Cub Cadet 149

[TheUnknownCat 0]

I just brought in an early '70s Cub 149, with a 3-point and box blade, wheel weights and a 42" deck. Kinda makes my C160 look light.

I was just looking to get a dedicated mower, but it looks like I got a new dirt tractor. :USA:

[rickv1957 70]

:D Rick

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,337]

Congratulations on your "new" Cub. If you want links to some great Cub Cadet sites, here you go:

http://ihregistry.com/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi

http://www.ihcubcadet.com/cgi-bin/discus/discus.pl

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/index.php

http://cubcadet.1.forumer.com/

For manuals:

http://ccmanuals.info/pdf/

http://ihregistry.com/forum/messages/16112...html?1255242725

[TheUnknownCat 0]

Thanks for the great links!

Here ya go, Rick:

The 160 aint worried -it knows where I get my tillin'

[gwgdog66 23]

Was this one in MWC?

[TheUnknownCat 0]

Nope, Tuttle. Came from craigslist.

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,337]

If you don't mind, I would like to post those pictures here:

http://cubcadet.1.forumer.com/index.php?showtopic=156

[TheUnknownCat 0]

That'd be fine, T-Mo.

[rickv1957 70]

Tractor looks great and heavy duty!,Rick

[TheUnknownCat 0]

Thanks, Rick -I think I like it.

I just started it up for the first time -I have no idea how the previous owner drove it into my yard with the condenser zip strapped on. Took me a little messing around before I realized it was not getting spark because of THAT.

Anyway... now it fires right up, runs great, drives great, it's a very strong tractor -but it has a pretty nasty vibration. I doubt that it's an engine problem, I am thinking it is the connection between the engine and driveshaft.

T-mo? ...little help? Please?

I'll go research it so we can discuss it intelligently.

[puddlejumper 67]

I believe that tractor has rubber Iso mounts for the engine. But probably not any more

[TheUnknownCat 0]

Nope, solid mounted -and not loose.

Looks like there has been some sort of driveline issue -the plastic cooling fan is missing 3 out of 5 blades. I guess I'll just pull the shaft and have a peek -since I'm putting on (at least,) a fan blade anyway.

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,337]

The 149 was the first of the wide frames, but it did not have iso mounts. The vibration could be cause by the rag joints on the drive shaft.

[papaglide 541]

The 149 does not have the rubber iso mounts. The plastic fan is what cools the tranny - nothing to do with the vibrations.

I had a 169 which is the same tractor just has a 16 horse kohler in it. It vibrated pretty good as well.

These engines had balance gears in them. They were intermeshed gears with rotating counterbalances on them that were designed to smooth out the operation of the single stroke engine.

A lot of owners REMOVED them after periods of time when they rebuilt the engines or what not. Not having them there made the engine vibrate more then normal but did NO harm to the engine what so ever. Matter of fact it is more normal for that Kohler 321A(149) and 341A(169) to NOT have the gears in them.

[Ken B 3,116]

Cub 149 is for sure a heavy duty machine. Not really to many downfalls other than the usual sloppy steering, which is a problem with all Cubs. It can usually be corrected by making sure all tie rod and steering parts aren't worn. If all that is well then taking the steering box all apart and cleaning and adjusting it will correct the problem. If the steering is tight on your 149 that is a rarity.

Your vibration could also be a worn rag joint as T-MO suggested.

[T-Mo-(Moderator) 4,337]

You will find two causes for sloppy steering on an older Cub.

First the steering box needs repair/rebuilt. Here's a procedure for that:

http://cubfaq.com/steeringrebuild.html

Next is the left front spindle has the holes waddled out. There's a fix for that as well if you don't want to buy new or used parts:

Attached File ( Number of downloads: 29 )

left_spindle_repair_NF.doc

[TheUnknownCat 0]

I've been running this Cub a bit, ignoring the nasty vibe and the sloppy steering, and my impression after a few hours in the seat ...I wouldn't trade my C160 for one of these. It's a good machine, but it's a brute. It's work to run it, compared to my WH. The C160 is a pleasure to operate and seems more natural to me than the Cub.

The Cub is gonna get what it needs to get right mechanically, and then I believe the box blade will get mounted and stay there, and I'll start hunting parts to build an FEL to put on it. It aint gonna be my "every day" tractor.

