Possibly going to look at a 154!

[C5rider]

A gentleman from our church, my son and I all mow the grass at our church with our lawn mowers. It takes us a couple of hours as there is quite a bit of acreage.

I've been looking for something with a larger mower deck to help cut down on the time it takes to cut it all and I found a 154 that might be in our price range. I've done some searching and I noticed that they can have issues with the PTO clutch (which the owner says this one has an issue) and these can be $$$ to repair.

He says it runs good, has good tires on it, has the rear lift arms and the dual brake pedals. Sheet metal looks in good shape and all there. The plan is to find something that'll do a little quicker job mowing until the church can purchase something like a zero-turn. Possibly a year or so. I've wanted a Lo-Boy for a while, so this is partly to fill the gap in the mowing needs AND in my Cub collection. I know, shameless...

So, I know there are some other 154 owners out there. What else should I look for to help me determine if this might be a money pit or a viable mower? I realize the mower deck spindles and basic stuff, but is there anything particular with these little gems that can be a bear besides the clutch? How can you tell if it's shot or just needs adjusting?

I realize asking whether to buy a cub on a cub forum is like walking into a Jenny Craig meeting with pizza but, I figured there should be a few Lo-Boy guru's on here somewhere. I'd love to hear from those who LOVE their 154s as well as those who don't. Bring your praises and cursing, just remember this is a family-oriented forum (and it's for the church).

As always, information is greatly appreciated!

[jimbob200521]

Originally Posted by C5rider

A gentleman from our church, my son and I all mow the grass at our church with our lawn mowers. It takes us a couple of hours as there is quite a bit of acreage.

I've been looking for something with a larger mower deck to help cut down on the time it takes to cut it all and I found a 154 that might be in our price range. I've done some searching and I noticed that they can have issues with the PTO clutch (which the owner says this one has an issue) and these can be $$$ to repair.

He says it runs good, has good tires on it, has the rear lift arms and the dual brake pedals. Sheet metal looks in good shape and all there. The plan is to find something that'll do a little quicker job mowing until the church can purchase something like a zero-turn. Possibly a year or so. I've wanted a Lo-Boy for a while, so this is partly to fill the gap in the mowing needs AND in my Cub collection. I know, shameless...

So, I know there are some other 154 owners out there. What else should I look for to help me determine if this might be a money pit or a viable mower? I realize the mower deck spindles and basic stuff, but is there anything particular with these little gems that can be a bear besides the clutch? How can you tell if it's shot or just needs adjusting?

I realize asking whether to buy a cub on a cub forum is like walking into a Jenny Craig meeting with pizza but, I figured there should be a few Lo-Boy guru's on here somewhere. I'd love to hear from those who LOVE their 154s as well as those who don't. Bring your praises and cursing, just remember this is a family-oriented forum (and it's for the church).

As always, information is greatly appreciated!

I don't personally own one, but grew up with and around them. My dad currently has 3 and loves them! The only problem, as you've state, that he's really had with them is the PTO/Clutch. That is currently what has 2 of his 3 down is something to do with the PTO or Clutch (i.e., $$$$ is short to fix them right now). But when they're running, they are great mowers.

One other thing to maybe ask around about; my dad says that, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, you can make a 154 into a 184 by simply installing a 184 carb on the 154 (similar to what Kohler did with the M18 vs M15; same engine, different carb). He, nor I, have done this, but he's heard it from several people and read it around online so there may be something to it.

Just did a quick google search and found this about the Lo-Boy's:

"Carburetor and Manifold Power

We know that IH put their small carburetor on the 154, and, upgraded to the larger, more powerful Zenith carburetor for the 185 and 184. This larger Zenith carburetor picked up about 2HP over the IH carburetor. While 2HP may not seem like a lot, an increase in power from 12HP to 14HP is quite noticeable.

It is interesting that the IH and Zenith carburetors will use the same manifold, so they can be easily swapped out. I have always wondered why IH made a slightly different manifold for the Zenith carburetor. This "different" manifold had a slightly larger flange, but, the exact same bolt pattern and inflow port size. So, the 2 manifolds function identically to each other, even though one looks slightly different due to the flange size.

I once had a customer tell me that he used a 1" bore bit to enlarge the port hole from 7/8", and noticed even slightly greater power pickup"

I guess my point is, if you decide to get the 154, then fix the clutch, PTO, whatever it is, then you can do a quick upgrade to the 184/5 carb and get a little more power (not that I'm trying to convince you to get it or anything)

[Sam Mac]

I know this has nothing to do with your question about the Cub but this is how I mow big acreage fast. Just an option. It cuts 12' wide at a pass.

[C5rider]

Originally Posted by Sam Mac

I know this has nothing to do with your question about the Cub but this is how I mow big acreage fast. Just an option. It cuts 12' wide at a pass.

Hey, I could pull that behind my 154! Oh wait, PTO goes the WRONG WAY on those, right?

[Pfunk]

We used two Cub LoBoys for years to mow with. I had to rebuild the clutch on one of them when I got it and the PTO on the other one. But, after that, they were trouble free. The water cooled engine is a great plus for hot weather. But, you don't want to let the grass get ahead of you. They do great if you keep the grass mowed but are under powered in tall grass. That was always a problem for us with the Spring rains.

When my sons graduated from college and left home, it just took me too much time running just one of them. So I traded the two of them on a Massey 1528. No comparison in power and I can get the mowing done just as fast as with the two LoBoys. And, nothing like a diesel. But I miss the LoBoys. You have to love that low profile.

[CADplans]

Originally Posted by C5rider

Hey, I could pull that behind my 154! Oh wait, PTO goes the WRONG WAY on those, right?

I thought the PTO was only reversed on the Cub Cadets, the Cub should turn the correct direction!

As far as a PTO direction, it does not matter when you are churning ice cream!!

[J-Mech]

The Cub rear PTO turns the same direction as a cub cadet. They are both "backwards".

[CADplans]

Originally Posted by C5rider

I've been looking for something with a larger mower deck to help cut down on the time it takes to cut it all ,,,,

The plan is to find something that'll do a little quicker job mowing ,,,,,,,,,,

The biggest complaint I have heard from Cub owners is about the big skip in speed between 2nd and 3rd gear.

For mowing, 1st and 2nd are too slow, 3rd is too fast!

I know at least 5 cub owners that have made that comment.

There are very few 6 foot cut mowers running around, I happen to have lucked into one, and it has a 4 speed gear drive transmission, just right for mowing, but, alas, it is not yellow!

My 6 foot mower is 24HP, I would not recommend less than that for a 6 foot wide cut.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and, if it is hydrostatic drive, throw in a few more horsepower!!

[jimbob200521]

Originally Posted by C5rider

Hey, I could pull that behind my 154! Oh wait, PTO goes the WRONG WAY on those, right?

The beauty of what Sam Mac does is the two he's pulling have motors on them already so just run a belly mower with the Lo-Boy and pull two of those in tandem. Viola, 12' of cut!

[gsomersjr]

That 12' cut might be good for open ground but if the church has a cemetery?!