{"id":593,"date":"2013-11-23T12:03:12","date_gmt":"2013-11-23T17:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cubcadetman.com\/cc\/?p=593"},"modified":"2015-11-28T14:54:38","modified_gmt":"2015-11-28T19:54:38","slug":"articulated-gear-drive-cub-cadet-artie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cubcadetman.com\/cc\/special-projects\/2013\/11\/articulated-gear-drive-cub-cadet-artie\/","title":{"rendered":"More Articulated Gear Drive Cub Cadet (Artie)"},"content":{"rendered":"

While I really enjoyed building, showing, and driving a hydrostatic driven, articulated Cub Cadet (Artie I), I really prefer gear drive machines.\u00a0 So, I completely dismantled Artie I and rebuilt the machine as a gear drive (Artie).\u00a0 I wrote an article on the build that appeared in the 2014, Jan.\/Feb. issue of Lawn and Garden Tractor magazine.\u00a0 It’s a fantastic magazine, and a link to their website can be found in the Favorite Links section of this website. To keep that article a reasonable length and hopefully make it of more general interest, I left out several of the smaller details of the rebuild.\u00a0 After that article was published, I added some of those details here.\u00a0 What I’ve added won’t make sense if you haven’t read the article, so hope you’re a subscriber or pick up a copy of the magazine if you’re interested in the build.<\/p>\n

Here’s what Artie I now looks like:<\/p>\n

\"Artie<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0I also have the hydrostatic drive for the rear end, but it’s removed in the picture.<\/p>\n

There’s a video of Artie in the Special Projects Video’s under the “Videos” section of this website.<\/p>\n

We had some bad weather during December, so I took the opportunity while I was stuck in the house to write the article on the details I’d left out of the L&GT article.\u00a0 Those details are given below.<\/p>\n

Rear Frame<\/strong><\/p>\n

I cut the rear frame so that it was 25 inches in length.\u00a0 I notched out the frame at the 6 inch point and bent each of the 6 inch sides in so that I had a 2 1\/2 inch space in the center between the two sides.\u00a0 The rear axle was mounted using the original mounting holes in the frame.\u00a0 The rear fenders are also mounted in the original mounting holes.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Front Frame<\/strong><\/p>\n

The front frame is 47 inches long with the centerline of the axle located 21 inches from the rear of the frame.\u00a0 The 47 inches is an approximation since the front of the frame isn\u2019t square.\u00a0 I had to drill new holes to mount the front axle.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Concerns<\/strong><\/p>\n

I had (and still have some) concerns about several aspects of the project.\u00a0 The biggest concern was the extended top shaft.\u00a0 My biggest concern is\/was with the gear teeth on the top shaft.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know how the gear teeth will hold up after being subjected to the heat generated when welding on the extension.\u00a0 Secondly, it\u2019s a minor concern, but I think the needle bearing that supports the top shaft will hold up.\u00a0 Originally, it only supported the \u201cnon-loaded\u201d end of the top shaft.\u00a0 Reversing the transmission means it\u2019s now on the loaded end.\u00a0 I\u2019m a little concerned about an oil leak around the needle bearing seal.\u00a0 However, I did leave room that I can add a \u201ccollar\u201d and install a larger seal if necessary.\u00a0 Also, there could be an oil leak under the \u201csliding\u201d plates, but so far that hasn\u2019t been a problem.\u00a0 I think the heavier oil is helping that situation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Steering pressure<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

To check the hydraulic pressure in the steering, I placed a pressure gage at the entrance of the hydraulic valve.\u00a0 By just turning the steering wheel, the pressure registered 300 psi.\u00a0 When I \u201cbottomed\u201d out the hydraulic cylinder, the gage registered 600 psi.<\/p>\n

\"Artie<\/a><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t get a picture with the gage installed, but you can see where I\u2019ve plugged the port in the picture above.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s on the lowest hose connection.<\/span><\/p>\n

I purchased a Prince, compact, adjustable relief valve from SurplusCenter.\u00a0 The gage originally was adjustable from 1000 to 2500 psi and preset to 1500 psi.\u00a0 I replaced the original spring with a piece I cut off the end of this spring.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Artie<\/a><\/p>\n

I wanted to show a picture of the spring I took out for comparison purposes, but I laid that spring up in a \u201csafe\u201d place and can\u2019t remember where I put it!!! I made the replacement spring about a half inch longer than the original spring.\u00a0 It\u2019s not nearly as stiff as the original.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t measure the length of either spring, and I don\u2019t want to take the relief valve apart to measure it.\u00a0 With the replacement spring the gage showed a pressure of 200 psi whether I was just steering or bottoming out the cylinder.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0Brakes<\/strong><\/p>\n

The brake linkage was the last thing I connected.\u00a0 The front axle is a Cub Cadet rear end with an internal brake.\u00a0 Just like a Cub Cadet the brake is activated near the end of the clutch travel.\u00a0 It\u2019s difficult to get a picture of the linkage I used.<\/p>\n

\"Artie<\/a><\/p>\n

In the picture above, the larger arrow points to the bracket that connects to the shaft that activates the clutch.\u00a0 The smaller arrow points to the rod that extends from the bracket to the brake lever.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Artie<\/a><\/p>\n

The picture above shows that same rod indicated by the large arrow.\u00a0 There\u2019s a piece of flat (small arrow) welded to the end of the rod downward to the brake lever.\u00a0 Below is a close up view of that flat.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Artie<\/a><\/p>\n