The Cub has secured the C160's spot on my homestead.

[big mike 13]

If you pull the tunnel cover you can see if the drive shaft wobbles.The design of the motor to drive shaft connection was not one of IHs best.I converted my 149 with a Johnson loader to use a Quiet Line connection.....MUCH better design.

Wide frames don't usually have the same sloppy steering issues as Narrow frames.You can check the joints and the steering box.The other thing to check is if the axle will rotate fore and aft.If it does the frame has spread where the axle pivots.This can be fixed by either pulling the section back together with a large c clamp or fit a bolt in place of the pivot pin.To use a bolt you may have to thin down the head thickness to clear the oil pan.

[TheUnknownCat 0]

Thanks for the info, Big Mike.

The front axle does move fore and aft, I'll squeeze it back up, thanks!

I'm pretty sure that I'm looking at a problem with the drive shaft connection at the engine, can you tell me more about your fix?

[big mike 13]

I'm not the best at computer stuff so I'll do the best I can.

If you use a parts lookup and lookup a breakdown for a 1250,1450 or 1650 you will see a plate with a bushing in the middle and two bolts that act as studs you will also see a cast piece similar to the ones on the back of your 149s driveshaft.What you are doing is changing from the pin/slotted coupler to the flange/stud set up.You might want to find the pieces used as new may cost more than what you paid for the tractor.You will need a new rag joint from the dealer.You will need to drill a different hole in the drive shaft and to know where to drill set up your parts in place and spray some paint into the pin hole and when you pull it apart you will drill out the paint dot.

Hope this is clear....if not let me know.

[TheUnknownCat 0]

Thanks for all of the good info, Big Mike, and everyone else that helped out.

I took the drive shaft out today. The rag connector looked like new, so I knew I was okay on that end, but that set-up at the engine end is pretty hokey. Why they would put such a weird little mess on such a heavily engineered piece of equipment is beyond me -must have been a new guy on the design team, and he must have been related to the boss.

It didn't help that someone had "worked on it," too. They used a smaller diameter bolt to replace the pin that holds the shaft to the hub, and the shaft diameter has worn down a bit, making for a slightly loose fit there. It seemed like I had found the culprit, but I fired it up with the shaft disconnected, and it still jumped around and seemed to be kind of knocking. It's a weird knock though, it didn't have a metallic sound, so I decided to pull the head and see about the carbon build-up.

The head bolts loosened up way too easy, all of 'em.

Someone had de-carboned it and didn't torque the head down, so of course -it was leaking. There's blow-by marks on the gasket, all around the valves. I'd bet a cold drink that this is the problem. Anyway, I'll let ya know after I button it back up -I'm just waiting for that coat of metallic spraypaint to dry on the head gasket.

Regarding the steering, it looks simple enough. The side plate on the steering box flexes before it moves the actuator arm, a clean-up and reassemble oughta take care of that.

Thanks again for helping me guess at this thing guys -it's a pretty fun game when you have so many good players!

[TheUnknownCat 0]

Oh yeah -and I gotta squeeze that axle bracket back together. Thanks for the heads up on that one Big Mike!

[TheUnknownCat 0]

Chalk up one more K321 for back into service. Fired right up, and runs like a champ. <_<

[rustynut 4]

those old cubs like that are built strong . i have one

[TheUnknownCat 0]

I've been running this Cub as a dedicated mower, and it has been great. It is really a heavy duty machine, but the truth of its steering problem finally surfaced a few days ago. I was driving it, (slowly and carefully,) over some rough ground, and had to make a sharp turn. As I cranked the wheel, the tractor made a loud *pop* from the steering mechanism, and would then only make left turns. It wouldn't turn right at all, the steering wheel would just cank all the way to the right, but the front tires stayed straight.

I finished up my mowing, only turning left, and parked the tractor until I had time to look into it. I'm still kind of shocked over what occurred -the cast steering gear box failed. The bottom of it blew out. I'll post a pic, just for FYI when I get a chance.

The good news is that there are several replacements available on ebay at a fair price, and that the C160 also has a mowing deck. I just hate putting it on and taking it off so that I can run my other attachments.