Mowing 106 looses power when blades are engaged

[JWH]

does any one have an idea why my 106 cub looses power on inclines with the blades engaged? it was gave to me 3 years ago the guy told me
that the motor was shot becous when he engaged the blades the motor would stall and shut off so i took it home pulled the deck off flipped it over and found a small rock stuck between the one blade and the deck took the rock out and have used it ever since with the power loss problem but i want to fix it befor it gets worse, any ideas?

 

[Bill Hoffman]

Check the mower spindle bearings, then the mule drive belt pulleys
at the front of the tractor. Check the motor for sticking valves.

Bill

 

[JWH]

WERE IS THE SPINDLE BEARING? AND WHAT AM I LOOKING FOR?
mule drive belt pulleys, AND WHAT AM I LOOKING FOR HERE?
AND IF IT WAS A STUCK VALVE WOULDENT IT BE STUCK ALL THE TIME NOT JUST WHEN THE DECK IS ENGAGED?

 

[Hozen]

Okay. On your mower deck there are spindles. They are the things the blades attach to. Now, over time, no matter what you do, eventually they wear out. With proper maintenance, usually they last a really, really, really, really long time. But, if you have one that is screwed up due to wear or just not greasing them, it could cause a lot of drag on your moter when the deck is engaged. So, check those by taking the deck drive belt off and turning each blade by hand and see if they turn easy or hard. They should turn easy. Next, up front there should be a couple of pulleys that route the belt from the engine to the deck. Make sure these aren't stopped up either.

And, before you do any of the above, start by making sure your deck is clean and not full of old grass all caked up under it to the point the blades can't turn.

Bottom line, your 106 is far from a new mower and, if it's been used regularly in its lifetime, there are bound to be things worn out by now. If you have no issues with the power when the deck is not engaged, then I would assume your engine is fine. There are only so many things that can go wrong with the deck and, if you go over each one, you'll find your problem.

 

[JWH]

hey guys thanks for the info! here's what i did new points, plug,float,adjusted points and carb as best i could, and took the deck off looked at the pulleys and greased them put it all back together every thing was moving free and can mow in second gear now
i still would like to set the points a bit but i don't have a timing light, this week i am getting the carb rebuild kit

 

[Bill Hoffman]

Sorry about the terminology confusion.:ashamed:

Glad to see that the grease in the spindle bearings took care of the problem.
Re: valve sticking. Some old Kohler engines will run beautifully until a load is applied. The motor will heat up a little and this is enough to cause a tight fitting valve stem to stick. 147 Cadets were notorious for this when they first came out.

I worked at the local IH dealership in the early 70's to pay for college and became very familiar with the old Cadets. I still have two and love them.
They're bullet proof.

Mule Drive Belt goes from the front pto down to two pulleys to change the belt orientation from vertical to horizontal and then back to the mower center pulley. Why the heck it's called a mule drive I don't know.

Bill