I just did my first 65 with tiller shafts frozen to the bushings..... took a very long time to get them lose , tons of sanding & persuasion to be able to remove the shaft & split the case.... Failure by owner to keep things clean after use & the wet grass caused rusty seal failure on both sides...$40 fix... I just honed out the shaft bearings & greased them well... took the new seals & put grease thick on the inside before installing the seals, used it like a bearing buddy & for sure prevent it from happening again.... YES it is a huge pain in the butt to do... those who wish to to it, good luck, mind your temper, take pictures for reference & just go with it... It can be done even though frustrating.....
Question, My 65 runs and operates perfectly except for the 2 tiller functions.. the shifter engages but when I pull the handles to engage the tiller, the motor bogs down and tiller blades are inop and are frozen... Is this the same thing that was happening to you? Suggestions?
My rt65 gets a lot of use. I have replaced the drive v belt numerous times. My unprofessional guess was that running tiller as long as I do the v belt would get hot, stretch then flip in v pulley and ruin it. I took belt guard off and fabricated and extra guide pulley and smooth guide pin using a bike bike chain roller and a m16 bolt with flanged head. Belt never slips or flips. I also reversed my rt65 tine cover bolts. Putting the heads inside time cover instead of the threads being exposed and getting beat up from rocks hitting threads. I'm in process of fabricating oil fill and drain on 2012 airens tiller. Rebuilding cases to leak proof them and run 80/90 gear oil instead of sticky grease packed in. Then be able to change gear oil at service intervals just like in a 5spd automotive trans. Why not right 🤔 if I succeed in airens I'll do the same in cub cadet. Running gear oil instead of sticky grease may resolve a lot of issues tillers of this design
Running gear lube would be better than packing it with grease I think. You still might have to figure out a way to grease the top shifter shafts unless the gear oil can work its way up.
@@LonnieJohnson1 I'm going to try. Worst that can happen it breaks 😜. I'm in shop now cleaning everything in solvent. I've been soaking them in zep solvent for two weeks. That sticky crumb grease melted off. Rinsing them a final time in my solvent tank to get a better look at what parts I need. Going to order the parts I need this week. Next weekend weld bungs in for oil fill and drain.
Family member had one, lent it out to a friend or something, busted SOMETHING off, got some shop to fix it, used it for 10 seconds and it wasnt tilling. Let it sit for 2 years. Brings it to me, i got the carb tank ect cleaned to make it run long enough to see whats wrong, as he said something might just need to be ''welded'' up. Runs perfect. Bring it out, engage. Sounds like a bucket of nails inside the trans. Take i ALL off, as you need to do for it to come apart and get the trans apart. 4 5 gears have chunks out of them. Plus somebody had previously goober welded something back in place. POS tillers IMO simply because of the ''lifetime'' transmission vibe i get from it. Filled with grease? like Damn.
Thanks for sharing the video. Any tips how you were able to separate the case down the center? I have both sides freed up and about an inch and half apart but the side with the chain isn't popping off even with a crowbar and hammering. I see in your video you got a few inches apart. I have mine on its side hoping to not pop off the gears.
The chain looked like it was holding it together but not sure because it all fell apart on me. Check your wheel shafts to make sure they are not built up with rust. It's better to take emery clothe or sand paper and smooth them down so the cover will slide over them.
@@chvydrptop did your gears stay in place??? I do not want to loose any of the positions where the gears are at. This schematic that I printed out isn't very well. I thought that it's possible to leave the right side intact with the tines and the wheel???
@@Smalltechguy @Paul Govensky yes i was able to get it off with the gears in place. I had to slightly sand the end of the shaft with Emery cloth, the exposed parts build up a little bit of rust which makes slipping the cover difficult. The drawing in the manual is terrible so make sure you last attention to the big washers, they are on all the long shafts and sometimes they stick to the top cover or fall off depending on the grease. Btw i ended up fully cleaning all gears or and using stens 770-123 grease. Way more affordable then the clay grease in the from factory. It requires full cleaning out of old grease. Which you will want to probably do to check for hair line cracks in the gears.
Hey I have a similar Cub Cadeet rototiller and I took it to a place that put a new spark plug and carburator. It worked for awhile, but today when I went to speed up the engine it started making a clanging sound and now it will not start at all. While it could still run, I thought it had no oil, so I changed the oil. Still had the problem. Strange thing, the oil inside had a sandy color, even after I put new oil in it, the oil still had a sandy color to it, that was not the color of the oil that I put in it. I put almost a whole container of 10w-30 and you know that is not a sandy colored oil, no motor oil is, so that sandy color oil in itself is odd, but what could that clanging noise be that now leads to my rototiller not starting at all? Also, my forward tines worked, but my rear tines never worked.
