# Cub Cadet 826T Repower and Customization



## John_U (Sep 11, 2017)

My son and I recently happened upon an early 90's tracked model snowblower missing an engine but otherwise in good condition on Craigslist. I drove down to the south side of Indy to pick it up. Turns out it's a Cub Cadet model 826T. 










Didn't waste any time is getting it apart to assess what parts needed to be replaced. 


















We cleaned up the blower housing and repainted it to make sure it is nice and smooth to help with snow flowing and hopefully not sticking. 










We needed an engine, and also wanted to step up into a modern engine instead of rebuilding an old Tec. So I went to Brandnewengines.com for a Briggs and Stratton 420cc 1650 series snow engine. Fits nicely, sort of... 

















More to come...


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## Shryp (Jan 1, 2011)

Looking good. I hope that wasn't originally a twin shaft engine.


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

Shryp said:


> I hope that wasn't originally a twin shaft engine.


Good point, lets hope it was not, or if it was they are aware of it....


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## John_U (Sep 11, 2017)

Shryp said:


> Looking good. I hope that wasn't originally a twin shaft engine.





YSHSfan said:


> Good point, lets hope it was not, or if it was they are aware of it....


It was originally a twin shaft engine (camshaft output driving the propulsion system). I did some calculations to determine the pulley diameter to try to maintain a similar input speed since the camshaft would have only been half-engine speed, so we'll be close. We'll also need to switch the direction of the transmission speed control at the rear of the snowblower in order to account for the difference in rotation direction of the crankshaft of the new engine compared to the camshaft of the old engine. 

Or- am I missing something else?


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

John_U said:


> It was originally a twin shaft engine (camshaft output driving the propulsion system). I did some calculations to determine the pulley diameter to try to maintain a similar input speed since the camshaft would have only been half-engine speed, so we'll be close. We'll also need to switch the direction of the transmission speed control at the rear of the snowblower in order to account for the difference in rotation direction of the crankshaft of the new engine compared to the camshaft of the old engine.
> 
> Or- am I missing something else?


No, you are right on it....! That's great.


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## Jackmels (Feb 18, 2013)

Welcome to the Hobby!


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## John_U (Sep 11, 2017)

For reference, here's the 'stock' transmission control lever position (3 o'clock)









And here's the new position (9 o'clock). Simply remove the cross bolt and turn the lever clockwise until it lines back up with the cross hole, then reinstall the bolt.


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## John_U (Sep 11, 2017)

We've been working on this project slowly, I've been traveling a fair bit short nice the last update. We got the blower housing reassembled with the upgraded 4-blade impeller from a 524swe (required drilling the impeller hub to 3/4" bore, as the 524 driveshaft has two flats instead of the spring pins). This should help in throwing distance and capacity (30% more blades than the standard 3-blade).

















A couple weeks ago, I sat down with a tape measure and went to work verifying the transmission gears and decided that flipping the rear lever alone did not provide the gear range and selection that it would have had with the counter rotating shaft. So I drew up a schematic and set to work executing the rework.









As a result of the above, I reworked the shifter lever to reverse its orientation to clear the flipped friction wheel. I just need to take it out to a buddy's house to weld back onto the shaft. 
*BEFORE:*









*AFTER:*


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## John_U (Sep 11, 2017)

I haven’t posted much on this lately, it has been a busy fall with traveling for work and a bit of a mad scramble to get this done before the snow (which happened this past Sunday). 

Here’s a picture of the drive belt installed with the original tensioner flipped to the other side. 









My wife snapped a couple pictures of the blower on its maiden voyage. It did great for not having any chance for a shakedown before 5.5” of snow fell for Christmas. There are a few things I want to adjust and tune in on, but I’ll detail those later. This engine is a beast, didn’t hear it bog down once!


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

nice work john, good to see your cub up and blowing snow


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## Diamondsr4everyone (May 13, 2020)

I just bought a Cub Cadet 826T as well. Starts right up but runs a little loud. Also someone got wired the ignition so you don’t need the key anymore which is on my list to fix. Anyone who can help would be great at this is my first snowblower and I think was a great price for it.


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## paulm12 (May 22, 2015)

Diamonds: welcome aboard and good luck on your project. You should start a new thread, and ask your questions there. I don't know CC machines, but there are some talented people on this forum that can help.

tx


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## Diamondsr4everyone (May 13, 2020)

paulm12 said:


> Diamonds: welcome aboard and good luck on your project. You should start a new thread, and ask your questions there. I don't know CC machines, but there are some talented people on this forum that can help.
> 
> tx


I can do that thanks. This actually was the only post I found but I will start a new one.


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