Rescued A Cub Cadet 108
- Thread starter Sawdust
- Start date
We had a beautiful rainy morning today and after working in the garden yesterday it was going to be a do nothing day but…just can’t do it. I went out to the shop around noon and started checking the ole girls vitals. I turned the key and nothing. I pulled the fuel tank out to check the wiring had to anyway because the PO said he thought it was leaking so I’ll check that later. I noticed the clutch pedal shaft was not closing the safety switch. I reached down to bend the tab closer to the switch and it was broke. I jumped that plug with a piece of wire but still nothing. Nothing coming out of the starter solenoid so I took it out and cleaned all the contacts and my wire wheel on the dremel tool attacked me, I’ll do a separate post on that. I hooked everything back up and now it’s cranking. I rigged up a temporary fuel tank but now no spark. I pulled the plug to check because I’m still old school I don’t trust my spark tester, still no spark. I pulled the points cover off and the points looked ok but a little dirty. I cleaned them and honestly this thing started right up as soon as it cranked. It only ran for a few seconds and quit. I started it again same thing runs and quits. I took the carb bowl off and it had a lot of sediment and I shot some brake cleaner in and around and put the bowl back on. Now no start at all except on starter fluid. It starts right up quickly with the SF. I took the whole carb off this time as I should have before you just can’t half way clean a carb because of excitement. The bowl was full of gas so I know that much. I cleaned everything good so I’ll assemble that tomorrow and hopefully that will solve my problem of not getting any gas mixture. It was getting late and Carol was fixing some chili so it was time to quit.
Once I got the carb back on it starts up like it should. Full throttle is good but I can’t get it to idle good. The low idle adjusting screw doesn’t seem to be doing much in the mid range where it should even out from rich or lean. Other than that the engine runs well I’m real happy about that. I’ll order a carb kit later and maybe save it for a winter project. My other problem is the clutch will not disengage enough to put it in gear. I’ve never worked on one of these so right now I’m not sure how these work. I found a manual for this but we’re out of paper but Carol has a whole lot of recipes printed in her binders. Lol
They're adjustable(the clutch) that may be all you need.
That’s what I’m hoping DT just an adjustment. My curiosity is killing me on this. I have two tractors apart right now for rebuilding and an engine on my Cub 1250 that has a nice deck and plow with it. I really don’t need to be working on this right now especially during garden season. I have it in my shop so I can sneak a peep every now and then.
Sometimes rust and corrosion can cause the discs to stick to the pressure plates... I'll usually pull the clutch apart for a good cleaning and get the pressure plates resurfaced.
It looks like it Lance when I get a chance I’ll pull that off and clean it up. Here is a pic of it as I was looking at it today.
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That appears to be all original with 2 thin fiber discs and a metal friction plate in the middle.... not sure if those are still available but you can get a single 1/4" fiber disc from partstree and have the outer pressure plates resurfaced... its the same disc that my Columbia has but with 3 pilot holes instead of 4... or you can get an aftermarket Cub pulling clutch setup that has 6 pilot holes and stronger springs.... but you may get lucky if the fiber discs are not too badly worn you might get away with just a real good cleaning and resurfacing the plates.
Your on it Lance I was watching some YouTube videos last night about the clutches and noticed everyone was using just one fiber disc. Once I get more involved in this I might have to pick your brain a little. I can see now why you pullers have so many different designs.
The MTD 960 setup has heavier springs and a thicker drive shaft than even the competition Cub clutch so thats why my Columbia can pull like it does... I actually have to add weight to the front to keep it from doing wheelies... all systems will burn thru discs if they are not kept clean... its the rust that grinds away at the discs... just like having a rusted rotor on your car and your brake pads will wear fast.
Well I made a step backwards today. Something has seen draining the battery down to around 3 volts overnight. I tried starting it this morning and nothing. I jump started the battery and it started. I left it charging to do some other things. I came back about 2 hours later to find a puddle of oil under the engine and a spray of some fluid about 3 feet out from the tractor. After looking around I traced it back to the coil. The top of it was cracked in several places. I went to disconnect the charger and I found out I left the charger on jump start instead of a trickle charge. I noticed the key switch was is the on position. It looks like the coil boiled over and cracked the top. I have no spark now so that coil is garbage. I have the coil to the 1250 on my bench so I might switch them and see what happens. So far it’s a carb kit, maybe a clutch disc, and now a coil.
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Oooops... sht happens 
Ive heard of using an auto coil on a tractor before. Since I had my other K301 from my 1250 apart on my bench I just used that coil today and it fired up and ran well except for the rough idle. I also noticed today when It goes down from a high throttle it wants to backfire a little. When I get a chance I’m going to check the valves. If that don’t help the rough idle I’ll change the points and condenser.
Yup. Coils often marked with "contains internal resistor", "needs external resistor" etc.
I found a deal on feebay a year or so ago on some "Diamond" brand coils, made in Germany I think, have seen this brand on old VW bugs, etc
They had 2 versions, one of which they suggested for motorcycles, small engines etc and another version suggested for automotive usage. I think the internal resistor (or not) is the difference between them
These are brand new but old at the same time. I think I paid $10-ish ea for them now a days, a junk chinesium one in a parts store is 3x that or so.. .
I found a deal on feebay a year or so ago on some "Diamond" brand coils, made in Germany I think, have seen this brand on old VW bugs, etc
They had 2 versions, one of which they suggested for motorcycles, small engines etc and another version suggested for automotive usage. I think the internal resistor (or not) is the difference between them
These are brand new but old at the same time. I think I paid $10-ish ea for them now a days, a junk chinesium one in a parts store is 3x that or so.. .
Both of these coils are Diamond but made in Japan.
I filled the fuel tank up with water and found a few pin holes in a long group. I soldered that and decided to clean the whole bottom. It’s a good thing I did because I found several other holes. I soldered them up and now no leaks. I think later I’ll clean and seal the inside with some Red Kote.
I switched out the condenser, checked the valves, gapped the points and still misses while idling. I’m going to lean more on the carb now.
I pulled the drive shaft out. The clutch is a 3 piece that looks slightly delaminated so that needs replaced. The plates look good but will need cleaned up. The throw out bearing looks good but I’ll replace that anyway. The clutch release lever is worn but looks like most I’ve seen on YouTube that claim they are ok. One guy had a really bad one and welded it up in the worn areas then did some grinding on it to get it back to shape. For now I’ll just clean up the shaft and other parts and figure out a jig to get this spring off and still remain handsome.
I switched out the condenser, checked the valves, gapped the points and still misses while idling. I’m going to lean more on the carb now.
I pulled the drive shaft out. The clutch is a 3 piece that looks slightly delaminated so that needs replaced. The plates look good but will need cleaned up. The throw out bearing looks good but I’ll replace that anyway. The clutch release lever is worn but looks like most I’ve seen on YouTube that claim they are ok. One guy had a really bad one and welded it up in the worn areas then did some grinding on it to get it back to shape. For now I’ll just clean up the shaft and other parts and figure out a jig to get this spring off and still remain handsome.
Check all the pivot points, I've seen it on both 1200s that I've worked on, all of them wallowed out, makes for sloppy linkage and rattley operation. .
I ended up welding up the holes and redrilling them, I also added welded on washers and sleeve spacers where I could to beef things up and make it longer before things wear out again
I ended up welding up the holes and redrilling them, I also added welded on washers and sleeve spacers where I could to beef things up and make it longer before things wear out again