Another 149 Rebuild
 

I bought my 149 in Sep. 2011 and it has worked intermittently since then. Burned up a couple solenoids and ignition switches. It has just sat for the last four years, not running. I have decided it is time to get it running and looking good so I am diving in all the way. Reading on this site is seems there are a few common things that are highly likely in need of replacement: pump relief valves, cork gasket, tie rod ends, axle pivot pin, steering cam follower and installing a "super steer" bearing kit (which I haven't figured out exactly what that is yet). I have built a new wiring harness and now the tractor is completely torn down. I plan to take the engine to a machine shop to have them go through it. I would like to focus on the pump and transmission now to ensure they are in good order. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. This tractor does have it's share of battle wounds as you can see by the spindle picture. BTW - this is my first tractor task. I am a shade tree mechanic, not totally unfamiliar with tools but not an expert in anything (yet). Thanks

Good luck and looking forward to your updates!

Good luck with your 149. I went thru my 149 a few years back and repainted it. Here’s the thread where I documented the transformation.

https://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/...ad.php?t=18919

I love it! Making me question sticking with yellow and white. That looks great. I will go through all the pages and glean out everything I can. Thank you for the post.

Thanks! If you have any questions feel free to ask. I’ll help if I can.

Hey, CoCadet,

A 149 is a great tractor to restore. You've already identified many of the repairs commonly required. I'll add drive shaft rehab (drive pin, rag joint, fan), remove and rebuild the steering gear box, replace bushings in the steering knuckles, squeeze the front axle channel back to size, repair the trunnion, replacing springs.

You mentioned the cork gasket, but if you have the hydro out you might want to replace seals on the hydro. Not a task for the faint of heart, though, as it entails disassembly of the hydro itself. Not difficult, but you need to follow the instructions in the service manual EXACTLY and keep a pristine work area.

Rear axle bearings and seals are easy to replace, new brake pads. I usually replace tires, but that can get pretty expensive depending on what you select.

If you don't have a rear 3 pt lift, you might add that. Headlights--I usually add them. Rebuild the PTO, replacing the bearing. If you are mowing, then you usually need new idler pulleys. Muffler is another common need.

Lots of threads on here with details. And answers are just a question away.

Perfect, that is what I need - a list of things to check out. The list is getting a little overwhelming as I don't even know what some of these things are.

Axle pivot pin
Axle pivot point bushings
brake pads
cork gasket
drive pin
fan
hydro seals
pto bearings
pump relief valves
rag joint
Steering "super steer" bearing kit
Steering box tighten up - cam follower
steering knuckle bushings
Tie rod ends
tires
trunnion repair
trunnion spring replacement

I think I should attack this one piece at a time. I may take the engine to a machine shop to go through it, so I think I should focus on the pump. It is out, and I am cleaning it up. It was really filthy in a coat of wet debris, so it must be leaking. I am guessing the initial focus should be the pump relief valves. Can these be successfully rebuilt? What is the best approach? Thanks.

That's a good list. Being 40 years old, many of those points will need attention.

Pump relief valves can be rebuilt. There is a guy on ebay who does it for reasonable cost. You have manual valves--that is, the little buttons on top need to be pushed down to allow you to move the tractor when the engine is not running. Auto valves are available that do not require the button to be pushed down--they don't have the button. New valves are $$ but sometimes the expedient solution.

There are several documents in the technical library you should look at, specifically about the hydro--how it works, hydro lurch, trunnion repairs, etc. Download the service manual if you don't already have it. There is a very good section on the hydro.

There is no axle pivot bushing, just a pin. (well there are a couple sleeves welded to the support channel, that the pin rides in, but I wouldn't call them bushings. Anyway, they are not replaceable, at least not easily.)

A shop will charge you $800-$1000 or more to rebuild your engine. If you tear it down, take the block to a shop to have it bored ($200) and buy a kit ($115) to rebuild it, you'll save the difference. And you can repaint it in the process. Just a thought. If it's not smoking badly or blowing oil, and runs OK, you might postpone that until a future date. Just remove the head, clean it up, new head gasket and call it good.

Depending on how much you want to invest in the tractor you may decide to limit the scope. You can easily spend $3000-$4000 if you do everything including new tires and an engine rebuild. Your tractor will be worth less than $1000 when you are done, so consider that.

Nice to see another restore, keep us posted on your progress!

Definitely good advice! I will try to find some balance too. No need to go overboard. The goal is to get a reliable tractor, that looks freshened up and ready for work.

I will keep posting pics as I go, and learn, because the other threads have been so helpful to me - all the advice I get will probably be helpful to others too.