Check your spark plug, it could be the wrong type that is too long and punched a small hole in your piston and gas is getting into the oil. I've seen it happen.
Why did you split the cases with the trans in vertical orientation? That's why gears and spacers dropped out. You had it in the correct positions when you cracked the cases apart. If you had left it that way and just lifted the top case off nothing would have fallen out. Just look at other YT videos showing how to open the cases correctly.
If looking to buy one used what should I look for in terms of knowing if the gears are still in working order? Just that it goes in forward & reverse and that the tines move when in gear?
you would want to make sure it runs, goes into forward, neutral reverse, AND then goes into both forward and reverse till, and make sure the tines spin, and there isn't a horrible noise. Just took one apart with HORRBLE nail in a can noise, 4 5 gears all missing teeth. Junked. I would not recommend one of these personally as not having a trans oil you can change is worthless. It's just hardened up nasty mud filled grease.
I hate bother u but does the shaft u ordered have to have snap rings mine is wore smooth. It’s the one the time sprocket rides on I can’t find anything else with it. It looks like with the sides on it nothing could move out place but something is not right with it thank u
Click on this link and see if you can see a snap ring. www.partstree.com/models/rt-65-21a-458b101-cub-cadet-rear-tine-tiller-1999/gear-case-assembly-1/
So the rear pulley has some liquid leaking after my husband was running it he heard a pop and the times stopped spinning when engaged. Belt is not worn pulleys look good just leakage around that bigger rear pulley any ideas?
It should be full of heavy gear grease. If the tines are not moving than sounds like something broke. Will the tiller still move forward and backward on its own and in neutral and is the tines still not working?
The transmissions are junk, i just took one apart and it had 4 5 gears busted to hell, and make a horrible noise when trying to till, nails in a metal bucket. He COULD spend 2 3 hours stripping the WHOLE thing apart, then taking the trans apart which could be another hour or two, to find out its trash and needs way more than it's worth. Not good transmissions.
what is the name of the top gear when you look thru the red cap?? I'm pretty sure the gear is missing some pieces cause the teeth look broken. Was your tiller making any noise when you put it in gear??
I'm wondering why you split the transmission case while it was vertical. If you split it while it was on it's side with the left side up and then lifted the left case off, the gears wouldn't have fallen out. But, as long as it worked for you, everything is OK.
Lonnie, could you repeat here the bearing and bushing numbers please and how many of each bearing and bushing you replaced? I'm trying to cross reference cub cadet part numbers but having trouble.
I counted 9, I can't remember. You can take a bearing to Grainger and have them measure ID and OD. I purchased mine from Applied Industrial Technologies. Found some, not sure about the size but they are J108, just go to Amazon and Search for this - (uxcell SCE108 Needle Roller Bearings)
With the shifter in the neutral position I would try turning the wheels manually. You can push and pull to try in break them loose or put it on jack stand and try turning the wheels and also see if the tines turn. If that don't work you need to make sure the shifter is going in the neutral position. Have you checked the pulley to see if it turns?
Legit have to take every nut and bolt off of the machine. Just did it today, ended up junking it as 4 5 gears were gone, but yeah. Not so fixer friendly. throwaway garbage especially the trans design. If they had put in a drain, fill, level and used gear oil or ATF, they would of been 100 steps ahead.
Lonnie, I know that those wheels just didn't come off or were you one of the lucky ones??? I can't get mine off. I don't own any torches either or an impact hammer
You need to move them back and forth, lube it up, maybe hammer a bit, but mine took a good minute or two to come loose. Just lube and slowly pull and twist.
I asked the same question, and the person that owed it said it was covered up. It did look like it got water in it and the grease didn't look any better. Also there is not much of a gasket.
I have an RT65 that runs and the transmission works in R-N-D but when I try to select the tiller operation (forward or reverse till).. the engine Bogs down and the tiller blades do not turn. Anyone know what the problem is?... Everything functions and it drives except the tiller doesn't engage..
Without the motor running see if you can turn the pulley to get the blades to turn when engaged, you might have to remove the belt. It could be rusted up on the inside because the grease they use is not the best.
I didn't wright it down. I took it to Applied Bearing Inc. and they measured the OD and ID so I purchased 7 of them and replaced all that I could find. Had some left over and don't even know what I did with them. If I can find them or the # I will let know.
