cub cadet 3186

[nolan1]

Hi guys my cub cadet 3186 is not mowing very well. When I engage the pto and start mowing the deck basically shuts off once it hits grass, the tractor itself doesnt seem to bog down-just the deck not going and it doesnt do this all the time which makes it even more frustrating. Any suggestions? Thanks

 

[WNYTractorTinkerer]

Deck belt or tension spring.. gets my vote.. If no belt you most likely have a sheared key in the mower's drive line.

 

[JTKub]

Yep, the 3K's use a pair of short V-belts from PTO to the shaft drive. I'd suspect either belt tension or the vacuum actuated PTO isn't holding. I'm not sure how to adjust either on the 3K's though.

Joel

 

[nolan1]

ok I will look into those suggestions it just seems strange that sometimes the darn thing comes on like nothing is wrong and then next time I pull the pto engage knob no go

 

[highboy1975]

i just replaced the pto belts on mine for the same thing. it would take forever for the blades to get up to speed and in high grass they would all but stop. on mine, theres an adjustment on the vacuum thing to put more tension on the pulley. this will buy you some more time on your belts if its not adjusted out all the way already. take your side panel off and you can see the whole thing in action. if the vac is engaging, and the decks not turning, ill bet on pto belts.

 

[nolan1]

are the pto belts difficult to change?

 

[highboy1975]

no, but make sure you put everything back right. i cooked a set that i bought a few weeks ago because i left out a pin. the pto brake wasnt coming off and it cooked the belt. with some simple hand tools you could have it done in 30 minutes taking your time.

 

[nolan1]

sounds good ,it appears to be that the tension is very loose so i will try and tighten it then pick up new belts this weekend thanks again

 

[highboy1975]

if your going to get new belts, adjust it after you get the belts. save doing it twice.

 

[nolan1]

thanks I will wait any tips on how to adjust the tension the book does not show this

 

[highboy1975]

the vac thing has a rod coming out of it thats threaded. thats where your going to get your adjustment at. i didnt bother adjusting mine though, its really tight.

 

[Mickey_Fx]

Don't know the age of your machine nor in any changes over the years to how the PTO operates. On mine, there is an electrical operated valve that controls whether vac is applied to the solenoid or not. That part used to be an issue.

Seem to recall I replaced that valve once and problem returned. Next took the valve apart and cleaned it internally. Problem has never returned. Know of several others that also experienced the same problem as I was having. Following my advise their problem went away.

So my advice is to check the vac valve by bypassing it and if the problem is resolved, replace the valve or take it apart and clean. Next if that doesn't take care of the problem I'd start checking for leaks in the vac line and solenoid. There is also the potential for some of the mech linkage to be binding and I'd not overlook that if other items check out.

 

[nolan1]

thanks guys for all the help