New owner seeking advice

[1suffolkmare]

Hi guys,
Pardon the long post to follow:
A neighbor gave me his old 184 with the Woods mower on it. He said that it would lose power while mowing uphill and he thought it was losing compression due to his friend "checking" the compression by feeling the exhaust with his hand. I saw in his receipts he left in the parts manual that he had some bearings replaced in the mower about four years back around the time that he quit using the tractor regularly.

The first thing I did was buy a new battery. Then I changed the gasket and cleaned the sediment bowl of the empty gas tank. I changed the oil and filter and primed the pump. I also put 1 ounce of MMO in each cylinder and let it sit for a couple days. I next changed the points, condenser, spark plugs, plug wires, distributor cap and coil. I noticed the old points did not have a gap set. There appeared to be something crystallized around the points as well some grease in there. There was not any felt around the shaft. The old wire that went from the coil to the distributor cap was somewhat melted on one end.

I ordered a carb rebuild kit from Hamilton Bob's but I haven't installed it yet. In the meanwhile, I couldn't resist adding some fresh nonethanol gas to the tank and giving it a try. To my surprise, the engine started. It ran pretty well with a small amount of white smoke in the exhaust - I assume from the MMO in the cylinders. I added a whole pint of Seafoam to about a half gallon of fresh fuel. I drove it around a few laps in my pasture and decided to give the mower a try. Unfortunately, when I tried to engage the pto, the engine died. This happened twice then I decided to put the tractor back at my shop and seek advice. I am unfamiliar with this type of pto. Should the belts on the pto be turning all the time? Is there some safety override that may be cutting the engine? What should I check first?

Thanks for any assistance.

[Barnyard]

This may sound dumb but check to make sure the mower turns freely when not running. A jammed mower deck will make the engine stall.

[Jim Becker]

I'm not sure if there is a safety interlock between the PTO and the ignition. There are others that can answer that with more authority. But I don't think there is an interlock.

[1suffolkmare]

Thank you for your reply. I will check to see if the blades can move freely. Do I need to drop the belts to do that? I'm in the middle of putting up hay so it may be a couple days before I can do any thorough investigations.

[Gary Dotson]

As Barnyard mentioned, make sure the mower turns freely. The 184s electric clutch is a very abrupt device and will cause the engine to stumble and die unless you have it revved up pretty good. The governor can’t react as as quickly as the clutch does. One method you might try is to engage the clutch very briefly, just enough to get the mower turning, turn it back off and allow the engine to pick back up, then engage it again. At this point, the governor will have the carburetor opened up and the engine should be able to handle the load.

[staninlowerAL]

on Barnyard's post about checking the mower and drive linkages. You can also try to get a "loaner" compression tester from one of the auto parts sellers and see what the compression numbers are. A C60 engine that has less than about 90 compression is going to have problems running a load like a mower. After all you only have about 10 hp to begin with. JMHO

[Eugene]

Mower deck and idlers, easy check to conduct.

100% engine tune up. Start with compression tests. 70 year old tractor, probably weak engine, is going to have problems powering a 60" mower deck.

You mentioned pasture. Even in top notch condition, the tractor may have problems mowing pastures. The tractor is designed as an estate tractor.

[1suffolkmare]

Thanks for the help, guys. I will look at the mower deck. Do I need to remove the drive belts to test the blades for movement?

About the pto, should the two belts spin all the time the engine is running? I did have the tractor throttled down so I will try it with it revved up and do the two step engagement trick and see what happens.

BTW, I was only driving the tractor around the pasture to see if it would run. I didn't plan on actually mow it with the little tractor.

[Eugene]

Remove the mower drive and any belt(s) to the mower spindles. Rotate the idler pulleys by hand feeling for rough spots, loose bearings. Mower, spindles rotate by hand checking for rough spots, then shake the blades up and down checking for loose and bad bearings.

The PTO belts turn all the time.

Edit for spelling.

[1suffolkmare]

Thanks Eugene. I will take a look at the mower deck tomorrow. And thanks for the info about the pto belts.

[rogerdale]

how do i determine the date of manufacture?

[Eugene]

how do i determine the date of manufacture?

What are we trying to identify as to year of manufacture?

Tractor, id plate on left front, top of frame, just behind the cowl.

The mower, need manufacturer and size, cut width. Could be, perhaps half a dozen mowers mounted under a 184. Photos would help identify the mower.

[Eugene]

how do i determine the date of manufacture?

Suggest starting a new topic instead of using one started by another individual.

My prior post, I didn't realize there were two individuals asking questions.

[1suffolkmare]

Just to follow up, I did try the 2 step method of engaging the pto very briefly then fully WITH the engine revved up and......drumroll.....it worked! I didn't have time to actually go out and try to cut some grass because I was swamped with putting up hay but I will have time now that I am finished with the hay. Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I appreciate the helpful tips.

[Gary Dotson]

Glad to hear that worked, for you, I used to service a 184, for a lady, and I usually did it that way on my test runs.