Newbie with a 185.

[aaron_in_ohio]

Hey all,
This past weekend I bought a Lo-Boy 185 at auction. I am attaching some pictures I took with my phone. Cosmetically it's pretty ugly, but mechanically it feels very good. I thought the clutch was shot, but after a little adjustment it catches and shifts fine. The PTO clutch seems a little noisy, but it catches and moves just fine as well.

What I know needs done so far:
- The tires are terrible, I am picking up some gently used ones this weekend
- One of the drag link rods is bent. It still turns okay, but I need to pull it out and straighten it up
- I am missing the upper link for the 3pt hitch
- The skids on the mower are rusted through, and it could use a new blade
- Even though I have the 3pt hitch, I am missing the hydraulic diverter valve (or I can't find it)
- The brakes are loud and kind of nasty sounding, might need new drums and pads (are these hard to replace?)
- Front lights don't work
- I think the solenoid switch might need replaced, when it's cold, sometimes it needs rocked to start
- It obviously needs sanded and painted, new grill and fiberglass, but that will come later

I am glad to be here and part of the Lo-Boy family.














I took a video of it running too, but it will take me a while to upload so I will post it later.

[twotone]

Welcome Aaron. That tractor looks just like my 154 before I started a restoration. Just start picking at things 1 at a time and you'll have it in good shape. Top link should be available at a farm store. Better be sitting down when you price a grill surround. Check out Hamiltonbobscubs, a vender here. He will have everything you need.


Tom

[Bill Hudson]

Aaron,

Welcome to the forum. Great folks here. I'm familiar with Mt. Gilead, I used to live in Marion.

Bill

[aaron_in_ohio]

Welcome Aaron. That tractor looks just like my 154 before I started a restoration. Just start picking at things 1 at a time and you'll have it in good shape. Top link should be available at a farm store. Better be sitting down when you price a grill surround. Check out Hamiltonbobscubs, a vender here. He will have everything you need.


Tom

Thanks, Tom. I actually called Bob's on Saturday and we spoke for a bit. I am driving down to Hamilton this weekend. That is actually where I am getting the tires and I will probably pick up several other misc. parts while I am down there. For instance, while I was in adjusting the clutch I found out that someone just put a lag bolt in there with a cheap spring instead of a proper clutch link bolt. My brother paints cars for a living so I am going to have him take care of most of the cosmetics for me. My goal is to have it mechanically perfect by the spring time and then work on the cosmetics over the summer.

Aaron,

Welcome to the forum. Great folks here. I'm familiar with Mt. Gilead, I used to live in Marion.

Bill

I love it here. I just moved here last fall from Arizona. I miss the warm winters, but I grew up in OH, so the adjustment back to the cold shouldn't be too bad.

[RaymondDurban]

Welcome to the Forum Aaron!! Tom and I are both in the middle of tear downs for our LoBoys. They a good tractors when well taken care of and if you stay ahead of the maintenance curve! HamiltonBob is a good guy to deal with and will treat you right. Let us know if there is anything we can help you with.

[dgrapes59]

Welcome to the forum Aaron!

Honk when you get close to HamiltonBob's and I will wave at ya, I am not far from him.

Good luck with your 185,

[SONNY]

The starter/generator unit is a bad deal on these!---I have 3 and have to pull start all of them with the 420, so dont feel bad bout the starter!---probably just needs to be rebuilt and should then start properly! thanks; sonny

[Landreo]

Looks better than all of mine.

Brakes may just have rust on the drums, that may smooth with use.
The 3 point may not have a diverter valve, neither of my 2 have that valve.
I can't think of a clutch adjusting bolt with a spring unless you are looking at the clutch brake adjustment bolt. It is just a bolt with a 2 springs and some nuts, nothing fancy.