Okay, so I jacked up the mower. the belts are still in fantastic shape as I figured they would be. I monitored the belt travel while it was running and I could control the pedal. There isn't a spring at the pedal like I originally thought. It just has a solid pivot point and it is working as it should. the variable pulley seems to be doing its job as well. What I did find was the right rear tire seems to be slipping. I can hold it in place by hand with the pedal at full throttle and can feel it attempting to grip, but as I said I can hold it still and prevent it from doing so. With the pedal depressed at about 40% it slips significantly less and this is the speed at which i can usually cut the grass without a lot of trouble less im trying to climb an incline. It seems to me that it shouldn't be slipping like it is, especially with it feeling as if it's trying to constanly grip.
Cub Cadet 1600 Drive Issue
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bertsmobile1
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That is working exactly as it should.
The mower has a diff and diffs will allow one wheel to turn when the other wheel is locked up, just the same as on your car ( unless it has a limited slip diff).
The mower has a diff and diffs will allow one wheel to turn when the other wheel is locked up, just the same as on your car ( unless it has a limited slip diff).
So, I went and took the rear end apart again and realized that it had a differential after the fact. I felt like an idiot when I finally realized what it was.
I double-checked everything in the rear end and all seems to be working just fine. This is the third time I've had it apart and I still feel that it's as it should be.
Further inspection there is a return spring on the pedal but it's only a return. Both belts are in fantastic shape and nothing is worn smooth. I took a few pictures to show that the belts can not bottom out when the variable pulley but I'll have to upload them later because it won't allow me to do it from my phone.
With the mower in the air and the weight off of the wheels it seems to work just fine. I unfortunately can't recreate losing power to the wheels. The top tensioner on the drive is ultra-tight and doesn't wobble at all. I was able to check this by taking the battery out and connecting it to the mower via jumper cables so I could watch the drive system while I operated the pedal.
I'm going to do some more investigating a bit later and see if I see anything different.
I double-checked everything in the rear end and all seems to be working just fine. This is the third time I've had it apart and I still feel that it's as it should be.
Further inspection there is a return spring on the pedal but it's only a return. Both belts are in fantastic shape and nothing is worn smooth. I took a few pictures to show that the belts can not bottom out when the variable pulley but I'll have to upload them later because it won't allow me to do it from my phone.
With the mower in the air and the weight off of the wheels it seems to work just fine. I unfortunately can't recreate losing power to the wheels. The top tensioner on the drive is ultra-tight and doesn't wobble at all. I was able to check this by taking the battery out and connecting it to the mower via jumper cables so I could watch the drive system while I operated the pedal.
I'm going to do some more investigating a bit later and see if I see anything different.
Boudreaux In Eunice La.
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Ok I'll chime in ............ I read some of the longer post's and noticed something that Bert and I harp on a lot......
You haven't said anything about this part that Bert mentioned....... Worn pulley's and I don't mean bearings either....Pulleys will get worn on the inside of the grooves and make belts stretch in a sense 2 ways.....
When the pulley or pulleys are worn on the inside of the grooves people will put a brand new belt on and the belt will not grab just right.... Some people think when pulleys are worn that their belt has stretched... No a belt rarely stretches at all.... The belt sits in further in the groove and actually cant grab right....
I showed that to a customer one time... I changed a main pulley on the crankshaft and his 2 spindle pulleys and put his old belt on and it worked perfect.... He kept the new belt he bought for a spare......
Let us Know Mon Ami ~!~!
You haven't said anything about this part that Bert mentioned....... Worn pulley's and I don't mean bearings either....Pulleys will get worn on the inside of the grooves and make belts stretch in a sense 2 ways.....
When the pulley or pulleys are worn on the inside of the grooves people will put a brand new belt on and the belt will not grab just right.... Some people think when pulleys are worn that their belt has stretched... No a belt rarely stretches at all.... The belt sits in further in the groove and actually cant grab right....
I showed that to a customer one time... I changed a main pulley on the crankshaft and his 2 spindle pulleys and put his old belt on and it worked perfect.... He kept the new belt he bought for a spare......
Let us Know Mon Ami ~!~!
Here are the photos I promised. As you can see the belts don't come close to bottoming out.
None of the pulleys on the mower has grooves of any sort. All of them are smooth. Below is a few stock photos of them.
The idler pulleys are in perfect shape. The one at the engine I can feel but cannot see because I cannot figure out how to get the clutch off. I had to pull the engine out from the top the last time I changed the drive belt and have yet to tackle that again. The belt, however, doesnt appear to be damaged as it only has about 10 hours on it and its speced correctly.
I feel like I am missing something simple...
None of the pulleys on the mower has grooves of any sort. All of them are smooth. Below is a few stock photos of them.
The idler pulleys are in perfect shape. The one at the engine I can feel but cannot see because I cannot figure out how to get the clutch off. I had to pull the engine out from the top the last time I changed the drive belt and have yet to tackle that again. The belt, however, doesnt appear to be damaged as it only has about 10 hours on it and its speced correctly.
I feel like I am missing something simple...
bertsmobile1
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There is a 7/16 UNF bolt in the middle of the clutch pulley.
It is a long bolt with 2" to 4" of thread so takes a bit of undoing, particularly if a DPO has poured lock tite all over it.
Free the wires at the 2 pin plug.
The entire clutch now pulls directly off the shaft.
Dont put your head directly under it as it is quite heavy and has been know to break noses, cheek bones or smash specticles .
Once it is off the drive pulley pulls off the same way.
Some are rusted on quite solid and require heating red hot to get them off without damage.
