Help on a 124

[ed in cny]

Has steering go bad on my 124 and rebuilt it this spring. Used it to mow and in short order I had another issue. The tractor seems not to go into gear. Checked the connections from the clutch back to the creeper gear and find that I have a seal on the creeper that leaks as well as the shaft spinning. Get on here and ask for ideas. They think the pin. So I have worked on getting the pin out but can't seem to move it. I can't get a punch on this dang thing to punch it out. I'm not even sure it's the issue but am starting here to find out what has happened. The pin if not lined up will be a bear. If I take the front pin out I could if this back pin is not in move it forward enough to get the center out and then realign the outer pin sections and hopefully drive them out. However as much as I can do I can't get any pin to come out.

Is there a trick to getting this out? If I need to split the tractor for more work if this is beyond just the pin I need to remove it for other work. But with the tools I have I just van't seem to budge it. Tried it from under the tractor no luck. Have tried from the side as there is just one opening that I could reach the pin. Again no luck. The punches are short as well and it gives me no room to hit this. Are there other punches longer that work? Had to years ago redo the clutch plate and the pin there was also a pain with these short punches I have. But I managed to fix that one as there was more room. However this pin has me stumped.

If I were to add heat I may have other issues as the seal on the creeper is leaking and there is now plenty around the creeper to catch fire. So that at this point is on the back burner.

Is there a trick to doing this? If so what is it? Any ideas what to do now? I'm stuck.

[Cub Cadet 123]

(continued from page 2)

Hello Ed. Just read your thread. Here is what I would do for starters.....First, check the fluid in the rear to make sure that it is at its appropriate level. Take the fill plug out of the back while the tractor is on a level surface and the fluid should be right at the spill out level. Obviously, if it isn't then you will need to fill it up (10w30 or some use Hytran).

Sometimes a pin can sheer and still be in the hole, but I do not think you lost a pin from what I read in your post. I have a creepy gear in my 73 and sometimes it is just a little challenging to get it to work as it should, so I release the clutch, then depress it again, wait for the driveshaft to stop spinning and then it slides into gear. Just has to align right up to get into gear.

For your reference: http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum
/showthread.php?t=4673

Yosemite Sam (OCC Sponsor) makes a set of roll pin punches that helps to make the job easier........but I will warn you that he is the rootinest, tootinest, ornery varmint you ever came across . Just convince him its duck season and you will be alright.

As far as tight places where you can't always swing a hammer to get a pin out, you might try a pneumatic palm nailer. They cost around $65 or so and you do not have to worry about having a smoker from a 124 that is not a diesel.

Hope that helped a little,

Cub Cadet 123

[ed in cny]

Jacked the back end up and in gear and creeper in low or high it did nothing. With clutch out the tractor could be shifted in gear and out as well as creeper. Nothing was grinding a bit. I suspect the pin has sheared. Aligning this up to drive the pin out is an issue that I doubt I will solve. I would guess since I know the shaft off the engine rotates I take that pin out of that. Maybe then I could slide the collar forward to get at the back pin and drive it out. Then align the other sheared pins ends and drive them out. Sounds like it would work but with out the longer punch its nearly impossible to do.

Do you drive the pin out from the bottom rather than the side or the other way around?

The smoker would be from the leak and the dirt and oil catching fire. More of a roasted tractor than a diesel.

[Alvy]

Ed it's possible you have a pin that has worked it's way down inside the creeper and disengaged the creeper lever from the shift collar internally. This happened to me and others so I figured I would throw it out there. There's also a chance you have a sheared pin as you're thinking but this is also a possibility as you have a creeper. It's hard to feel as the creeper gear has it's own detent. I figured it out by taking out the creeper drain and looking up in, pin was right there almost out of the drain rather than being up further as it should. There is an access hole as you're describing on the "passenger side" if you will that you can can access the drive shaft pin with a long pin punch if you're splitting the tractor but pb or kroil is your friend and try to support the other side while you whack on it. Good luck.

[ed in cny]

If I have this pin in the creeper that may have slipped out how do you see it exactly? The frame around the creeper has no openings other that where you raise and lower the deck. The check plug is on the opposite side if the tractor. Is there any other way other than drilling a sight hole to see it? Also by supporting the other side as you hit it are you referring to the creeper or clutch shaft or both?

[olds45512]

The best way to handle a creeper in a narrow frame is to remove the engine and disassemble the clutch, then you can unbolt the rearend and roll it out. Most people think that's a lot of work but I could do it in less than an hour and I'd much rather do a little extra wrenching than fight to get the pins out of driveshaft from the underside.

[Yosemite Sam]

Originally Posted by ed in cny

If I have this pin in the creeper that may have slipped out how do you see it exactly? The frame around the creeper has no openings other that where you raise and lower the deck. The check plug is on the opposite side if the tractor. Is there any other way other than drilling a sight hole to see it?

There is a drain plug in the bottom of the creeper that is directly under the pin that goes through the shift lever and yoke.

Originally Posted by ed in cny

Also by supporting the other side as you hit it are you referring to the creeper or clutch shaft or both?

Your main concern is not to damage the input shaft/bearing/seal/housing of the creeper from the "sideways" force of hitting it with a hammer.

[RedHawCadet]

Originally Posted by Alvy

Ed it's possible you have a pin that has worked it's way down inside the creeper and disengaged the creeper lever from the shift collar internally. This happened to me and others so I figured I would throw it out there. There's also a chance you have a sheared pin as you're thinking but this is also a possibility as you have a creeper. It's hard to feel as the creeper gear has it's own detent. I figured it out by taking out the creeper drain and looking up in, pin was right there almost out of the drain rather than being up further as it should. There is an access hole as you're describing on the "passenger side" if you will that you can can access the drive shaft pin with a long pin punch if you're splitting the tractor but pb or kroil is your friend and try to support the other side while you whack on it. Good luck.

I like others have bought tractors with creepers that when pulled apart had the roll pin welded to the fork for the creeper to shift from high to low. Just my

[ed in cny]

Dang I knew I ought to have know this would be a job. I'm learning but what job it is becoming. I'll need to support the pin area before go about trying to hammer on it any more. The pin hasn't budged yet so I don't think I have wacked it to hard yet.

I was told that Yosemite Sam has a longer punch for these Cubs is this true Sam? Looked on your site didn't see them.

[J-Mech]

He probably owns roll pin punches. They are made specifically for removing these style of pins. You still have to hit them really hard though. I have a set for my air hammer. BBBBBBBRRRRRRRTTTTTTT, they come right out.