And so it begins ----
 

After resting up from the NY to TN Cub trip, I decided it was time to dig into the 1772 and get started on the mechanical repairs. Once they are done and the tractor has proved to be trouble free, I'll tear it back down and repaint it. So it's now center stage in the repair bay. After stripping all the tin, I pulled the busted rear axle out of the frame. The old girl has been run a long time with one stripped out bolt at the frame attachment point and the other three were quite loose. Both front braces from frame to adapter housing were broken as well. The adapter housing is junk and the center housing of the diff has a chunk missing where the bolt broke out. The 1782 parts tractor (included in the deal) came with a decent rear, so tomorrow that gets pulled. I'll give it a bath and change all the seals, including the cork gasket. I plan to pull the back cover and clean things up inside too. Since I have had great luck with the axle braces on my 2072, I ordered another set from Xtreme, so when this goes back together, it will stay together. More pics as work progresses.

Bada bing, bada boom! Go Doc, GO!:beerchug::beerchug:

Looking forward to seeing this one get fixed. :popcorn::popcorn:

Thanks for including us in the restoration.

Sounds like a good plan.:beerchug:

Looking good Doc!
:popcorn:

Assuming this isn't your first rodeo... I will be tackling a frame off restoration on a 1572 soon. Looking good, please keep us updated on your progress! :beerchug:

I really like to follow these. Thanks for doing this.

Well you all know how it goes, you walk are the tractor you bought for parts and say "this is too good to part out" and that's all she wrote boys! I've decided to save the 1782 I got as a parts tractor and repair it at some point. So I pulled the rear diff apart that came out of the 1772 and it's damaged enough to trash it. As part of the deal with CubDieselFan, Greg gave me a diff housing and a set of axle tubes he originally bought from Sam Mac for this project. I dug them out of the pile from the trip and cleaned them up. Now I'm waiting on the brown truck for seals and gaskets. I also found a nice adapter housing on Ebay for a reasonable price and purchased it. Here's a couple of pictures of the damage to the adapter and axle tube. More pics coming as work progresses.

It's only a scratch... You'll have going in no time at Doc!:beerchug::beerchug:

I wouldn't junk the rear housing over that mount. With the braces, it would be fine. Axle housing.... it's toast. :beerchug:

Yeah, I know Jon, sometimes I pull the trigger on buying a replacement without thinking things out. I've got the piece that broke out of the left side of the adapter to give me the dimension it needs to be built back to, I may have it welded up then throw it in the mill and re-drill it. I've got a 1512 in the barn that needs the same repairs.

No, no Stan. With rear end braces, you don't need the front mounts at all. The rear braces utilize basically all the rear axle bolts. They will hold the rear end in even if the front mounts are missing. If you want to repair them, I suppose you can. Certainly not going to hurt. But I don't think it's necessary. :beerchug:

I know the braces sure made my 2072 a lot stiffer. Since I've already ordered the parts I'll go ahead and replace them. On the next tractor I'll try what you suggest. Thanks for the tip.

Good work, Doc! Looking forward to your progress.

While waiting for seals and gaskets, I decided to move on to other needed repairs. At some point in this poor 1772's life, someone broke the hydro control lever in the dash and welded in a piece of rebar as a "repair". After sourcing a nice used one from one of our vendors, I spent a couple hours unhooking things to make room enough to swap out the lever. The old one came out quick using the saws-all. Fishing the new one back in place was a little tricky but it's in there now and looks nice.
After tracing the start circuit through all the safety switches for a no crank issue, I found the key switch bad with no output on the start terminal, so now that's on order too. More to follow.

Nice work Stan!

What's with the odd knob on the lever?

Hey, how are the throttle and kill cables? I always thought the throttle down kill was a better idea. That's how the big IH tractors were, and that's what I always ran, so nothing new there. But like so many other things, can't leave well enough alone. Someone had to go and add an expensive solenoid to it and mess up the simple system. :angry:
Only reason I asked is because they are NLA. I've got a diesel I want to put in a tractor one of these days, and I'd like to have the throttle-down kill set up. But I have my own idea on how to do it.