Once off polish the shaft & inside the pulleys and coat with anti-sieze
Usually you also need to dress the key way if the key has damaged it.
Both pulleys should slide loosely up & down the shaft.
Not that this addresses your problem , but it will make things easier in future.
Now unless you polished the center of the Vari-drive pulley the belts have been running on it.
It is never that shinny.
Remember you are just sitting the belt in there, when it is under tension it will flex, distort and run deeper.
Now get a small strait edge like an Exacto knife blade and check that the pulley faces are flat and not dished front to back.
Fixed pulleys will show a wear ridge and / or shinny sections on the curve where the pulley face meets the shaft section.
It is a long bolt with 2" to 4" of thread so takes a bit of undoing, particularly if a DPO has poured lock tite all over it.
Free the wires at the 2 pin plug.
The entire clutch now pulls directly off the shaft.
Dont put your head directly under it as it is quite heavy and has been know to break noses, cheek bones or smash specticles .
Once it is off the drive pulley pulls off the same way.
Some are rusted on quite solid and require heating red hot to get them off without damage.
Once off polish the shaft & inside the pulleys and coat with anti-sieze
Usually you also need to dress the key way if the key has damaged it.
Both pulleys should slide loosely up & down the shaft.
Not that this addresses your problem , but it will make things easier in future.
Now unless you polished the center of the Vari-drive pulley the belts have been running on it.
It is never that shinny.
Remember you are just sitting the belt in there, when it is under tension it will flex, distort and run deeper.
Now get a small strait edge like an Exacto knife blade and check that the pulley faces are flat and not dished front to back.
Fixed pulleys will show a wear ridge and / or shinny sections on the curve where the pulley face meets the shaft section.
I was messing around with the clutch and it is locked on there with a force unknown to mankind. Ill saturate it with PB Blaster regularly for the next few days to help loosen it up. That trick worked for removing the exhaust manifold bolts on my Honda. If that doesn't do it ill follow it up with some heat. Had this same problem removing the rear wheels but I have remedied that issue already.
I also noticed the clutch isn't bolted down on the sides. It just floats between a few different brackets which give it about a centimeter of turning play back and forth. And it has the center bolt as previously explained to me. Is that normal? I can take a short video and post on Youtube if needed.
With it torn down this far it's tempting to repaint it. Are racing strips a bit too much you think?
I also noticed the clutch isn't bolted down on the sides. It just floats between a few different brackets which give it about a centimeter of turning play back and forth. And it has the center bolt as previously explained to me. Is that normal? I can take a short video and post on Youtube if needed.
With it torn down this far it's tempting to repaint it. Are racing strips a bit too much you think?
bertsmobile1
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Its your mower,
Purple with pink poka dots is fine if you like it.
Got a customer who painted his ride ons yellow & pink for his 2 daughters to mow with, they loved it.
IT is a cheapness thing, the output shaft should be copper plated or at least greased during manufacture.
On the odd occasion I get a new mower for it's initial service, never seize on the PTO shafts and grease on the rear axels is always a must.
Can't charge the customer for it as it is not part of the scheduled service but it does make my life a lot easier latter on.
The clutch set up is correct a lot of people pack some rubber in there to stop it rattling , although it might have flogged out a bit .
Purple with pink poka dots is fine if you like it.
Got a customer who painted his ride ons yellow & pink for his 2 daughters to mow with, they loved it.
IT is a cheapness thing, the output shaft should be copper plated or at least greased during manufacture.
On the odd occasion I get a new mower for it's initial service, never seize on the PTO shafts and grease on the rear axels is always a must.
Can't charge the customer for it as it is not part of the scheduled service but it does make my life a lot easier latter on.
The clutch set up is correct a lot of people pack some rubber in there to stop it rattling , although it might have flogged out a bit .
I think I figured out the source of the issue. When I was putting everything back together again I didn't adjust the shift rod properly for F/N/R. When in forward the wheels wouldn't turn even though I heard it click into place in the transmission and all of the pulleys were turning even when the pedal was fully depressed. I backed the adjuster screw off one full rotation which then allowed the wheels to turn intermittently as they did before. Backed it off one more full turn and the over all problem is significantly better, but not 100%. Unfortunately I cannot back the adjuster off any further else reverse wouldnt engage properly. The shiftrod is connected to a slide inside the transmission that interlocks with the Forward and Reverse gears by two studs on either side of the slide. What I beleive is happening is this slide is not staying locked into the appropriate gear.
During this testing when the wheels stopped turning the belts and pulleys never slipped or stopped. All pulleys have straight flat sides as checked with a razor blade edge.
During this testing when the wheels stopped turning the belts and pulleys never slipped or stopped. All pulleys have straight flat sides as checked with a razor blade edge.
bertsmobile1
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THE F-N-R lever has a detent groove that a ball bearing on a spring engages with.
Good chance it fell out while you have the cases apart.
Failing that the F-N -R gears are on a shaft with top hat bushes at either end.
The R side rarely wears but the F side does.
I have flipped a few over when I forgot ( or failed to notice ) that the bushes needed replacing.
Usually when the dogs on the F-N-R are not engaging you get a pronounced grating sound of the dogs slipping over each other.
Good chance it fell out while you have the cases apart.
Failing that the F-N -R gears are on a shaft with top hat bushes at either end.
The R side rarely wears but the F side does.
I have flipped a few over when I forgot ( or failed to notice ) that the bushes needed replacing.
Usually when the dogs on the F-N-R are not engaging you get a pronounced grating sound of the dogs slipping over each other.