LT2042 Ignition Coil Replacement

[ssallday]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forums. Last year, I couldn't figure out why my mower kept bogging down when I engaged the blades. I put the issue on the back burner for a while and resumed cutting. Today, I decided to check things out and discovered that the mice chewed through an ignition wire, which explains why my mower was acting up. I can't find any procedures that show how to take off the cover or access the coils. Does the motor have to come out?

 

[bertsmobile1]

So you have a 2000 series Cub from before the MTD redesign with a Kohler horizontal shaft engine.
To take the blower housing off you have to remove the remove shaft to the tranny.
On the Cub Cadet web page is a comprehensive service manual for your mower and parts manual .
You will need the full model number from the tag which will be on the left chassis rail on pre_MTD or under the seat on post MTD
According to the manual you need to remove 1/2 the tractor to get the prop shaft out but by far the easiest thing to do is undo the 4 bolts that hold in the engine
Get under the tractor & undo the four bolts that hold the prop shaft to the tranny
Slide the engine as far forward as you can
Remove the screen on the flywheel
then remove the 4 mounting bolts for the prop shaft
Withdraw the prop shaft back towards the tranny
Now remove the 6 bolts that hold the blower housing on and slide it back .
To get it right out you will need to unplug the mower ,

The last time I did one , I turned the engine clockwise 1/4 turn so the housing came off to the left side
I did a little rewiring so the coil kill wires have a plug outside the housing so I could unplug them in future to test the magnetos .
Give yourself plenty of time to do the job.
If the prop shaft has not been off before the bolts will be VERY TIGHT .
With the engine turned sideways you can do all of the servicing required and run the engine just so long as you clamp it to the mower .
Again from memory I think I pop a bolt in the front left engine hole on the front right mower hole .
Been a while since I had one apart.

 

[ssallday]

So you have a 2000 series Cub from before the MTD redesign with a Kohler horizontal shaft engine.
To take the blower housing off you have to remove the remove shaft to the tranny.
On the Cub Cadet web page is a comprehensive service manual for your mower and parts manual .
You will need the full model number from the tag which will be on the left chassis rail on pre_MTD or under the seat on post MTD
According to the manual you need to remove 1/2 the tractor to get the prop shaft out but by far the easiest thing to do is undo the 4 bolts that hold in the engine
Get under the tractor & undo the four bolts that hold the prop shaft to the tranny
Slide the engine as far forward as you can
Remove the screen on the flywheel
then remove the 4 mounting bolts for the prop shaft
Withdraw the prop shaft back towards the tranny
Now remove the 6 bolts that hold the blower housing on and slide it back .
To get it right out you will need to unplug the mower ,

The last time I did one , I turned the engine clockwise 1/4 turn so the housing came off to the left side
I did a little rewiring so the coil kill wires have a plug outside the housing so I could unplug them in future to test the magnetos .
Give yourself plenty of time to do the job.
If the prop shaft has not been off before the bolts will be VERY TIGHT .
With the engine turned sideways you can do all of the servicing required and run the engine just so long as you clamp it to the mower .
Again from memory I think I pop a bolt in the front left engine hole on the front right mower hole .
Been a while since I had one apart.

Did you have to remove the front grill and muffler to move the engine forward. It seems like it could only go so far with the muffler attached. Also, how did you remove the screen? It looks like there are 5 plastic rods holding the cover and screen in.

 

[ILENGINE]

Those rods are part of the underlying fan. The screen just pops over the end of them. So you can just pry the fan off if needed. But shouldn't have to remove it to remove the blower housing.

 

[ssallday]

Those rods are part of the underlying fan. The screen just pops over the end of them. So you can just pry the fan off if needed. But shouldn't have to remove it to remove the blower housing.

I took out all of the bolts on the sides. The cover won’t budge. Do I have to remove the bolts pointed out in the picture? Are there other bolts holding the cover on that I’m missing?

 

[ILENGINE]

I would say the bolts in the picture hold the carb to the intake manifold. there should be two bolts on each head, one on each side about half way down, and then one on each bottom corner.

 

[bertsmobile1]

The carb stays in place and the blower housing pull off the engine directly forward
There are 6 M bolts holding the blower cover on ( M 8 head ) all of them go in from the side
You can see one just near the ID tag and there is one in the exact opposite spot on the other side.
The other 4 are lower down
From memory the cover will not slide far enough rearwards to give access to the coils.
And yes the muffler needs to be removed .

 

[ssallday]

I was able to get the cover off. I snapped a bolt on the muffler but I think it will be ok with 2 out of 3 bolts. Hopefully, the parts will be here next week

 

[ssallday]

The mower is running better than ever with the new coils. No more bogging! Unfortunately, there is a small issue. When I turn the key to the off position, the mower will continue to run for 6-7 seconds. Is this to be expected with a cylinder that wasn't running for the last 3 years? Maybe it's something else?

 

[bertsmobile1]

You should have a few unpowered revolutions after you turn it off as it has momentum that hast to die down ( be adsorbed & turned into heat to be specific ) .
If it is still firing then you have a problem with the ignition switch.
When you turn the engine off the coils should stop producing a spark and the carb solenoid should stop fuel passing the main jet, both of which should kill the engine instantly.