149 Driveshaft question.
 

Quick questions for you guys. Took the hydro pump out to replace the gasket and the 3 seals I could get to without taking the pump apart. During this fix, It became obvious how bad of shape the driveshaft components are in!

My next step is to put axle seals in and possible replacing the carrier gaskets too, then finishing the back end up by doing the disc brakes.

Then on to the driveshaft! I really only want to do this one time, and make sure it's right. Today I went to Case IH dealer and got a breakdown of the parts needed which include.

Arm $62
Flex Disc $23
Rod $66
Hub $74
Fan $12

Roughly $250. Not complaining about the price but I seem to recall reading a thread about putting a flex disc up on the engine instead of the stock hub. Point was, it much better setup. So when I buy a new rod/driveshaft, will I have to get the components installed on the flywheel, Flex disc etc. then measure and drill precisely where the 1/4" spiral pin will go? Doesn't seem like there would be much margin for error on this.

Thanks!

I Would go with OEM ( the way it came from the factory) I have a 149, and no vibration problems. Also shop around parts tree, and check the sponsors.

Edit make sure you get a new fan, and new spirol roll pins ( I used stainless heavy duty from McMaster) and anti seize in the holes, and on the bolts etc... everywhere
Make sure the connections to the pump have not worn, the stub shaft that sticks out of the pump, and the coupling. I have seen these parts get "walled" out and cause vibration issues, also the same attention to the engine side.

Good luck

Thanks Clint.. yeah pretty much everything is bad. The part off the input shaft is 'walled' out badly. Hub attached to engine flywheel has a grove worn in the bottom of it by the spirol pin, which is just about broken. it all needs replaced.

You get to 'fixin' stuff and more and more pops up. Which is ok because I want to keep this tractor for a very long time!

Just comparing which way to go with the driveshaft. Price wise they seem comparable. Just curious which would be the better long term fix.

149 Driveshaft
 

I bought a cub 149 in Feb. this year. It has the double flex disks on front of drive shaft. I am currently starting a mild restoration. Pretty new to the forum also and a complete rookie at this. I also have another 149 in pretty rough shape. It has the standard drive shaft hook up. After driving both of them, the one with the flex disks in front seems a lot smoother when going from forward to reverse and back. Don't have any idea how it would hold up.
Going to try to attach pictures of the one with the flex disks. It looks like a special flange has been welded to the front of the shaft and the dowel pin is not used. Good luck with your 149 project.

Bob

There's a small nub on the end of my driveshaft, or what used to be a small nub, it's pretty much all gone now, at the end that connects to the hydro, is this what was used instead of the 5/8 steel ball? Mine didn't have a steel ball, just wondering if it's just missing or was never there to begin with?

I believe the nub that you refer to is supposed to go into the "back half" of the coupler, to center the shaft.

Quiet Line tractors were the first to use the 5/8" ball.

Mr Bob , You need a longer driveshaft for the tractor with the flex discs , or something else is wrong in there. The discs are not supposed to be bowed out like that , they should sit flat.

Thanks Sam!

I converted my 149 to use a flex disc at the engine end. You just need the drive flange from a QL (instead of the drive hub), two short carriage bolts, two hex head machine screws (all 3/8) and locknuts, a flex disc and the drive collar (two hole flange) that pins to the driveshaft. I got the parts from ccspecialties.org, one of the sponsors. assemble everything, mark the driveshaft for the pin hole, then remove and drill a 1/4 inch hole for the spiral/spirol pin. I reused my existing driveshaft. Seems to work fine. If you use two disks at the hydro end it would change the shaft length.

149 drive shaft
 

Darrell
I looked at my drive shaft hook up again and it looks like when the flange was welded to the drive shaft, it was welded too far back thus twisting the discs. It seems to operate smoothly but do you think it will stay together? I have only moved the tractor on and off the trailer and rode it into the garage. It came with a 54" snow blade and I believe that is all that it was being used for by the previous owner or owners. Thank for your input.
Bob

Mr Bob,

I too thought the same thing that Darrell said. Hard to tell from the pictures but it looks like a PO turned your drive shaft around and put it in backwards, not that backwards is necessarily a bad thing. But it does look like there is a lot of unnecessary stress on the flex disks. Your set-up should really look more like the the ones pictured in Sawdustdad's post (post #9).

I worry that someday the holes will tare out of your disks and at 3600 RPM it wont be pretty.

Mr Bob , You really should look into the problem , i am sure it will be an easy fix. You could make a new driveshaft and get a coupler for the engine side from someone on here. If that is what it takes.

You may even get by using the old flex discs if you can get them to flatten out. I think the flex discs are around $15.00 apiece , so try to reuse them if possible.

If something would come apart and the driveshaft is banging around , it would ruin your hydro fan , may hit the steering box and break it.

Sawdustdad explained it pretty good. Like i said , it should be an easy fix , but worthwhile.

Thank you very much SawdustDad.. that's exactly what I was looking for. I have every intention of using one of the sponsors here!

I will probably have to get a new driveshaft too.. Apparently the nub on the end is used to center on hydro end.. mine is pretty much shot.. I was thinking about trying to add some material and reshape it, but that might be asking for too much! shame because my driveshaft is straight!

The drive shaft is simply 5/8 steel rod. You can buy a piece at HD or Lowes, cut it to length, add two of the coupling arms, and pin them both to the shaft at the positions needed. Then Bob's your uncle.

The coupling arms are $24 each and the drive flange is $22 at ccspecialties, probably less on ebay. Even if you buy everything new, you are under $100 for the complete shaft assembly. Oh, the flex discs aren't cheap...so add a couple/three of them or re use what you have.

Somebody else here may have a better idea of how to get a deal somewhere else. Possible you can find one complete on ebay for less.

Thanks a ton sawdustdad.. Very appreciative!

One last thing.. Since you have a 149 as well can I bother ya with another question? When I took my brakes off the axle, I took one apart to look at the pads, seems there in decent shape still, have over 100 thou of depth on the pads so I'm just going to reassemble them, but I noticed in the service manual that there's a spacer and a spring over the pin that rides through and holds the assembly together. Mine are missing.. Is there a spacer and spring on both sides for a total of 4 for both brakes? or is there just 1 spring for each brake? those little boogers are 10 bucks a piece for just the spring? 40 bucks for springs.. got to be kidding me!

One thing that is really important if you decide to build your own drive shaft, is making sure that the coupler on both ends are in the same position. In other words, when looking at the drive shaft from the end, they should be in the same position. If not, you will have a vibration problem. It is the same on any drive shafts, even ones with U-joint yoke's.

There were three different brake arrangements--not sure why. I guess design changes/improvements over time. I have the middle arrangement on my 108 and 149. So there are no springs. You must have the type on the left? Looks like two springs per wheel (#6 on the left picture). You are discovering that, while parts are available for 40 year old tractors, they ain't cheap.

Thanks For the tip J-Mech!

I have the brakes on the far right.. No springs either.. I've finally figured out how to look up the parts diagram on Cub, sure does make it a lot easier!
When I was looking in the service manual, it showed the H-H brakes with the spacer and springs, so I just figured mine were missing.

Thanks so much for your help guys!

learning about these old cubs reminds me a little like painting.. 80% or more is preparation.