New Member - Questions from an idiot

[spumco]

Hi, and THANK YOU all for this awesome fund of technical info. Lurking for a while, but I've now - obviously - joined the forum.

Needed a lawn mower last summer, and I refused to buy some plastic & sheet metal bit of poo. So, I've acquired my first Cub - first tractor, frankly - and have a few questions for any and all who may wish to answer.

(please be gentle. I've searched this and other forums quite a bit, so forgive me if most of these have been answered eight squillion times already)

1a. What the heck is my tractor? It's a 682, but I've found confusing/conflicting info on what year & what company made it. I thought all 682's were IH built, but my original manual includes the 1282/682/782 units. This leads me to question maybe it's a CCC/MTD thingy. Serial #2050600U738478. Model #1456782397.

1b. If it's IH-made, does this mean I can thumb my nose at the MTD tractors? If not, can I pretend it's a real tractor?

2. Has a Series II sticker on the air cleaner. Is it really a KT17 Series II with the improved oil system? Is there any way I can tell from the engine external appearance? It doesn't appear to have been replaced, based on the level of grime and corrosion. Spec #24302, Model 3KT17S.

3. If it is a Series II, anything I need to do besides usual maintenance to keep it alive?

4. High-speed miss. Under load (plowing snow or whacking the hydro lever to ramming speed from a crawl), one or the other of the cylinders cuts out and doesn't come back until I backup and slow the RPM down a bit. Takes a few seconds to clear up, then I can raise the speed again until I ram the next iceberg. Obviously, the engine bogs down when it starts missing.

This is intermittent, but it happens more often than not. Spark plugs, HT wires and wire from coil to points replaced. Carb sort of cleaned out (not overhauled). Points set using static method in Kohler KT17 manual. No obvious electrical shorts (watching engine run in the dark). Plugs look clean or slightly rich. No smoke other than a slight puff on startup. 440 hours on the clock.

Started great after I set the points, but the second time I ran it after that it was back to the old

"WAAAHHHHHsputtergurglesputtersputtergurgle...VROO M!"

Seriously irritating. The tractor and I need some help from a Cub Jedi.

5. Long-term stuff. I've done the transaxle (scrape out snot, clean, replace with HYTRAN and filter), lubed everything I could find, replaced the front kingpins, and am overhauling the mower deck this winter. Anything else I need to know to keep this thing alive for another 30 years?

6. Calcium filled tires. Mine has calcium, should I get rid of it and get some other weight material? I don't want to rot my wheels, and I'm discovering the joy of owning obsolete equipment. Finding parts can be like archeology.

I'm kidding myself about not getting the fever. I just needed a mower, and now I'm trying to figure out how to add hydraulics and a 3-pt. This going to get silly.

I feel like I've got a new mistress in a red dress.

Thanks again,
Ralph Christy