2182 hydro control cross shaft = ship in bottle from hell...

[Tom Scott]

My 2182-2 has been driving ever more herky-jerky, and the main culprit has been that the friction disc for the hydro control cross shaft was split and working its way out of where it is supposed to be. I have been dreading the job, and rightly so.

The design was not made with easy access in mind. These liquid cooled tractors complicate matters with the issue of a radiator in your way. Although the service manual obviously recommends removing the radiator for access, I was determined to get the job done without disturbing it. Removing the radiator would mean cutting the hoses or risking radiator damage by man-handling them. I didn't like either of those options, so I went for the "ship in a bottle" problem.

I will admit that this job nearly drove me to a full temper tantrum meltdown...

To review, the cross shaft is captured by a large bolt on the right side that is center drilled to receive the shaft and acts as the bearing as well. The left side has the locknut that is adjusted to pull the flange on the shaft against the friction disc (part #6), providing the needed resistance to movement. IPL drawing for reference:

Late Cyclops hydro cross shaft.jpg (16.48 KiB) Viewed 2682 times

The problem here is design and access. Both the right side capturing bolt and the left side locknut and stack of washers need to be removed, but with the Cyclops you will first need to get the plastic dash pulled back out of the way by just a few inches. This involves removing five screws and the pto switch retaining nut, as the pto switch mounted through the steel dash support behind the plastic. The other items like ignition switch and choke cable are only mounted to the plastic dash, so they may be kept in place. With the tunnel cover removed, the linkage at the output end of the shaft needs to be removed as well.

After getting the dash back a bit and removing the hardware, you are left with a bit of brain teaser like one of the ring games at the fair, or a Rubik's cube. The shaft needs to be slid to the left to get the right side free of the pedestal. That is not too bad, but it gets worse... The shaft then needs to be angled enough that the threaded left end will clear its mounting hole, all while being mindful that the output lever of the shaft will get hung up on the pedestal if not angled correctly. Not trying to remove the shaft from the tractor, but we need to get the threaded end pushed into the pedestal enough to replace the friction washer.

The only posiition that works, and I mean only, is to first raise the tilt wheel to its highest extreme position, then pull the hydro lever down to the extreme reverse position whilst tipping the right end upwards. When you get it just right, and only then, the left side will clear the pedestal hole and drop down to the left. You end up here, and you can see my finger touching the end that is normally captured by the right hand "hollow" bolt:

2182-2 cross shaft pedestal inside.JPG (579.99 KiB) Viewed 2682 times

Hydro lever position it takes to get this. Note it is pulled further down and out than would be normally possible:

2182-2 cross shaft lever positioning.JPG (501.43 KiB) Viewed 2682 times

[Tom Scott]

So, now the real frustration begins. You have to knock the old friction washer off, and somehow, get the new friction washer balanced on the left (threaded) end of the cross shaft. I tried using a dowel to position the friction disc against the pedestal, but this doesn't work because you can't move the shaft back far enough to get over the new disc.

The only option is to get the cross shaft close to the left hole and get the disc hung over the end. I must have dropped the disc into the pedestal fifty times before I got it over the end and it stayed. Too tight to reach an arm in, so a combination of fingers through the various small holes and between the plastic dash and pedestal finally got it on. Then time to reverse the removal process by jockeying the hydro lever and shaft position until you can get the end through the left side pedestal hole.

From there it is fairly straightforward and life starts to go back to normal.

I will say that I think there is an IPL discrepancy. For the last run of the Cyclops, Cub added a shoulder washer (part #30) that provides the bearing surface for the left side of the shaft and prevents the shaft from wearing the pedestal from use. This shoulder washer is smaller in diameter than the bellville spring washers, so they are stacked concave to concave (cup-to-cup), and there are only two of them. This arrangement provides less spring force, but more range of adjustment. Typical Cyclops, adds a nice feature, but the wrap around dash makes things harder.

When done, I decided to follow what the manual says about adjustment. They call for 3-5 pounds on the hydro lever, and that is much more force than I have ever had on the lever of any of my tractors. I used a fish scale to pull the lever and I have just over four pounds throughout the operation range. Now it will drive without the lever taking off on its own, and much less sensitive to my hand inputs, especially over bumps.

A job well worth doing, but don't do it when you are rushed or in an impatient mood!

Hope this helps someone tackle an unpleasant job. If you have an air cooled model, probably well worth removing the battery to get access, or if pre-Cyclops (72/82 series) perhaps the fuel tank. I haven't compared access with my 1872 yet...

Cheers!

[dag1450]

Wow.....big job for a dumb disc! Stinking Cyclops!

[Tom Scott]

Well, just an update. The tractor is nice to use again! I was really starting to dread using it, and that shouldn't be the case with a machine that I'm supposed to like. It takes so little movement of the hydro lever to make the tractor jerk, that little friction washer and the proper adjustment is very important. Now that I am used to how stiff the lever is suppose to feel, I will be adjusting the other two tractors to make them a little tighter.

Anyway, if you can't adjust your hydro lever to have enough resistance, it is worth one painful evening to correct.

[AKAMIKE]

Tom, I can relate having preformed the same task myself. I picked up a 2182 recently and have been going through the unit to bring it up to my standard of serviceability. Since I was doing other work in that area I decided to remove the tower all together which made this task a lot easier, but even off the frame this lever was still a puzzle fit. dealing with the steering column, wiring and all the other items in that area must have made you crazy.

Had I not had other reasons to remove the tower I would have tried it that way too, but I think removing the tower is how I would approach this if I were to attack that problem alone.

mike