Finally found a154

[Plumberspieco]

I’d been searching for a 154 with a mower for some time and finally pulled the trigger. When I started off in the spring I brought home a 1941 A then in July I snagged a 65 cub. The A was a runner but the cub hadn’t ran in 30 some years and got her going. Two weeks ago I found a 154 with a real nice Woods 59 mower, snow plow with rear wheel spacers and a 3pt hitch. Non runner but motor was free and supposedly ran some years ago.

Got it home and after a good going over I’ve got quite a bit of work ahead of me. Put a battery in and nada. Figured I’d jump the solenoid and discovered PO or someone did a bang up job trying to get the steering wheel off. It was missing the left side cover and quickly discovered the steering bracket cracked. Fun times ahead! I got the steering wheel off rather easily by heating the top part of the shaft and nut with a torch. To not melt it into a glob I put a 1-1/2” pipe coupling around the shaft and nut to contain the heat and tapped the nut after backing it off a few turns and up popped off without much effort. After getting the cowl off the wiring is basically shot but the starter solenoid works. Checking the compression I got 90, 90, 100 and 110 psi with shooting some lube in the cylinders. No spark no power to the coil. After running a hot jumper and cleaning the points, cap rotor still no spark. Well the wires were all corroded and the ends were breaking off so not much point in going any further. Can’t wait to see what lurks inside the carb. Looks like I’ll be getting full tune up kit, wire harness, switches etc. I might as well tear apart the starter generator as is spun up a little slow.

My hopes were to use it this winter to plow the drive but I’m having second thoughts. After getting my 65 cub up and running with the plow hooked up, new tires all around and rear rims to boot. I put some A weights on the rear and am picking up chains tomorrow. I was going to use cub at another property but after seeing what needs to be done to the 154 I think I may just sell the plow set up o the 154 and relegate it to just cutting grass when up and running. Any thoughts on which one plows snow better.

Here’s a few pics.[attachment

8E37A2D9-58BD-4B32-BD29-CA752458B152.jpeg (36.12 KiB) Viewed 968 times

[jensenracing77]

I have never used a cub before but I have plowed with a 154 before. The 154 done fine for me. I have a 184 with a snow blower now though. It is way better than the plow

[outdoors4evr]

Both work well. Would be nice to have the option to not swap implements. One with a mower, the other with a plow.

[SONNY]

Have you looked at the frame yet??? ---154's always break the frame when a 3-pt is used on them.--How do I know? Got one here in the junkpile thats broke. They can be plated IF you catch them in time I guess.
Mine is broke clear thru on both sides and the tractor moves like a wiggle worm.
They might be o.k. for a couple inches of soft snow but no good in hard deep stuff even with chains on them.
A regular cub will out push the numbered series.

[Plumberspieco]

Hey Sonny, where on the frame did yours crack? I just got finished welding the steering bracket up. It had been done before but it was just a surface weld ground down and had no penetration. I ground a 45 on both sides of the crack only on the face opposite the drive shaft. It’s definitely good now. I had planned on full process pics but I got distracted. So here’s my lift set up and a pic after welding. Since I took the deck off I might as well get a comparison this winter of the two. I really need to get my A set up but haven’t gotten around to it since I don’t have hydraulics.

37179338-8DFE-4075-A4A8-9EDD9AE11D53.jpeg (22.84 KiB) Viewed 886 times

[Plumberspieco]

You can’t tell from the pic but it was cracked at the rear bolt slot.

[Plumberspieco]

B98AD69A-C968-4160-BDCC-434B94B433A8.jpeg (31.8 KiB) Viewed 882 times

Guess I did have one pic after welding. That’s a piece of copper pipe on the drive shaft for protection.

[outdoors4evr]

Better to get a tunnel cover on that. Spinning shafts and clothing tend to cause injury.

Looks like you have wheel spacers on the back of the 154. Someone had it setup for chains.

[Plumberspieco]

Yes those are spacers as stated in my first post along with a picture of the tunnel on it. Yes safety is very important and components do get removed when checking machinery over for repairs or inspection. Too often things don’t get put back on and eventually get lost. Reminders are always helpful to keep people on their toes though. Thanks

[Plumberspieco]

After putting new cap, rotor, plugs, wires, points and condenser in and a few jumper wires it fired up. Surprisingly It ran pretty well with just putting gas in without looking at the carb either. Today the wiring harness came in from Hamilton Bob’s and am waiting on a few other pieces to get the wiring straightened out.
I’m certainly glad I ordered the harness rather than wiring it up myself as it will be a lot less painful.

[outdoors4evr]

Sounds like you are well on your way to a good running 154!
Looks like you have a few other tractors in your heard. Is that a Super A as well as a cub in the background?

[Plumberspieco]

That’s a 41 A and a 65 cub all of which I started to acquire this year. My search has been on for another 154 which I had cut the grass with for around 20 years or so but became complacent and sold it. While looking I came across the A which I like to call the Spanish Inquisition torture machine as it’s got all the hand lift levers but missing the exhaust lift. Not having hydraulics has slowed my ambition to make it useful. Along the way I found the cub and it had been sitting for 35 years and came with the 54 plow and 42” belly mower so how could I resist. Got her fired up put 4 new tires rear rims and chains on and I’m ready for snow. Then found the 154 to get back to cutting grass. I’ve got some steep hills and off camber mowing so the others just didn’t seem safe to use.

[BishopsBowyer]

I recently obtained a 1974 154. It isn't set up for a 3 point hitch, but I've figured out how to build my own set-up. So it is good to know that the frame cannot handle a 3 point hitch. I picked up the Lo Boy instead of the standard cub because I heard the standard cub is top heavy and can tip over easily. I don't want that when my granddaughter likes to ride with me.

[SONNY]

Never had any trouble with regular cubs on fairly level ground but IF ya try 4-wheelin on the steep roadsides,--THEN ya go over!! LOL!
The 154 frames seam to all break in the same place and someone on here post a pic of the frame a while back but I cant find it.
I think they get broke from abuse more than anything else. Just cause you have 3-point dont mean you can lift a 5-bottom plow and the overload the guys put on these are what breaks the frame.
I think IF you respect them and know the limits of the weight they can safely handle and run them accordingly they would be o.k.
I still want to double the frame on my 154 just because of the breaks AND still be able to use the 3-pt. itself. They would be handy for light use and worth the extra frame metal and welding needed to make them good again!

[BigBill]

On my 154 fel project I stripped the front halve of the frame and found it very flexible. I found welds missing were welds should be. I double wall channel to the front frame. The rear frame needs it too.

I got lucky I have three 154’s with no cracks.