About my "new" 125,.......
 

Just wanted to keep a little information log about my new purchase. I don't want to continue a long, detailed thread, rather just something to share and look back on. I have made a decision based on the condition of the 125 garden tractor, to keep the unit as close to original as I can. Granted, there have been replacement parts necessary, and what bits and pieces I thought could use a little paint protection. So, no full blown restoration, or refurbish, ( however you chose to label ) is required of my model 125.

I chose OCC, as a place to share this, as the format suits me better for what it is I'd like to include. I'm always looking for good information about this model, and will welcome opinions, and suggestions. This being the forward, I'd like to give a brief, introductory story on how this model came about to me!

p.s : This thread will not drop off and disappear, as some of mine have in the past.

John

Nice choice on a 125. :beerchug: I like the 125 so much I have two :biggrin2:

Jeff

Congrats on your 125, John! Hope to see some pics.

Good to hear. I also think the 125 was so good I "needed" two.:beerchug:

Congrats on the 125 John, hope to see some pics.

Thank you guys, for the nice comments!

We been out together ( wife and I ) over the holiday weekend, so I did not get a chance sooner to follow up.

I'm very glad to know there are some great 125 enthusiasts here, because this model is fairly new to me. My only other experience coming close would have been a model 123, that was a scrap yard fine.

Looking forward to sharing, and yes Allen,..... pictures!:biggrin2:

Sounds good, John! :beerchug:

Well, I got the 125 about two months ago. A friend of mine stopped in, and said he knows of an IHCC that his friend has, and wants to sell. Not sure what I would expect, I left with him. Turns out to be a model 125, equipped with a 48" IH mower deck. The owner thought that the engine was blown up, and a turn of the key reveled a quiet, spinning engine with out compression.

So we heckled on a price, as I kicked the tires lightly. My thoughts were that I was not going to walk away on this garden tractor. The tractor condition was in very nice condition, as I realized that, the yellow fever struck a big come-on. The white seat was perfect.

Well, after some chin scratching, and some cowboy squinting, I hollered out "between 2-3 hundred". my friend, an old timer, quickly raised an eye brow. I knew he thought that offer was too much, and before I could wipe the single bead of sweat from my forehead, the owner declared, in a thundering voice, " Three hundred", as if a judge just decided verdict with the slam of the gavel.

"sounds good" I said. I left a 50$ deposit, and showed up the next day with the remaining balance owed.

The hard part was yet to come, to tell her how it ended up in our garage.

Hopefully, I remember how to post a picture. Here should be my 125.

http://i63.tinypic.com/29d7a6o.jpg

Good looking 125, John!

Looks like decades worth of oil, dirt, and grass clippings found. I disassembled the tractor and cleaned all of that away. I went on to replace the cork gasket. the metal fan is in factory condition. The speed controls off the pump will need repaired at a later time.

http://i64.tinypic.com/2cscfp3.fpg[/

Dear god, that think was not breathing well under there at all.

Absolutely! It's pretty-well caked up.

Here is the engine i.d tag.

http://i64.tinypic.com/4sgqiv.jpg[/I

Here is the tractor serial number. I have not yet made the attempt to look up the build date information.

http://i63.tinypic.com/2py3hpg.jpg[

Also, I dared to try making a rear cover gasket from a Coke box, and some Indian Head gasket sealer. Who knows yet at this point whether it's going to leak. If it does, so be it, I'll install a factory gasket. Guess my whole point of going through the tractor and cleaning it is to find various worn components, and to find the leaks when it is operating.

Very nice looking 125 John!:beerchug:

Thank you! I thought so myself. There are key pieces of the tractor that are in amazing condition that I will share later on during the thread. No rush here, lol!

(Sorry for making the pictures so large)

So, this would be my first tractor that I have purchased that has an original IH dealer sticker. Apparently, the 125 was sold somewhere in my home city of Cleveland, Ohio. I'll have to look into where this dealer was, as the black lettering is worn off some. Looks like the old battery leaked causing rust places, thus covered up by a former owner with off color yellow.

http://i63.tinypic.com/23val3t.jpg[/

I plan to clean up the battery location box, and install a piece of roofing shingle under the battery.

If you find the cardboard gasket leaks, remove it and clean both surfaces with brake cleaner or Lacquer thinner.
They have to be oil free! then use your favorite silly cone sealant without a gasket.
Sparingly apply a thin coating to both surfaces with yer finger, button it up, and you are good to go.
A lot of fellows prefer that method to a factory gasket that sometimes leaks for various reasons :beerchug:

Pics are great.

Congrats on the 125

Let me know if you figure out a good method....

:bigthink: hmmm, now there's a thought..

You've been busy, John!

Sure is a purdy 125.:beerchug:
I ain't ever found one in these parts that clean. Well clean being other than the pump area...:bigthink:

Thank you ol'George! I thought a little time and effort going into a pop box might work. I also made a gasket for the big square plate located on top of the transmission; behind the pump. That one looked like it was leaking, and the cap screws were loose.

Thanks for the nice comments!

Yes, the 125 is fairly clean, and its not missing any part as of yet that I'm aware of. There is wear in the steering spindles, and I replaced the front axle pivot pin that was worn quit well. I then squeezed the frame's c-channel together, and it all tightened up nice.

I noticed the 125 was missing the shims that go between the back of the front rims and spindle, and tossed in a used set of those I had for the 3/4" diameter which also removed some play!

I was rather relieved on seeing the minimal wear on the drive hub. If I had to guess, the hub is worn around .030", at best. The drive pin was really worn, and knowing that its a solid, harden pin, I replaced that as well. I then sandblasted the drive line and fan, and painted it.

