New 149 today!! plus ?? on shear pin
 

Hey all, I got a 149 today. It has a five year old kohler in it that was bought new. A retired school teacher had it for the past 25 years and put in a new motor 5 years ago. Today he was mowing with it and the shear pin sheared at the flywheel. He was looking for an excuse to get a larger mower and this did it for him.
My question is what could cause the pin to shear? When the enigine is running the little bit of friction between the flywheel and drive shaft is spinning the driveshaft, not enough to work the pump but it seems to spin ok. I took some pictures and it is dark here but I think you can see what I am trying to show. The driveshaft coupler looks like it is wallowed out and I am thinking this may be what caused the shear? Shouldn't there just be a slot the same thickness from front to back? At the back where the pin rests most of the time the slot is doubled in size, almost making an extra hole. If you look close towards the back of the slot you can see it.
Also, take a look at the rear end, a sleeve hitch, nice bonus. It is still a pig in a poke as it's hard to hear the engine good with all the noise the coupler and driveshaft is making rubbing together, and for the price I just wanted to get it loaded before he changed his mind.
Yea, I'm a little excited as of now. My 149 (engine) is so tired I was worring about it making it through the summer so this will probably be going into it.
Chip

Nice 149 Chip! Good luck, with it. :beerchug:

Nice score cub149 :ThumbsUp:

Yes the slot should be the same front to back. They wear with the pin riding on it in the same place all the time. Mine was like that when i got it, and the pin was also worn about half way through as well. So if yours was like that too the pin could have just let go.

cub149, Nice tractor. Your "pig in the poke" has a nice tail. Your other tractor must be in really good shape if your gonna pull that engine. Nice score.

Are these pins readily available at a dealership or elsewhere? Never had to buy one. And how about the coupler, where can you find those? I haven't had a chance to see what the one on my 149 looks like but it probably is worn also.

You can get the pin at a dealership, but this would be a good time to upgrade to the QL style driveshaft coupler with a rag joint at the front end to eliminate any further trouble. I believe this is discussed in another thread somewhere...I'm just not sure in which one...

It's doesn't really look any better but it is tight and the tranny is strong. I will get this one going and see what the tranny is like, if all is good I may just switch out the better parts of mine to this one. The new one has some issues, crack in dash, steering column is shot, headlights missing, etc.... And I'm sure I will find more once I get a chance to smoke it over more. I know all this would be easier to change out but we will see.

When he had the engine instaled he also had a digital tach/hour meter mounted on the dash. It is showing 85 hours. How accurate are these meters?

Depending on what the PO was using it for, 85 hours is probably about right. I'd just rebuild the drivetrain and use it

cub149,

I just redid the drive line in my 129. Here is the link. I hope it works.

A lot of members contributed some very good information to help me through it.

http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/showthread.php?t=802

Is this it? I saw it and thought about calling, but im southwest of greensboro. http://winstonsalem.craigslist.org/grd/1235774991.html

I think you got a pretty good deal.

Yep, that's the one. He just wanted it out of his yard. He also knew what was wrong with it but still just wanted it gone and I was glad to oblige.

What are you guys using for a shear pin on the 149? I called the Cub dealer today and got a part # but it is not in stock. The part # they gave me is IH19837R2, but when I go to the Cub website they don't show the part # at all. The dealer said it was a 1/4" x 1 1/2" pin. I thought about just picking up a pin to check everything out for now while I wait for the other one to come in. Or could I use a bolt just to test it out with?
Also, when y'all say "parts look up" are you referring to the official Cub Cadet website or something else?

Never mind on the part #, I finally found it on the diagram. I was plugging the number in wrong, it should have been IH-19837-R2.

Ok, I put a bolt in today just to here it run and use it some. I have a report on my findings on this new ride.
1) The engine runs out great and I mowed with it for about 15 minutes. When I shut it off it did backfire, what is the cause of this? Carb adjustment? I did let it idle down for about 30 sceonds. I'll check the plug when it cools down and see what it looks like. Isn't black to rich and tan just right?
2)The hydro does lose some speed on a hill, more than my old one. Another thing is the hydro lever has to travel farther to go forward and backwards and it is sorta sloppy. My old one is tight and easy to get the correct speed. The new one is hard to find a sweet spot and is kinda jumpy.
3) There is one thing about the new one that I really like, the cutting height. All of the old Cubs I have had would pretty much scalp the lawn. My old 149 is much better than others but it still cuts closer than I like. I know I have read about adjusting the lift arms, etc.. to get a higher cutting height. Well, someone must have done that to this one because you can adjust the deck to 5" or more, or you can drop it enough to scalp the yard all with the adjusting knob on the side. I like the this!
4) Steering is sloppy, steering column is out at the top and just wobbles around. My old one is tight.
5) No fluid leaks anywhere on the new one. My old one does leak somewhere from the rear. I did clean it up today so I can see exactly where it is leaking. I tightened up the bolts on the diff. cover, they where a little loose.


So to wrap this up I have to decide which one will be the base for making one good ride. Put the good engine into my old 149, move over all the deck parts or leave the new one as is and work out the bugs and see if I can get the hydro lever to work a little smoother, though there is still the loss of speed with it.
Just thinking out loud, if you want to think out loud on this go ahead I'm all ears.

I think i'd swap engines hearing all the downfall's about the new one. the lawn scalping on the old one should be just an adjustment think