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Cushman, The Other Green Machine

11K views 21 replies 7 participants last post by  BillieS 
#1 ·
Well guys, its safe to say I have a problem with craigslist. Came across a 1999 Cushman Turf-Truckster (model:898652) and brought it home... The seller claims he was selling it for his brother who moved out of state before replacing the starter - starter is currently missing. I did manage to move it while in gear so the engine seems to turn which is a good sign. This weekend I'm debating having my wife drag me down the driveway with the 1025R to see if I can turn it over before investing more money in a starter. Not to say I'd part it out if it turns out to be more than just a starter. If anyone knows anything about the trucksters or knows of a starter for <$175 let me know.

It also needs new tires all the way around - fronts are 20x10-10 and rears are 24x13-12. It seems like I could probably add at least an inch of ground clearance before the tires would come close to being problematic. Anyone have any thoughts?

And yes, I'll be taking pictures soon.
 
#2 ·
I'd need to see photos to offer much, I can't recognize it by model number. I've worked on more Cushmans than I can count, but mostly the little industrial carts. They're great little machines and can bring a fair price.

There's one for sale not far from me with a full cab and tracks. I don't know what they're asking for it, or what I would ever do with it but it sure looks neat. :laugh:
 
#3 ·
Would love to see it , a cousins husband has one that was used to deliver mail in Keyser WV.
 
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#6 ·
"Only" 900 hours too.

One of the first projects I do will be coming up with a way to mount a receiver hitch in the front so I can keep a winch up front.. and move it to the back when needed.
 
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#8 ·
I may seriously have a problem with CL.. just came across a guy looking to trade a Honda quad for a garden tractor. Guess I may finally get rid of the "tractor" I used before getting the 1025R.
 
#9 ·
Nice score. Have you tried ebay for the starter? I found one for my gt cub for $30 versus the $125. wanted localy.
 
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#10 ·
Yes sir.. unfortunately the original starter for my model was discontinued and a new one took its place. Since all of the originals were junk it seems to be hard to come buy a used working one... old and new designs. That said I just ordered one from Robert's and Son, for $200 :banghead:
 
#13 ·
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#14 ·
So this weekend I managed to man handled the truckster off my trailer and got it in the garage. As I started giving it a good look over I discovered that it is missing a fuel pump (which the seller did not mention). That'll teach me to go buy something off CL on a cold rainy night with a pregnant wife in the truck - might as well have bought it site unseen.

All this said an OEM pump looks to be $200+, which is ridiculous in my mind. I'm starting to toy with the idea of just putting a low-flow pump on it but I'm not sure how I'd wire it up considering the factory pump is a 3 wire pump. Assuming the manual is correct 2 wires go to either side of the coil and 1 bonds to the frame on the starter solenoid mount.
Anyone have any thoughts?
 
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#16 ·
Yeah.. I'm hoping the fact that carb has a return line on it gives me a bit of a fudge factor on the rate of flow. The biggest concern/curiosity I have is what is going on with the wiring. I've never seen a 3 wire pump hooked up in that manner. I've seen pumps with a relay connect to the oil pressure switch.. to keep the pump from going when there's no oil pressure (ie, engine stops).
 
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#17 · (Edited)
Well I have the starter and low-flow pump installed. I tried to turn it over last night but got nothing.. I assume the solenoid is bad as jumping the hot and start terminals did nothing. Since the starter has its own solenoid do any of you think I could just wire up a relay rather than buying another solenoid. I have 40A relays on hand...
 
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#18 ·
It's ALIVE!!!

The Cushman lives! Though she's running a little rough at times... I'm running a tank of seafoam through it first to see how well I can clean the carb up without having to disassemble the whole thing. I don't think I've ever seen a carb this complex before. After I get this tank through it I'll try tuning the carb. If that doesn't get it running flawlessly then I'll take a few dozen pictures, disassemble, clean, and hopefully reassemble properly.

I still need to get new tires figured out.. currently looking at Carlisle All Terrains (22x11-10) for the front and Carlisle HD Field Trax (26x12-12) for the rear. I kind of want something with more bite given how muddy our property is most of the spring/fall but given the weight of this thing I'm not sure I want something too aggressive either. Thoughts anyone?

While on the subject of tires its worth noting how awesome TireJect is. The tires this thing came with have rot rings around them along with numerous holes in the treads. They'd bleed out within an hour. Since I wasn't sure how sound the engine was I didn't want to buy new tires until I knew it'd run. For the sake of truly testing the engine I put 4oz of tireject in the front and 5oz in the rears. Within a few minutes of bouncing around the yard the tires had completely sealed themselves. It has now been ~28hrs and the tires are still holding firm. I've used tireject in the past to repair wire/thorn holes but I cannot believe it managed to get those tires to hold air. It also stays about the consistency of milk so cleaning off a rim during a tire change isn't a concern. I love this stuff..
 
#19 ·
Another item to look into before you tear into the carb. I know the valve clearance is critical on these small engines. This will also give you a miss.
 
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#20 ·
Thanks, I'll have to remember that one. This is probably the largest small engine I've dealt with. So far though, I love having a cart with a dump bed this large. Hauled a few hundred pounds of debris from land clearing last fall to a burn site. It's pretty nice just tilting the bed and pulling forward. Much like the 1025, I wish I had bought this sooner.
 
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#21 ·
I just realize I forgot to mention something awesome that happened.. on its maiden journey I got a little over zealous and ran the engine hard. The coolant temp got up to edge of red. I pulled the key and it kept running.. I then pulled all 3 spark plugs wires and it continued to run. It was only running about 50-60 RPM. You could clearly count each fire. To finally kill the thing I just dropped the clutch and held the brake.

Since then I sprayed the radiator off a bit and set the governor to a reasonable RPM. On occasion I'll still hear it diesel for a revolution or two but I figure that's probably normal for this engine. I didn't realize this is a seemingly common occurrence in high compression engines running low octane, possibly water soaked, fuel.
 
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