Need help determining the year of a diesel swapped cub lo boy I just bought

[taywoo28]

Hey guys, new to the club. I got a sweet deal on an international Cub low boy, and it has a Frankenstein loader on it. It was advertised as stuck in neutral and that's about it.

When I went to see the tractor I immediately noticed it was a the cylinder diesel, it has L3E stamped into the block. I've done some research now and figured out it's the Mitsubishi L3E 17Kw it ~22HP diesel motor.

The clutch pedal moves and I can see a bolt with a nut to tighten, and a lock not. I'm assuming that is my clutch adjustment. The tractor rolls freely in neutral and feels like it can shift through gears regardless of whether it's on our running. So I'm assuming the clutch is not disengaging.


When I cranked the tractor the front PTO powered the hydraulic pump, and even with the cylinders leaking it was able to lift the bucket.

After seeing it crank, and lift the bucket I figured I could fix whatever else it needed. So, my first step is to figure out what year it is, so I can find specs and research how to adjust the clutch.

My best assessment, from the obvious being the dash panel it's an international Cub Low Boy. I'm thinking it used to be a 154, but I can't find a serial anywhere. I've checked tractor data for locations of the serials to no avail which is why I'm hoping y'all can assist me in IDing the guts besides the motor. The loader was taken from a Ford, but under the red paint is the obvious Cub yellow.
Hopefully this link allows you to view the pictures I took. There's a bunch but if anyone needs more let me know.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/JjFDeWtHKcioJNhd8

[Eugene]

That is one interesting tractor. More photos of the tractor.

Creeper is probably stuck in neutral. Fairly common problem. Creeper control knob is located behind the operator's left calf.

Serial number is supposed to be located on the top left frame rail near the radiator.

Edited for spelling. And a further edit.

Welcome. 2 posts and you can use the manuals, "Quick links", top left on this page.

[SONNY]

Does it even have creeper gear?--not many of them did.

[taywoo28]

I don't know if it has a creeper but there's definitely a knob behind my left calls when I'm in the seat. It can be seen in the pictures.

As far as more pictures, what do you want to see? I'm out at the tractor now.

[Eugene]

Does it even have creeper gear?--not many of them did.

The control knob is present in several photos.

I think the dash is from a 185 Cub Lo-Boy.

[Eugene]

I don't know if it has a creeper.

12th photo shows the creeper. 5th photo shows the control knob and the lever leading to the creeper.

9th photo. Serial number, if still there, should be under the hoses and on top of the frame.

Full on photo of the complete dash.

[SONNY]

Well---NONE of the pictures in the above link show me ANY knob! ---so either your link is faulty or it took me to some other place --You need to post your pictures like the rest of us do and not on some weird place- Rant over!
I withdraw my original question and cant help any---- Sorry!

[indy61]

The link works for me. Here is one of the pics.

[outdoors4evr]

Could be a 154 or a 185. Either way, its a numbered lowboy so everything but the engine would use the numbered lowboy manual.
I don't see the PTO shaft going through the tunnel. Does it have a PTO? If it does, then then it may not be a live PTO (works like the cub off the transmission).
The creeper knob pulls out for low range and pushes in for high range. Put tractor shifter in neutral, depress clutch, start engine, pull or push on creeper knob while gently letting clutch out. Creeper should slip into gear. Push clutch back in. Choose a gear with the transmission shifter and hopefully it will be rolling.
The 154 / 185 also had a bolt or roll pin in the driveshaft. These often break and then the wheels are no longer powered. Not certain this is still included in the Frankenstein design.\

Edit: Second look just noticed the power steering. Nice!

[taywoo28]

Thanks outdoors4evr. I messed with it this weekend, the alternator isn't charging and I the battery died before I could test it. I didn't have time to jump it it throw another battery in. I'll do that in the next day or two.

