Skip to main content

Sunday is Cub Day

Image
By Robert Adams

Last Sunday afternoon, just before going off on my last TDY trip as an Army officer, I decided to adjust the carburetor on the ’49 Cub. The manual states it to be a simple job. Just turn the adjustment to one revolution, run the engine until it is warmed up, retract the throttle and then turn the adjustment either in or out until the Cub engine runs smoothly. Advance and retract the throttle to check the adjustment. Simple; however, the engine died and was difficult to start. Once again I had forgotten to pull on the ignition switch. Finally, after fiddling with the adjustment a while and getting the engine to stay running, I drove the tractor into my Tractor building and shut it down. I was quite concerned that I was going to have to push the Cub into its parking place which is difficult to do. Usually I use the 8N Ford to push the Cub into the building. Fortunately I did not have to.

 

Today, a week later, I had charged the battery, tightened the negative cable on the battery, and was ready to try again. Instead of pushing the tractor out of the building, I decided to start it in the building with the sliding door open. I pulled the ignition switch, pulled the choke to full on, and pulled the starter ring. The Cub started up in about four seconds. Putting the choke at half choke (the carburetor is designed for this) helped the engine to run as it warmed up. Then I pushed the choke off and listened to the engine run quietly under no load. No smoke from the exhaust and no roughness in the sound. I shut it down, happy as can be. We are approaching the end of the refurbishing. In the near future I will push the tractor into the yard, run the engine until it is warmed up, and again adjust the carburetor. Once it is okay, then the Cub will go to the radiator repair man for soldering the overflow tube into its place. Once that is done, he can flush the radiator. Only then will the hydraulics be put on, filled with hydraulic fluid, and tested. The fuel filter will go on the tank and the hood will be put back on the Cub. Finally, decals will be put on and the front lights will be tested. I may have to use the ground wires on the electrical cable if the lights are not adequately grounded though the hood and frame (hood supports?). I am about ready to find some implements!

 

Tractor Boy

Popular posts from this blog

Farmall Cub Switch Replacement

By Robert Adams
It was a cold, wet, dreary day in Central Texas. Perfect weather in which to replace the light switch I replaced last week. The first replacement was blowing a 20-amp fuse in less than a second when turned to the farthest right position. Fortunately, I had added a separate fuse holder to the circuitry when the replacement did not have a fuse position. I spoke with the nice folk at Farmall Cub Forever and ordered a three position six-volt switch which arrived a few days ago. This time I took pictures so you can see what I was doing. Again, I replaced one wire at a time. The switch has a protrusion which fits in a notch in the console, and I replaced it so the two were properly aligned. I discovered it was easier to take the console off this time, and I did not need a small monkey to reach in the confined space.  I did; however, forget that I placed a piece of board between the hydraulic housing and the hood/fuel tank. So, when I started up the Cub to see how well it would run, there...
Read more

Farmall Cub greasing

By Robert Adams
Replacing gear oil and greasing the ’49 Cub ought to be a straight forward task(s). Well it hasn’t been. The transmission fluid was tan, looking like tan paint. Folks on Yesterday’s Tractor Farmall forum said it meant water had got inside the transmission. I wonder whether this tractor was under water at one time. I bought a Spectricide brand insecticide pump, put kerosene in it, and flushed the transmission, then refilled with 90 weight gear oil. The gear oil looked like and had the consistency of thin honey. Pic 1300 shows the transmission filler plug. A lot easier to reach than the plug for emptying the transmission. Note it has a square head. All of these plugs are square headed. Three and a half pints later, the transmission was back together. After the transmission, I decided to check the steering gear oil. It was not tan. It was black as could be so I flushed the housing with kerosene again and refilled with ¾ pint of 90 weight gear oil and replaced the filler plug. Pic 1301 s...
Read more

Cub gas tank and hydraulic pump

By Robert Adams
Sunday I was going to put the fuel filter and shut off device onto the gas tank of the ’49 Farmall Cub. On the bottom of the gas tank which is an integral part of the hood, there is a brass hexagonal adaptor threaded on the inside. The fuel filter does not fit on this hexagonal adaptor. The shape is different and the size is different. I will ask help from some knowledgeable people to solve this. As soon as I have this solved, the hydraulic lift can go in place. The fuel tank on the hood becomes THE fuel tank for the tractor.   The hydraulic pump goes on the left side of the Cub engine near the bottom. A cover plate is removed so the pump vanes can be put in their place. Two bolts of 5/16X28 and 1 .75 inches long are needed to hold the pump together. Two longer bolts hold the pump to the tractor.  I need to buy the shorter one or cut a longer one off myself to fit.     Tractor Boy.
Read more