diesel_nut
Gold Member
Got my eye on a used 3-cylider older Cub diesel. Anyone have any helpful info?
Oil & Fuel International/ Cub diesel
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JTKub
Veteran Member
Sweeet machines! The only complaint I've ever heard of is the radiator screen and radiators needing constant attention as they plug up with mowing debris. The radiator on those is under the kick panel by your feet. There was just a sweet Cub on eBay with a 3cyl Yanmar gasoline engine. Those are tanks too.
Joel
Joel
2manyrocks
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I would check on IHRegistry Home. There are two separate forums for International cubs versus MTD cubs. I've wondered if the diesel cub uses a stronger driveline from the motor to the transmission to handle all the diesel torque.
MajMac392
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diesel_nut I'm not sure how old the Cub is you are looking at and I don't have any experience with the International Models but the 719X and 72XX series of Cubs are fine machines. They have Mitsubishi engine and drivetrains, very tough. Filters are a little expensive. If you go to the IHRegistry listed you may get an idea of how old, etc. it is.
All the older Cub Cadet diesel garden tractors I know of used Kubota engines. You don't see them anymore because of course Kubota has been selling their own diesel GT's. With CC now associated with Yanmar, perhaps we will soon see a new CC diesel garden tractor model.
The driveline/transaxles on all of the older CC diesels were basically the same as their gasoline powered counterparts. The Kubota diesels didn't produce a whole heck of a lot more torque than the gas engines, and usually less peak HP in the same setup, which is why the standard drivelines work fine with them. The advantage to the diesel was less fuel consumption and longer engine life- two things that would pay for themselves over the life of the tractor, and advantages evidenced in the much higher resale values the used diesels fetch.
There were no Cub Cadet diesel garden tractors built by International Harvester, the first models introduced were the 782D and 882D in 1984, under MTD ownership.
-Fordlords-
The driveline/transaxles on all of the older CC diesels were basically the same as their gasoline powered counterparts. The Kubota diesels didn't produce a whole heck of a lot more torque than the gas engines, and usually less peak HP in the same setup, which is why the standard drivelines work fine with them. The advantage to the diesel was less fuel consumption and longer engine life- two things that would pay for themselves over the life of the tractor, and advantages evidenced in the much higher resale values the used diesels fetch.
There were no Cub Cadet diesel garden tractors built by International Harvester, the first models introduced were the 782D and 882D in 1984, under MTD ownership.
-Fordlords-
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OP
diesel_nut
Gold Member
JtKub the radiator on this one is up front just like a car.
OP
diesel_nut
Gold Member
Fordlords. It looks very much like the Cub in your avatar. Except with a diesel exhaust stack coming up out of the top.
JTKub
Veteran Member
Hmmm.. I've never seen one like that. Maybe an older compact tractor designation as opposed to the smaller diesel (MTD/CC) garden tractors. The diesel GT's have an exposed horizontal exhaust that runs along side the hood & the radiator is at the drive end of the engine.
Joel
Joel
It's most likely a 782D. The external muffler/exhaust on these can be unbolted and inverted in to the vertical position if desired. 782D/882D's and the 1512D have the radiator mounted up front. (They turned the engine/radiator around 180 degrees on later diesel models.)
Under hood pix of 782D: http://www.tractorbynet.com/photos/data/500/23830782D.jpg
-Fordlords-
Under hood pix of 782D: http://www.tractorbynet.com/photos/data/500/23830782D.jpg
-Fordlords-
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2manyrocks
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Please forgive me for taking us slightly off topic, but Fordlords, can you share anything about replacing one of the Kohler gas engines on a cub cadet with a diesel? I see that oldmech replaced a Kohler on a Gravely walkbehind with a DEK diesel, but surely someone has done something similar with a Cub Cadet that was originally gas powered?
But back to the topic, isn't it ironic the way Kubota engines went into Cubs and now it looks like the next cub diesels may be Yanmars?
But back to the topic, isn't it ironic the way Kubota engines went into Cubs and now it looks like the next cub diesels may be Yanmars?
I just find it funny that Cub Cadet (MTD) was the company that gave Kubota it's first foothold in the LGT market, and now Kubota is one of the highest rated LGT/CUT tractor manufacturers in the USA.
It would take some good fabrication skills to retrofit a diesel in place of a gas engine used on any Cub Cadet. The Kubota diesel used in the '82 series Cubs had it's own mounting plate and radiator support that was bolted to the frame of the tractor. These engines are similar to engines used in truck trailer refrigeration units, but for them or any other small diesel to work in the tractor you need to run the drive shaft off one end, and the PTO clutch off the other. So, anything other than one of the Kubota or Yanmar engines set up for this purpose would require not only mounting fabrication, but PTO and driveline fabs too, along with being able to adjust everything to work properly. Then of course you need a suitable radiator and exhaust system also. Probably MUCH easier to just find a good diesel Cub on the used market
Most of the Cub diesel models that came out after the '82D series also included power steering and hydraulic outlets, two nice features on a heavier garden tractor.