The throttle and kill cables were a little stiff when I got the tractor. After a little penetrating oil on the lever pivot point under the dash and some lube on the exposed ends of the cables, it works smooth as silk now.

As for the weird handle on the control lever, who knows??? Looks good for now until I can grab the right one.

PartsTree still lists the throttle cable (Cub Cadet 946-3013 (replaces 746-3013)Cable, Throttle) at $22.10 which is a pretty fair price really. The kill cable is NLA.

Good deal. :beerchug:

Cables are easy to make. :biggrin2:

I kinda like that knob!!:beerchug: I know what you mean about figuring out how to replace that assy... I spent awhile fishing one back in my 782:bash2: It has to be JUST right to go back in!:beerchug::beerchug:
Your progress looks great!

Well the brown truck came late yesterday and today I made some progress. The new rear is together, using the original gear set. Had to juggle the shims a little to get everything in spec, but no problems. The best package the brown truck brought was the axle brace kit from Xtreme. Rear is now back in the frame along with the brace kit installed. Need to pick up some longer bolts so I can install the 3PT hitch. No more loose axle!

Looks like the doctor is a Proctologist today, fixing the rear end.
What's up next Doc?

Nice work Doc! :beerchug:

Oh yeah, nice!

Looks good from here. Those braces are amazing! :beerchug:

Looking good doc.

Sweet! :beerchug: That thing is a harda$$ now!!!:biggrin2:

Next step is the three point hitch Lew. With that in place I'll finish the new fuel lines and re-install the flushed and cleaned fuel tank. I replaced the filters and ALL the fuel line. Old stuff was pretty stiff and cracked easily when bent. At $19 for a 25 foot roll of ethanol safe 5/16" fuel line, why would anyone not replace it all? Just makes good sense, do it now and no problems later. I've got to do some tire work and replace the voltage regulator then start this puppy back up. As you all know, I like to nickname my Cubs. Since this tractor came from Tennessee, ladies and gentlemen meet Walker (as in Tennessee Walking horses). Oh, aah hem, there's a turbo kit from Mike here on the bench too! More to follow as work progresses. Stay tuned!

Doc, if you don’t mind me asking, where did you purchase the fuel line? I was quoted almost $2.50/ft. From a local supplier. Would love to replace all my fuel lines for a decent price.

Find another supplier. Fuel line can be bought anywhere parts are sold. A lot of farm stores carry it too. Or, order it online. I use Gates hose. I order it from my local O'Reilly's. From the price you gave.... do you shop at Napa?

I purchased mine from an Ebay vendor I've had good luck with. This line is very flexible, has little memory from being on the roll, is diesel rated and ethanol safe, AND MADE IN THE USA!!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Fuel-Line-5...sid=m570.l1313

They have other sizes available too.

Keep up the good work, Doc!

It's been a while since I updated this post. After returning from a 2000 mile trip down into TN to pick this tractor up from CubDieselFan, I was home for a week and took another 2200 mile trip to Wisconsin for a national meet of antique outboard collectors. Old outboards are another vice of mine. So 4200 miles in three weeks has not allowed much time in the shop. Today I mounted the 3 point hitch I kept from the 1872 I sold. I hope to be able to run this tractor around soon, but I'm waiting for a used suction line for the hydro, to replaced the damaged one on it now. Somebody managed to drop the axle off the jack while installing it. Yup that would be me. :crap:
Anyways, here's the latest.

Looking good Doc.

Very nice, Doc!

Good to know you are back at it Doc! :beerchug: Sorry about your steel line/s...:bash2:

that's gonna be a nice one.

Looks great Doc! :beerchug:

Don't you just hate it when stuff like that happens!?:bash2::bash2: Glad to know it's not just me!:biggrin2::biggrin2:

It's looking great Doc!!:beerchug:

Is it just me, or does this thing look like the back end of a top fuel dragster when the fenders are removed? It just needs a set of wheels on the ends of the 3pt arms and it would be wheelie bars!
The back end is together now and next I plan to do a little paint work on the fender pan and front tins. The frame paint is actually pretty decent so that will be left alone for now. When it can move on its own, it's going to the shop for a nice long session with the steam cleaner to get the front end clean. I really like the way this one is coming together.