184 rebuild completed

[mjr46]

So back in july I started my 184 rebuild.This has been done since early November, just finally got a free moment to upload photos. The main reason for the rebuild was 2 years ago I did a quick overhaul in frame and noticed the valves were split/burnt partially as well as it had a typical rear main seal leak.....well in July while mowing my supposive "upgraded Phil Lenke seal" sprung a huge leak due to his inability to properly machine the retainer = could push the seal in by hand.......Anyway, so I decided to address all issues and do a full proper rebuild......sorry no build photos just the final product.......the rebuild process was a pain, more so with the machine shop, first they boogered up the lifter bores by driving the valve guides out and knicking the bores causing burrs so the lifters wouldn't go back in = had to hone them all, then the replacement new crank they bought they had to polish the journels as it was rough as a cobb, then upon assembly I find the counter weight hits the side of the block so then they had to order another one, then the 50 dollar oem idler gear bushing I bought direct from ih, somehow they said it wouldn't work after they goobered it up and then said that they'd have to make one out of brass stock = it eventually worked fine.....other issues upon disassembly, I find out the governor thrust bearing group is shot = had to rebuild that, as well as having to hunt down a good used tensioner for the pto as mine was worn and bushings were shot......also upon reassembly and fire up somehow my alternator craps out via sparks shooting out of it..lol and the throttle cable after sitting for 6 months somehow was siezed. Ordered new one from IH. then I find out the top of my radiator is leaking....I have yet to fix that as well as the leaking fuel bowl under the tank, even when I shut it off it still drips gas internally down to the carb, and floods the carb out majorly, so for now fuel line is unhooked, carb most likely needs a new needle and seat and float level checked to solve fuel drainage into intake tube. We finally had a 8 in snow here in WV and I tried out the blade,....and while the plow works okay, I'd rather have a snow blower for it, defintely needs weight on the rear, I could of hung my plow blade on the rear for weight but was to lazy as my 184 does have 3 point and a creeper gear. Anyway, the motor got bored .020, new dome pistons, block decked, head shaved, all new valves and springs and keepers and valve job. New crankshaft and bearings, rods reconditioned, and I reworked the not so super Lenke seal retainer with better sealer to retain rear main in place from rotating........I want to thank outdoors4ever for the few pointers he gave me in getting a manual....it helped tons, while i AM a ASE mastertech, the few pointers helped out as i HAD NEVER done a tractor before.....all in all it wasn't that bad, now I'm just waiting for spring so I can take the plow off and put my mower deck back on and see how it mows. It feels like it has all 18 horses back now!!! whoooohooooo!!! sorry for bad quality photos, flash killed image

[diogenes74]

Awesome 184, what part of W.V. Are you from?

[mjr46]

Panhandle, Harpers Ferry

[Bob McCarty]

Nice job! Sounds like you need to find another machine shop for the next one.

Bob

[mjr46]

Nice job! Sounds like you need to find another machine shop for the next one.

Bob

thanks, it's still a work in progress..........funny thing is the IH DEALER use to be right across the street from them, and over the years they have done many c60 motors.........thing was, they have all these young bucks working for them nowadays and most of them have no clue what a cub lo boy is.........other issue was is they didn't check their work, The owners comment to me was " You'd never seen any of these issues had they of been the ones assembling the motor" Lol I said......last thing I'd of wanted was them doing it/slapping it together without checking every detail....since I'm a tech and this is not my first motor build by far, I checked everything so if there was a failure, I'd know what to look at and not have to guess. The real problem in my area is there are not any machine shops I trust and hopefully I don't have to do this again to the 184.

[outdoors4evr]

Great lookin Loboy! Looks like this one is ready for 30 more years of work!

[Donegal Cub]

Beautiful tractor, well done. It's a good thing that you were able to do the rebuild of the engine yourself. It is disappointing when the so called experts are sloppy in their work. Most of the older guys were very particular when doing up an engine.
Bernard,
Donegal Cub.

[Mortgaged]

VERY NICE looking tractor! Fix the fuel leak and you'll get a lot of great use out of it.

Did you custom fab the drawbar on the rear or did it come that way?

[mjr46]

Great lookin Loboy! Looks like this one is ready for 30 more years of work!

hope so.......and thanks for your pointers a while back.........We got 10 inches of snow in wv here yesterday so it gave me a chance to work the ole girl.......hung a scraper blade on the back for weight and used it a little, but man if I didn't want to scrape all the gravel in my lane up, I'd of used my Bronco 2 with a plow on it, so as to not tear up my gravel I used the lo boy....took a lot longer but all in all it did well as I'm able to control blade height easier than on my plow bronco. However, I'd still rather have the 2 stage blower for my low boy as it'd of made the job easier and quicker.......still searching!!!!

[mjr46]

VERY NICE looking tractor! Fix the fuel leak and you'll get a lot of great use out of it.

Did you custom fab the drawbar on the rear or did it come that way?

fix the fuel leak..lol more so I need to fix the dang needle and seat in the carb or the float may be stuck, I have to keep unhooking the fuel line or it floods the tractor out massively when sitting and then it's a beast to start.......gonna pull the carb off this weekend.....flooding that bad = bad for a freshly built motor, and the draw bar is factory, many later model low boys have them.

[outdoors4evr]

I think the McKee Snowlander 320 is the only 2-stage blower for the numbered series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR1QmZzBdls

I had the Model 50 single stage snow thrower for a while. Sold it because the single stage just wasn't effective enough.

[mjr46]

I think the McKee Snowlander 320 is the only 2-stage blower for the numbered series.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR1QmZzBdls

I had the Model 50 single stage snow thrower for a while. Sold it because the single stage just wasn't effective enough.

yeah, I know all about the McKee snolander 320, my Dad had one on his 185 for years and even adapted a briggs and stratton 12 hp to run it......problem is finding one right now.

[outdoors4evr]

The yahoo group had one or more for sale.

[mjr46]

The yahoo group had one or more for sale.

not right now they don't or for at least a year or two.......unless you know /have seen one thee I haven't?? I check in there regularly

[Rick Prentice]

''well in July while mowing my supposive "upgraded Phil Lenke seal" sprung a huge leak due to his inability to properly machine the retainer = could push the seal in by hand'' and '' I reworked the not so super Lenke seal retainer with better sealer to retain rear main in place from rotating.''

I'd sure like to know more about the retainer, like when you got it reworked and where you sent your bad retainer to have it machined. In all the years I've known Mr Lenke, you'll never find anyone more particular about the quality of his work. If my memory serves me right, he finished machining retainers back in 2011 or maybe 2012. I'd put his work 2 steps above mine any day, mainly because I did all mine one at a time, while he did all his on a CNC machine, which usually bypasses a chance for human error.

Rick