1960 Farmall Cub- Speed Control Lever Not Working

[tom gould]

My 1960 Farmall Cub fires up ok after replacing most of the replaceable parts over the past 12 months. But now there is a new problem: When the engine fires up the speed control lever does not change the engine speed and the engine runs full speed until I shut it all down. The speed control lever is very difficult to move with the engine running and even when I move it, the engine races full speed and I cannot turn it down. With the engine off, the speed control lever is easy to move. I am not a mechanic and only know what I've learned working on this Cub, but my guess is that the governor is the problem Any help would be very much appreciated. Thank you, Tom

 

[SinkholeRoad]

It does sound like a governor problem. The best way to verify that it is not a linkage problem between your throttle lever and the governor is to disconnect the linkage at the governor and start the tractor. Then try to throttle the tractor up and down by moving the arm on the governor. You should be able to see the governor moving the carburetor throttle rod. If you are moving the governor control arm at the governor itself with no change in engine speed or movement of the carburetor throttle rod, then you will likely need to remove that governor and start replacing internal parts.
Best of luck.

 

[jimtrs]

Read up on ignition timing regarding the governor, before removing the governor

 

[Jim Becker]

First check for problems outside the governor. Check the adjustment of the linkage between the governor and the carburetor. Check the same area for free movement, no linkage rubbing on anything, no binding of the pivot points etc.

The linkage is adjusted with the engine not running. Remove the pin at the front end of the rod. Push the control lever forward. Pull the rod back so the carburetor throttle is completely open. The pin should be able to slide back into place without moving the other parts. If it doesn't, adjust the length of the rod to get the pin to fit.

 

[grandpa Love]

Call me on Friday.... I can walk you
through it.... We have bought and fixed
50+ Cubs.... Easy stuff. 256-404-zero 123

 

[DaveBN]

You also need to check that the butterfly valve is still tightly bolted to the throttle shaft. Having said that, the fact that the speed control lever is hard to move sounds like something internal to the governor is faulty.
Grandpa Love will help you so do call him.
Dave.

 

[tom gould]

(quoted from post at 19:03:02 04/13/23) Call me on Friday.... I can walk you
through it.... We have bought and fixed
50+ Cubs.... Easy stuff. 256-404-zero 123

First, I offer my sincerest apology for not responding sooner to your kind offer to help me with "The Money Pit" (my 1960 Farmall Cub). I planned to call you on Friday as you suggested, but at 2:45 am that morning my dog Boomer and I left home in Memphis in my truck heading east to Charlotte in order to help my youngest daughter with problems she was having after moving there a few weeks earlier. We got home last night too late to call you.

Early this morning, I went out to the shed with my owner's manual and a sledgehammer to try one final time to get the tractor going before calling you. That's when I finally noticed that there was a problem with the new carburetor I had recently installed (a replacement unit from Steiner). I missed seeing it many times but caught it this time. The replacement carburetor has a screw that sits by the rod connecting the carb to the governor. shaft. I think that it is the idle screw based on some old drawings I found in a reproduced Steiner manual. The screw was so long that it was banging into the carburetor body whenever I pulled on the speed control lever. It hit the carb in one spot when I tried to increase the idle and it hit the carb in a different spot when I tried to reduce the idle. There was no way to adjust the screw to stop the problem. So, I took this screw off and compared it to the original screw on the replaced carburetor. The new screw was 50% longer and that's what was stopping the speed control rod from working properly. I put the old carburetor screw into the new carburetor and saw that it was not banging into the carburetor when I pulled on the speed control rod. So, I reattached the hood/gas tank (which is really heavy for a 78-year-old when loaded with gas) and then reconnected all the rods and wiring I had removed to get to the governor assembly. Bingo! I went from an uncontrollable high speed idle to a completely adjustable one that I could then set at a nice hum. I felt like a genius although anyone else with basic mechanical skills would have figured this out months ago.

Problem solved (until the next one shows up!) without having to deal with the governor assembly and linkages. The tractor ran so well that I threw on my fast hitch plow and knocked down 1/4 acre, followed by a couple rounds of disking. I worked this afternoon on unfreezing the harrow drag, which has been rusted shut for over 30 years. I hope to actually plant some corn within the next two weeks.