I believe it'll be cheaper just to find you another roller tiller looks like a like you said a pain in the butt that kind of job Play Somebody advertising one of them on Marketplace for $100 cuz it ain't the tiller don't work I believe I'm going to have to pass on that deal but there's one on Marketplace for $100
This video wasn't about the belt, but I'm glad to help out. Here is the V-Belt Part# 954-0434 it's like $51.42 from dealer but Amazon has it for $10.99. Hope this helps.
Very cool info on a repair people usually don't want to touch. Maybe someday I can do this type of thing. = )
Thanks
I just did my first 65 with tiller shafts frozen to the bushings..... took a very long time to get them lose , tons of sanding & persuasion to be able to remove the shaft & split the case.... Failure by owner to keep things clean after use & the wet grass caused rusty seal failure on both sides...$40 fix... I just honed out the shaft bearings & greased them well... took the new seals & put grease thick on the inside before installing the seals, used it like a bearing buddy & for sure prevent it from happening again.... YES it is a huge pain in the butt to do... those who wish to to it, good luck, mind your temper, take pictures for reference & just go with it... It can be done even though frustrating.....
It's not a fun job but it will save the cost of a new tiller.
Question, My 65 runs and operates perfectly except for the 2 tiller functions.. the shifter engages but when I pull the handles to engage the tiller, the motor bogs down and tiller blades are inop and are frozen... Is this the same thing that was happening to you?
Suggestions?
My rt65 gets a lot of use. I have replaced the drive v belt numerous times. My unprofessional guess was that running tiller as long as I do the v belt would get hot, stretch then flip in v pulley and ruin it. I took belt guard off and fabricated and extra guide pulley and smooth guide pin using a bike bike chain roller and a m16 bolt with flanged head. Belt never slips or flips. I also reversed my rt65 tine cover bolts. Putting the heads inside time cover instead of the threads being exposed and getting beat up from rocks hitting threads. I'm in process of fabricating oil fill and drain on 2012 airens tiller. Rebuilding cases to leak proof them and run 80/90 gear oil instead of sticky grease packed in. Then be able to change gear oil at service intervals just like in a 5spd automotive trans. Why not right 🤔 if I succeed in airens I'll do the same in cub cadet. Running gear oil instead of sticky grease may resolve a lot of issues tillers of this design
Running gear lube would be better than packing it with grease I think. You still might have to figure out a way to grease the top shifter shafts unless the gear oil can work its way up.
@@LonnieJohnson1 I'm going to try. Worst that can happen it breaks 😜. I'm in shop now cleaning everything in solvent. I've been soaking them in zep solvent for two weeks. That sticky crumb grease melted off. Rinsing them a final time in my solvent tank to get a better look at what parts I need. Going to order the parts I need this week. Next weekend weld bungs in for oil fill and drain.
Family member had one, lent it out to a friend or something, busted SOMETHING off, got some shop to fix it, used it for 10 seconds and it wasnt tilling. Let it sit for 2 years. Brings it to me, i got the carb tank ect cleaned to make it run long enough to see whats wrong, as he said something might just need to be ''welded'' up. Runs perfect. Bring it out, engage. Sounds like a bucket of nails inside the trans. Take i ALL off, as you need to do for it to come apart and get the trans apart. 4 5 gears have chunks out of them. Plus somebody had previously goober welded something back in place. POS tillers IMO simply because of the ''lifetime'' transmission vibe i get from it. Filled with grease? like Damn.
There is nowhere to add grease that I could see and the grease that's in it is not good.
Man!!!!,,,,,Thats a big job,,,,,,best of luck
Yes it is! Shops don't want to fix it unless it's under warranty because after labor and parts you can buy a new unit. Thanks
Thank you for help me to understanding how everthing goes
Glad I could help
Thanks for sharing the video. Any tips how you were able to separate the case down the center? I have both sides freed up and about an inch and half apart but the side with the chain isn't popping off even with a crowbar and hammering. I see in your video you got a few inches apart. I have mine on its side hoping to not pop off the gears.
The chain looked like it was holding it together but not sure because it all fell apart on me. Check your wheel shafts to make sure they are not built up with rust. It's better to take emery clothe or sand paper and smooth them down so the cover will slide over them.
@@LonnieJohnson1 thanks Lonnie, that's exactly what i ended up doing plus lubrication and a hammer.
Your welcome, and a hammer is always a good tool.
@@chvydrptop did your gears stay in place??? I do not want to loose any of the positions where the gears are at. This schematic that I printed out isn't very well. I thought that it's possible to leave the right side intact with the tines and the wheel???