Gear shifts<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Since Artie now has two gear shift levers, it would be possible to put the transmission into two gears at the same time.\u00a0 So I added a keeper that would keep one gear shift lever in neutral while the other was being used.\u00a0 The lever can be \u201cflipped\u201d from one gearshift to the other for shifting the transmission.<\/p>\n

\"Artie<\/a>\"Artie<\/a><\/p>\n

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The picture on the left above shows the 2nd\/3rd gearshift lever held in neutral.\u00a0 The picture on the right shows the lever in a raised position not constraining either shifting lever.<\/p>\n

Steering mechanism<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Artie I had a sharper steering radius than Artie.\u00a0 Artie I turned so sharp that it made it difficult to use the brake pedal.\u00a0 I limited the steering radius on Artie by placing stops on the hydraulic cylinder.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Artie<\/a><\/p>\n

The steering gear box on a Cub Cadet is mounted at an angle to account for the fact that the drag link runs at an angle from the gear box to the front steering arm.\u00a0 For some reason on Artie I, I mounted the gear box at that same angle.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Artie<\/a><\/p>\n

The picture above is the mounting on Artie I.\u00a0 Notice that the bracket is mounted perpendicular to the frame of the tractor, but the two holes for mounting the gear box are located at an angle to the bracket.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t get a picture, but I mounted the bracket on Artie at an angle so that the hole locations were perpendicular to the frame, and the gearbox cam moves parallel to the frame of Artie.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll repeat here the description of how the steering works from the article on Artie I with some pictures of Artie.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Artie<\/a>\"Artie<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Artie<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cNotice in the pictures that I had to add a pivot arm from the end of the drag link to the link that connects to the hydraulic valve.\u00a0 This pivot arm accomplished two things.\u00a0 First, it permitted proper alignment for the drag link from the steering arm on the front section of Artie to the pivot arm on the rear section of Artie.\u00a0 Secondly, it amplified the movement of the drag link.\u00a0 Previously, I had determined that it required a lot of rotation of the steering wheel to activate the hydraulic valve.\u00a0 By using a shorter distance for the top connection of the pivot arm then the connection at the bottom, it multiplied the movement of the steering arm and produced almost instantaneous steering wheel response.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now the steering works something like this.\u00a0 Let\u2019s assume we\u2019re making a left hand turn.\u00a0 As the operator turns the steering wheel to the left, the steering arm pulls the drag link forward.\u00a0 The drag link pulls the top of the pivot arm forward moving the bottom of the pivot arm backward activating the control valve.\u00a0 The control valve sends hydraulic fluid to the cylinder causing Artie to pivot left.\u00a0\u00a0 As Artie pivots left, the distance between the steering arm and pivot arm decreases and releases the hydraulic valve.\u00a0 To continue turning left, the operator must continue turning the steering wheel.\u00a0 Turning right is obviously similar except the steering arm pushes rather then pulls and the distance increases rather then decreases.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Miscues<\/strong><\/p>\n

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I made one miscue (that I know of) while building Artie.\u00a0 I assumed that since I rotated the front axle 180 degrees and left the engine in the original orientation, I\u2019d have 3 reverse gears and one forward gear.\u00a0 So, I took the front axle apart and \u201cflipped\u201d the carrier gear before even first trying out Artie.\u00a0 Much to my dismay, the first time I drove Artie, I had 3 reverse gears and one forward.\u00a0 After a lot of thought, I finally figured out what was going on.\u00a0 If I\u2019d rotated the axle 180 degrees and kept the rotation of the top shaft in the same direction by also rotating the engine 180 degrees, I would\u2019ve had 3 reverse speeds and 1 forward.\u00a0 But, since I\u2019d kept the engine in its original orientation, it now rotated the top shaft in the opposite direction of its original design.\u00a0 In other words, even though the transmission had been rotated 180 degrees, it was also rotating in the opposite direction of its original design.\u00a0 So I had to disassemble Artie, remove the front axle and flip the carrier back to it’s original orientation.\u00a0 I should’ve tried it out before flipping the carrier!!!<\/p>\n

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Future<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Like Artie I, Artie is only driven by the front axle.\u00a0 But the final assembly has a straight, direct line between the \u201crear drive\u201d of the front axle and the \u201cfront drive\u201d of the rear axle.\u00a0 With a universal joint and a \u201cpto shaft\u201d the connection could easily be made.\u00a0 However, as with Artie I, I think Artie will only be used for display so that I\u2019m not sure I\u2019ll ever take the time and trouble to make that connection.<\/p>\n

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As always, if you have any questions or comments after reading the L&GT article or the information I’ve included here, you can contact me through this website.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While I really enjoyed building, showing, and driving a hydrostatic driven, articulated Cub Cadet (Artie I), I really prefer gear drive machines.\u00a0 So, I completely dismantled Artie I and rebuilt the machine as a gear drive (Artie).\u00a0 I wrote an article on the build that appeared in the 2014, Jan.\/Feb. issue of Lawn and Garden […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-593","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-special-projects"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4lT6g-9z","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cubcadetman.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cubcadetman.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cubcadetman.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cubcadetman.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cubcadetman.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/cubcadetman.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2355,"href":"https:\/\/cubcadetman.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593\/revisions\/2355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cubcadetman.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cubcadetman.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=593"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cubcadetman.com\/cc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=593"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}