1810 Restoration

[Miltstrk]

I am getting my 1810 back after it has been mowing a 2 acre lawn in New York for the past 12 summers. I am planning to restore the machine to stock; the first detail will be to find out why the carb is not getting fuel. After searching the forums, I will be looking at the fuel pump first and probably the fuel shut-off. Not sure about the mechanical ability of the people who were using it! I may need a kit to rebuild the carb and will need to know where to look for the correct ID numbers to assure I get the correct kit.
I may also look into adding an electric lift for the deck as an 1811 would have on it. Is this possible and worth the money? I have not looked into if there is a kit available for this conversion.

[Tom Scott]

Milton - Start with good troubleshooting before you start replacing parts. The first step is making sure the fuel is actually getting to the fuel pump.

The fuel tank has a cone shaped screen over the inlet and they can get clogged. Disconnect the fuel line from the fuel pump and make sure fuel will free flow from the tank (into a safe container) when you lower the fuel line lower than the fuel tank. If not, the screen or the fuel shut-off valve right below the tank is clogged. If it is the valve, sometimes just closing and opening the valve a few times will clear it.

I don't like the screens as they do tend to clog; with the tank empty (siphon if necessary, and be careful with gas!), you can pull the fitting out of the bottom of the tank. Cut the screen off and discard. Reinstall the fitting, then get a small inline fuel filter and install after the valve. The mower parts places usually have a nice small fuel filter; I used a Kohler one, but any brand will do.

As far as the lift on an 1811, it is hydraulic. I am not sure that the 1810 has the ported hydro pump that makes the hydraulic lift possible. The conversion is doable with all the parts, but probably easier to find another tractor with the lift to use. And that is how many of us here end up with multiple tractors... We want something else, but don't want to get rid of what we started with!

And...Welcome to the forum. Check back and let us know how you did. If it does turn out to be fuel pump or carb, we can talk about that too.

[dag1450]

Welcome Milton. Yes.....Tom is your man for trouble shooting...so keep him posted on what u find. If by some slim chance u have a ported pump on that tractor...there is a guy north of philly on ebay that has a hydraulic lift for your tractor (typically called 82 or 72 series) I saw it the other day for like $40...looked like it had most of what u need, other than if u will need rockshaft parts. A cub parts diagram is good for that. Most Cub internet parts stores have the blow up pics online now so u could cross your 1810 against the 1811 to see what all u will need. It is a big job and yes buying another tractor does sound better....but i just had to tell u since i saw it so cheap. The 1811s seem to sell for $700 to $1000. I gave..i mean sold a nice one last winter for $750 Good luck Dave

[Jlaws]

I'm not sure if all 1810's had a ported pump , but the few I've owned have had . I also have converted a 1810 into a hydrolift 1811 and its not that bad of a conversion as its mosly a bolt on and go conversion . The hardest part was taking off the manual lift handle and changing the rockshaft over to the hydrolift rockshaft .
If you can find a good used complete 1811 or 782 hydro lift ( spool valve with handle , lift cylinder , rubber hoses and metal lines ) reasonably price , that would be the way to go .