Cub Cadet 1000 Model 444 rotary mower

[KF5PV]

Okay. went back to the sale today and the implements were gone. :-(

spent all afternoon working on the thing. pulled out the drive shaft because of a bad vibration. cleaned up the bearing and bushing and stuff. wanted to change that bearing but that looked like it could have been a challenge with that spring on there. the bracket that engages the clutch was a little bent where the rod went through it from the clutch/brake pedal, straightened that up. put it back together and made adjustments to that nut on that rod that connects to that plate. had to find a sweet spot so the shaft didn't vibrate but the clutch still engaged good in 3rd gear. also put grease on the spring and shaft as it was binding up. removed tank and cleaned it out. only found 5 grease zerks. (haven't went through manual yet.) 3 on the deck and the two for the front steering. greased those. deck was actually in good shape and the blades look kind of recent.
I would like to replace the seat. Looks like they are about a hundred dollars.
oil was at correct level and not to dirty. flywheel cover has a lot of debris covering the wholes. I assume I probably need to clean that up as I also assume that is where it gets its cooling air. charging system works. have not checked the hour meter yet or looked at how many hours are on it.

Long story short. I mowed with it today so looks like a deal for a 150 dollars.
and to think that one of the estate sale employees said to me today when I picked it up "you bought that piece of junk?" I just answered with a long despairing Yes.

Thank you all so much for your help and info. I look forward to doing a little more research and trying to nail down the year on it.

oh. and my first stop with it today was the car wash. needed it bad.
I still have the side covers to put back on and I will post a cleaner picture later.

Also had to adjust the brakes.

over all it looks like a winner winner chicken dinner. no smoke either.

Paul

[Rescue11]

There actually is an attachment that uses the rear pto. Its more rare than the pto its self and I have 1

[J-Mech]

Originally Posted by Rescue11

There actually is an attachment that uses the rear pto. Its more rare than the pto its self and I have 1

It's not in your Sig line....

[vr4Legacy]

thanks for the update

At $150 you certainly got a deal, even if it didn't run. It's a shame someone running the estate sale couldn't recognize that, but his ill knowledge is your gain.

Glad to hear it runs good. I have been very impressed with how well my 1200 mows, it does as good of a job as any other mower I've used.

Replacing the throwout bearing isn't too bad, but it does take a jig or vice with brass jaws (also noted in service manual) to remove the pins on the driveshaft.

Check out TwoTons "What a Rag" thread, he has plans for a wooden jig I built and it worked great. If you want to spend the $100 or so, replace the bearing, spring and clutch disc (I'd also have the plates refinished) while you have it apart, but, if it sounds like you got it going pretty well.

Curious how you lessened the driveshaft vibration by adjusting the clutch fork. Or do you mean the fork itself was vibrating?

Keep us updated.

[sawdustdad]

Originally Posted by J-Mech

It's not in your Sig line....

Inquiring minds want to know...it's not the ground saw?

[KF5PV]

Okay. here is an update. I had a bad bearing in the idler pulley for the deck. I have searched for 3 days off and on for the correct diagram for the deck and have not found it.

As I mentioned before The deck model #says 444 rotary mower.

it has three spindles but the cover for it is one piece with just the middle pulley (driven pulley) being exposed. So the idler and the two outer blade spindles are covered. it looked like all the diagrams I looked at had different covers than mine. I ordered one pulley that I thought was the correct one but it doesn't appear to be when I went to install it. I would just replace the bearing but time is kind of an issue and the outer race of the bearing will have to be cut out as it would not let me drive it out.

this is the one I ordered. "Cub Cadet 01004101, 02004447" the I.D. of the bearing is correct for the pulley but the O.D. of the pulley seems about 1/3" over the original.

Any input or reference material would be very much appreciated.

on another issue; why does the shaft still continue to spin so much with the clutch disengaged and the transmission in neutral? The clutch plates are separating just fine but at full throttle it will not stop spinning. maybe at minimum throttle if I wait long enough. unfortunately I have just learned to leave it in gear all the time and just lock the clutch pedal down if I have to get off of it.

and on the farming part lol. I usually plant one acre every year just for fun. till that with a troy bilt horse but had to skip out this year on that, the chickens, and the hogs. still have the horses though....

Thanks all

Paul

[Yosemite Sam]

Is it possible that the deck is a "44 A"?

You cant drive the idler pulley bearing out, you have to drill out the spot welds in the two halves of the pulley, clean it up on the inside, install the new bearing and use bolts through the holes where you drilled the welds to hold it together, or buy a new pulley.

The shaft may be spinning because the pilot bearing could be bad or there is just more resistance there than there is in the trans-axle. OR there could be motor mount issues.

Unless you're setting on a hill, why is leaving it in gear with the pedal locked down better than just putting it in neutral and letting it set?

[KF5PV]

After telling my girlfriend that you said the deck might be a "44a" She said that's what I told you! I must have misread it two times because of my bad eye site. that may help me to find the part I need if I look for the correct info.

As far as not putting it in neutral, If I do the shaft will not stop spinning to get it back in gear. (unless I drop it down to a minimum throttle and wait a minute) there isn't much resistance in the gear box with it in neutral.

While I have not looked for or at the motor mounts, the motor seems very stable when running. the throwout bearing felt good when I removed the shaft to inspect it further. I can hold the shaft and it doesn't have much torque to it with the engine running with the clutch disengaged. I am hoping with a little more run time and some more cleaning of that shaft area the resistance there will decrease. I need to look at this area more and the service manual to get a better understanding of that section.

now to go find the pulley for the "44 A" deck.

Thanks for setting me straight on that.
Also I was informed that the date on the deck is 1974...

Paul

[KF5PV]

Thought I would add a few pictures and a link to the running video of the machine.
one question I do have though is about the RPM's

It doesn't seem to mow very well. (blades are pretty dull. just have not had the chance to sharpen them yet.)

The WOT seems to be pretty slow for the machine. I am thinking by design that this is just the way it is. I looked at the throttle linkage and couldn't get any more out of it.

I suppose I just need to get a good edge on the blades.

here is a link to a quick running video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM_QPIpjcXk

[J-Mech]

Well, for starters, you have a pretty good misfire going on. I'm assuming you have done nothing to the engine.... you need to.

Second, it does not sound to me like 3600 RPM. Sounds like about 3300-3400. Yes, you can make it run faster. If you go read the manual, it tells you how.

Here is a link to the engine manual, if you don't know how to find it.

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/s...ead.php?t=4646


Once you read it, ask if you have any questions. You will need some sort of tachometer in order to set it. I prefer to set mine high, as in the 3700-3800 range. No, it will not hurt the motor.


I have no idea what you are talking about when you say the "FOT". "WOT" is the common term for Wide Open Throttle.

Tune the carb, set the timing, and it may need a new set of points or a condenser. In the short vid, I'm not really sure what is causing the miss, but it isn't helping your engine make any power that's for sure.