Different starter/generator setups on 154s

[garmarnarnar]

My friend was cleaning up her property and gave me two 154s that are in moderately good condition considering they were sitting in an open field for years.

When the weather gets nicer I'm going to start attempting to assemble one complete tractor out of both of these. Maybe both will run if I'm lucky.

Anyway, as a complete noob I'm looking them over and it seems one has a starter that mounts to the firewall (not sure about the terms, but that's what it would be on a car) and connects to a toothed flywheel and a separate alternator on the front belt. The other has a starter/generator combo connected to the front belt and the flywheel has no teeth. The owner's manual only shows the starter/generator on the front of the motor.

So I have a two questions:

1) What's the deal with that?

2) If both engines are in comparable condition is there one configuration that I should prioritize over the other? Are there benefits to either that would push me more toward making the other the parts donor?

[staninlowerAL]

Welcome to the Forum. One more post and you can access/download from the manuals list at the Quick links tab at the top left corner of this page. Look for pdf manuals. Lots of good information that will help answer questions that you may have. The number series 154 came from the factory with a SG. The other one has seen some modifications along the way. There have been some posts on this forum about members converting the SG starting to a conventional starter with a ring gear on the flywheel. It requires some surgery to make things work. The last number series was a 184 and it came with the conventional starter from the factory. Keep in mind that the 154 is about 50 years old and could have been modified in its past. JMHO Stan
EDIT: Here's a couple of discussions on the topic that might be interesting to you. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=110544 and viewtopic.php?f=31&t=110940

[Eugene]

Welcome.

Serial number plate is on top of the left rail, just behind the fan shroud. The serial number will tell you the LowBoy model and year.

The flywheel with ring gear will fit the C-60 engines that came out of the factory without the ring gear.

The frames are a bit different for tractors with and without the standard starter.

The 184 has a bit higher horsepower and the standard starter.

I would concentrate on getting the 184 up and running.

Edit: The mower decks are interchangeable.

[Gary Dotson]

If, in fact, one of them is a 184, rather than a 154, it has far more potential than the 154. The 154 (and the 185) had the clutch mounted on the front of the transmission, on the 184, they moved it back to the engine flywheel (where it belongs). Also, the 154 had a manual pto clutch, they switched to an electric clutch on the 184. Also, a little more horsepower, it’s just an all round better tractor.

[SONNY]

trying to convert my "new" 184 pto to manual since the electric on it is junk. plan is to put the rear end with factory 3-pt. out of the 154, (broken frame), under the 184, ( broken final casting) and have a usable unit.
IF yours is a 184, --- junk the 154 and concentrate on the good one!

[garmarnarnar]

Does a 154 hood fit on a 184? Because they both have 154 hoods that fit neatly.

It sounds like the general consensus is that the ring gear starter is far superior, which makes sense.

They both had mower decks but I have no desire to mow with these so I'll probably just sell them and add it to the parts fund. She gave me a snow plow and I'm pretty excited about getting that connected.

The weather hasn't been great so I haven't looked at them much, but I'll definitely look at the PTO clutch to see if one of the tractors really is a 184.

I'm sure you will all be hearing more from me in the spring when I get a chance to really dig in, but I really appreciate everyone's input so far. I know my way around small engines in mowers and some basic car mechanics but with tractors like this I'm a complete neophyte.

[staninlowerAL]

As Eugene pointed out in his post above, the SN data plate is the best source for determining what you have. Then you can determine what has been changed/modified on the tractor. Pictures also would help. JMHO Stan

[Eugene]

The Cub LowBoys are great mower tractors.

Many parts from the standard Cub and Cub LowBoys interchange with the Numbered Cubs.

[garmarnarnar]

The tags are almost entirely useless, but if I understand correctly these are a '72 and '68 154?

https://imgur.com/a/aUi73lD

[Jim Becker]

The pictures are close to useless. A little side illumination might have helped.

The first one looks like a '68. The other I can't read at all.

[SamsFarm]

You have a lovely friend!

[garmarnarnar]

The pictures are close to useless. A little side illumination might have helped.

The first one looks like a '68. The other I can't read at all.

I agree, but its cold and starting to rain so I was in a hurry.

The tags are stamped with 026182 and 007939. Everything else is completely worn off.

[Jim Becker]

026182 is, as you said, from '72. The rest of the information on the plates was silkscreened. It isn't unusual for it to wear away with enough exposure to the elements. The silkscreened information would include the model and the manufacturer, which you know anyway.

[Eugene]

Run the graphite from a lead pencil over the serial numbers. This may highlite the numbers.

Of the two tractor, get the one with the standard car type starter running.

[garmarnarnar]

Its alive!

Well the 154 with the alternator is alive. The wiring is a nightmare and I had to patch parts of it together just to see if it *could* run. I didn't want to put a lot of work into it just to find that it has something major broken inside the motor. But it runs great. Smooth, quiet, no immediate concerns.

If anything the tractor runs *too* well. I can't turn it off without just letting it run out of gas. It was wired up with a separate switch that connects the alternator to the battery for some reason, and switching both that and the ignition off doesn't actually stop it from firing.

So since it runs I might as well put the time into gutting the wiring and doing it the right way. My google skills have failed me -- is there a good wiring diagram of the wiring harness for a 154 with the alternator mod? I don't care about lights now, I can wire those up later easily enough. This is a single-wire alternator, btw.