Cub hydraulics

MUST be doing something wrong. Rebuilding the hydraulics...the cylinder block. Removed all the bolts from the cylinder head but cannot budge the thing loose. I mean REALLY stuck on there almost like I left a bolt or two in place. The only things left in the head are a plug and what looks like a slot screw head rignt next to the first numer in the casting #. Am I missing something obvious or is a bigger hammer in order. Really don't want to bust anything.

Really not a good day when you take the bottom off the reservoir and the screen is in there in three big pieces. Many small ones.

Ignore the post, folks, I walked away and came back for a fresh start later. Got it figured out. Some type of sealant on the gasket plus paint. Just my aversion to breaking something that has survived 53 years without me that kept me tentative.

A tip about that, now that you've got it apart. A bona fide sharp-edged scraper, a razor-blade scraper, with lots of spare blades, and anything else you've got with a finepoint or an edge will be your friend when it comes to removing that gasket and making sure you got it all off.

It's kinda like the gasket under the oil filter canisters, only worse. It will take on the finish and appearance of the metal it bonded to and will seem durned near as hard. When I popped the head off the hydro on my SuperC, I might never have known it was there, if it weren't for the parts catalog and the fact that in a couple of places the two sides of the gaskets separated from each other, leaving a fuzzy spot as a clue that the gasket was there at all.

It will be hard enough that it's tough to get anything to bite into it, thus my suggestion for pointy and very sharp things. Since you will be CLEANING things up very well as you go along, especially as you get to the reassembly, an aerosol gasket remover can be helpful, but use a piece of cardboard or something of that ilk in the other hand to mask off as you spray, so as to not get any more than absolutely necessary into any hard to clean spots.


Another tip as far as keeping things CLEAN as you go . . . As I laid things out to keep them in order and then reassemble, my practice was to tape some white butcher paper, with the plastic-coated side up, to the bench surface. As parts were cleaned, they were next wiped down with a rag moist, not soaked, with HyTran, and then staged atop the paper. If there was anything left for problematic dirt or debris left on them, it would show up on the paper and be dealt with. Plan on changing the paper as many times as necessary. Even lint can be a problem, so anything for a good lint-free rag will serve well, and the butcher paper is white enough to enhance whatever you have for light and show up any darker particles, and plastic-side-up keeps your surface white.

What with the similarity in our weather and heat in our shops, you may find that the final cleanup and reassembly will go much better if performed on the dining room table or a suitable counter in the kitchen. An unspoken factor in that approach would be the similarity or lack thereof in the natures of our chosen and dearest companions in life. First order of business is to send Mrs H. to a city, not a nearby town, with a shopping list that includes two tubes of relative bearing grease, and a 5-gal pail of sailboat fuel, along with several suggestions for retailers that might offer such things. Have your work staged so that you can bring it indoors as soon as she gets around the corner. Organization is the first key -- you'll have to be prepared to work fast. The second key is to have a batch of brownies or chocolate chip cookies ready to pop into the oven, starting about 45 minutes before you anticipate her return. Peanut butter cookies don't provide enough olfactory cover, it takes chocolate to cover the smell of mechanical juices. And don't forget the butcher paper.

As far as the daughters, you'll have to make the call as to whether they go with Mom. If they can be trusted to stay home and help, they should concoct an excuse for staying that has something to do with cleaning their rooms.

Hope this helps.

Great advice until you got to the end! If I try to send Mrs H off for a bucket of sail boat fuel that is exactly what I am going to get...a full force, head on gale of Scottish indignation. Not as hot tempered as your Irish but fully able to hold her own. You absolutely must meet her someday, though. Her disposition is more like a summer breeze. Right now there is a wood lathe setup in the living room waiting for me to make room for it in the shop (post-Cub), piles of tools in cases everywhere, and a rolling tool box in the corner of the dining room. Given a choice she would chuck her pots and pans and spend all day with me working on the tractor and many a fine day has been had doing just that!

So this AM I set myself up inside. She is at work and will put up a modest fuss when she gets home at lunch. By 3 PM she will have a chair pulled up next to me and will likely be cleaning parts while I scratch my head and mutter. At least in that regard, my karma is good.

Good advice Scotty. I wanted to thank you for some engine cleaning info you posted a while back. Got a 57 cub, took off the oil pan ect.., and cleaned the valves like you said. Was glad you posted to clean them up, they were filthy with crud. Always learning on here. Thanks to all. Steve

Sounds like you got a keeper!