184 Crankshaft needed - specifically which one?

[indianamark]

I have a 184, SN 60 CT2U325942X which needs a new crankshaft. The center thrust bearing has worn a 1/8" groove into the crankshaft on the clutch side.

184 Center thrust bearing wearing into crankshaft

The engine, has these numbers on it: 10 25 B 1 L3 251341 R8

184 engine casting numbers

My current crank casting numbers are almost unreadable. Seem to start with a 192? and end with an R1

The number off of the retainer plate for the rear seal ends in R2 251363R2(which I am sending to Phil Lenke today).

I see some cranks listed on E-bay mostly. One is reground and magnafluxed for $325 http://cgi.ebay.com/INTERNATIONAL-154-1 ... 4ceea63c15

There are several off of "running" engines for $40-$80 dollars.

Frankly, I'm not sure where to turn for the proper crank at the proper price! I have e-mailed HamiltonBob and another e-bay seller.

If anyone could shed the light of experience on my situation, I would appreciate it!

Thanks,

Mark
Lafayette, Indiana

[b52c130]

Mark,
The 154, 185 and 184 crankshafts were all the same and are interchangeable. The 184 had a pilot bushing in the rear end of the shaft which the 154 and 185 did not require (check rear of shaft end and install one for 184 use).

The going price on ebay seems to be a little under $100 delivered for a supposedly good used one. Upon receipt you would have to mic the journals to check the size (to see if it was ever turned). Once you know the sizes of the mains and connecting rod journals you can make up your mind if just polishing with fine emery paper will clean up the journals for the proper size bearings. Usually, if the crank is being sold as "good" just the light polishing should be sufficient.

Even if the new crank is not perfect enough for you; since a refurbished freshly turned crankshaft goes for close to $400 (including shipping), you should be able to find a local machine shop that will turn the new-used crank for far less that $300 so you would be no worst off, but might be able to save $300.

It seems strange that your current crankshaft would wear like that. The bearing materiel is usually much softer than the crankshaft material and the bearing would normally wear, not the crankshaft. You should also check to see what is putting such a lateral load on the crankshaft to cause the wear. It would almost seem like the U-joint/driveshaft is improperly adjusted for proper length and is loading the crankshaft with lateral forces.

Both Hamiltonbob and Lou747 seem to be reputable ebay merchants.

NJDale

[Gary Dotson]

Be aware that some 154 cranks are not drilled to accept the pilot bushing, so avoid those. They can be drilled but that's an extra machine operation that you might as well avoid. I don't know about LOU747, but Hamilton Bob has a very good reputation, is a member here, and I'm betting he can fix you up.

[indianamark]

Just got a crank coming from HamiltonBob. Any other rebuild advice out there that I need to be paying attention to? Thanks.

[b52c130]

Mark,
It is very unusual for a crankshaft thrust surface to wear that much. That much wear would tend to indicate that unusual pressure is being applied laterally to the crankshaft.

In applying the old thinking cap, I can only come up with two sources for that excess pressure.

Perhaps the front splined portion of the driveshaft has worn in such a way that the clutch disk has locked onto the driveshaft (instead of floating fore and aft on the splines of the driveshaft) and when the pressure plate applies pressure to the disc, the pressure results in pushing the driveshaft forward and thus puts pressure onto the crankshaft.

The second possibility might be loose or broken mounting of the transaxle assembly. Normally the forward pressure of the transaxle is transmitted to the tractor through the tractor frame. If something is loose or broken in the mounting of the transaxle or the frame itself, the froward thrust could be transmitted through the driveshaft to the back of the crankshaft and forward to the side of the thrust bearing inside the engine.

You should do your best to locate the cause of the problem so that it doesn't happen again.

I hope that this helps you, NJDale

[indianamark]

NJDale,

Thanks for your insight. Frankly, I hadn't thought that anything besides clutch pressure over time had caused the problem. I'll look at those items this weekend and report back. Thanks again.

[Gary Dotson]

Yes, Dale's right, and it is very common to find transmission mounting bolts loose or missing on these tractors. Also inspect for cracks in the frame members. This kind of damage requires much more forward force than would be transmitted through the clutch pedal.

[Boss Hog]

Check the block to see if it has worn down where the bearing fits , the bearing must fit tight in the saddle