New Cub LowBoy 154 owner

[Brynki]

Howdy y'all!

I grew up in Kentucky, lived on a 588 acre farm through high school and first learned to drive on a wide-front Farmall M. Over the years, I've driven a lot of equipment while in the military and since. I started getting into Cub Cadets when someone gave me a 124 when we lived in Colorado. I got it up and running but it had more issues than I wanted to deal with. I think someone had tried to hotrod it because it tried to pop the front wheels off the ground every time you tried to move. Regardless, I gave that away to a kid with a Cub to keep our driveway clear of snow.

I grew up in Louisville and was familiar with the Cub LowBoys and always wanted one. I've kept my eyes open for one, over the years, since we started buying a little of our own acreage. They were always just outside my price range until we got moved her to the Elkton/Fair Hill, Maryland area. I towed mine home last night and am already diving into it. It looks to be a 71 model with the turf tires. I'm already shopping around for parts to start making her look pretty along with getting her to work. It came with a belly mower but I don't think it's a Woods. I need to look at serial numbers and such on that. I plan to use her to keep out little 3 acre property mowed down, for dragging tree cutting out of the woods, maybe pushing some snow of I get a blade, and some light tilling and post holing if I can find some decent implements. For now, though, she'll just be my mower.

So, my 154 runs and drives though it tends to pop out of gear in reverse unless I hold down the gear selector. It, also, tends to grind into the gears. The brakes seem a bit soft, as well. There are a few cosmetic issues, as well, but all of this, I know, can be fixed. Overall, it seems to be in decent shape for the price and gives me a project to play with.

So, any suggestions for a new 154 owner?

Thanks in advance for your time!

-B

[Eugene]

Welcome

Any suggestions for a new 154 owner?

One more post and you can access the free manuals. Top left of page, Quick links.

My 154 runs and drives though it tends to pop out of gear in reverse unless I hold down the gear selector.

Could be worn or misaligned shifter fork. You need to remove the transmisssion cover to check.

[Brynki]

Thanks Eugene. I'm trying to figure out how to get my pictures on here. I've been doing research on what mower deck came with this tractor and, from the looks of it, it is a C-3 mower but one that has been modified unless later models came with beef-ups along the deck top. Pictures soon to come once I figure out how.

[murph51]

Welcome!

I bought a 73 154 a year ago, with a 3260 mower, needed a little work (rear seal, ignition and carb maintenance etc) so I guess it depends on how well it’s was maintained before you bought it.

Specific to grinding going into gear, it might need the clutch brake adjusted or replaced. Easy inexpensive fix, see the manuals or You Tube.

Good Luck!

[Eugene]

Specific to grinding going into gear, it might need the clutch brake adjusted or replaced. Easy inexpensive fix, see the manuals or You Tube.

HamiltonBobs, advertiser, bottom of page, has the clutch brake pucks and other Numbered Cub parts.

Once you take the sheet metal off to get to the transmission top, you have access to the clutch brake. That would be a good time to replace the clutch brake pucks.

[Brynki]

So, here is my new-to-me tractor. From the pics... Overview. Needs a little work. Some bolts and screws missing from the skins. The front end needs either some fiberglass work done to it or just buy a new one and install. I have the grill in good shape. I saw a couple of different date ranges. I'm thinking somewhere in the 71-72 range.

The mower deck looks to me like a C-2 but it has the two angle iron beef-ups welded in place that I haven't seen anywhere else. Maybe it was a mod added at factory? Regardless, it looks to be in pretty good shape. It's missing the skids on both sides, though. I, also, need a belt for it and am not sure which, of the several that I've found, will be the correct one. I'm seeing 5/8 x 124 and 154. I think I saw another size somewhere else but it seemed super short... like 42.

Thank you all for the tips on the hard shift. I plan to pull it into the garage here, once I can get a final mowing in, and start work on the old girl.

[SONNY]

my 154 has the 3-pt option and of course a broken frame because of it so for now its a parts tractor! 154 and 185 are the same basic models.
your mower deck looks like that Danco on my parts 185. I had to TOTALLY re-frame the deck! They are very poorly made and be careful that you dont ram anything with them! Woods L-59 is a much better choice. --- they are bulldozers!! lol!

[Brynki]

Thanks for the info, Sonny. This is the mower deck that came with the tractor when I purchased it. Honestly, this thing is pretty beefy compared to some others I have seen. Anyway, you wouldn't happen to know what sized belt is needed to power the mower deck, would you? I've been looking but not finding a definitive part number for it.

