Cub Cadet Collectors dot com

I recently learned just how expensive parts for the older Cubs have become. $29 for a rear cover gasket and over $30 for the stud for the Ross steering box. Fortunately I have a mini-lathe and was able to repair the stud and I found thick gasket material and made a pattern for future needs. Anyway these old Cubs are better than anything on the market today and one does not need to have much electrical or mechanical skills to maintain one. A lot of the new stuff is just not made to repair. Soon parts for these will only come from other Cubs and people with machine shop capabilities. Still worth keeping them running!

Charlie just a reminder, when turning back those cam follower studs it's important to remove the appropriate amount of material from the face of the stud otherwise it will force contact with the root of the thread rather than the pitch sides. 1/16" clearance is a good amount.

Right, I checked that after turning to make sure there was enough clearance. It is a wonder someone did not come up with something better to replace that stud. Maybe a harder material. I ordered some of those 1/16" thick Teflon washers for the front spindles to supposedly make the steering easier. I already have the thrust bearing installed on the steering box.

I thought about a hardened stud for the box but then realized that would likely wear the worm itself more than the stud. If there was more room in there you could make a stirrup with a bearing on the end to ride in the groove. I looked at a couple of cam followers as well but nothing off the shelf would take the abuse.

The tricky thing about Ross steering boxes, is that in normal use, the pin wears most at the angle it addresses the worm in the wheels CENTERED position, as THIS is where most of the steering motion occurs... maintaining a straight line.

Resurfacing the pin to make it round, and then grinding the nose slightly to provide root clearance DOES help, but it doesn't resolve the wear that occurs on the WORM surface in that same area. Many guys, after truing up the nose, will reinstall and set it so that there's no slop in the center position, only to have it bind greatly once a half-turn off centered, because the work groove isn't worn there.

The only 'real' solution, is to grind a new width to the worm, which very, very, very few guys will have access to appropriate machinery to do that.

Sometimes you need to look outside the box for parts.... So like the rear cover gasket.... same as a Farmall Cub.

$8.50 at steiner tractor parts

for $30 i would make my own like u did... but for $8 nope ill buy it!

https://www.steinertractor.com/IHS180-T ... ate-gasket

For the cam follower... there was a guy on ebay making them. i have bought ALOT from him. i have to look to see if he is still around. seems to me he wasnt marketing them for cubs.. so you gotta search ROSS.

I dont think this was the guy making them before but $13 bucks from this guy!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Massey-Ferguso ... SwOXldKQlf

dave

One thing to watch on aftermarket parts, thickness of the gasket. I prefer a thick gasket for the rear because the cover is just a steel plate. OEM gasket is around .050" thick and I will be making my own for now on. I hate leaks and just had my 147 apart for the hydro gasket and the axle extensions gasket. Now it leaves no oil footprint.
I turned my cam follower down a bit to get a good surface. I will buy one of those you mentioned for a spare. Thanks.
I think the higher prices will spark more handy individuals to start making parts at their home machine shops.

Just checked the gasket you mentioned and it appears to be a thick one. Thanks for the tips.