149 Rebuild

Aircomet · #1 11-30-2019, 02:11 PM

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.

finsruskw · #2 11-30-2019, 02:24 PM

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

Aircomet · #3 11-30-2019, 02:28 PM

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.

ironman · #4 11-30-2019, 02:45 PM

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:

Aircomet · #5 11-30-2019, 06:25 PM

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.

Aircomet · #6 11-30-2019, 07:54 PM

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.

Aircomet · #7 11-30-2019, 08:36 PM

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.

Aircomet · #8 11-30-2019, 02:54 PM

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?

Aircomet · #9 12-06-2019, 10:02 PM

Made some progress on the 149 this afternoon. Thanks to the generosity of another member here I was able to get ahold of the correct hydro control shaft and lever to replace mine. I got those installed on the tractor but I forgot to order the plastic friction bushing for it yet. But, for now it is tightened up enough to use. Then I painted and installed my new drive shaft and couplers from Jeff with new rag joints. I also bolted back on the seat pan and got my new seat mounted and new choke cable installed. So hopefully tomorrow I can heave the motor back in and button up the front end. Then, I should be able to attempt a test drive.

Sorry no pictures yet as it was well after dark when I was done putting tools and parts away for the night.

Aircomet · #10 12-07-2019, 06:23 PM

Well, I got the engine installed today and everything buttoned up nicely. Worst part was getting those front motor mounting bolts in. But I got it. I checked everything over once more and attempted the first start. It actually fired right up and after some carb adjustments it runs really well. Pto clutch works as it should as well as the hydraulic lift.

I took it for its first test drive and the hydro seems strong on it. But I definitely need to get that plastic bushing installed on the hydro lever as it is very tricky to hold the lever stable without any dampening right now. Now here is the bad news.

First up the my brand new cooling fan for the hydro has become a 10 piece design again. I believe a stick got up in it on the ride. Second, the hydro seems slower than my 147 does. It is plenty strong uphill and maintains speed fine but seems like it is a few mph slower than I’m used to. I was wondering if this could be intentional by IH since it is newer than my 147 or if I need to do some linkage adjustments?

Finally, the motor has a bad knock coming from it. It sounds very much like rod knock and I’ve eliminated the hood, pto, grill and other external parts. Only thing I haven’t checked is the muffler to see if a baffle is broken out. Could it be the balance gears causing this knock? I guess either way I am destined to pull this motor out again and tear it apart. It smokes anyways so I will probably go ahead and hone the cylinder and buy a rebuild kit.