@@Smalltechguy @Paul Govensky yes i was able to get it off with the gears in place. I had to slightly sand the end of the shaft with Emery cloth, the exposed parts build up a little bit of rust which makes slipping the cover difficult. The drawing in the manual is terrible so make sure you last attention to the big washers, they are on all the long shafts and sometimes they stick to the top cover or fall off depending on the grease. Btw i ended up fully cleaning all gears or and using stens 770-123 grease. Way more affordable then the clay grease in the from factory. It requires full cleaning out of old grease. Which you will want to probably do to check for hair line cracks in the gears.
Hey I have a similar Cub Cadeet rototiller and I took it to a place that put a new spark plug and carburator. It worked for awhile, but today when I went to speed up the engine it started making a clanging sound and now it will not start at all. While it could still run, I thought it had no oil, so I changed the oil. Still had the problem. Strange thing, the oil inside had a sandy color, even after I put new oil in it, the oil still had a sandy color to it, that was not the color of the oil that I put in it. I put almost a whole container of 10w-30 and you know that is not a sandy colored oil, no motor oil is, so that sandy color oil in itself is odd, but what could that clanging noise be that now leads to my rototiller not starting at all? Also, my forward tines worked, but my rear tines never worked.
Check your spark plug, it could be the wrong type that is too long and punched a small hole in your piston and gas is getting into the oil. I've seen it happen.
I assume the 45 tear down would be the same?
I am looking to buy one and wonder of any tips anymore has before purchasing! Thanks
I'm not sure. I looked for a 45 but with no luck. Do you have your model # so I can look it up.
Why did you split the cases with the trans in vertical orientation? That's why gears and spacers dropped out. You had it in the correct positions when you cracked the cases apart. If you had left it that way and just lifted the top case off nothing would have fallen out. Just look at other YT videos showing how to open the cases correctly.
Because it didn't want to come apart.
If looking to buy one used what should I look for in terms of knowing if the gears are still in working order? Just that it goes in forward & reverse and that the tines move when in gear?
Push it back and forth as you shift from forward, neutral and reverse. The best way is to start it and see how it moves.
Also be aware that water can get inside the gear box and rust it up if it has been left outside in the weather.
you would want to make sure it runs, goes into forward, neutral reverse, AND then goes into both forward and reverse till, and make sure the tines spin, and there isn't a horrible noise. Just took one apart with HORRBLE nail in a can noise, 4 5 gears all missing teeth. Junked. I would not recommend one of these personally as not having a trans oil you can change is worthless. It's just hardened up nasty mud filled grease.
I hate bother u but does the shaft u ordered have to have snap rings mine is wore smooth. It’s the one the time sprocket rides on I can’t find anything else with it. It looks like with the sides on it nothing could move out place but something is not right with it thank u
Click on this link and see if you can see a snap ring. www.partstree.com/models/rt-65-21a-458b101-cub-cadet-rear-tine-tiller-1999/gear-case-assembly-1/
Great video thanks. 👍🙏
Thanks and your welcome.
So the rear pulley has some liquid leaking after my husband was running it he heard a pop and the times stopped spinning when engaged. Belt is not worn pulleys look good just leakage around that bigger rear pulley any ideas?
It should be full of heavy gear grease. If the tines are not moving than sounds like something broke. Will the tiller still move forward and backward on its own and in neutral and is the tines still not working?
The transmissions are junk, i just took one apart and it had 4 5 gears busted to hell, and make a horrible noise when trying to till, nails in a metal bucket. He COULD spend 2 3 hours stripping the WHOLE thing apart, then taking the trans apart which could be another hour or two, to find out its trash and needs way more than it's worth. Not good transmissions.
It's sometimes cheaper to buy a new unit than to fix this one. However, I would not buy another one like this or one like it.
what is the name of the top gear when you look thru the red cap?? I'm pretty sure the gear is missing some pieces cause the teeth look broken. Was your tiller making any noise when you put it in gear??
My tiller was froze up and wouldn't shift.
I'm wondering why you split the transmission case while it was vertical. If you split it while it was on it's side with the left side up and then lifted the left case off, the gears wouldn't have fallen out. But, as long as it worked for you, everything is OK.
It didn't want to come apart on its side.
Lonny great video. Thanks a lot. Question, I put a new belt on now the big pulley wont stop turning so I can shift gears. Can you help?
Disengage the clutch and that should stop the pulley.
Lonnie, could you repeat here the bearing and bushing numbers please
and how many of each bearing and bushing you replaced? I'm trying to cross reference cub cadet part numbers but having trouble.
