Cub Cadet 1450 cradle/motor mount replacement w/pics
 

Well, since I had Turkeyday off with a few hours to spare, I decided to work on the 1450. Today's goal? Remove the motor. Removing the motor was a learning experience as I'd never removed a Cub motor before but it all ended well. I should hopefully (crosses fingers) have my new engine cradle and mounts in this weekend along with my new hydro fan. Anywho, on to today. I removed the gas tank, hood, and grill. Easy enough. I then moved on to the motor. I attempted (and successfully completed :biggrin2:) removing the ISO bolts only to realize that the motor wouldn't come out. So, I searched around. I found that by cranking one end of the front axle up at a time, I could remove the actual bolts that hold the motor to the mounts. After a bit of finagling, I got all 4 bolts out violla; had the motor free. I grunted and lifted it out to freedom! I snapped a few pics and called it a day to get ready for Turkey Day feast. So here's the pics I took, looks like the ol girl needed the new mounts that are on the way :biggrin2: I'll be sure to post back with more pics when I get her completed.

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If you lifted that k-321 out of its mount without some sort of a hoist, you are pretty good. That is why a lifting eye came on those engines from the factory.

Having said that, I did that job a year ago on my 1250 Nightmare. I had a local welding and machine shop do the recommended engine cradle modification, and after rebuilding the steering sector and tightening the front axle yoke, I now have a machine that doesn't shake too badly and steers well.

This is a great project! It took me awhile to get everything set correctly once back together, but it was all worth it in the end. I wish you great success in this process.

Sweet!:beerchug:

Yeah, was wondering if I was going to need a lift or hoist, or at the very least a 2nd person, to get the motor out but it wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Don't get me wrong, it was a heavy lift, but not totally impossible. That being said, I have a friend coming over this weekend to help put it back :biggrin2:

And I debated doing some steering work but with winter fast approaching and space soon to be a premium, I decided against it. It's not too bad as is, but will need some work in the future.

:beerchug:

Thanks! :beerchug:

Lookin good Ryan!! :beerchug:

Nice progress on the 1450!:beer2:

You've been busy! Thanks for the pics.

Well, I got some time today to work on the 1450 and got the job pretty much completed. I started the day by replacing the practically none-existant hydro-fan with a shiny new one.

After that, I set to work giving the frame and engine area a quick spit-shine, the pics pretty much speak for themselves on this one. Next is a quick pic of the grove that was worn from the old rubbers that were obviously past there prime. As a result, as I later found, the drivers-side rear engine mount bolt was stripped so I've got to figure out what to do about that, I'm open to suggestions!

Next up I put the new cradle in place and boy did it look good, especially compared to the old setup that was on the machine. After that, I got in a good grove and missed any more pics until she as all back together :biggrin2: Got the engine set in place, bolted up, cables/wires hooked up, grill installed, yada yada yada. Once everything was in place, I turned the key and she fired right up! It took about another hour of adjustments (carb and ISO bolt tightness, I started with about a thread showing as I've read and tightened half a turn from there. I eventually got a good "smoothness". Now I've got to track down those pesky hood rattles :bash2:).

Anywho, all in all, it was a great success for not only my first motor pull but my first cradle replacement. I was absolutely against Quietlines before this as the cradle situation scared me but I've got to say, this was well worth the effort. I look forward to next spring/summer when I really get to put her to work as mower and a tiller around the yard and for the garden!

BTW, big thanks to messary for the cradle and ISO mounts, they worked out great! I also want to thank everyone who offered to help me out by welding the brace I needed, I appreciate the great community we have here, thanks guys! :beerchug:

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I'm also kind of curious about a couple differences between cradle brackets that I noticed.

1) The corners appear to be notched different, not a huge deal.

2) Another mounting hole on the old vs "new" bracket, but for what? :bigthink:

3) Again, another mounting hole?

4) Why was one bracket set notched out for the impliment mounting bolts but the other not? Was there a difference in cradles from early production model Quietline's vs late production models?

Just a couple differences I noticed while comparing the two. What's your guys' take on them? :bigthink::beerchug:

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