mph since I was guesstimating on actual blade length).

In regard to bagging with mulching blades, my lawnboy does that trick just fine. However, if you want it to do a really good job you'd probably wanna swap blades between the two jobs. A couple of 2x6s screwed together into ramps and an impact gun can make that happen in about 5 minutes.

Or... even better, just get a second cub. :)

This speedup pulley does not make the Cub Cadet dangerous, it just brings the speed up to what the competition runs!! :bigthink:

My Cub Cadet dealer finally admitted he was always jealous of the cut the competition could produce, :bigeyes:, he admitted it when I sped up a 44" deck.

I agree entirely... The speed up pulley appears to be 1:1 to the engine RPM and most modern tractors I've seen appear to run the deck "overdriven" vs. engine RPM.

In my opinion, the 44A is still too slow... The quick math I did on the 50A makes me happy though! :)

Update: My stock IH (whatever part number?) belt proved to be too long after a couple of mowings... I replaced it with a Oregon 1/2 x 76" Kevlar belt (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) that just barely... and I mean barely... fits...

I'm thinking the right way to go is the same kevlar belt, but in 78"

http://www.amazon.com/Oregon-75-478-...+1%2F2+78+belt

The 76" belt allows NO spring tensioner travel at the mule drive and requires the idler adjustment to be backed off 100%... Even at that, it's a challenge to get it on the deck pulley...

That said, she doesn't slip... I have literally mowed down thick weeds taller than the hood, at typical mowing height, at about 2-3mph without stalling the tractor.. The cut quality was poor (left most of it about 6" tall), but a second pass cleaned it right up.

Mowing "normal", but lazy man height grass, she just eats.... The pulley is well worth it. Now I have one of my 50As on site (already has the smaller pulley!!!) and am just saving my pennies for the meg mow blades. It should be a nasty animal with that setup.

I've had a few PMs over the past year or so asking me what belt I'm running. Today, I believe I finally have the right answer, at least for my tractor (yours could be different if worn differently or whatever). This is for a 149, btw.

1/2 x 77" - This fits mine exactly the way I want it. My manual tensioner is nearly all the way loose (so the J bolt isn't sticking out in front of the mower...I've bent J bolts before from running them into trees and such) and my spring tensioner is EXACTLY in the middle of its recommended range. That is with a new belt so if it stretches a little I have plenty of adjustment to take up slack.

I am specifically using an Oregon 75-477 Aramid Fiber Cord Belt and it's awesome. I ran a 76" belt of the same type last year and it wore awesome, but it was just TOO short for comfort.

There are laws that govern maximum blade tip speed that manufacturers can run their blades. Most commercial mowers on the market now are running between 18,000 and 18,500 feet per minute (or FPM as they refer to it). Consumer grade mowers run less than that. I am not sure what the laws state exactly. Do the math. If you get blade tip speed up between 18,000 and 19,000 FPM, it will cut pretty nice. Those older cubs were well below that.

Quick math says a 50A with the speed-up pulley would be about 8,000 FPM, which is WELL below what you're talking about. In a different thread I posed the question of making an even SPEEDIER speed up pulley then questions about bearing life came up and I got lazy.. It's working well enough. :)

An 18" long blade turning 1:1 engine speed, which is 3600 RPM has a blade tip speed of 16,964 FPM. 8,000 FPM won't hardly cut grass. I don't know how you figured. Here is the formula: Blade length (in inches) x 3.14 x RPM / 12 (12 inches in a foot).

Same here, I have a 44c on a 1650 with the speed up pulley and use a 1/2x77'' and it fits perfectly. I don't catch my pants leg on the adjuster any more.

:Morning: Maxwelhse, 1st of all nice job on the deck. If you do not mind, what is the difference in the O.D. of the speed up pulley and the stock pulley. Thank you for your time. :American Flag 1:

The cub belt is a 59971C1.

Not sure how I got my math so wrong before.. Thanks for the correction.

-----

Also, FYI, the Oregon belt is only about $20... Around here CC belts are like $40!

Thanks! It's a really nice upgrade and simple to do.

I didn't measure them, but it looks like probably about 3/4"-1" on the OD, just taking a guess. If it's critical for you to know I can probably throw some calipers on it and see... My old pulley is currently weighing a tarp down (about the only use I can think of for it) so it's EASY to measure. :biggrin2:

maxwelhse would you sale the old pully ?

I'd like to hang on to it for now since I'm still toying with the idea of making a "super speed" pulley. If you're in immediate need I think I have another deck with the slow pulley on it. I don't need 2 "someday.. maybe" pulley projects laying around.

There is a guy on ebay, Joes-Outdoor-Power, that I've bought a lot of used cub stuff from (including a 50A that he delivered to me for free... really good guy) that is only a short distance from Coldwater (I think.. I know he's in the general SE side of MI). He may have a few and you can probably just go pick it up. Forum vendors may also them.

:Morning: You are Welcome. No thats close enough. At least the old pulley has a job. You are correct those CC belts are a little salty, I have tried aftermarket belts and they do not seem to work as well as the CC's ones. :American Flag 1:

OK I got one of A parts deck for now . I have Get Things for joe That was junk

I've not had any luck with automotive belts (had a Dualast make it 2 mowings once) but the Oregon belt seems to be nice! :)

---

Joe sells some of everything (good or bad). If you have a problem with stuff he's usually quick to take care of it (his wife, actually).. Good luck on your project!

Hey guys newer on the forum probably could find more recent posts to post this on but it is on my topic.. finishing up fresh 76 cub 1250 resto right now.. next is it's 44a deck I have it stripped to nothing ready for sandblast.. patch. Paint. SOMEONE HELP ME FIND A SPEED UP PULLEY. I've had to buy quite a bit of misc. Parts for the tractor pretty much have found anything I needed so far but I can't find an in stock speed up pulley. Even tinkered with idea of making something work with 4" upper pulley. Let me know please lol. Have mowed with this thing a lot before and my 69 jd 110( don't shun me) and know id prefer even pay more than what they go for to have a faster deck lol.. anyways. Thanks for any info

They were discontinued not long after I made the original post. I scoured the internet looking for one at a normal Case/IH/Cub dealer about 3 years ago and found, exactly, one... which I purchased for another deck.

Your best bet is to go through one of the specialty Cub dealers (such as the site supporters).