New Cub LowBoy 154 owner

[Eugene]

Coolant overflowing. Sediment build up. You need to flush the engine block and bottom of the radiator. Search this site for a how to and the flushing tools.

Starter/generator not shutting off. Faulty ignition switch or faulty solenoid.

Throttle problem. Spray the linkage. Set over night, spray again. Work the throttle, spray again. You can reach the spray areas with out removing the hood.

[Gary Dotson]

The issue with the starter / generator continuing to run after engine shutdown might be a bad starter solenoid, or possibly a bad starter switch.
On the throttle not holding at wot, there is a tension adjustment on the side of the throttle lever. Look in the lever opening, with a flashlight, to see it. You can adjust to increase tension with a small wrench. When the engine is at full load, such as spinning the mower up, the governor spring puts a lot of force against the cable.

[Brynki]

Here are the pics I meant to send last night.

[Eugene]

Overnight, the hydraulics bled down and now the belly mower is on the ground. That might be normal.

Not normal. Leaking control valve if there is no hydraulic oil puddle on the floor.

What fuel do you all run?

Regular ethanol.

[Brynki]

Okay, I just realized I made it to page 2. LOL. Again, thank you everyone for your advice.

Eugene, you are a font of wisdom! I truly appreciate your insight! So, I made a temp overflow bottle (Jake's Peach Iced Tea) and zip-tied it in place to see if that is the problem when next I run it. I may call around and see if anyone still repairs old radiators like this. Of course, for $150 I could get a new one... I'm going to run it one more time and see if, maybe, I just didn't have the cap fully on, as well. As for the constant cranking problem, I was thinking much the same (switch or solenoid). I'll start with troubleshooting the switch and go from there. I have all the part numbers on file for everything, though, just in case. The throttle seems to slide easily. In this case, it returns to half throttle so I'm going to play with adjustments. I'll probably shoot some lubricant down the guide cables, though.

Gary, thank ya, sir! As mentioned above, I just need to dig into it and figure out the adjustments on the throttle.

I got all of the manuals that I have been reading through and developing my list of things I plan to buy to get Old Yeller looking good and working better.

[Eugene]

Thermosyphon cooling system. Don't fill the radiator completely full. Only fill the radiator to just over the tubes.

No water pump. Sediment builds up in lower parts of the cooling system and need to be flushed out.

[outdoors4evr]

The upper part of the radiator is your "overflow bottle". If overfilled, they will dump a bit of fluid out until they find their happy place (just above the fins inside the radiator).
Your hydraulics should not leak down. They should stay where you put them overnight. Note: It is best to leave them in a relaxed (lowered) position.

[Brynki]

Eugene and Outdoors - As a fuel systems mechanic on aircraft (climbing inside of aircraft fuel tanks to repair leaks and replace components), I am familiar with thermal expansion of heated fluids. When I got the tractor, the radiator had been filled all the way up to the filler neck. That is what I was figuring had happened, it overflowed out the hose and then got picked up by the heat of the radiator and the fan and blown all over the place. It was such a mess that I couldn't make a definitive determination. Since the radiator might still have an excess of fluid, I decided to put a bottle on the bottom of the overflow tube to catch any further spill over.

I haven't checked any of the fluid levels of the hydraulics. I am going to order a bunch of filters and such soon to start working on stuff after the holidays. At the moment, I'm mostly concerned with the constant over-cranking of the starter. I'm going to be testing out the ignition switch over the holiday and then order the filters and a new solenoid if that isn't the problem. I may get spindle rebuild kits and either sharpen or replace the blades on the deck, as well.

So much to do but it should be fun.

[outdoors4evr]

That overflow tube should end just short of the axle outside the fan shroud. It sounds like yours might be misrouted. The fan should not have been able to pick up and distribute the fluid.
Guess ya got an extra shower this week!

As for the throttle, it should stay put wherever you leave it. There is a bolt on the side of the throttle lever that needs to be snugged up. It is accessible under the cowling. There should be an access hole (maybe 1/2") that should let you slide a socket and extension in there.