good news 147 runs again... bad news gas tank leaks
 

I got her to fire up today. It ran great, need to make some small adjustments in the throttle cable/governor but otherwise it runs fantastic. no leaks/knocks/smoke(except for the initial start up). I have a couple other issues though. first of all the gas tank leaks, I'm going to get another tank off of ebay (a new tank is 290 bucks). as a temporary fix, I might see if my stepfather can braze it. another issue I have, is while the starter generator works and starts the engine, it cranks slowly. When I rebuilt the engine, the camshaft was missing the ACR, i installed another spring i had from another K series cam, so I know the ACR is working. I also double checked this while the engine was on the bench. I cranked it over by hand several times and the exhaust valve remained open just slightly. engine also is not hard to turn over by hand. I have a brand new battery installed, it is a 335 CCA lawn and garden battery. I don't know if that is enough, but that is the largest battery they had in that size. I had an old K161 at one point that had a starter generator, it turned over allot faster than this one does.

Do the starter generators crank over slower as they get worn out? Does mine need to be rebuilt and are they rebuild able? If they are what does it cost?


I did feel good to hear that old Cub running again. transmission does function, but I only moved it back and forth a foot or so, since I didn't want to get it all hot with that leaking fuel tank. I didn't run it very long, only a few minutes, but I can sleep at night knowing that it runs well.

That's awesome! Glad you got the 147 going! :beerchug:

i just won another tank, 10 bucks plus shipping. what can i do to temporarly stop the leaking until the good tank arrives? i want to run this engine for a good 1/2 hour to break it in.

why does she crank slowly? is 335 CCA enough for this tractor? the k301 on my deere spins over allot faster, but it has a full size top post car battery. the cub doesnt have enough room to use one of those batteries.

i have realized what a hack the prevous owner was. he screwed up the gas tank, engine, crankshaft end, everything that should have had hitch clips had ugly nails. pretty much everything that could be screwed up.... is screwed up.

it get annoying and expensive. many people would junk a machine like this. however, i have found that they really dont make them like anymore

i got mine rebuilt at a local starter generator place for around 70 dollars i think, it is not hard to rebuild them but he replaced the bearings and brushes and cleaned and also checked armarcher to make sure the fields were OK. he also said that if the fields were bad it is not worth a rebuild in parts.

My 147 turns over pretty slow as well, but with Matt G's timing set document it usually fires on the first hit. But mine's not sitting outside, its in a 45* garage.

I've not started any other cub with S/G so I thought they just turned that slow. Maybe not the case?

A rebuilt engine will be stiff, and cold temps aren't helping either. It will probably loosen up after a couple of hours. The performance of the S/G could be helped by cleaning the commutator and replacing the brushes if they are worn down. There isn't much else you can do. As long as the electrical stuff in it functions, the only things you'd have to replace are bearings and brushes. If the armature or field coils are bad, they're about $60 each. I would disagree with it not being worth it to rebuild if the field coils and or armatures are bad, as I'm sure the Chinese 'replacement' starter/generators are absolute crap and not worth the $90 they cost. These old ones are built much better, and the available replacement parts seem to be decent.

Don't forget to re-torque the head after either 30 minutes at 3/4 throttle or the first hard pull. I'd go with the latter since this is a rebuilt engine. Change the oil frequently, after the first hour, fifth hour, and then maybe 25 hours depending on how the oil looks at the second change. A magnetic drain plug is a good idea, too.

took the 147 for a "drive". hydrostatic drive adjustment
 

sorry about all the posting/updates, but im pretty excited. it runs well, now on to the more minor stuff. the hydrostatic transmission operates in forward and reverse but it doesnt feel like i have the full forward speed out of it. it also will not stay on the foward high speed selection on its own. you literally have to hold it there. the gas tank is on its way. its only a small drip, but it will be addressed soon. all in all the tractor was a basket case, but slowly that is changing.

some information on repairing or adjusting the hydrostatic transmission would be great. seems like the transmission is in fairly good condition, its quiet. it just needs some minor repairs/adjustments.

oh, yeah and now that the engine has been run 20 minutes, it is not as hard to crank over. cranks over allot easier and starts right up. i will change the oil after the 1st hour, 5th hour, and 25th hour as well. oil is cheap, rebuilds are not. engine has been started in a heated garage. i wait until the garage has been up to temp for a while

Go here and look for links about hydro problems and adjustments...there's more than I want to link to individually.

147
 

Hello everyone first post...
I,m working on a 147 restaration also .. you will love that 147 ...

J Upton

Sweet ad356! Glad to hear you got your 147 running like a top:beerchug: Good luck on the hydro, keep us posted. I got my new 147 running tonight, roughly, but running:biggrin2.gif:

yeah, once i finish fixing all of the prevous owners nonsense. he was a real hack. i will say this, even though things arent right yet, i can see that this machine is a beast. i drove it up and down my driveway with no weights or chains. no wheelspin at all. i think the thing is going to be like a small bulldozer, lol.

i still have allot of little things that have to be addressed. including eventually finding a good deck

oh, and the charging system.. works