149 Rebuild
 

Hello, I added two new members to my collection in the form of a 149 and 128. This thread will be about getting the 149 in good mechanical condition. From what I know about the tractor from the previous owner it has had a engine replacement at some point with a newer stock k321. I bought the tractor because I was looking for a higher hp hydro wide frame with hydraulic lift and this one fit the bill. Now I had a friend purchase the tractor for me as I was going out of town for thanksgiving and just had a chance to pick it up and dig into this Friday.

So far it is a little tougher than I had anticipated. I ended up having to pull the motor after realizing the rag joint was torn out on the front end of the shaft. I did get the motor to pop over a few times though before pulling it. It is definitely a replacement Kohler but is a k321. The drive shaft is worn badly as well as the engine and transaxle coupler. This is where I am a little confused.

It was my assumption that all wide frames had the same drive shaft motor coupler as the narrow frames with the spiral pin and coupler with the two notches cut in it for the pin to engage with. However, this tractor has a flex disc joint on both ends of the drive shaft with a motor coupler with a hiem ball joint swivel in it. It appears like it could be from a quiet line setup. Is this something that could have been factory on some wide frames or is this a PO modification when the new Kohler was fitted?

I am going to try to reach out to Jeff and have him fabricate a new drive shaft for me if possible. I can find flex disc joints and the cooling fan relatively easily as well. But I still need to track down the correct hydro coupler and motor coupler.

Only one flex disc joint at the hydro end and none in front.

Indeed, it sounds as if someone has taken "liberties" with this machine in an effort to "improve" it.

Link to parts list:
https://www.cubcadet.com/en_US/conte...2f9b6181c588/y

Here are some pictures of the carnage to far. First one is of the tractor with the motor yanked out. The second one shows all of the driveshaft parts and the third shows a close up of the driveshaft.

The parts as you have pictured is a "legitimate" improvement fix for the 149. As long as none of them are are worn, all you should need is new flex dsic joints. Many guys like to double up the rag joints at the rear. The only thing I can't tell from your pics is that the "skinny tit" at the rear end of the drive shaft should fit nicely into a "smaller hole" in the hydro input coupler. When flex disc joints go bad that "skinny tit" and "smaller hole" can become elongated, then you get wobble and vibration.
Here's some pics:

Here is a crude drawing I made showing the lengths of the different parts of the shaft. Does this seem to match that of a standard Quietline shaft?

Thanks for the information. It definitely seems like an improvement over the older style design as you pointed out. That being said, do I order a quietline shaft or do I order one for a wide frame? I would assume the wide frame shaft would need to be drilled for the roll pin that holds the front rag joint coupler. I would like to order one from Jeff but I need to figure out what to tell him to make.

I made good progress on the 149 this afternoon. I removed the seat pan and completely cleaned up the outside of the hydro. Then I pulled the rear cover and cleaned out the gunk from inside the rear. Wasn’t actually too bad as the oil had little water and there wasn’t much of a build up of sludge on the sides. I presume it was been changed regularly although the filter looked like an original style IH filter. Then I changed the filter and refilled it with hytran.

The next issue I turned my attention to was the dash. I had to drill out some of the mounting screws and install new machine screws. I then had to figure out what was going on with the hydro control lever. It was very loose on the shaft and flopping around. Well, what I discovered wasn’t good. Apparently the previous owner had issues with it coming loose and decided to replace the set screw with a 1/4 bolt and drill all the way through the splined shaft. Now it is all worn out and about ready to snap off because the cross hole is almost as wide as the shaft. The splines are also a mess now in the handle and shaft.

So I elected to remove the control shaft and lever and research replacing them. From what I’ve researched they made two different models of the shaft for different serial number ranges. Mine is the older style and I currently can’t find a good used shaft anywhere. I can find a used handle on eBay though. I’ve attached some pictures of the shaft and the older style mount for it and was wondering if anyone had a parts tractor or spare shaft and lever hanging around that is is good condition they would be interested in selling? I also want to see if this is something Jeff could fabricate.

Jeff is hooking me up with a new driveshaft setup now. He is unable to cut the splines needed to make the hydro shaft though. So anyone who has one they are willing to sell please let me know. I’ll continue searching in the meantime.

Sent you a PM.

It was raining all day here so I decided to work on the motor I pulled out of the 149 in my shed. This is definitely a replacement Kohler but I do not know from what time. I attached a photo of the tag if anyone could shed light onto when this was made. It is a k321 though so that is all that is important to me right now as this will be a work tractor.

I tore the tins and all the exterior parts off of the engine including shroud, carb, points, condenser, coil, and pcv. Then I cleaned all of these parts up well and degreased the block the best I could. Then I cleaned the pcv and adjusted the valve lash back to spec. I installed new points and gapped them along with a new spark plug. I thoroughly cleaned the carb and jets which actually wasn’t too dirty and isn’t worn badly yet at the journals. I also welded the muffler heat shield which was cracked around the mounting holes and reassembled the motor. It should now be ready to bolt in and run. I’ve already changed the oil when I got it.

I’ve attached a few photos of the finished product. Since I use all my machines for both work and just enjoying running them almost daily I am not worried about repainting it and going through every nook and cranny with a tooth brush. I just wanted to clean it up a little and help keep it running cooler. Hopefully the rings and bore are in good shape; but, I do not know yet.