129 cub starts hard

Philt · May 1, 2012

I have a 129 cub cadet that starts very hard (always have to jump start because it runs battery down before it starts) just got to thinking that maybe at the time this was made it might require leaded gas or is the motor just getting tired?

wisbaker · May 1, 2012

Or you starter or battery is getting weak or you have dirty or corroded
connections in your starting circuit or your belt is loose or glazed or
your ignition circuit is week or the carb is gunked up some. It's a 40
year old lawn mower, a cool one, but in lawnmower years it's a senior
citizen. Don't get me wrong I have a 102 (1966) and a franken-cub also
described as a 120 (70 with a K301 in it). They're good machines but we
added a Wheel Horse that's only about 12 years old for snow and a little
more reliability. Between the 3 of them I'm still out less money that a
used John Deere. Oh yes the cab on the Wheel Horse makes snow a little
more tolerable.

R Bedell · May 2, 2012

Philt:

Ditto on the previous post. In addition, check all battery cable connections, for being, clean, polished to bare metal, and tight.

You also may have a ACR (Automatic Compression Release) problem. There is a spring on the cam that can become loose or broken. May want to check that also.

dhermesc · May 2, 2012

Leaded gas has nothing to do with it.

If its turning over at speed you might check the basics. Is the spark plug clean and properly gapped, is it the right plug, is your choke hooked up, are you getting a good spark, etc.

I am assuming you are getting a good gas flow and the engine is in decent condition if its running OK once it fires up.

El Toro · May 2, 2012

Pull off a plug wire and hold it about 1/4" away from the plug. Then have a helper make an attempt to start the engine. See if you have a hot blue spark while the engine is being cranked. If it's a weak spark your coil may be weak. Do you have an armature or an auto type coil? If you have the latter your battery may not have enough voltage for the coil. I would also check the specific gravity in each cell using a hydrometer. Should see around 1.260 or better and all the readings should be close to one another. Hal

IA Roy · May 3, 2012

Once you get it running, check the timing with a timing light. They will still run when timing is off, but hard to start and poor power. A new set of points and timed properly will make it start like a new one

Robert McLaughlin · Jun 25, 2012

several things could cause the problem of starting. Those engine's have a compression release, if many hours are on the engine this could be worn down to a point that creates this problem. of course points, spark plug, also valves might burnt. You never mentioned hours of use of L&G tractor.

129 cub starts hard

Philt

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wisbaker

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R Bedell

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dhermesc

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El Toro

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IA Roy

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Robert McLaughlin

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