Another little known advantage to the Kubota diesel is rebuildability. These engines have replaceable cylinder liners, which allows for the bottom end to be rebuilt without reboring the cylinders. Just plop in new liners and replace the rings and bearings, get a valve job on the head, and it's good as new again.
-Fordlords-
It would take some good fabrication skills to retrofit a diesel in place of a gas engine used on any Cub Cadet. The Kubota diesel used in the '82 series Cubs had it's own mounting plate and radiator support that was bolted to the frame of the tractor. These engines are similar to engines used in truck trailer refrigeration units, but for them or any other small diesel to work in the tractor you need to run the drive shaft off one end, and the PTO clutch off the other. So, anything other than one of the Kubota or Yanmar engines set up for this purpose would require not only mounting fabrication, but PTO and driveline fabs too, along with being able to adjust everything to work properly. Then of course you need a suitable radiator and exhaust system also. Probably MUCH easier to just find a good diesel Cub on the used market
Most of the Cub diesel models that came out after the '82D series also included power steering and hydraulic outlets, two nice features on a heavier garden tractor.
Another little known advantage to the Kubota diesel is rebuildability. These engines have replaceable cylinder liners, which allows for the bottom end to be rebuilt without reboring the cylinders. Just plop in new liners and replace the rings and bearings, get a valve job on the head, and it's good as new again.
-Fordlords-
JTKub
Veteran Member
Fordlords said:
That's a beauty of tractor right there. [drool]
Joel
MajMac392
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Fordlords, I didn't realize that Kubota was connected to Cub until your post. Actually I thought you were confused but obviously it was me. Your Cub was before my time (BMT) of thinking about a tractor, (still in the Army and newly married!), so I was thinking back to my series of tractors, the 7200 series, which are Mitsubishi. I think I have seen older IH than mine , identical to my series style, only painted Red and Black. I figured they were the front runner to my Yellow and White paint scheme with the same Mitsu. drivetrain. Excellent tractor. I can't say enough about my model series. As you probably know Mahindra picked up some of the Cub/Mitsubishi line so they live on under a different nameplate.
Your Cub was before my time (BMT) of thinking about a tractor, (still in the Army and newly married!), so I was thinking back to my series of tractors, the 7200 series, which are Mitsubishi. I think I have seen older IH than mine , identical to my series style, only painted Red and Black. I figured they were the front runner to my Yellow and White paint scheme with the same Mitsu. drivetrain. Excellent tractor. I can't say enough about my model series. As you probably know Mahindra picked up some of the Cub/Mitsubishi line so they live on under a different nameplate.There was a confusing time period in the early 1980's with Cub Cadet color schemes. There were many identical models made between 1980 and 1981 that were painted either red and white or yellow and white. The red and white ones were sold through International Harvester tractor dealers, the yellow and white ones through Cub Cadet lawn and garden dealers. This applied not only to the '82 series LGT's but to the compact tractors as well. After a small transition period when MTD (Called then Cub Cadet Corporation or CCC) bought out Cub Cadet from International Harvester in 1981, all Cub Cadets became only yellow and white again. So it's not unusual to find a same model Cub Cadet from that period in either color scheme.
The way to tell an early MTD Cub Cadet from a previous International Harvester one is by the nameplate. Internatonal ones say International Harvester Corp and MTD ones say Cub Cadet Corp.
Mahindra has and I believe still to this day builds some tractor models utilizing old International Harvester designs that they purchased the rights to. I'm not sure when the first Cub Cadet/Mitsu compact tractor came out, but probably in the early 80's during IH's decline. International Harvester got creamed with a bunch of problems in the early 1980's, not the least of which were problems with premature rotting on Scout trucks. They sold Cub Cadet to MTD right when they discovered that Kohler KT17 engines installed in 682 and 782 tractors were going to have a lot of warranty issues that would likely push that division in to bankruptcy.
-Fordlords-
The way to tell an early MTD Cub Cadet from a previous International Harvester one is by the nameplate. Internatonal ones say International Harvester Corp and MTD ones say Cub Cadet Corp.
Mahindra has and I believe still to this day builds some tractor models utilizing old International Harvester designs that they purchased the rights to. I'm not sure when the first Cub Cadet/Mitsu compact tractor came out, but probably in the early 80's during IH's decline. International Harvester got creamed with a bunch of problems in the early 1980's, not the least of which were problems with premature rotting on Scout trucks. They sold Cub Cadet to MTD right when they discovered that Kohler KT17 engines installed in 682 and 782 tractors were going to have a lot of warranty issues that would likely push that division in to bankruptcy.
-Fordlords-
