QL solid mounts?

[Yosemite Sam]

I originally intended to put this question in weaverama's post "Observations of Quietline Vibration" but decided to start a new thread so not to "hijack" his original thread.


My question is; What would be the difference between putting solid motor mounts in a Quiet Line, and a stock Narrow or Wide Frame, with the motor bolted directly to the frame?

Never having used a Quiet Line I have nothing to gauge by. I do however have and use many Wide and Narrow frame tractors, and don't notice any vibration that I would call annoying...

From what I have seen and heard, if not maintained properly, the Quiet Line series tractors will vibrate themselves apart in a short time.

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I understand the QL mounts, smashing over time, is what causes all the problems to begin with. Once the motor starts to "sag" on one corner, the drive shaft becomes out of line thus causing the vibration issues and problems snowball from there. If solid mounts were put in and everything were aligned then everything would stay aligned and there would be nothing to cause the excess wear on the other components, the only vibration issue would be the motor itself. I can't see where it would be any different than using any other Cub Cadet.

So how bad could the vibration be with solid mounts???

[Matt G.]

It would probably be significantly worse than properly-installed OEM mounts. When I bought my 1650, the mounts were shot, and I did the cradle mod and replaced the mounts with new OEM mounts. As a result, the K341 was nearly as smooth as my 782 at WOT and idle, but it did shake a bit in between. Properly installed new OEM mounts will also keep one end of the cradle from sagging in the same way.

I don't know what you're used to operating, but my feet go numb operating any 12 hp Cub with a solid mounted engine. I didn't have this problem after putting new mounts in my 1650. I don't quite understand what's so wrong with iso-mounts.

[Yosemite Sam]

I don't know that there is anything "wrong" with them, other than the fact that they wear out, and many owners don't understand the consequences that worn mounts have on the tractor as a whole.

However my questions were "What would be the difference between putting solid motor mounts in a Quiet Line, and a stock Narrow or Wide Frame, with the motor bolted directly to the frame?" and "So how bad could the vibration be with solid mounts???"

[RChristensen]

Sam here is a some thoughts on your comments.

First of all the original ISO rubbers get a bad name because they only lasted 30 years or more. I think they could have gone another 30 years if the original rails would have been built with a cross bar like the modification adds.
Usually it is not the ISO rubber that goes bad and causes the problem but one of the bolts holding the rail to the engine comes loose or breaks and then the extra stress breaks the other bolt and then the engine is loose and starts bouncing around destroying the ISO rubbers. I have original ISO rubbers that are still in good condition because I did the modifications to all my quietlines years ago.

When you compare narrow frames and wide frames to Quietlines you need to take into account most of the narrow and wide frames were only running 10, 12 and 14 hp engines, and it was only in the last year of production that they came out with the 169 and it wasn't in production a full year. I have a 169 and it is a totally different creature. I love its raw power but wouldn't want to mow all day on it, I would prefer a 129 then.

I have never found a quietline engine with balance gears in them which all of the narrow and wide frames engines had. Most people say they make no difference but there must have been some reason Kohler put them in.

[IH Cub Cadet]

I know this is an old thread, but was thinking about asking a solid mount question myself.

Even though I've done the cradle mod and have good isolators, I was bending my mind wondering about solid mounting the engine next time around.

As the OP sorta stated, how can it be different/worse than a solid mounted engine on a WF tractor.

Here's what my thoughts are:

1. If you are going to solid mount, use the cradle mod AND a cast iron oil pan.

2. As you drop in hp from 16 down, vibrations get less noticeable. I've read a lot of good reports of how smooth a 10 or 12 hp engine is in a solid mount arrangement in a NF or WF tractor - regardless of if it has balance gears.

3. I think (I am hopeful of this with my QL) if you have a cradle mod and good/new isolators, this fix/engine re-install is going to last a lot of years, so the hassle of replacing the isolators no longer a short/medium term issue.

Any other thoughts?

Thanks!
Bill

[Darrell]

I put solid mounts on my 1250 and didn't notice any vibration.

Supertuning your engine is a big help and making sure your driveline is in good shape.