Cub Cadet 1450

[Whizdbiz2]

Originally Posted by j4c11

Hello,

I've been lurking around for a while reading and trying to make a decision between buying an older machine or a new John Deere/Craftsman etc., yesterday I pulled the trigger and bought a new to me Cub Cadet 1450. The thing is built like a tank.

My MIL gave me an old 86 they had just sitting in the barn, needing an exhaust valve. Everytime I look at it while doing barn chores, I have to remark to myself, "this thing is a garden tractor?, it's built like some sort of mini farm tractor" The quality of the construction is amazing to a guy that grew up with big tractors. Enjoy your new CC!

[Cubby guy]

I inherited my dad's 1976 model 800. If I counted the tires & belts, there MIGHT be a dozen rubber/plastic parts. All the rest is iron.

Do NOT put anything but Hy-Tran branded fluid in that transmission. Nothing else meets the specifications.

A few farmers found that out the hard way on their big 1026 Farmall tractors using some reddish-orange fluid that looked more like the original GM brand "Dexron", then howled when IH turned down their warranty claims, and they had also used knock-off hydraulic filters.

IH built those vintage Cub Cadets with the same ruggedness and care as the big Farmalls. Think of the Cub Cadet as a Farmall Cub that was washed in hot water......

[j4c11]

Originally Posted by Cubby guy

I inherited my dad's 1976 model 800. If I counted the tires & belts, there MIGHT be a dozen rubber/plastic parts. All the rest is iron.

Do NOT put anything but Hy-Tran branded fluid in that transmission. Nothing else meets the specifications.

A few farmers found that out the hard way on their big 1026 Farmall tractors using some reddish-orange fluid that looked more like the original GM brand "Dexron", then howled when IH turned down their warranty claims, and they had also used knock-off hydraulic filters.

IH built those vintage Cub Cadets with the same ruggedness and care as the big Farmalls. Think of the Cub Cadet as a Farmall Cub that was washed in hot water......

The guy I bought it from left me with what's left of a 2 gallon jug of transmission fluid, and it's not Hy-Tran. I will update later with the exact name when I get home.Thank you all for your help, I resolved my creep issue, greased everywhere,works like a charm now.

On a separate note, is there some trick to removing the steering wheel? The service manual says 1. Remove nut,2. Remove steering wheel,well I removed the nut but the steering wheel is not going anywhere. I'll try some PB Blaster , hope I'm not missing a hidden screw somewhere holding it in.

[finsruskw]

Screw the nut back on so it's flush enough on the end so you don't screw the threads up. Leave it loose enough so there is a little wiggle room under the nut. Sit on the seat w/both knees jammed up tight under the wheel so you can exert some upward PRESSURE. If you are of the short wheelbase stature, you may have to add a short pc of 2x6 of something under your feet.

Put as much pressure up under the wheel w/your knees as possible and using a brass drift or a piece of HARDWOOD for driver, smack, and I do mean SMACK the steering column with a BFH!!! May take a couple of tries but works for me!

Then when Ya put it back together, use a little anti-sieze on the splines

[j4c11]

Originally Posted by finsruskw

Screw the nut back on so it's flush enough on the end so you don't screw the threads up. Leave it loose enough so there is a little wiggle room under the nut. Sit on the seat w/both knees jammed up tight under the wheel so you can exert some upward PRESSURE. If you are of the short wheelbase stature, you may have to add a short pc of 2x6 of something under your feet.

Put as much pressure up under the wheel w/your knees as possible and using a brass drift or a piece of HARDWOOD for driver, smack, and I do mean SMACK the steering column with a BFH!!! May take a couple of tries but works for me!

Then when Ya put it back together, use a little anti-sieze on the splines

That worked.I put some PB Blaster on it and let it soak for about 20 minutes, smacked the steering column with a hammer, came right off , which is amazing, it was so stuck on there I thought I was never going to be able to get it off. Thank you for the tip

[Cubcrazy]

Glad to hear you got it off! They can be stubborn at times!

[ACecil]

Originally Posted by j4c11

That worked.I put some PB Blaster on it and let it soak for about 20 minutes, smacked the steering column with a hammer, came right off , which is amazing, it was so stuck on there I thought I was never going to be able to get it off. Thank you for the tip

Glad you got the steering wheel off.

[j4c11]

Following up on my last post, I think I got the tractor to 100%, with a new battery everything now works as it should.I was having trouble getting the PTO to engage but the new battery took care of that.Thought it was the PTO switch so I cleaned that too in the process,even though it wasn't the culprit. Fresh oil, fresh spark plug, fresh air filter and the engine sounds really good for being 40 years old. My only concern now is with the transmission fluid that is in the tractor,the previous owner used Mystik JT-5 rather than Hy-Tran. I've been reading on different forums, some people think substitutes are acceptable as long as they meet or exceed specifications while others will use nothing but Hy-Tran. I'm not even sure that the Mystik JT-5 meets specifications. What would the pros here recommend, should I just bite the bullet,drain the Mystik and put in Hy-Tran or is the Mystik acceptable for the time being?

[ACecil]

I'd get the Hy-Tran. You can't go wrong.