[SONNY]

They use 3 belts,--1 from pto and 2 from center to outer blades. I dont know the belt #'s, never replaced mine. ended up giving the deck away when I got all these woods L-59 decks.
If you noticed on your deck,--the spindle holes are slotted. This is the only adjustment you have and it is not enough so belt length and belt material are critical on them.-- If they streach too much they slip. One of the decks I had somebody put some extra pulleus and brackets to overcome this problem and you probably could do the same if needed down the road. Thats another reason I went to woods mowers!

[Eugene]

Mount the mower deck. Set idler pulleys in their highest position. 3/8" dia. cordage or similiar. Measure the length of cordage to belt the mower deck.

[Brynki]

So, I went through HamilitonBob's and they suggested that I had the 3160 mower deck. So, I got the belt set and it arrived yesterday. I managed to get it all together without any problems. The spindles seemed like they were not used or lubed but I wanted to see if I could get them spinning. They worked. I managed to get a couple of swatches done in the yard before running out of gas.

Some things I noticed about Old Yeller... I have to hold the throttle forward to get the PTO to spin up to full speed. Once it is spinning, it seems to be fine, though, and I can release it. I think that I may need to make some adjustments there. Overnight, the hydraulics bled down and now the belly mower is on the ground. That might be normal. And now I'm having trouble getting the little beastie to start, again. I put some mid-grade gas in and am about to head out to try, again. What fuel do you all run?

[Don McCombs]

Try lubing all the throttle and governor linkage pivot points and then work them back and forth with the engine off. That may help with the throttle response.

[Brynki]

Also, does anyone have a problem with their tractor dieseling? I think it might be the starter sticking but, after I try to start and roll the key back, sometimes, it acts like it is either still cranking or just running at a very low rpm. I'm thinking that it's the starter, though, that is still cranking over but it's not getting a spark so it isn't actually turning the engine over. If that's that case, I'm thinking that, once it is running, the started might still be continuing to crank over at times.

I have plans to get the wee beastie in the garage and start going over her with a fine-toothed comb, replacing all the regular stuff and maybe getting a bit deeper into her guts over time. I have a whole list of parts that will cost more than we paid for the machine. The coil looks pretty new but the plugs are rusted, the cords and cap look newer but, by no means, new. I think the first purchase, though, will be a manual. I thought someone mentioned that there was access to manuals here?

[Eugene]

Try lubing all the throttle and governor linkage pivot points and then work them back and forth with the engine off. That may help with the throttle response.

Soak the governor where the shafts enter/exit with solvent. These locations have a tendency to gum up.

Manuals, upper left of page, Quick Links.

Dieseling. Most likely ignition timing or sediment build up in the engine block. The starter is a combination of a starter and a generator. The start function in initiated/controled by a solenoid. The generator function is controlled by the regulator.

Question. Your 154 has the starter/generator and not been converted to a starter located on the lower right side of the engine?

[Brynki]

Thank you both for the responses.

Don, I'm not sure if the throttle is supposed to only go halfway forward and then can be pushed further forward to go to a higher rev or if the linkage is just not adjusted correctly. I'll be digging into the manuals and figuring things out as I go. BTW, I have been skiing in your neck of the woods/mountains. I skied at Wisp in the early to mid-90s while stationed in Dover, DE. I had stopped on my way back from visiting family in Kentucky to play in the snow. Beautiful area!

Eugene, same as above but, rest assured, when I get around to the big rebuild, that will be one of many things that I service or just replace. I'll run out here in just a minute and take some close ups of the engine area. I believe it is a starter/genie set up, though, as it looks like it has a huge genie at the top/front/right of the engine bay. I've been kind of laughing a bit about everything on this engine as it reminds me a lot of working on my first car, a 1969 VW Campmobile. I learned more about the gasoline-powered, internal combustion engine than I ever wanted to when I owned that thing. I still miss it, though. I had many adventure with that old girl. The fact that I was born in 1969 may have had some bearing on my purchase of it, as well.

Dieseling... I fear that it is not dieseling. It is the starter staying engaged and continually cranking. Tonight, after I got the old girl back up and running, I drove it around the yard a bit, engaged the PTO to get the mower spinning, and make a couple of quick sweeps of the yard in the dark. Just as I was making my last sweep to park, she started blowing radiator juices all over. I'm not sure if it's the cap being loose, the radiator being over-filled, or a bad radiator (the hoses look to be in good shape). Regardless, I just added that to my list of projects. And when I went to shut the old biddy down, I turned the key and removed it and it sounded like the started was still cranking. I removed a battery wire and that solved that problem, for the moment. I may get a battery cable lock out for to solve this problem for the immediate future. I was hoping to be able to just lube the spindles and run it over the yard once or twice to knock down the overgrowth and move the hen house to a new area before pulling her into the garage to start ordering all the parts. We'll see how things work out, though.

Pics will be in the next response.