Cub front end

Friday I went to a guys house that I work with to help him put his cub back together. We put the motor on and while he was messing with the front end I put stuff on the engine. He bought a new axel that had no welds in it as the original on the cub was welded in a few places. Where we were having some trouble is putting the pivot pin back in. We tried it from one way and it got through the front hole and wouldn't go anymore. then we got the other pin from the other front end and drove it in from the front and it did the same thing except it hung up on the back holder. We played with it for a while but never got it to go all the way through. The bolts weren't in so it wasn't hitting those. Is there a trick or are we missing something? Thanks for any help

sounds to me like the holes in the axle are out of line - probably re-drill the hole from one side - then the should be aligned - if it"s a new axle perhaps it was defective in the alignment of the holes - might try putting the pin through with axle away from machine to see if pin goes through both holes - good luck!!

Assuming that it's the same type of pin used on a super A - or at least very similiar, (1 inch diameter steel dowel, then yes, there is a trick to it.

I'm assuming it was driven out somehow with a hammer. And I'm assuming re-installed using the same method in reverse.

(and therefore also assuming you don't have a heavy press)

The metal in these pins is very malleable.

The ends mushroom very easily, and it doesn't take much to get them so they jam up like you're seeing.

The amount of metal spreading out is so slight that you might not believe it's the problem, but trust me, it is.

You'll need to grind a chamfer around both ends to fix the damage that's there now. No two ways about that. Not a huge chamfer, about 1/8 - 1/4" Don't worry, it won't have any impact on the functionality of the part.

But if you then start hammering away at it again to get it back in, I guarantee you'll continue having the problem.

What you need to do is use a large center punch. Just a large chisel with a round point. Use something solid with some weight, at least 3/4" diameter - if you don't have one, buy one, they're cheap.

To drive the pin in or out, place the point of the chisel directly in the center of the face of the pin and hit the chisel with a good heavy hammer. Like a 5 pounder. Keep hitting till it's all the way in or out.

It may not go easily, but it will go.

The chisel gives enough push to the pin to get it in/out - but it will only distort the metal right around the tip of the chisel, creating a sort of crater that doesn't have any affect on the outside diameter.

NEVER hit the pin without the chisel, not even lightly.

It probably sounds subtle enough to not really matter, but I promise you it does. I found out the hard way.

Even when I had to take a pin out for a second time after learning this trick - I thought it would be nice and loose so I could just tap it out directly - the same thing happened again - got mushroomed and wouldn't budge, sticking half way through, getting worse with each blow.

Good luck with it. - and don't cheap out and try to substitute something for the chisel if you don't have one!