New guy with new to me 154

[chillman88]

There we go. I just hadn't made them small enough before!

Not the prettiest thing, someone did a very crappy job painting it with bedliner, and the cowl piece is missing. I was going to restore the colors, but the wife likes it blacked out and honestly it's grown on me too. I definitely plan on making it look much better though, it won't look like someone rolled tar on it like it does now.....

[chillman88]

So does anyone know what size these bolts are supposed to be? They hold the bracket for the PTO. They don't want to thread in, but the threads could just be rusty. They're 1/2-13 bolts, I can run a tap through them but wanted to make sure they aren't supposed to be fine thread or something.

And does anyone know why these holes would be torch cut and have an extra hole there? Is this tractor missing a piece or something? It was bolted up when I got it but the PTO clutch is literally non-existent so I just pulled it off for the time being.

[chillman88]

Points look like crap. Didn't really want to clean up much for some reason, that round burned looking area is either harder than the rest or recessed a little bit. I'll just order a new set.

I pulled apart the voltage regulator and cleaned those contacts and made sure it has a good ground. Haven't had a chance to start it since.

[SONNY]

There are many steps in paint that you have to go thru to get things to come out.---not hard once you figure it out. I use it all the time to do my pix.--we have a size limit on MBN as well so re-sizing comes natural after you get the hang of it.
Most zerks are a joke to get in---The drive in ones will pull out every time you try to get the gun off them!--I always re-thread that type for standard size and never look back!

[Eugene]

On your 1/2" x 13 bolt. If that's what came out of the hole - that's it. The parts manual has the bolt and thread size for the application.

Ignition points/parts. In rural areas the auto parts stores handle tractor parts. Common ignition parts for IH tractors are on hand.

I have an auto parts store that is open until 2 PM on Sundays. If the part is not on hand, it will be the following afternoon.

[chillman88]

On your 1/2" x 13 bolt. If that's what came out of the hole - that's it. The parts manual has the bolt and thread size for the application.

Ignition points/parts. In rural areas the auto parts stores handle tractor parts. Common ignition parts for IH tractors are on hand.

I have an auto parts store that is open until 2 PM on Sundays. If the part is not on hand, it will be the following afternoon.

Yeah I ordered points and condenser from Hamiltonbobs, should be here later this week. Had it purring like a kitten for a little while after cleaning those old points, then it went to surging and running like crap again.

Removed the drain and re cleaned the main jet, now I'm checking valve clearance since I found my feeler gauges.

I'm wondering if this battery just decided to bite the bullet. Turning over really slow and stopping occasionally. May just rip the starter/generator apart and have a look since cleaning the regulator points didn't seem to help. Engine running my DVM was reading 0v between field and ground, and 1.5v between A and ground. Does that sound right?

Just changed the oil because I noticed it appeared to possibly have some water in it. Not like milkshake, but a few droplets on the dipstick, like condensation.

1/2-13 came out, but I have no reason to believe the PO didn't just force them in. I finally found the parts manual so I'll do some digging in it later.

[chillman88]

Didn't set valve clearance because the engine is still hot. 0.015 feeler gauge wouldn't pass through, but I checked them in the proper pattern and there is no interference so at least none of them are hanging open. That was my first thought, since it previously had a sticking valve. Everything looks good visually, opening and closing like they should.

Ran a dull tap through those PTO bracket holes and the 1/2-13 did go through. Farthest rear holes almost looked like mud came out, pretty sure it was rust and the ATF I lubed the tap with.

I think I'm going to order a new regulator and belt, this one isn't in the greatest shape, and the generator is tightened ALL the way so the belt is stretched pretty good. Then I'll take a look inside the generator when they get here before putting the new belt on. After that I'll see about getting a new battery for this and putting the old one back in the Jeep I pulled it from.

With a WORKING generator, will these run without a battery after being jump started?

[Eugene]

With a WORKING generator, will these run without a battery after being jump started?

Not a good idea.

[chillman88]

With a WORKING generator, will these run without a battery after being jump started?

Not a good idea.

Can you elaborate on this? I'm just curious, not trying to be confrontational or anything.

I ran my old riding mower like that all the time. Had a bad battery, jump it and it'd mow all day. I was under the impression that the generator "should" be able to create more power than the mower needs in order to be able to charge the battery.

[Eugene]

With a WORKING generator, will these run without a battery after being jump started?

Not a good idea.

without a battery.

[Ike]

With a WORKING generator, will these run without a battery after being jump started?

Not a good idea.

Can you elaborate on this? I'm just curious, not trying to be confrontational or anything.

I ran my old riding mower like that all the time. Had a bad battery, jump it and it'd mow all day. I was under the impression that the generator "should" be able to create more power than the mower needs in order to be able to charge the battery.

I'm no expert, but I believe the generator field winding needs power from the battery to create a magnetic field. When you disconnect the battery, the magnetic field collapses and the generator stops producing electricity. I remember when alternators first came out, Chrysler made a big deal about being able to disconnect the battery and the alternator would still power the ignition and other electrical needs.

The old riding mower probably had a magneto ignition rather than battery ignition and the generator wasn't doing anything.

Ike

[chillman88]

Not a good idea.

Can you elaborate on this? I'm just curious, not trying to be confrontational or anything.

I ran my old riding mower like that all the time. Had a bad battery, jump it and it'd mow all day. I was under the impression that the generator "should" be able to create more power than the mower needs in order to be able to charge the battery.

I'm no expert, but I believe the generator field winding needs power from the battery to create a magnetic field. When you disconnect the battery, the magnetic field collapses and the generator stops producing electricity. I remember when alternators first came out, Chrysler made a big deal about being able to disconnect the battery and the alternator would still power the ignition and other electrical needs.

The old riding mower probably had a magneto ignition rather than battery ignition and the generator wasn't doing anything.

Ike

Thank you, that was what I was looking for. I was curious "why". I always try to figure out HOW things work if I'm able, makes it easier to fix them if you understand them first!

I've been wondering if maybe I should replace the starter wire as preventative maintenance. Sure it starts ok now, but I'm also wondering if it's not as good as it could be. Might not be anything wrong with the battery I was using, could be weak cables.

[Eugene]

Clean up all battery and cable terminals. Move the battery ground cable from the sheet metal to the transmission/differential. Because the 154's battery ground is the sheet metal which gets corroded.

[Glen]

Hi,
Below is the Cub LoBoy 154 operator's manual. It has lots of info. The experts on here recommend people read the operator's manual.
There is a table of contents on page 1.
The index begins on page 58.
The lubrication section begins on page 46.

http://farmallcub.com/rudi_cub/www.clea ... index.html

Below is the Cub LoBoy 154 parts manual.

http://farmallcub.com/rudi_cub/www.clea ... index.html

[Jim Becker]

. . .
I'm no expert, but I believe the generator field winding needs power from the battery to create a magnetic field. When you disconnect the battery, the magnetic field collapses and the generator stops producing electricity. . . .

No. The field winding gets electricity straight from the generator itself. There is no electrical connection between the battery and any part of the generator until the generator spins up fast enough to produce enough voltage to close the cut-out points. When the points close, they connect the GEN and BAT terminals of the cut-out/regulator.