Broke my 1200

[vr4Legacy]

I was out mowing the other day and my 1200 clutch wouldn't stay engaged. Luckily I was towards the bottom of a hill and smoothly pulled into a level area. Looked it over and the clutch was slightly disengaged, even with the pedal all the way up. The driveshaft certainly didn't shrink, and the transmission didn't shift back, so somehow the engine must have moved forward

Looked it over and saw I sheared a bolt on my front engine mount, along with my muffler mounting bolt. Fortunately I didn't break the repair weld on the header side. Apparently hitting a tree stump in 2nd gear isn't a good thing to do

I went out this evening and was moving along smoothly replacing the bolt on the engine mount. To my surprise I was able to get the muffler bolt out of the mounting hole using a screw extractor. Came out clean, threads looked good. Everything was moving along smoothly... and then.... I noticed the engine mounting bolt was sheared too (see 3rd picture)

Soon.. I think I know the answer here, but I'm guessing I shouldn't operate this until I get that bolt extracted and replaced. What's my best course of action here. Does anyone think I could get the bolt out from under the tractor without pulling the engine?

Guess I better get this 149 running so I can haul it over to mow grass and sneak the 1200 in to repair. Maybe I can convince my wife it's the same tractor and BOTH don't need fixed ....

[bocephus1991]

Those pesky tree stumps! Well to be honest, pull the engine and save yourself all the headache of trying to leave it and get the bolt out. It's not hard to pull the engine, I've done it several times! Not bad choice either.

[Yosemite Sam]

You may get that broken oil pan bolt out clean. Sounds like you already know that these situations are always a crap shoot.

Yes, don't use it until it's fixed.

Quiet Line tractors get a bad rap because the motor mounts wear out after 35 or 40 years and people continue to use them that way compounding the problems.

Try to put a little money aside along the way and plan to do a little work on the 1200, do the cradle modification, maybe replace the oil pan with a cast iron one, replace worn motor mounts and any worn drive line parts. Put it back together the way it was when new and use it for another 40 years. You may end up spending 2 or 3 hundred dollars (depending on how bad things are and if you need your clutch rebuilt and so on). OR you can go spend $2500.00 on a new POS that won't last 10 years.

Facts are facts, if you spend a few dollars at a time on an old piece of equipment, it can work hard for you for years to come. It's still cheaper than buying new every few years.

As for the wife thing... Take her with you to look at new equipment and remind her that it will wear out in a short time and let her do the math. Maybe you can suggest that you buy her a push mower and cut your costs WAY DOWN.

The bottom line is that Old Cubs are by far cheaper than new equipment, but old or new, you still have to maintain them. And messin around with your old Cubs will definitely keep you out of the girly bars!

Good luck on all fronts.

[twoton]

Always something isn't it Jason! I'd pull it, easiest way.

[vr4Legacy]

Originally Posted by twoton

Always something isn't it Jason! I'd pull it, easiest way.

Always. I cut the whole field 3+ ft high grass without any major issues. Now that it's knocked down I throw her in 2nd and BAM.

Yosemite, I agree it's worth putting the money into, the issue right now is I'm trying to cut costs without causing damage. In a year or two I plan on putting all new wearable driveline items in.

I just installed solid motor mounts, so I'm good there.

As for pulling the engine, it's out in the middle of my land I bought, so that may be tricky, and I'd rather not mess wth getting it on my trailer.

I'm going to head out early this weekend and pull the engine rail out and see how good of an angle I can get at the bolt with a screw extractor. I'm go slow and cautious. If it doesn't look good, I'll pull the engine.

Looking it over, if I pull the bolts on the pedestal fir the fuel tank mounts, and disconnect the choke/throttle and wires to the starter, should the whole assembly, feul tank and all come out together?

I have my trailer out there, so I suppose I could set it on that a some blocks to work on it. I don't have any sort of an engine stand though. So I might have as good of luck pulling the engine rail and working with it sitting on the frame.

Lastly, does anyone know what size that bolt is? I can't find it on the parts finder online.

I'll take any tips on engine removal, and report back on my luck.

[vr4Legacy]

SUCCESS!!

I was able to slide the rail out of the way enough to get a good clean view of the broken bolt. Got my drill in there and it came right out.

I didn't have any bolts with me as I wasn't sure of the size. So I took out the other mount bolt and picked up a couple grade 8 tonight. They are 3/8 - 16 x 1" bolts.

I'll throw them in Saturday morning and get back to mowing

Now back to the 149...

[bocephus1991]

Good deal!

[vr4Legacy]

AANNDD.... Failure

Got the engine bolted up real nice and tight, still had a little trouble getting the clutch dialed in, but figured I'd drive it a little and see how it felt. Nada. Nothing. Zip. Zilch.... The drive shaft was spinning up front, but the transmission wasn't moving in the back. So I figured my roll pin sheared that I put in as a temporary fix. Pulled off the tunnel and nope. It was good.

And then I looked at the driveshaft.... I posted 1000 words below to describe it

Fortunately I have another one sitting around. So I just need to re-read TwoTon's write up and make me a jig. Then, hopefully I can be back on my merry way.

FYI. I decided to just pull the engine this time. My back is going to hate me for it, but it was a heck of a lot easier to pull the drive line out.

I'll post back once I get everything apart so you guys can all make sure I put the parts back in the right order...

[bocephus1991]

Sorry that hear about your recent problems! Mine broke last fall in nearly the same spot. Did it break where a spiral pin goes through? That's where mine broke, only thing is that the hole in the driveshaft wasn't even being used. It was under or behind( was covered ) by the spring. I'm curious too, is that a new release arm? How long does it measure? Is it shorter than the original? Did you have difficulty adjusting the clutch? I tried a new one from cub cadet and gave up. The new ones are shorter the oem ones. I ordered one from a place that makes parts for pullers. Its longer than the new ones from cub. Im gonna shorten it to the original length and redrill the hole. Oh Jeff in pa makes driveshafts. I'd send him yours and have him make one.

[vr4Legacy]

Yep, broke in the empty hole under the spring.

I'm not sure about the arm, I ordered the whole driveshaft, clutch and all off e-bay because the hanger that was in my 1200 when i bought it was off a narrow frame. But the slot did appear to be too short, I put spacers under the bolts on the mount, to shift it down. I thought it was something with my tractor or the solid mounts I put in. But judging by the black enamel on it, I'd say it's not IH original. I posted a couple pics of it. You can see where the TO bearing was riding on it. Also if you look at the bottom, the spacer was rubbing on it, that's why I put spacers under the bolts on my arm mount.

I have the driveshaft that came out of my tractor originally. I just need to disassemble it and swap the release arms. But now you have me thinking maybe I should find another arm....

Looks like the weather will be nice tomorrow. So I think I'm going to build a jig to disassemble the clutch using TwoTon's tutorial. I have a feeling I'll end up doing it more than once...

I saw Jeff in PA makes shafts. I don't think he needs my old one, he has all the measurements on hand. But I'm hoping to use the one I have.

I've got the fenders off the 149 and am de-gunking it now. I think I've found a pressure line for the hydraulics. By the end of the summer I should have at least one working Cub at a time

At least I got the hay knocked down and the weather has turned. I might end up dragging my Gravely walk-behind out next and see if I can get it going ...