I counted 9, I can't remember. You can take a bearing to Grainger and have them measure ID and OD. I purchased mine from Applied Industrial Technologies. Found some, not sure about the size but they are J108, just go to Amazon and Search for this - (uxcell SCE108 Needle Roller Bearings)
@@LonnieJohnson1 Thanks much
You're welcome
Not much to them...
Really good video...
Thanks
the tires on my RT 65 are locked up any tips on a fix for this?
With the shifter in the neutral position I would try turning the wheels manually. You can push and pull to try in break them loose or put it on jack stand and try turning the wheels and also see if the tines turn. If that don't work you need to make sure the shifter is going in the neutral position. Have you checked the pulley to see if it turns?
Good job.Thanks
Thanks, and your welcome
They sure made it easy to repair...lol...
IK right
Legit have to take every nut and bolt off of the machine. Just did it today, ended up junking it as 4 5 gears were gone, but yeah. Not so fixer friendly. throwaway garbage especially the trans design. If they had put in a drain, fill, level and used gear oil or ATF, they would of been 100 steps ahead.
Lonnie, I know that those wheels just didn't come off or were you one of the lucky ones??? I can't get mine off. I don't own any torches either or an impact hammer
Are you talking about the wheels and tires because they slid right off and have a key way.
You need to move them back and forth, lube it up, maybe hammer a bit, but mine took a good minute or two to come loose. Just lube and slowly pull and twist.
How do you get the bolt our of the large pulley? you skipped over that step and I need to get behind there to replace the bolt on the tensioner pulley
You can hold the pulley or put the tiller in gear so it don't move.
At 30 seconds you removed the pin. How did you get it out?
It's just a small spring pin. I used a small hammer and a small flat head punch and tapped it right out.
@@LonnieJohnson1 thanks. I used a punch and a hammer. Mangled it but it’s out and back in. Thanks for the video.
Your welcome, glad I could help.
I see the part number but you can me where you got it from?
www.partstree.com/models/rt-65-21ab453j710-cub-cadet-rear-tine-tiller-2006/
@@LonnieJohnson1 thank you for the info. Your videos will definitely help me fix my tiller.
Had it been sitting outside a lot? And it looked like the grease was burn up
I asked the same question, and the person that owed it said it was covered up. It did look like it got water in it and the grease didn't look any better. Also there is not much of a gasket.
I have an RT65 that runs and the transmission works in R-N-D but when I try to select the tiller operation (forward or reverse till).. the engine Bogs down and the tiller blades do not turn. Anyone know what the problem is?... Everything functions and it drives except the tiller doesn't engage..
Without the motor running see if you can turn the pulley to get the blades to turn when engaged, you might have to remove the belt. It could be rusted up on the inside because the grease they use is not the best.
Doing the same task but I can tell I'm no where near mechanically inclined as yourself plus all of my bolts are rusted. On to part 2
You notice the screen skips after he says "remove these bolts." He doesn't show the times he's wanting to curse and throw the tools.
Please print the numbers of the needle bearings. Can only read they are KOYO bearings but it the numbers o the boxes. Thank you,
Red
Here is what it reads J-108PBL125
What was the part number on the needle bearings?
I didn't wright it down. I took it to Applied Bearing Inc. and they measured the OD and ID so I purchased 7 of them and replaced all that I could find. Had some left over and don't even know what I did with them. If I can find them or the # I will let know.
@@LonnieJohnson1 I have a MTD and i need them bearings also did you find the part # any help would be thankful.
Here's the part# that I found J-108 PBL 125 or try this one T07161041 Let me know if this helped.
I believe it'll be cheaper just to find you another roller tiller looks like a like you said a pain in the butt that kind of job Play Somebody advertising one of them on Marketplace for $100 cuz it ain't the tiller don't work I believe I'm going to have to pass on that deal but there's one on Marketplace for $100
If it works, that's a good price.
Any update on you cub cadet tiller?
It's still working like it should. Did you watch all 3 parts?
@@LonnieJohnson1 i looked for the other parts 2 & 3 but didn't t see them on your channel.
Just type in (Cub Cadet Tiller Part 2) and let me know if that don't work I send you the link. Type in part 3 the same way
@@LonnieJohnson1 Thanks. I'll do that.
whats the belt part number
This video wasn't about the belt, but I'm glad to help out. Here is the V-Belt Part# 954-0434 it's like $51.42 from dealer but Amazon has it for $10.99. Hope this helps.
i paid 450 for a new one
Wow! you got a deal because there just over $900 new
Yeah I paid around $800 for mine about 10 years ago and has about 20 hours. It’s frozen up in the transmission.
Pulling it apart now.
Thank you for help me to understanding how everthing goes
Your welcome