Farmall Cub

I'am going to go look at a 185 lo-boy tommorow evening, are ther any items or area's on the tractor I need to check out? are there any problem area's I need to check out? Any thing I need to know if I need to pass on this tractor? Thanks Dave F.

Clutch and PTO. These are the problem areas. If the grill is still there, its an added bonus and gives you an idea of the life of the machine. The ones that have been ripped off more often than not were used as land clearing machines and the fiberglass grill doesn't stand a chance. Condition of tires if it has the large baloon tires on the rear. Will set you back around $700 for a new set. Other than that, things are pretty much the same as the FCubs (engine, tranny, finals).
Post some photos if you can!!

take a good look at the steering ,especcially the mount that is part of the frame (under the trans tunnel cover ) this bracket is weak and it is tuff to fix (very little metal there)the bracket is made of a piece of c channel and it is a tab bent out with bolt holes through it and coped around the steering gear box (thats where it breaks ) and there isnt much clearance between the pto shaft and the bracket so ya really cant add a piece to it to beef it up . if any one has a good soloution for this i would love to know about it .

Check the frame aropund the engine this is where i've seen it crack because of abuse. The horizontal part of the frame "C" channel design cracks on top right were the bends are. At the sametime its hard to see if the frame rails near the tranny/finals is cracked too.

The grill is easy to remove to check the condition of the radiator too. A new radiator is $400+ but one can be found on ebay for around $100.

Like said above check the clutch in 1st gear with the brakes on and let it up with the engine running. It should stall right away if it stays running subtract $300 for a new clutch plus labor if you can't do it.

Check the tranny in 1st and rev gear. Run it in reverse for a while to see if it pops out of gear. If it pops out of reverse its probably the fork. But who knows how long its been this way it may need a fork plus a new 1st & rev gear too.

Also try the tranny in 1st gear for noises too. Start out at an idle this is were it makes the most noises. Then speed it up to check the operation of the govenor. The RPM's should increase then drop back one it adjusts to the load.

Check the brakes to see if they work. If they don't look at were the finals bolt up for oil leaking out of the drive shaft seals. Your looking at seals plus brake bands. I have washed oil soaked brakes with brake clean if they still had plenty of lining.

Check the lights to see if the amp gage stays charging or it goes into discharge when the lights are on because of a short. I would look near the radiator to check the wiring to see if and are cracked. In some cases i have seen they need new wire harnesses.

If it has the mower on it checkout the PTO too let it run so it gets warm. Belts can slip when they get warm.

I wouldn't pass on it unless its a total parts tractor(really beat) if your looking for a runner. If the price is right and she's a runner with no smoke and it runs great, you can repair anything else. Just use whats wrong with it to haggle the price lower. Remember start out low if he wants an offer and go up slowly. You need to say it has to go into the shop for repair and thats going to be costly. Haggle, Haggle !! !! !! !!

Also look for a hyd. leak up under/behind the master clutch!---either trans. seal,--or the gasket behind the countershaft plate!-----also very hard to get at to fix,--but will soak the drive belt and ruin it.-----if hyd seems slow/funny actin'---its probably empty,--leaked out onto the belt and re-filling it will just waste about 6 quarts of fluid unless you fix the leak first! this among the other already mentioned tips should give you a better idea of what you are getting into!(if I had known all this earlier, I would NEVER have bought the one I now have and cant use) thanks; sonny