Yikes! Thanks for the heads up on that bagger attachment. I was thinking about it but after reading your report I think I'll pass on it. So far all I've ordered for this is a set of those gator blades you mentioned. From what I've read everyone seems satisfied with them. When they get here I'll tackle taking the deck off to grease the spindles as Toolin has suggested and then put those new blades on.
I-Series ZTT Model i 1044
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Jab -
I've got gator blades.. although I don't bag with them.. I usually mulch, or sometimes side discharge with them. Have you tried "high lift" blades with your bagger.
I don't even have the bagger attachment... I couldn't see spending $350 on what amounted to just a bunch of plastic that probably costs MTD (or a supplier) $3 to manufacture. Mulching or side discharge works fine for me and no clippings to contend with. I just make sure to cut the grass often enough so that I'm cutting no more than say 1 inch at a time. That's supposed to be healthier for the lawn anyway. For bigger cleanup jobs I pull a Cyclone Rake.
The other thing to consider is your RPM. MTD recommends cutting at 3600 RPM. Your governor may not be set properly and full throttle may be producing significantly less than 3600. I put a tach on mine and found it had been set to 3200 at max throttle. I did my own governor adjustment and can run it at near 3600 now although I really don't need to (again, I usually just mulch). Plus at 3600 it burns through gas a lot faster.
I've got gator blades.. although I don't bag with them.. I usually mulch, or sometimes side discharge with them. Have you tried "high lift" blades with your bagger.
I don't even have the bagger attachment... I couldn't see spending $350 on what amounted to just a bunch of plastic that probably costs MTD (or a supplier) $3 to manufacture. Mulching or side discharge works fine for me and no clippings to contend with. I just make sure to cut the grass often enough so that I'm cutting no more than say 1 inch at a time. That's supposed to be healthier for the lawn anyway. For bigger cleanup jobs I pull a Cyclone Rake.
The other thing to consider is your RPM. MTD recommends cutting at 3600 RPM. Your governor may not be set properly and full throttle may be producing significantly less than 3600. I put a tach on mine and found it had been set to 3200 at max throttle. I did my own governor adjustment and can run it at near 3600 now although I really don't need to (again, I usually just mulch). Plus at 3600 it burns through gas a lot faster.
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The max RPM adjustment itself was fairly easy (just threading a little set screw in or out and tightening a nut). However taking off a bunch of parts to get access to the governor and get enough room to get pliers around the nut was not so easy, at least not on the i1050.
The governor is located at the front of the engine just behind the muffler. So I had to remove the hood, front bumper, muffler shield, muffler itself, and a few mounting brackets, before I had clear access to the governor controls and linkage.
Tools required were socket set and needle-nose pliers. Not necessary but handy was a cordless impact driver with a 12" flexible extension rod with socket driver on the end for removing brackets where the bolts were tucked away in impossible tight spots. Barring the flexible socket extension, you can use small crescent wrenches instead, but with very short strokes, so plan on being there a while.
If you haven't already, download the Service Manual for your engine from the Kohler website manuals download page. For the i1046 this should be the 20 HP Kohler Courage OHV, 2 cylinder, which is Kohler engine model SV710. Put that model in the entry field and it will provide links to PDFs of both the service and the owners manuals for the engine. Here's a direct link to the engine service manual at the time of this writing. If that direct link doesn't work, go the model number route above.
Then go to page 5.18 in the engine service manual. Myself I jumped right to the "High Speed (RPM) Adjustment" section since that was my issue, but you might want to do all the steps to get the full dynamic range of RPM. I basically adjusted the "High Speed Adjusting Screw" shown in figure 5.35.
Obviously it helps to have a tachometer handy during the adjustments. I just used the one I had already installed in the tractor earlier.
Again, MTD recommends running at a max RPM of 3600, not just for optimum cutting but also to make sure sufficient air cooling is provided to the hydros. However my local Cub dealer routinely sets all their tractors they service to 3200. So I guess opinions vary. I noticed 3200 definitely sucks less gas than 3600...
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Wow, THANKS Toolin !! :thanku:
Now that is message board service at its finest :fing32:
I am going to attempt adjusting the high speed screw and put the gator blades on this weekend.
Would you recommend sharpening and balancing the gator blades before install, or are they usually tuned out of the box?
This i1046 better be a grass cutting machine after this weekend!
JAB
Now that is message board service at its finest :fing32:
I am going to attempt adjusting the high speed screw and put the gator blades on this weekend.
Would you recommend sharpening and balancing the gator blades before install, or are they usually tuned out of the box?
This i1046 better be a grass cutting machine after this weekend!
JAB
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You're welcome!
On the new gator blades, they should come pre-balanced and sharpened, but they'll also be fully powder coated with thick paint - including over the cutting edge - which will make them seem dull. I would at least remove the paint from the cutting edges with a file or wire brush before using.