I quit working two months ago after 55 years on the job and early spring decided to buy an old tractor and farm the two acres of pasture behind our home. I've never had a tractor and I've never farmed; whatever we've eaten has always been from Kroger, Piggly Wiggly or Ralph's. I've come to really appreciate how hard farmers must work because one old Farmall tractor and a couple of acres is just about doing me in. Thank you again for your kind offer to help. I am sure I'll be back before long. Tom in Memphis

 

[Rich'sToys]

Glad you got it working, and that it was something simple.

 

[jimtrs]

(quoted from post at 22:53:19 04/18/23) .... I think that it is the idle screw based on some old drawings ...

It is, and now that your tractor is running better, this is where you would lower or raise the idle rpm's when everything is adjusted correctly

So, I reattached the hood/gas tank (which is really heavy ... when loaded with gas)

Always drain as much fuel as possible when removing a fuel tank.... weight [i:bdeec889b4][u:bdeec889b4]And [/u:bdeec889b4][/i:bdeec889b4]safety

..... for a 78-year-old

Ummm .....

reconnected all the rods and wiring
I threw on my fast hitch plow
knocked down 1/4 acre
followed by a couple rounds of disking
I worked ... on unfreezing the harrow drag
I hope to actually plant some corn

So, what did you do after lunch
Haha!

I've come to really appreciate how hard farmers must work

Lots of people have no idea .....

Great job Tom

Now, take a well deserved break

Oh Yea -

at 2:45 am that morning my dog Boomer and I left home in Memphis in my truck heading east to Charlotte in order to help my youngest daughter

everything said earlier and you still got your priorities right!

This post was edited by jimtrs on 04/19/2023 at 09:03 am.

 

[Silverfoxx]

First, I offer my sincerest apology for not responding sooner to your kind offer to help me with "The Money Pit" (my 1960 Farmall Cub). I planned to call you on Friday as you suggested, but at 2:45 am that morning my dog Boomer and I left home in Memphis in my truck heading east to Charlotte in order to help my youngest daughter with problems she was having after moving there a few weeks earlier. We got home last night too late to call you.

Early this morning, I went out to the shed with my owner's manual and a sledgehammer to try one final time to get the tractor going before calling you. That's when I finally noticed that there was a problem with the new carburetor I had recently installed (a replacement unit from Steiner). I missed seeing it many times but caught it this time. The replacement carburetor has a screw that sits by the rod connecting the carb to the governor. shaft. I think that it is the idle screw based on some old drawings I found in a reproduced Steiner manual. The screw was so long that it was banging into the carburetor body whenever I pulled on the speed control lever. It hit the carb in one spot when I tried to increase the idle and it hit the carb in a different spot when I tried to reduce the idle. There was no way to adjust the screw to stop the problem. So, I took this screw off and compared it to the original screw on the replaced carburetor. The new screw was 50% longer and that's what was stopping the speed control rod from working properly. I put the old carburetor screw into the new carburetor and saw that it was not banging into the carburetor when I pulled on the speed control rod. So, I reattached the hood/gas tank (which is really heavy for a 78-year-old when loaded with gas) and then reconnected all the rods and wiring I had removed to get to the governor assembly. Bingo! I went from an uncontrollable high speed idle to a completely adjustable one that I could then set at a nice hum. I felt like a genius although anyone else with basic mechanical skills would have figured this out months ago.

Problem solved (until the next one shows up!) without having to deal with the governor assembly and linkages. The tractor ran so well that I threw on my fast hitch plow and knocked down 1/4 acre, followed by a couple rounds of disking. I worked this afternoon on unfreezing the harrow drag, which has been rusted shut for over 30 years. I hope to actually plant some corn within the next two weeks.

I quit working two months ago after 55 years on the job and early spring decided to buy an old tractor and farm the two acres of pasture behind our home. I've never had a tractor and I've never farmed; whatever we've eaten has always been from Kroger, Piggly Wiggly or Ralph's. I've come to really appreciate how hard farmers must work because one old Farmall tractor and a couple of acres is just about doing me in. Thank you again for your kind offer to help. I am sure I'll be back before long. Tom in Memphis

TOM, before ever taking that hood off, disconnect the gas lone at Carb. and let all the gas drain out of tank into a nice clean dry container first. You can say having to lift approx. 40 lbs less this way. To Drain Tank OPEN the Sediment Bowl Lever to a Full open position to drain tank. AVOID a back injury, and or a Hernia. Safety always first.