149 question

[Smokeycub]

I found a 149 with a 42" deck and a supposedly recently rebuilt engine for $300 OBO. From the pics it looks pretty good. It has rear lights and a the original seat's in decent shape. Should I just go get it? What do you think?

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[gitractorman]

That's a great price for a running tractor. I'd go get it, maybe offer $250 just to see what they say.

[Stanton]

Why aren't you telling us that you ALREADY BOUGHT a 149 with recently overhauled engine...

Agree with gitractorman...

[Smokeycub]

I'm hoping to go check it out today, taking my truck and trailer with cash in hand. As long as it's close to what it seems to be I'll bring it home.

[Smokeycub]

Well, I went and picked it up yesterday. I got it for a bit less than the asking price. It runs good and mows nice but it's not without issues. The biggest problem is the drive shaft wobbles where it connects to the engine, something is definitely loose or broken there. Not sure yet but may have a charging issue. Starts good, no smoke or engine oil leaks. Other than the drive shaft problem I think a few hours of tinkering and it will be A-1.

[Smokeycub]

I got to the bottom of the wobbly drive shaft. Something called a drive shaft cup is loose and after I got it off noticed about 3/16" of one side of the bottom inside edge (goes against the flywheel) had broken off and seems to be corroded to the flywheel (it's cast aluminum). The remaining part otherwise seems intact. Is this thing held on with the flywheel nut? If so then it broke clean off. I'd like to know what I'm missing here. There is another coupler that bolts to this cup and in turn the drive shaft fits into that, those parts seem fine. Some advice please! Does anyone have a spare drive cup?
If push comes to shove I'll fabricate a different set up. I'm not paying a hundred bucks for a new aluminum drive cup!

[Stanton]

Can't help with your drive issue, but am glad you bought/brought it home. You may be able to find help here...

PM sent.

[Smokeycub]

I found a used "drive cup" at Cub Cadet Classics pretty reasonably priced. Does anyone here have any dealings with this place? Located in Lancaster, Oh. He has a new cooling fan blade and a 1/4" roll pin I need, again all pretty reasonable.

[gitractorman]

Yes, I've dealt with him in the past and was very pleased! He used to sell IH 902 white paint, which is the correct color for the 1x4/1x5 and 1x6/1x7 tractors. I had bought a few cans, did my tractor and it matched perfect. Then later I ordered a few more cans to do the mower deck, and he mistakenly sent one of 901 white. Unfortunately, I found this out as I was spraying my second coat, and it was quite apparent that they were different colors. Called him up, and he sent me a new can of 902, no charge. Well, they were about $20 a can, so I was paying a premium, but still, great to deal with.

[Smokeycub]

Well, good news. I'm not sure what happened with the guy in Lancaster but he never got back to me after leaving two messages. So I found another guy in New Castle, Pa who helped me out. He is near enough that I decided to drive to his place to get my parts and I'm glad I did. He has a pretty amazing operation, lots and lots of IH Cub parts plus several other brands of NOS parts, not to mention bunches of parted out Cadets and parts. He has a large barn full and a newer shop stuffed with a fairly well organized inventory. I was amazed! Kinda like a kid in a candy store! Plus he's an authorized Kohler and Stens (sp) parts dealer. ...and he's a real nice guy. He even does some repair work I presume for locals. He's been at it full time for about 5 years and has a part time person listing parts on his web site. We chatted for about an hour about the ins and outs of this kind of business and discovered his Dad worked for years at the IH dealership that was in Boardman, OH, right down the road from where I used to work in the '70's, small world. He said his Dad and Granddad were walking encyclopedias of spec's for IH tractors and I'm sure they were. I was in the aftermarket parts business for years and still can tell you the part numbers for a complete tune up for a pre HEI Chevy or an exhaust system for say a 65 Malibu.

I'm not paying a hundred bucks for a new aluminum drive cup!

Back to the subject, I got all the pieces I needed for the 149 plus a couple springs for my 104 and a nice 48" mower deck with the lift frame and mule drive for about the same as I would have paid for a NOS drive cup elsewhere. I'm pretty stoked!

[Bill Hudson]

... I'm pretty stoked!

Ray,

We will expect a full report, this afternoon. Looking forward to meeting you.

Bill

[Smokeycub]

I got the drive cup replaced and put a new fan on the drive shaft, seems to be all good now. Took the deck off to check things out underneath the tractor and it turns out to be a 48" instead of the 42 that was listed, a pleasant surprise. One of the lift arms was loose, installed a new roll pin, seems good now too. The PO shoe horned a larger side mount battery in it, kinda refabbed the battery box under the seat and stiffened up the fender and seat platform at the same time. That made me wonder if it wasn't charging since needle on the voltage gauge kinda bounces all over the place but I checked the voltage at the battery about half throttle and the voltage picks up to a steady 12.9 so it seems to be working. Checked out all the lights and got them all working.

I'm not real familiar with hydro transaxles but the tractor seems to slow down going up a grade or when I turn a tight corner especially at slower engine speeds or when the speed control is set rather slow. The engine speed stays constant. As soon as I bump the control a bit it speeds right up. The hydraulic lift is real slow at low engine speeds. I checked the hytran level and it was full and was not hot, just barely warm after mowing for about an hour. It doesn't seem to make any difference if it's cold or warm. I was wondering if this is normal or is there something wrong or going bad?