Pulling engine on 1450 after 30 years
 

Have owned my CC 1450 (built 1976) for about 30 years and in all that time the only thing that disabled the machines was a coil. I've done regular maintenance (points, plugs, air filter, hydraulic filter and oil, engine oil, greasing, front wheel bearings) over the years but that's about it. Engine is shaking a bit and I think it's time to pull the engine and look at the isolation mounts. I have some questions.

I see that there is a mod to add a steel brace to the engine mount frame work. Is this still a recommended mod? Also are there upgraded rubber engine isolation mounts or are the OEM the best?

If I find that the engine mount holes in the oil pan are bad is the best way to go a used cast iron oil pan or is the aluminum pan sufficient?

As long as I'm in there I also plan on replacing the flex disc couplers as a precaution.

Are there any other items I might want to address while the engine is out? I would like to do this right so everything goes another 30 years.

Really admire the CC line. My garage situation is a bit tight so in the Winter I have to climb onto the tractor from the rear. This means I have to stand on the rear fender to get to the seat. I would bet there aren't many new tractors that you can stand on the rear fender and not worry about bending anything. Love the way they were built.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Oh yea, and just in case anybody is wondering I always use the Cub Cadet official HyTran oil changed about every 5 years and the differential is clean as a whistle. Not wanting to start an oil thread on my first post but just making an observation!

Yes.

If I find that the engine mount holes in the oil pan are bad is the best way to go a used cast iron oil pan or is the aluminum pan sufficient?

Take a look and see what you have before you jump into conclusions.

That would be good.

I don't know how far you are going to go, but at least pull the Engine Shroud Tins and give the engine a real good cleaning.

Check out your steering gear box.:beerchug:

If the steering has slop I would adjust the box while the engine is out. It is also likely the head gasket is blown so I recommend pulling the head and resurfacing it and cleaning the carbon off the top of the piston. While you have the tins off to clean the engine I also suggest you remove the flywheel and blow all the junk off the stator with compressed air. Here's to a video on how to resurface the head.

https://youtu.be/L1jFtTzLh7o

If it were me, YES, absolutely do the cradle mod.
If you didn't already see them, here are some links that will help you...

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ead.php?t=4630

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7

and if you wouldn't mind a little vibration, an alternative to the rubber mounts are solid mounts made by Jeff...(scroll down)

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ad.php?t=20875 and if the pan threads are good, no need to change.

I’ll add a simple repair would be to shim the front axle’s pivot pin if there is right to left play when you turn. I found it harder to squeeze the c channel than to shim one for the wide frames.

Wanted to post the results of the 30 year inspection.

The rubber engine mounts were long gone and had wore divots in the two engine cradle bars. I welded up the divots and surfaced the bars flat. I also did the cradle mod as recommended. The aluminum oil pan was damaged where it was supported on the engine cradles so I bought a used cast iron oil pan. I bought new Cub Cadet ($) rubber mounts. I set the mounts in place and then with the oil pan off the engine I was able to make sure the oil pan sat on the cradle without rocking. I ended up installing one 0.025 inch shim between the oil pan and the cradle which made the oil pan solid to the cradle. With the oil pan off the engine it is a good time to make sure one can install the bolting for the new rubber mounts and bolt the oil pan to the cradles. Better to find out something does not align now rather then when you are installing the engine to the cradle.

I had an engine oil leak which turned out to be the large brass nut which screws into the engine block for the governor arm. This nut was loose.

Per one of your recommendations I pulled the flywheel and cleaned out the stator. Removed much accumulated dirt from the stator.

I did not pull the head as I had no indications of a head gasket leak and I did not want to jinx anything. This engine has been very good to me for 30 years. It is used to blow snow and is an easy starter even when the temperature is 10 to 15 below zero.

Ended up doing a lot of repairs to the tin work and the aluminum exhaust duct. Also fabricated and installed the muffler support bracket modification.

With the above items completed the tractor runs great. There is a good bit of vibration at idle speed but it really smooths out at full speed. I'm happy I went with the rubber engine mounts.

Thanks for the helpful recommendations. I know everybody here loves pictures so here you go. One is the tractor ready for snow duty and the other is the view of the engine cradle modification. No comments on weld quality please.

Sounds good. It is good to hear of a good report back.

:ThumbsUp:

Looks good there GeneW. :ThumbsUp:

You should send in some pictures to picture of the month.:beerchug:

Looking good Gene. Try tweaking the iso bolts a little tighter and see if the vibes get better or worse. They say 2 exposed threads is about perfect and I tend to agree. This is considering using all the OEM hardware.