I've been helping dad put up a new fence with the 2544 while he's on vacation, it's a great fence stretcher/puller/hound dog attractor... :biggrin2.gif:

Great pics! Glad the 2544 was up to the task. :beerchug:

Nice work, GC! Good to see that hitch earning it's keep!;)

Great job, GC!

Man, I love those tires!!

Jeff (teet)

That hitch is freak'n awesome!!! My grandpa's old Kubota 7100 konked out for a while and the 2544 finished plowing a 1 acre garden.

Did some mowing today with the 782D and 1872...I like mowing with the super...

The 1872 still needs some carb and hydro linkage adjustments. The bagger on the 782D also works a lot better with the bagging blades on the deck, but man, does that thing pull hard. This is the first time I've gotten it to smoke with a deck. The steering is also MUCH better now that I went through the steering box and added the heim joints and Nice 605 bearing. It's almost power steering. Setting the correct toe-in also made it much easier to steer since the wheel now re-centers when I let go.

Well today I thought I would do a close inspection of the 128 and see what could be adjusted and what needed replacing. I pulled the front wheels off of the spindles and checked out the bearing inserts and put some grease into them. I cleaned off the old grime from the spindles and arms, checked all of the drag link ends for play,all were tight including the two ends on the main steering arm from the steering box. As I had mentioned in another post I thought a pulley on the mule drive was going bad, due to smelling burned grease and some smoke from front end while mowing yesterday, but each pulley spun with no problem and neither one had any type of play between the bearing and the shaft. The PTO released and engaged great no adjustments there. Crawled under the tractor and removed the belly pan so I could get to the steering shaft easier. I loosened the cam follower and turned it 1/4 of a turn in case there was some wear on it which I am pretty sure there is. I then tightened the nut to tighten the swivel plate a bit more and locked down the lock nut. Then pumped some grease into the unit. Much Much better steering now. Also greased the spindle king pins. The only other thing I could find that had me concerned was the clutch. No play of the drive shaft back and forth from front to rear at all. But if you grab the clutch disc you can pull it up and move it around just a bit, the shaft end that looks as if it goes into the pulley next to the debris screen had some movement. Also the four holes that allowed the pegs to come thru the clutch disc seemed to be elongated allowing the disc to rotate a bit back and forth, is this normal or are the holes worn out?
This was about all I could stand to do today, as the humidity was about 98% and my back was screaming at me to give up. Anyone have an idea of why I am getting a grease smell and some continuous smoke out from the front underside of the tractor by the front wheel. Since it doesn't appear to be a pulley I am stumped.

Thanks
DWayne :American Flag 1:

That's fairly normal for the clutch to wear like that, but it'll never have axial play unless something is horribly broken. I would try to wiggle it side to side or up and down; if it moves too much in either of those directions, the pilot bushing in the 3-pin driver is worn. It sounds like you have checked for this. For about $140, you can rebuild the clutch and not have to touch it again for 30 years. It is money well spent if you plan on keeping the tractor. I used to have a 128, and it was a great tractor. I've attached a picture.

If the smoke is coming from the left side of the tractor, it's probably coming out of the crankcase breather. This could be stuck or worn rings, or the breather might be assembled improperly or dirty. Most of these engines (or at least the ones I've had) smoke a bit from the breather, yet still have a ton of power and don't consume oil excessively.

Thanks Matt, I will probably re do the clutch this winter when everything is nasty outside. I for sure have to build clutch spring compressor that you designed first. I didn't think about a breather. I need to look at it then. I know my grandmother said the mower uses a bit of oil, the engine feels very strong still as old as it is, worn rings sound about right. I guess to do it right I should have it mic'd and then bored if needed with a new piston and rings. Looks like I will have a few things to do starting around Nov. :)

well, i didn't get any seat time on mine today due to the fact that it has been incapacitated for a few months now. but i did tear into it a little and found that my coil is shot. so i need to buy a new coil and coil wire and spark plug. that might be the reason why it wont start. i replaced the voltage regulator, a new key switch and soon ill have a new wiring harness on it. as well as my newly rebuilt starter generator. so hopefully ill be able to start it on its own without the jumpers and be able to use the lights on the 122. also i found a Haban 401B sickle bar for $200 im going to pick up so i can mow my ditch instead of string trimming it. good day today