A ratty one owner 782d followed us home

cadetpwr · #1 05-13-2023, 11:53 PM

My wife and I made a trip up near Flint Michigan to do some cub hunting. This ratty 782d followed us home. The hood and side panels are in the back of my SUV. Her late husband bought it new and her grand daughter listed it for sale after she got a new ZTR to mow with. Even have 3 of the plain hubcaps, missing one front. Runs nice but a real bear to start as none of the mods have been done. So got some mechanical updates to do before a cosmetic refresh. First up will be the extra ground strap, gear reduction starter and glow plug system upgrade with 3 new plugs. Grill and headlight panel are a bit of a mess, wish I knew who was doing the custom grill with the rectangular sealed beams that looks like the Ag tractors the 82 series was styled after. We loaded her under her own power with a big battery from a larger compact tractor to get it started.

R Bedell · #2 05-14-2023, 07:20 AM

Nice score.

cadetpwr · #3 05-14-2023, 11:07 AM

And huge hidden bonus, it has dealer installed power steering!! He loaded it while I kept my trailer in tilt bed mode.

darkminion_17 · #4 05-14-2023, 11:49 AM

Adjusting the valves first will help on the hard starting, so will the other stuff you mention.

cadetpwr · #5 05-14-2023, 01:42 PM

The valves have nothing to do with hard starting on the Kubota diesel powered cubs. It has to do with an undersize direct drive starter and a limitation on how big of a battery one can fit in the proper space. Been on ongoing battle since not long after Cub Cadet offered these for sale. The newer gear reduction starter fixes the starter issue. Redoing the glow system so that the high amperage does NOT go thru the key switch, then the glow indicator on the dash before it gets to the plugs is the other major change. Feeding the glow plugs a full 12v instead of 6-7 volts after going thru the stock set up, allows them to get hot fast, saving battery power to crank the diesel. This is especially important in cold weather.

darkminion_17 · #6 05-14-2023, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cadetpwr

The valves have nothing to do with hard starting on the Kubota diesel powered cubs. It has to do with an undersize direct drive starter and a limitation on how big of a battery one can fit in the proper space. Been on ongoing battle since not long after Cub Cadet offered these for sale. The newer gear reduction starter fixes the starter issue. Redoing the glow system so that the high amperage does NOT go thru the key switch, then the glow indicator on the dash before it gets to the plugs is the other major change. Feeding the glow plugs a full 12v instead of 6-7 volts after going thru the stock set up, allows them to get hot fast, saving battery power to crank the diesel. This is especially important in cold weather.

Yeah I did all that on my 1512, adjusting the valves made it start faster with less cranking.

CubDieselFan · #7 05-14-2023, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkminion_17

Yeah I did all that on my 1512, adjusting the valves made it start faster with less cranking.

I agree. My 1572 starts great. When Diesel Doctor had it in his shop, he said the valves needed adjusting very badly. I run a factory starter with no trouble. The 1772 has a gear reduction that is made in China and it already needs replacing. I have a factory starter ready to install as soon as I make time to do it.

Here is the thread on my 1572.

https://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/...hlight=Rebirth

CubDieselFan · #8 05-14-2023, 05:05 PM

The gear reduction starter lasted a little over a year.

Oak · #9 05-14-2023, 05:15 PM

I've hauled much worse home and probably spent a lot more than you did.

That is a great find.

Please post some pics of that power steering set-up. I have heard about those units buy have never seen one.

Unlike CubDieselfan, my $79 China starter has been going strong for 10+ years. Unfortunately I exploded the transmission because I had wheel weights on the rear so it has been sitting for over a year.

Keep us posted on the progress and we require lots of pics here on OCC.

cadetpwr · #10 05-14-2023, 08:14 PM

I could see the valves being an issue if they are staying partially open, which would cause loss of compression, or late opening, which would cause loss of power due to not opening far or long enough. But when the starter struggles to get the engine thru compression stroke, I do not see this as a valve issue, but a lack of balls from the starter/battery set up. Maybe in a warm climate one could get away with running the stock direct drive starter, but here in north central Indiana, we see -20 to -40 wind chills thru the winter with below zero air temps. If I have to move snow, I need her to start. The starter in it now if flakey, with electrical contact issues anyways. A new starter will be installed and it will not be a direct drive starter. I will run the overhead, ie adjust the valves, anyways and see if that helps its cranking. I know the 882 I owned years ago was very low hours and still would not start in the winter time with out a jumper pack to boost battery voltage and CCA. I am sure the China starters are inferior to a Kubota OEM starter. The power steering is hard to see as the cylinder is between the frame rails. I can just see it looking down below the drive shaft. I started driving it and was like, wow this turns super easy. so I got off and started looking at things and bingo, power steering cylinder.