Cub Cadet 1450

[drglinski]

Congrats on the 1450. I also agree you made a great choice. I live near a Sears (about 1/2 mile away) so naturally everyone around me has Craftsman. I look at those and laugh to myself at how much tin is on them and that my mower deck has thicker metal on it than the Craftsman mowers. With a bit of love and care, your 1450 should last a lot longer than those sears mowers.

[jaynjeep]

You did the right thing. Dad bought a 1974 1450 in about 1976. I grew up on it cutting our grass and later half the neighborhood. We built the engine in the mid 1980's and put in some deck bearings in the mid 90's. Did a CCC steering box upgrade and painted the whole tractor around 2004. Other than that very minor repairs. Mom still uses it weekly.
What else can you buy that will last 40 plus years and still do the job as good as when it was new?!

[j4c11]

Thank you all for the warm welcome to the forum. It's getting close to 20 degrees but I'm headed out to the garage to take the Cub apart and try fixing the creep issue. Now I know what you mean by "yellow fever"!

[j4c11]

Originally Posted by sawdustdad

Welcome to the forum!

You picked a great Cub. Yes, there is an easy adjustment to the hydro "neutral" that involves loosening a couple bolts on the hydro that holds the control plate and tapping it up or down a TINY amount, like a mm (1/16 inch) to get the tractor to sit still. You need the manual in front of you, looking at the tractor, to figure it out, but it's easy once you see what needs to be done. You MIGHT, first time, take the seat and rear fenders off to do it, it will give you much better view and access. Besides, it will give you a chance to clean things up under there--stuff has a way of piling up under there!

I took your advice and took the rear fenders off, just so I can get a better understanding as to what's going on under there. You were right, once I took it apart it was almost immediately obvious what the problem was. In my case the control plate needed to go up slightly.

In regards to cleanup,it's not too bad, is it ok to use a pressure washer on the rear half?I don't see much electronics, just the wires going to the tail lights,but you never know. Also it seems some lubrication is necessary,I will follow lubrication points specified in the manual , but as far as what to use for lubrication, I think I remember the manual saying to use engine oil (my memory might be playing a trick on me though), 40 years later is that still the best thing to use for lubrication or should I use something else? Finally, I noticed that some metal rods ,especially under the dashboard,are really rusty,but seem structurally intact.For example,the horizontal rod that the speed control lever is attached to and also the long skinny rod connecting that to the control plate. I've had very good success on a previous project with electrolysis to remove rust without any mechanical force.From a functional perspective is it worth going through the trouble to take the whole thing apart,clean the rust and re-paint the parts or is that something that I don't need to worry about for 10-20 years?

[Cub Cadet 123]

Originally Posted by j4c11

I took your advice and took the rear fenders off, just so I can get a better understanding as to what's going on under there. You were right, once I took it apart it was almost immediately obvious what the problem was. In my case the control plate needed to go up slightly.

In regards to cleanup,it's not too bad, is it ok to use a pressure washer on the rear half?I don't see much electronics, just the wires going to the tail lights,but you never know. Also it seems some lubrication is necessary,I will follow lubrication points specified in the manual , but as far as what to use for lubrication, I think I remember the manual saying to use engine oil (my memory might be playing a trick on me though), 40 years later is that still the best thing to use for lubrication or should I use something else? Finally, I noticed that some metal rods ,especially under the dashboard,are really rusty,but seem structurally intact.For example,the horizontal rod that the speed control lever is attached to and also the long skinny rod connecting that to the control plate. I've had very good success on a previous project with electrolysis to remove rust without any mechanical force.From a functional perspective is it worth going through the trouble to take the whole thing apart,clean the rust and re-paint the parts or is that something that I don't need to worry about for 10-20 years?

I can tell you are proud of your purchase already!! The rust is only cosmetic and you can handle that with the electrolysis if you are already comfortable with that technique. If you want to take it apart and do a restoration, then it is more or less a labor of love.....your cub will more than likely function well for you for many more years ahead just as it is with proper maintenance. As far as lubrication, a lot of us use PB Blaster or similar product for lubrication or use the manufacturer's recommendations as specified in the manuals, which can be found in the technical section of the forum. Again, great purchase and welcome!!

Cub Cadet 123

[ACecil]

Originally Posted by j4c11

Thank you all for the warm welcome to the forum. It's getting close to 20 degrees but I'm headed out to the garage to take the Cub apart and try fixing the creep issue. Now I know what you mean by "yellow fever"!

Be aware, there's no cure for Yellow Fever, but getting more cubs seems to help.

[sawdustdad]

Originally Posted by ACecil

Be aware, there's no cure for Yellow Fever, but getting more cubs seems to help.

It's not helping me much!!

Originally Posted by j4c11

... is it ok to use a pressure washer on the rear half?I don't see much electronics, just the wires going to the tail lights,but you never know. Also it seems some lubrication is necessary,I will follow lubrication points specified in the manual , but as far as what to use for lubrication, I think I remember the manual saying to use engine oil (my memory might be playing a trick on me though), 40 years later is that still the best thing to use for lubrication or should I use something else? Finally, I noticed that some metal rods ,especially under the dashboard,are really rusty,but seem structurally intact.For example,the horizontal rod that the speed control lever is attached to and also the long skinny rod connecting that to the control plate. I've had very good success on a previous project with electrolysis to remove rust without any mechanical force.From a functional perspective is it worth going through the trouble to take the whole thing apart,clean the rust and re-paint the parts or is that something that I don't need to worry about for 10-20 years?

I wouldn't use a pressure washer unless you protected electrical components. Maybe a some engine degreaser and a garden hose and wheel brush. If have manual hydro relief valves, you might introduce some water into the hydro with a pressure washer. Others may not be so reluctant to use the pressure washer, I may be overly cautious.

for simple moving parts, engine oil should be OK. The transmission has it's own requirements, so see the manual. Hytran is specified. I use a waterproof marine moly grease for the grease points.

Cleaning up/repainting rusty parts (that are not at risk of failure) is completely up to you--your time and budget will dictate the extent to which you "restore" the tractor. I don't usually go that far, but I'm not making show tractors either.

[Userj8670]

I say go for the restore and it will last another 85 years lol

[darkminion_17]

Nice score on the 1450!!!

[cubfan]

Originally Posted by ACecil

Be aware, there's no cure for Yellow Fever, but getting more cubs seems to help.

That's funny.LMAO!!