IH Cub Repowered With Diesel

IH Cub Repowered With Diesel REPOWERED EQUIPMENT Repowered Equipment 29-2-38 Faced with replacing the 18-hp gas engine in his Cub 184, Mike Schnoebelen opted to power it up with a new Yanmar 3-cylinder diesel. "It fits fine, and I didn't have to cut any frame rails, so I knew if I wanted to put the old motor back, I could," explains Schnoebelen. "It probably cost me $2,300 with the engine, hoses and other parts, but I got 24 hp and new technology. It was still a lot cheaper than buying a new tractor." He made new motor mounts, modified the flywheel, built a mount for the hydraulic pump, and made air intake and exhaust fixtures. With a career in metal fabrication and a well-fixed shop, complete with a metal lathe, modifying the engine and tractor was relatively easy. Modifying the flywheel was the most complicated step. The new flywheel had a different bolt pattern from the existing clutch and pilot bearing. Schnoebelen discovered that a roller bearing from an old Chevy 350 matched up to the new flywheel. He did have to cut and heat shrink a piece of flat steel to fill in the recessed flywheel in order to get the clutch and pressure plate to fit. Schnoebelen built a new mount for the formerly direct gear-drive hydraulic pump. To power it, he installed a pulley drive off the front of the crankshaft with two pulleys sized to provide the correct rpm's. As it was positioned close to the same spot as on the original engine, he was able to use the original hydraulic outlet pipe, though he did need a new return hose. Because the new diesel was shorter than its predecessor, Schnoebelen had to fabricate a shroud from the fan to the radiator. He also fabricated air intakes from the air cleaner to the manifold and from the manifold to the muffler. Wiring in the diesel was also relatively simple. He wired the glow plug and the fuel shutoff through the starter solenoid. He connected the glow plug switch to the crank position and the fuel shut off to the shut off position of the key. "The new engine works great," says Schnoebelen. "The old engine was a flat head, C-60 with a thermo siphon instead of a water pump. It always ran hot. This is a better setup." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mike Schnoebelen, 2955 Hwy #22, Riverside, Iowa 52327 (ph 319 648-5113).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.