Cub Lowboy 154 Power loss when mower is engaged

[vortechx]

Hey Guys
I have just purchased a Cub Lowboy 154 and it seems to have plenty of power until I engage the PTO for the mower deck.When the mower deck is engaged the engine looses power and it is Impossible to cut grass.I took a compression check and 3 of the cylinders had over 80 lbs and one had 50.Any thoughts as to what the problem might be?

[Bigdog]

What seems to be good power is really not. With compression readings like that I would not expect a lot out of the engine. What you can do is go over the deck to make sure there is no excessive drag in any of the spindles. Fine tune things as well as you can. Tune up, valve adjustments etc. but with only 50 pounds of compression on 1 cylinder I wouldn't expect a lot.

[Matt Kirsch]

I agree, it sounds like the engine is just plum worn out.

[BigBill]

The first thing i can think of is the mower deck?? Are the bearings ok? Does it turn really easy?

Is the engine hot before you engage the mower deck?

Before you do anything checkout the mower deck first. Grease it too. Check out the idler pullies and the mule drive setup on the rear too. Even one tight pulley can put a real drag on the engine too. Check the mower blades to see if anything is wrapped around them.(barbed wire/steel wire) My tiller this year picked up some 1/4" tubing so anything is possible.

Second I would tune up the engine and check the timing.

Over the winter it sounds like a rebuild is needed too on the engine.