I bought an Original!

[West Valley G]

Now that is a cool looking tractor.

Ken

[Cubcadet_107]

Originally Posted by docmirror

Yup, big tires help. If you get the deck working right, and have sharp blades, the Orig cuts real sweet. Once the deck is aligned and the blades timed well, you would like cutting with it. The orig doesn't do towing very well, but the bigger tires might help. Just not a ton of pulling power.

Yeah I really want to try it out, because you certainly aren't the only one to tell me that they cut really well. The blades are actually timed correctly already, but it requires some force to get them to spin. And the clutch is stuck in the off position.

I can see why pulling power might be low, the thing is driven by a dinky little belt and 7hp engine. The tires may not help a ton with pulling, but sure will help with traction!

[docmirror]

Originally Posted by Cubcadet_107

Yeah I really want to try it out, because you certainly aren't the only one to tell me that they cut really well. The blades are actually timed correctly already, but it requires some force to get them to spin. And the clutch is stuck in the off position.

I can see why pulling power might be low, the thing is driven by a dinky little belt and 7hp engine. The tires may not help a ton with pulling, but sure will help with traction!

The spindles are one-side open case bearings and supposed to be greased from the shaft. I took both my spindles apart and replaced the bearings. I also needed a new spindle shaft for one side. It's keyed and the keyway hogged out. Easy to work on. New bearings, new shaft, good grease and lined up right. Inspect your toothed belt carefully. Turn the belt so the teeth are outside, and then kind of pinch it in a small radius. Look at the join of the tooth and the belt for cracks. If there are cracks at the edge of any teeth, repl the toothed belt. They don't wear out from use, but from age and dry rot.

[IHCubCadet147]

Nice score!

[West Valley G]

Help me understand timing of the blades. Not a term I am familiar
with. Hope its something particular to these tractors. Or I have been
missing something like forever.

Ken

[Billy-O]

Originally Posted by West Valley G

Help me understand timing of the blades. Not a term I am familiar
with. Hope its something particular to these tractors. Or I have been
missing something like forever.

Ken

The path of the two blades overlap each other and if not timed correctly, they can collide.

[Cubcadet_107]

Thank you guys for all the positive responses!

Originally Posted by docmirror

The spindles are one-side open case bearings and supposed to be greased from the shaft. I took both my spindles apart and replaced the bearings. I also needed a new spindle shaft for one side. It's keyed and the keyway hogged out. Easy to work on. New bearings, new shaft, good grease and lined up right. Inspect your toothed belt carefully. Turn the belt so the teeth are outside, and then kind of pinch it in a small radius. Look at the join of the tooth and the belt for cracks. If there are cracks at the edge of any teeth, repl the toothed belt. They don't wear out from use, but from age and dry rot.

Well, with all the info, rebiulding the deck will be less of a pain than I thought. Thanks for the help!

[docmirror]

As mentioned, the two blades overlap. The deck has the two nominal spindles just like any mower deck. However, the belt between the two spindles uses a toothed timing belt, much like the timing belt found on many cars from the crankshaft to the cam(s). If not kept in time, the blades will strike at the overlap in the center of the deck.

It's very easy to time the blades. One blade runs longitudinal, and one blade runs horizontal, then the belt is fitted around the geared pulleys. The benefit to this is there are no 'suckers' that stick up in the center after mowing because they were missed by either the right or left blade set. I find it also helps to unload the trimmings from the opposed side of the deck where there is no chute. The trimmings hardly ever clog up under the deck, even when cutting real thick stuff.

[Cubcadet_107]

Originally Posted by docmirror

As mentioned, the two blades overlap. The deck has the two nominal spindles just like any mower deck. However, the belt between the two spindles uses a toothed timing belt, much like the timing belt found on many cars from the crankshaft to the cam(s). If not kept in time, the blades will strike at the overlap in the center of the deck.

It's very easy to time the blades. One blade runs longitudinal, and one blade runs horizontal, then the belt is fitted around the geared pulleys. The benefit to this is there are no 'suckers' that stick up in the center after mowing because they were missed by either the right or left blade set. I find it also helps to unload the trimmings from the opposed side of the deck where there is no chute. The trimmings hardly ever clog up under the deck, even when cutting real thick stuff.

Well, guess that means that my deck isn't quite timed correctly. Now I know how do do it though! I'll have to get to the deck some time over the winter, currently though my 147 project needs to be completed first. I will say, it'll be nice to have a mower that won't miss blades of grass because of the overlap. Thank you again for the info, as this deck is much different than my other narrow frame decks. Now I actually know how to work on it!

[docmirror]

It really is a simple design, and easy to repair. I was able to get the bearings at Purvis, and one of the vendors supplied the spindle shaft as good used until for a couple bucks.

I would inspect the timing belt carefully, that is the 'weak link' of the system, and would cause serious harm, even injury if it goes out during high speed operation. Also, get the torque wrench on the spindle nuts, and make sure there is no play in the key and keyway. Clean, tight, then greased, and ready to go.

The bearings I got were from Germany, made by SKF. I would not recommend Chinese bearings for this application.