Quiet Line not so Quiet?

[Leadslingingdaddy]

You can take old seat trim and line the hood with it also to provide a buffer against metal to metal vibration..

[johncub7172]

Yea, think about what IH had to do because some one had nothing better to do than count beans. The noise law was dropped shortly there after. I never seen a Cub Cadet I did not like!

[OldSchool81]

ehhh. Don't be afraid to first take off the pointless useless muffler guard. People will tell you not to but I have never had an overheating issue with mine and I have mowed and mowed some more in 90 degree heat. Also I would take off the side panels if you have them on. They are also useless. Yes I said that. Then take off the crossbar that goes across the hood. Change the bolts if you have to then put nylon washers or some kind of rubber washer on there. Then check your lower and upper grill if you have them on there, those will rattle sometimes also.I also putt some small peices of foam on places where the hood rests. After eliminating some of the little querks you should sound alot better. My 1250 sounds great. Oh and by the way the quiet lines are just as good as any cub cadet ever made. Good luck

[Bushman]

I have spent some time hunting down noises on my 1450 Quietline and it is quiet now. When I bought it some of the original equipment had wore out or failed over time and once I did some very basic maintainence it was very solid. Any tractor with loose nuts, bolts and surrounding sheetmetal not properly fastened or insulated will make racket.

By the design of the Quietlines there is more going on than an earlier tractor. All following models had similar enclosed hoods, then came plastic hoods, yuck. I would rather have a loose nut on a steel side panel than broken plastic tabs on the Cyclops models.

I bought new flex discs, motor mounts, installed trim on hood edge, installed rubber trim on grills edges, tightened all nuts and bolts. Its not too hard and once those are done your tractor is as solid as a rock and more quiet than the earlier models.

[sawdustdad]

Thanks to all for the suggestions. I'll spend some time looking for loose items. There are no loose bolts or nuts, I've just been through the entire machine. But the front grills and the hood latch are two candidates. The muffler shroud seems very "tinny." It would be better if it were made of heavier gauge steel, and it wouldn't resonate so much. I've got a few things to work on. Could also be that, after 35 years running the 108, I'm just not accustomed to this new tractor.

[bkw3614]

I have a 1250 that is my Nightmare. I like the tractor, but as it has been suggested here, they do rattle and vibrate a bit.

I think the motor mounting system in the Quietline series gets a bad wrap. there seems to be a large variation of thought when it comes to the motor mounts, the frame rails and the amount of vibration that is acceptable.

I have found that felt is my friend when it comes to vibration noise. I have place felt bumpers to curb some of that noise with great success. One has to periodically take a few minutes to find the vibration points, and then place the felt where it will quiet with effectiveness. I also used raised rubber bumpers in the dash rail that supports the hood. This allowed for better alignment of the hood to the dash tower and the soft rubber and do a nice job of absorbing vibration and quieting noise. I also tightened the ISO mounts to curb the vibration of the engine shaking in its cradle. It took a bit of diagnosis and some creativity to find all the problem places, but it was worth the effort.

As far as the muffler goes, I installed a muffler crutch from Kirk Engines to help support the original IH muffler, which is probably past its prime. The aluminum housing behind the muffler is cracked, and I fixed it temporarily with J-B Weld. That was a year ago, and it is still holding. I have the new parts, but I'll replace the muffler and muffler box when it falls apart.

The new ISO mounts were genuine Cub Cadet parts. The felt and the rubber bumpers came from a local hardware supplier. I hope I can duplicate them when they wear out.

I would also see that your engine is tuned up, with the points and timing properly set, the carburetor in proper adjustment, the spark plug is the correct number and gap and you are using the correct gasoline. An engine that runs ruff will contribute to the problem.

Despite its quirks, I think a Quietline is a nice tractor. I don't think it is right to start eliminating parts, such as the side curtains and the muffler box. If the problem exists, it can be addressed.

[darkminion_17]

Cigarrette buts make good earplugs when you are in a bind...
I find that the seat and the mule drive add to the racket.