Trunion spring: Mickey Mouse

[yeeter]

A great forum, and already I have learned a lot from the group here. Thank you.

I picked up a 1450 recently. It isnt 'perfect' by any means, but Im hoping to make it use able. In fact I have already graded out a section of my yard that needed seeded and the rain is helping the grass along just fine.

BUT - the hydro drive on it is pretty herky jerky (not sure if thats the right term, but its an accurate description). This made it very difficult to do anything productive. So thanks to this site a little trouble shooting points to the trunion and this is what it looks like:



A couple items - besides the worn notch at each end, the larger spring is shorter than the cavity by about 1/8". I dont have a welder, but was anxious to see what the effect would be if I fixed this. So I made this mickey mouse shim by simply wrapping a piece of tin around it:



I have to say, it made a remarkable improvement to the herky jerky. So am going to have to do this properly, after which I would say the tractor is going to be 'quite usable'. Getting the lower speeds under control made a huge difference to operation.

One question: This looks (to me) like it had been welded once before. And the larger dia spring is short with about 1/8" slop - is this normal?

Thanks for all those that post here.

[jimbob200521]

I really like your temporary "fix" for this problem, in a pinch that would be a great solution until it can be done right. But that leads me to think, is this something that could be done on our machines that don't have trunion wear issues as a preventative maintenance step? By that I mean one or twice a year, put a piece of tin or thin sheet metal like done in the pics above to act as a "wear plate" to keep the actual trunion from wearing (as fast)? When this piece of tin wears, simply replace it and you're on your way, seems a lot easier than removing the hydro to repair it. Hmm...got me thinking now

Anywho, good job on the temp fix. It does look to me like it's been welded on once before as well. And no, that slop isn't normal. When you fix this the correct way, simply buy new springs and end caps and replace it all. It'll cost you about $12 for parts, I know, I just ordered them Also wouldn't be a bad idea, while you're in there, to shim the plate with a thin washer if you have any slop in it. There's plenty of resources for this issue out there, and plenty of knowledgable people here who will chime in to help. Good luck, welcome, and congrats on the machine!

[Cubcrazy]

Welcome to OCC!
Congrats on the 1450 and nice quick fix!

[yeeter]

Thanks guys. I wondered about a 'wear plate' concept also. I have some self adhesive UHMW strips I had my eye on, but I thought it wouldnt stay in place so came up with the tin wrapping concept.

Besides giving it a smoother surface to rub against, it takes out some of the slop side to side, which should help. And if wanted to get fancy, could cut a small arc section out of a piece of pipe to weld it in - which would give a much larger surface for it to slide against and help slow the wear rate.

Was thinking that spring might be short. And wondering if someone had welded on it prior, could have pretty easily detempered the spring (if they didnt remove it for welding). Otherwise its just been crunched so much it has taken a set.

Time for some new parts - but Im still going to have to figure out how to do it without a welder (buying an old tractor is one thing, then going out and buying a welder to fix the old tractor, while would be suitable to me, might get some raised eyebrows from the misses....)

[ACecil]

Welcome to OCC and congrats on your 1450!

[dieselsmoke]

I was looking at this as a way to repair mine. Has anyone tried this?

http://www.xtrememotorworks.com/Part.../CC-28-001.htm

[joenemesis]

I dig your temp fix with the tin, good thinking!!

I'm doing the same repair to my 127. Just got the springs and caps out of my parts tractor. It had a new set installed before it died.

Im using this to source the correct measurements for the trunnion arm: http://cubfaq.com/trunionrepair.html

I'm building a little "box-plate" like the one dieselsmoke posted out of keystock and my brother is stopping by with his welder.

Maybe you can bribe someone to loan their welder or bring it over to weld up your trunnion?

If you manage to get ahold of a welder and you weld the trunnion in the tractor be sure to wrap the arm in a wet towel or shirt to prevent cooking the seals on the trunnion shaft. I found that tip posted on other threads and is a good idea

Good Luck, 1450's, like other cubs, are great machines!

[Yosemite Sam]

I really like the idea of the "wear plate" I may look into that for some of my own tractors.

I think the "Square Hole" from xtreme is really a fantastic idea.

However, I can't see going through all the trouble of cutting a big hunk of the lever off only to weld another back in its place.

If you're gonna be in there with a welder, why not just weld what needs to be welded, file the corners square again and be done.

I don't know if it's the actual "filing" part that is scary to people or what, but quite frankly, I don't know that I have ever spent more than a few minutes (in each corner) with a file (it would take a LOT longer just to cut the old part off than it does to file the corners).

Not that it's a really big deal if you cover the shaft area with a wet rag, but why would you want to put more heat on it (and closer to the actual seal) than you really need to?

PLEASE, if I'm missing something here, I would really appreciate a heads up.

For what it's worth, I've done 6 or 7 of my own hydro's and it has always worked out alright.

[drglinski]

I might try this on my 147 till I can get in there and get it fixed the correct way. Cool idea.

[joenemesis]

I get what you're saying Mr. Sam, I liked the idea of adding more material than the original had to beef it up. Although it did take 30+ years to wear out (mine looks exactly like OP's) and just filling and filing square would be simpler.

Thanks for your input

I don't know if you really have to use a wet rag around the shaft, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. I'm welding mine in the tractor as splitting it and removing the trunnion is not currently feasible for me