Allen, for me, the 125 can take a while to go through, top to bottom! Keeps me busy and at home, ha! :beer2:

That's true, John! :beerchug:

Before I got carried away with the tear down, I wanted to take pictures, as commonly advised. These next few pictures are represent the exact parts sequence in which they were removed.

IHCC 125 K301:

Muffler brace, secured by two head bolt studs, ie: nut and lock washer. The cap screw to the bottom left of the brace secures the muffler to the brace.

http://i67.tinypic.com/5dnjhf.jpg[/I

Here, are the three nuts, and three lock washers that secure the fuel tank support to the top of the head, above the head tin.

http://i68.tinypic.com/2ug2mon.jpg

This was the picture after the muffler brace is removed. Note the tall, 3/8ths spacers.

http://i63.tinypic.com/svlzf8.jpg[/IM

Here is the top view, of the components left after removing the head tin.

http://i66.tinypic.com/2qn9i6f.jpg[/

Note: Under each of the 5 head bolt stud "long" spacers, is a nut and a thick, flat washer, and the head itself.

Now, I'm ready to clean and inspect all this hardware!

I notice yours has the same crack in the heat shield as they all seem to develope. When I got my 122, it had what looked like a brand new one with the same crack. I just TIG welded mine.

When I was first shown that this engine was "blown", I still wanted the model 125. The problem turned out to be a stuck exhaust valve. There must have been years worth of carbon build up. Also, the piston has some wear, in the area closest to the exhaust valve. The picture below shows this, as well as the clean top-half, and cleaned head gasket.

http://i68.tinypic.com/vy3atl.jpg[/I

The 125 also came with a nice edition of the original Operator's Manual International Cub Cadet 72, 104, 105, 124, and 125 tractors, part # 1 082 659 R2.Rev.3. 1-69 .

http://i65.tinypic.com/1z5tfr6.jpg[/

Well, I took the aluminum head into work, and cleaned it up in the sandblaster. This was all I had to true it up. Took me two full sheets of 220 grit sand paper, but the head is now pretty well flat, thanks to the granite and time given!

http://i65.tinypic.com/bjg6mp.jpg[/

:biggrin2:

I'm not sure I see any cracks. Maybe something in the picture? There are no cracks in any of the engine tin that I have. took it all to work and sand blasted those too, and painted. Here is the biggest piece:

http://i64.tinypic.com/25p4m5w.jpg[/

The muffler heat shield tin

here's mine with the weld burn

You know, I've always had a problem finding a "safe" place to store my piece of glass plate used to true something by sanding, and also making sure it is supported well so I don't break it while pushing down on the part. You have solved that! I like the granite! I'm going to check the local dealer for a scrap piece. Nice write up on the head gasket removal!

Oh, I'm sorry, :biggrin2:

Mine could cracked,.... going to check that out in the morning. There still is much I have not got to. Thank you for pointing that out. I'll get it welded if it is cracked. I simply mis-understood you :beer2:

Keep up the good work, John! Also keep the pics coming. :beerchug:

Thank you Allen! I sure will!

Two other things I noticed, the former owner had changed the Hy-Tran at some point. I filtered most of the fluid, and returned that into an empty Hy-tran gallon jug I have. I reinstalled the Cub Cadet spin-on filter, as it looked good too.

I looked up the build date this morning. I checked in with the Louisville Works Cub Cadet monthly Serial Number Report by Years paper sheet that I have, and the model 125 I have seems to have been built around the middle of March, 1969.

I paid $300 for this garden tractor.

Great thread on the 125. Please keep the pictures and commentary coming. This is how us newbies learn. Great work on a wonderful tractor.:biggrin2:

John, great score on the 125. looks like it will be a good one to keep. The stuck exhaust valve reminds me of a K241 I bought about 30 years ago that came out of a 105 that a friend on mine had. He said that they had the exh valve replaced 3 times and also a new head and the last time it stuck they bought a new 12 hp complete replacement engine for it. At the time I was working in a parts store/machine shop and I replaced the worn out valve guide and replaced the exh valve, ground the intake valve and milled the head. I installed the 10 hp engine in my 70 and used it to mow grass for about 10 years before selling the 70 to my brother. That same engine is still running today. I highly recommend replacing the exh valve guide and installing a new valve. Have the seats ground and it should be good for many years of service. Good luck with your project.
Tom

Thank you! I have two pieces of this. We installed all granite counter top last summer, and these were the kitchen sink cut-out(s).

Thank you Tom, It's nice meeting you here! thank you for the tips and recommendations. Right now, I'm going to get the 125 all together and see what she's got! I have yet to hear it run and operate!:biggrin2:

Sure will! Thank you for checking in!

Have a great day all!

:Kohler1:

Gosh, this Magic Cub Cadet Yellow spray paint is a very serious misrepresentation of the color yellow :bash2: I'm not going to use much more of this. While the starter generator turned out nice, the color is way-off! I left the ends of the s/g in original color. I was just trying to save a buck on the expensive o.e.m stuff. O-well :beer2:

http://i64.tinypic.com/zivehl.jpg[/IM

Here is the starter-gen. mounted.

http://i63.tinypic.com/esu43b.jpg[/

Does anyone know of a closer, quality paint that is not the expensive o.e.m stuff?

Yes, the heat shield/muffler support is cracked! I'm going to clean and prep the piece for welding.

http://i63.tinypic.com/2a9e5mu.jpg[/

Wanted to back up, and show the original pads that come under the drive hub cover. I thought that was neat, I don't recall having a IH garden tractor that still had them :biggrin2:

http://i66.tinypic.com/mh8qhs.jpg[/

Looking good John.