Creeper gear from 154 to 184

[ford141]

Great looking shop!
On the 184, the right hand brake has a return helper spring missing or broken (under the foot platform). Maybe steal the one off the 154 or order a new one from HamiltonBobsCubs.
https://hamiltonbobs.com/cart/product/d ... lo-boy-mm5

Also, order a pair of new gas caps for both tractors. Those old design caps are not safe & fires are bad for shops.
https://www.ihgascap.com/index.aspx

That's only 1 stall. There are 2 trucks in stalls to the left. Plus 3 quads, a cub cadet rider, and a John Deere snowmobile in the loft. Not to mention the Goldwing peaking from behind the 154 in the picture. It's a 30x48 but it's completely full. There's also a 9x30 lean-to off the end with another quad, Craftsman garden tractor and a chicken coop. I got too much crap.

The brake return spring is on there, it is actually a spring that I took off of the last 154 that I parted out. I think it's either stretched or the wrong one. I haven't replaced it yet, but I will eventually. My replacement parts bill is large for this tractor so I have focused on the major stuff and slowly working through the minor stuff. The 154 that I have now has a single brake lever, but I haven't checked to see if I can use it in place of mine.

I'll look into the gas cap, thanks for the tip.

[mozer71]

Great shop. Independent rear brakes are going to help a lot. While I was on this thread, I ordered the new gas cap. I'll kinda miss the old one, it was a palm full but would break off or leak in a rollover. Also it had a wire mesh to breathe so it wasn't a closed system and fuel vapors escaped while dormant.

[ford141]

Yesterday's progress: Creeper drive is out. I pressure washed the entire tractor prior to starting on this but I should have taken the fenders off before I washed it, because it was a big mess under there. I also found that the frame is broke on the right side, which I have seen a few times before. I'll weld it back up and reinforce it when I reassemble it, not a big deal. Seems to be a common issue on a neglected tractor. The 2 bottom bolts on the creeper drive that go through the front bracket were falling out also (one was gone), which is also something I've seen before.

What did surprise me, however was the condition of the oil in the creeper. Glad I didn't run it for long! It's a milky soup, but it appears the gears are all still clean, so not a big deal. The hydraulic fluid in the trans also looks milky from what I saw when i took the line off of the filter, so that will have to be drained and flushed.

Besides that, pretty straightforward. The clutch looks good, and the clutch brake looks and works good. The throwout bearing is pretty dry, so I may replace that. $50 for a new one, so I may dry to clean and grease it first to see how it works. Just need to clean everything up, fix the frame, and start buttoning it back up.

P.S. I ordered both gas caps yesterday, so hopefully they come soon.

[outdoors4evr]

Great Progress!

[mozer71]

Yes. I certainly admire the pace of restoring this tractor to being a tractor again. A coat of paint is nothing compared to what you are doing and you have the pix to prove it. You're going to get some $$$$ from this baby. Thanks for shareing this 154 eye candy with us.!

[ford141]

More progress yesterday. Got everything cleaned and ready for reassembly. I installed a seal on the transmission input, installed the clutch brake and flywheel, and reinstalled the transaxle in preparation for welding the frame. The transaxle will come back out once I get the frame section aligned and tacked in place, then I will weld it fully and reinforce it. Also mocked up the driveshaft to make sure everything fits. I'm always disappointed in how little these transaxles are attached to the frame. It's no wonder out of the 3 lo boys I've owned, all three have either been cracked or broken in this same location. I'll make it better this time though.

[outdoors4evr]

There isn't anything very critical going above this that would cause alignment issues. I'm pretty sure that this could get a doubler welded above it and I think the only thing that would be affected is the seat height. Possible issue might be the fender alignment.

Did the creeper also have a mount to support the front?

[ford141]

There isn't anything very critical going above this that would cause alignment issues. I'm pretty sure that this could get a doubler welded above it and I think the only thing that would be affected is the seat height. Possible issue might be the fender alignment.

Did the creeper also have a mount to support the front?

I agree, for the most part I could have just laid something flat across the top to line it up and tacked it. But, this area had been welded before (very poorly) and the bolt holes aren't the best. I want to make sure all of the holes line up correctly and given that I heavily V-notched all of the cracked areas. only took a few minutes to roll back in and also gave me a change to test fit the driveshaft. I've had to cut off enough things after welding that I like to double check everything now.

The creeper gear has a support crossmember welded across the bottom of the frame. When there is no creeper gear, spacers are used that are the same thickness as the creeper box. Both bottom bolts in the creeper housing were loose on this tractor, and one was completely missing, so given the frame crack, really the only thing left supporting the transaxle were the 2 3/8" bolts on the left side final drive housing. If you have a lo boy that likes to pop out of gear, check all of the mounting bolts!!!

[mozer71]

Or even before. Good pics, good tips and I will look at that area. Probably just re enforce it while apart.

[ford141]

Getting closer to reassembly. Welded the frame and reinforced it with a scrap piece of angle. This should last. Next I will address the worn PTO clutch basket. Then reinstall the transaxle.

[mozer71]

Right off, thanks for these pictures. I'll bet my frame is cracked the same place. Just looking at it when disassembled, It is too weak there.

[outdoors4evr]

Nice (and strong) fix for this! Are you going to do the same on the other side?

[ford141]

Nice (and strong) fix for this! Are you going to do the same on the other side?

Not planning on it. I've never seen the other side break. I suspect that's because the left side doesn't have the 2 half inch bolts going down into the top of the transaxle like the right side does. I think the combination of the stiffer mount on the right side along with the weakening of the top flange of the frame due to the 1/2" slotted hole drilled though it causes a high stress point and eventually cracks. The left side only mounts by the two 3/8" bolts through the final drives, so it is a little more forgiving of frame flex.