Basically the drive line from the flywheel to the throw out bearing are little u joints. I removed the clutch linkage, then the bolt up top that looks like it pulls the brake into the friction plate. Then I pulled off the brackets with the springs in them. That gave me enough room to slide the clutch place back and forth on the shaft. It was kind of gritty and didn't slide well at first. I cleaned that up and threw a little on it to try and help lubricate it. I could see the face of the clutch pack with it slide forward on the shaft away from the friction plate. Obviously it wasn't new but it looked like it should work for now.

I did notice there wasn't a brake behind the friction plate. I saw another video where the guy added an older car brake pad as that brake. I'll throw a battery in the tractor today or tomorrow and try to see if being Ginger trying to finagle it into gear will work.

When I had the clutch pack pulled forward I tried several different configurations. Ie creeper neutral, creeper high, creeper low, trans in gear, trans in neutral. I could feel it in gear when it was supposed to be, and the drive line would not spin. The opposite is it would soon when in neutral. (As expected)

I've watched other videos and it looked like the drive line forward of the throw out bearing stops when the clutch is depressed. Mine does not. I took a little video of the clutch pack sliding by hand. It was difficult to slide evenly one handed.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/vEMo38o9tDDZ3ZRA9

[Eugene]

The clutch brake is present and the pucks look good. Service manual has a detailed description on how to adjust it.

The 154 / 185 also had a bolt or roll pin in the driveshaft. These often break and then the wheels are no longer powered. Not certain this is still included in the Frankenstein design.

Is the drive shaft pin is still there and in one piece? If so, there is a half moon key and a roll pin in the creeper that is probably sheared.

[gitractorman]

Eugene has you going in the right direction. In the picture above, there by the clutch is a pin that runs through the driveshaft. LOTS of times that will break, and folks replace it with a 7/16 bolt, which again eventually breaks. I believe the original was a spring roll pin, but I've replaced them with Grade 8 bolts and they will hold up. If it's not that, then the key in the creeper is where I'd look next.

[Eugene]

When I purchased my 154 the creeper was stuck in low. Creeper repair cost was $6.00 or $7.00.

I rolled the rear end out of the tractor. Repaired the creeper, inspected the brakes, fluid change, and touched up the PTO.

[taywoo28]

Okay, so I definitely have the bolt in the drive shaft. I can get a picture of it shortly. I pulled the fenders of, and the plug out of the creeper. I'm going to adjust the clutch to the specs the manual says.

[taywoo28]

Well guys I'm off the trailer, I had it rolling under it's pretty power... Then the weld on the steering broke off, I think that it was already on is way to breaking from loading it on the trailer. Either way, once that weld broke I had no steering.

I managed to get the hanger back under the bolt on the frame and backed the tractor up. Now, here's the good part, while backing up my bucket (doesn't lift because the hydraulics are leaking) was making it so I was getting stuck. I tried to bump forward do I could use momentum to get over a little hump. Well, at that point the clutch decided it no longer felt like stopping the drive line and I almost went down my drive which is fairly steep.

I ended up flooring both brakes, and the clutch but continued to slide down my drive. In a fight or flight move I slammed the shifter in reverse, probably shearing the bolt, but it stopped power to the trans and I didn't die.

So, I'm now convinced it probably will need a clutch pack. The good news is I'm okay, and the tractor is okay. So where's the best place to get a clutch for this bad boy and what is the cost normally?

Also, in regards to clutch adjustment, how do y'all measure your tolerance that's prescribed in the manual? I saw one guy using a piece of paper as a tool but I figure there is something more accurate. Finally, my tractor had washers being used as a shine between the mount and the brake that stopped the friction plate. I know that with my Frankenstein tractor I'm working with a handicap since it's very redneck engineered, but if washers are a viable remedy I'm not against idling them. I just know there's a wealth of knowledge here I'm trying to tap into.

Attached are a video of the clutch working as it should, as well as the demise of the steering.https://photos.app.goo.gl/eHvFU9dBE6AuKSfV6