1250 Found A New Home

[jsoluna]

A little backstory:

I got into Cubs about 5 years ago. Around that time I settled on a used 129 that I found locally. That 129 started the obsession. I spent a lot of time on this very forum, and I learned so much. I loved that old machine, but I eventually sold it and got into the more modern 2000 and 3000 Series tractors. I have used a 3205 for years now and am a firm believer in the reliability and hardiness of the 3000 Series Cubs.

Now that the 3205 is getting close to 1500 hours, I decided it was time to either find a backup 3000 Series or find another IH Cub. The QuietLine Series has always been my favorite visually, and I liked the fact that they came with a factory electric PTO and conventional starting and charging system. I knew I wanted a hydro, and something that ran well out the gate so that I didn't have to tear into the engine before moving forward.


I drove 4 hours round trip today and grabbed this one. There are no words for the type of excitement that you feel when bringing an old, neglected machine home for the first time. It's like breathing new life into a formerly inanimate object. That sense of wonder and curiosity is so intense....

I got the 1250 with 250 hours on the clock, hydraulic lift, deck, and mule drive assembly for 300. Not a bad deal, really.

Cosmetically it could use a lot of work. The owner I got it from was the third owner and the tractor had set under a tree for 10 years until he bought it. He power washed it down and rebuilt the carb, did the tune up, and then decided to sell it after he knew it ran well.

After I got it home and was able to delve deeper into the tractor, I found a couple problems that don't have obvious solutions, at least not to me. I've never owned a QuietLine, and the 129 I owned was 5 years ago and was my only experience with the IH Cubs.

I'll start with this one:

Vibration. It has insane vibration. Like the front end wants to dance kind of vibration. It's particularly bad at 2/3 throttle, smooths out more at full throttle. The previous owner said he installed new mounts that were NOS Cub Cadet style mounts. I can't tell by looking what they actually are (they have been replaced though, that much is true), but I did find one mount bolt that was loose so I tightened it up (not much, just snug) and went through the others and evened the torque up on all four corners.

Well, all that did was change at what RPM the thing vibrated terribly. The vibration is still there and it concerns me that it is putting a lot of stress on the drive line components.

I plan on doing the cradle modification and replacing the mounts. There still seems to be several different opinions on which are the best ones to use and I'll have to use my best judgement there. I guess I also need to look at the driveshaft and see if there are issues there as well. What do I look for?

My question is: how are these things supposed to vibrate when they are all done up right? Like, should it be as smooth as my v-twin Kawasaki in my 3205? Or just enough that the covers aren't rattling like mad?

[ACecil]

Congrats on the 1250!

[zippy1]

The quiet line is anything but.
When I did my 1650 I used new factory mounts and "adjusted" them to my liking of two threads showing, using new thread lock nuts.
It still vibrates some at anything below WOT. So it is in a way the nature of the beast. "If" I was to replace the mounts again I would get a set of solid mounts from forum member Jeff in PA. and be done with it...
Oh, congrats on the 1250.

[jsoluna]

I don't believe these things rolled off the dealers lot in the 70s vibrating like that. There's gotta be a fix, to an extent I'm sure, and especially in the case of the 16p engine - there is only so much you can do to isolate the vibes from that big block

Anyone know the difference between the two styles of mounts sold on Cub Cadet Specialties? The aftermarket ones there are claimed to be softer than the Cub replacements. I don't know if that is true, since the aftermarket response I've seen seems to indicate that the opposite is true. From what I have read, most people say that the new style Cub replacement mounts are made harder than the originals to put up with the wear, but that also makes them transfer more energy (vibration).

[mortten]

I have the aftermarket mounts that CC Specialties sells. Used them on my 1250 with the old metal inserts and have no vibration problems. I also have the cradle modified.

[jsoluna]

That is good to hear. I'm going to check over the mounts and hardware and see what I actually have on this thing. One thing I did notice is that the PO only used half of the ISO mounts up front, just the lower load-bearing half. I'm sure that doesn't help the matter.

Also, my driveshaft rag joint looks like this at the hydro end. Is this normal? Seems like quite a distance for that rag joint to have to flex.

[Yosemite Sam]

Looks like there should be two rag joints in there instead of just one, but best to make sure before just slapping another one in there.

I'm not really a QL guy, but for some reason it seems like I always have a couple of them. I do the cradle mod on them and put 4 used upper mounts on the bottom and then new sway bar bushings on top (I don't get the Moog brand because they are too hard).

I tighten the bolts down until the metal inserts just touch, tune the engine and they run SO smooth and quiet. The 1200 I have now, doesn't even have the thumb screws holding the side panels on and there are no rattles.

I don't know why anyone would ever want to put solid mounts in a Quiet Line.

[johncub7172]

Justin, you finally pulled the trigger! Nice.

Last of the true IH Cub Cadets there. I'm with Mark, my 1450 is not bad at all.

The hood hinge is a good culprit in making noise, Those can be tightened up and reinstalled.

I'm not going to debate the factory v.s solid mount opinions. I chose factory replacements. I have read good reports about factory,solid and car suspension parts.

You should be able to determine if your 1250 had the later style double rag joints, or the early single style rag joint from the serial number tag.

Having hyd. lift on a 1250 was an option at the time. The 1450/1650 came so equipped.

Feel free to keep the updates coming

[cubcadet]

Congrats on the 1250.

[jsoluna]

Thanks guys! I'm very excited to have an IH again. The 129 I had made me appreciate the design and the robust simplicity of the machines. The 60s and 70s were a proud time for farm and garden equipment.

The more that I look, the more that I find really needs attention on this one. It was described as "mechanically sound." I think this means different things to different people, and I should expect as much truthfully.

264 hours. Tractor acts like one that has been neglected and has two - three times that.

Serial Number:


-It is missing the muffler air duct.

-Custom plug wire.

-Engine has a ticking, sounds like valve tick to me. Going to adjust valves anyway as maintenance.

-Missing intake duct.

-Missing hydro fan.


-The hydro has a Fram TG16 filter on it. Definitely not the proper filter.

-Hydro leaks from the suction tube fitting.


-The hydro lurches and it makes it difficult to find neutral and to ease into motion in either direction. I plan on pulling off the fender pan to access the trunion area and see whats going on there. It definitely has a lot of play side to side, probably needs shimmed. There's some good documentation here on that as well as the springs.


-Lots of non-factory fasteners.

-No PTO switch.