184 loboy with bad engine

[Charles Zook]

One of the cub 184's that we recently purchased had zero compression on # 3 cyl. and after pulling the head off, it appears that it probably has a broken rod? I have not dropped the pan yet , but am wondering if a used and decent engine would possibly be available and a price range if one is available. My second thought would be parting out the tractor and wondered if there would be much demand for the parts? The tractor at present needs a dash panel area wiring harness and a engine or engine repair. Any thoughts or advice? All 4 tiurf tires are very good and have the woods belly mower. Thanks in advance for any info. or input.
C.D. Zook

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

A cub engine is a direct bolt up, but one from a standard cub will have a little less horsepower. If you have a machine shop in your area that you can trust i would take the engine to them and ask them to check it. If you tear down, meaning, pull pan, oil in take, manifold, head, etc. they will usually damage and give a repair estimate for no charge. for a replacement engine, or another block, check, with Ralph's Cubs, JP Tractor, the sponsors at the bottom of the page. Some of the other members, such as David Bennett may also have an engine that will work.

[outdoors4evr]

I would try to repair the 184 engine over replacing it with a 154 or cub engine. There are a lot of advantages to a 184.
1) Separate starter and alternator vs. a starter generator
2) Horsepower upgrades for the 184 include a zenith carb and domed pistons
3) Other upgrades for proper handling for unleaded gasoline

Often, folks are looking for ways to "upgrade" their 154 to get the output of a 184. I just wouldn't downgrade if the price of a rebuild is not significantly larger than a 154 or cub replacement engine.

[BigBill]

Did you check it for stuck valve first? From what i'm learning here these engines when sitting a longtime are prone to stuck valves. I would think if the rod was broke it would jam the crank in most cases. But i have had a cadet engine rod break and the piston landed at the TDC and the engine would fly over and not start. (i purchased a used tractor this way) Of course the guy who sold it to me told me he ran it a year ago.

There's an engine on ebay right now in the 154 section. There's plenty of parts too. "hamiltonbob" is a good seller of 154/185/184 parts on ebay. I just purchased two used cranks from him with dome pistons.

Either way you go i would repair it, there an awesome tractor. I like the 154's too. Right now i'm installing a geared starter on my int154 so i can add a 105amp alternator. I want to add extra lighting, a radio, CB and tape deck plus a trailer truck cab heater too, to go with my SIMS cab. I may look into one of those roof top coleman air conditioners too.(redneck tractor)

My first 154 has the 185/184 hp upgrade done to it by the last PO he had the whole engine upgraded to the 18hp. Hamiltonbob has a lot of used dome pistons from the int154's so i'm sure that may of the 154 owners have done this upgrade too. It kind of makes me wonder if IH had or offered a HP upgrade kit for the 154.

[Charles Zook]

The 184 engine valves are not stuck, checked through valve adjustment side cover, and with head removed the piston on #3 cyl. is in approx. midway position on the vertical travel and engine turns over without any special noises, but piston remains in midway area position, maybe a slight movement as crank turns revolutions. Will drop pan later, but guessing rod may have broken close to crank??
C.D.Z.

[BigBill]

I noticed on my cub cadet with the broken rod, it broke at the crank too. The cause of the problem was a low oil level in the oil pan. The lower rod end froze up on the crank and ripped off the rod. Was the oil level ok when you first checked it? There is a set of rods on ebay for $50. BB

[Charles Zook]

The oil level was barely on the bottom end of dipstick when I bought the tractor, which had supposedly "been setting in a storage shed for 5 or 6 years since it had been used for mowing" Kind of a familiar story??

[Dave Hull]

I don't know where you are located, but I would look for a 185 to pull the engine from. 184 rarely get parted unless they are wasted. I am Indiana.

Dave

[LiL' Red]

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