I would also scrape/brush away the paint around the mounting hole so that they stay tight once mounted. Otherwise that paint might wear off on it's own and make the nut loose.
On the new gator blades, they should come pre-balanced and sharpened, but they'll also be fully powder coated with thick paint - including over the cutting edge - which will make them seem dull. I would at least remove the paint from the cutting edges with a file or wire brush before using.
I would also scrape/brush away the paint around the mounting hole so that they stay tight once mounted. Otherwise that paint might wear off on it's own and make the nut loose.
I just want to say what a great tip this governor adjustment was. I was rather disapointed with the cut left buy my i1046. I slowed way down when I mowed, and mowed often. Like every 3 days. Raised the mowing deck too. After adjusting the deck per the manual and cleaning the deck and then changing to gator blades the results after mowing were still tractor still unsatisfactory. I finally removed the muching plug and drilled a hole in the chute and hooked a bunji cord to it so I could mow with the chute up. Was the only way to get a decent cut. I was about to give up. Then I read this and decided what have I got to loose. I got a tach like Toolin did and checked the rpm. Results 2940 to 2970. Spoke with a Cub Cadet tech on the phone after calling the number from the website. He said that rpm speed would definately result in a lesser quality cut. I followed these instructions to set the governor. After a few tries I got the thing running at 3450 to 3480. It was getting dark and I wanted to get things put back together and give it a try so that is where I left it. If needed I could always go back and take it apart to go higher if I need to. I happy to report there is no need to. What a difference. The mulching plug is back in, the gators are still on, and the cut is stunning. The lawn never looked so good. In the beginning I found the screw on the governor adjustment was loose and the nut to lock it in place was also loose. My theory is that the adjustment screw could have backed out over time from vibration. Maybe or maybe not. Either way, just to be safe, I put a little locktite on the screw to keep it there. Thanks again Toolin for this post. I now look forward to mowing again. Rick
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You're welcome, glad I could help.:fing32:
I thought the idle speed on this tractor was a little high but wasn't sure till I got the tach connected. Now I see it is idleing at 1840rpm. It still shuts off ok, no backfire or anything like that but I thought as long as I have a tach now I should set it for the proper speed. The manual says the idle is supposed to be 1200 plus or minus 75. When I back out the screw nothing happens as the screw isn't touching anything. If I turn the screw in to raise the idle I have to turn it 2 complete turns before it makes contact and starts to raise the idle, then if I back the screw out again it goes down to 1840 and no lower. Any suggestions as to how I can lower the idle. Thanks Rick
A governed idle set up, or a standard. This is beyond me. Is there a way a novice like myself can tell one from the other? Or seeing as it seems to be running ok maybe I should just leave well enough alone.
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Hi Jack:
I became a bit suspicious of the governed speed of my new tractor after cutting for 15 hours. I noticed the cutting wasn't quite as clean as it had been and the engine seemed to bog on hilly heavy cuts (Remember, I live on 5 acres surrounded by pasture). As part of the "break in" oil change and service checked the RPM and indeed as Toolin' states it was low.
I adjusted mine up to 3400 RPM and the cut was much cleaner. On top of the cleaner cut the swarf ejection was better as well. :fing32:
I chose to leave the governed speed at 3400 more because I was running out of thread on the adjustment screw than anything else. It takes some serious adjusting to effect must change in the governed engine speed.
Thanks Roger.
My adjust screw is almost limited out as well. Also the throttle linkage is close to the MAX rpm pin on the plate, still hovering around 3550 with HF digital tach. FYI - as a test, I also adjusted the idle by loosening the T25 bolt that holds the throttle/choke cable and moving the throttle cable house back away from the clamp. Same results. Idle rpm is 2200 I think. From what I see, there is no way to adjust from an idle of 1500 to max rpm of 3600...not enough take up in the cable.
Jack
My adjust screw is almost limited out as well. Also the throttle linkage is close to the MAX rpm pin on the plate, still hovering around 3550 with HF digital tach. FYI - as a test, I also adjusted the idle by loosening the T25 bolt that holds the throttle/choke cable and moving the throttle cable house back away from the clamp. Same results. Idle rpm is 2200 I think. From what I see, there is no way to adjust from an idle of 1500 to max rpm of 3600...not enough take up in the cable.
Jack
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Sounds like an opportunity for another modification...
I haven't thought this through yet but if there's not enough takeup in the cable, possibly removing some of the outer sheath would give it more range.
Is the limiting factor the size of the slot in the dash that the throttle lever travels through, or is the cable "bottoming out" (something hitting the outer sheath) at each end?
I haven't thought this through yet but if there's not enough takeup in the cable, possibly removing some of the outer sheath would give it more range.
Is the limiting factor the size of the slot in the dash that the throttle lever travels through, or is the cable "bottoming out" (something hitting the outer sheath) at each end?
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