Mystery Cub.... 200 bucks, complete with quirks

WesternCannonball · #1 01-03-2021, 01:57 AM

Picked up a 3rd member for my fleet, and it came with a few oddities.
Oddity 1: I'm not sure if it's a 70 or 100 or something else. There's no model on the hood, or outline where it used to be, only a faint red line along both sides. (might not be the original hood) It's got a narrow dash, small footplates, no serial number plate. (Pictures coming soon).
Problem one, the rear end. When I was dragging it into my shop, I noticed the rear wheels were spinning opposite directions. One was moving forward, the other backwards, while being dragged forwards. (I made sure it was in neutral). Has anyone experienced this before, and if so, what causes it?
Problem 2, the wiring is a mess. One broken wire off the harness and I don't know where it goes, plus a fuse panel with glass fuses in it. I've never seen this on any other tractor. (again, pictures coming soon)
Oddity 2/problem 3, it has a Tecumseh engine. I know nothing about them whatsoever, and had never even heard of them until getting this tractor. At least the engine is free and seems to have decent compression. I'm going to address this later, it's not an urgent problem if it starts after I fix the wiring.

bugeye · #2 01-03-2021, 06:29 AM

Problem one, maybe the differential input shaft is locked, not rotating. Check transmission/differential is free to turn with the wheels elevated. Disconnect input to differential and turn input shaft by hand. Hopefully input turns easily and wheels turn. If input is held, wheels will turn opposite directions due to differential gear action.

R Bedell · #3 01-03-2021, 06:54 AM

First, welcome to OCC.........

(A) Post a picture of this tractor. FYI, the model 70 & 100 are the same except for the engine.

(B) There are Wiring Diagrams in our Technical Library Section on Page #5

(C) Cub Cadet NEVER used a Tecumseh engine in any of their Garden Tractors.

IHinIN · #4 01-03-2021, 09:11 AM

If the brake is engaged or stuck, it will lock the pinion gear and cause the tires to drag and spin in opposite directions.

Billy-O · #5 01-03-2021, 09:58 AM

The 128/129 had the red stripe on the hoods.

Cubcadet_107 · #6 01-03-2021, 10:36 AM

Tecumseh engine in a Cub??? Hopefully they didn't chop your frame up too much putting that in! Wonder how they mounted it to the clutch too? Must be quite the setup under the hood.

The Differential is what causes the wheels to spin in opposite directions. Also allows one wheel to spin faster than the other, making steering easier.

WesternCannonball · #7 01-03-2021, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bugeye

Problem one, maybe the differential input shaft is locked, not rotating. Check transmission/differential is free to turn with the wheels elevated. Disconnect input to differential and turn input shaft by hand. Hopefully input turns easily and wheels turn. If input is held, wheels will turn opposite directions due to differential gear action.

Thanks! Is there a diagram I could look at somewhere? I've never taken any kind of transmission apart.

Quote:

Originally Posted by R Bedell

First, welcome to OCC.........

(A) Post a picture of this tractor. FYI, the model 70 & 100 are the same except for the engine.

(B) There are Wiring Diagrams in our Technical Library Section on Page #5

(C) Cub Cadet NEVER used a Tecumseh engine in any of their Garden Tractors.

Thank you! As soon as I get someone with a camera phone to the shop, I'll get photographs on here for I.D. The wiring diagram is a godsend, I'll be copying that over by hand so I have it in the workshop! The Tecumseh threw me for a loop, I always thought they all had Kohlers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cubcadet_107

Tecumseh engine in a Cub??? Hopefully they didn't chop your frame up too much putting that in! Wonder how they mounted it to the clutch too? Must be quite the setup under the hood.

The frame has been cut and a piece of metal welded to lengthen and widen where the engine sits. As soon as I can, I'll get some pictures up.

WesternCannonball · #8 01-03-2021, 04:59 PM

You can see the faint red stripe on the hood. The other side looks just like this, not even a shadow of decals
Angle I first saw her from.jpg
Narrow dash, small footplates
Dash-1.jpg
This is the frame modification for the Tecumseh engine
Left frame.jpg

Right frame-2.jpg

WesternCannonball · #9 01-03-2021, 05:05 PM

Here's the "fusebox"
Under the dash.jpg

Fusebox.jpg
As she sits in the workshop
Overview.jpg
THIS is what I saw poking out of a corner in a yard that made me hit the brakes and do a double-take
Front.jpg

Cubcadet_107 · #10 01-03-2021, 05:20 PM

Wow they really hacked up the frame to fit that engine in!

Guess you can't do much about it now short of locating an original Kohler and completely cutting up the mods, and trying to re-weld it back to original with the proper steel.

That engine looks like it came from a Massey Ferguson tractor. It has the right paint color, and you can see that the gas tank is turned the wrong way. Originally the engine would have been mounted sideways in the tractor it came from, to run a belt drive. Definitely not something I've seen before!

Unfortunately the original engine would have determined whether it is a 70 or 100, unless you can locate the serial number and match it somehow.