Best Ideas for a Cub 149?

mjlyons · Sep 16, 2009

Hello All - New here,

I've got a Cub Cadet 149 with the 42 or 44" deck that's prety great for it's age and runs great - I have a dilemma regarding what to do with the old girl;

My nephew hit a tree at the cabin and snapped the cast front axle. I know I can get a used one at cub warehouse for $105, but as it is the end of the season I really hesitate to get into fixing it at this time.

Any suggestions what to do with this girl - Part it out, sell it, recycle her?? I'll be damned if I'll pay someone to take it.

2manyrocks · Sep 16, 2009

I think you can find a junker to get an axle from if you take your time and look around in your area. IHRegistry.com also has a for sale area. Then there is also the on line auction stuff.

The restoration guys will buy these axles to replace ones that have wallowed out at the mount due to inadequate lubrication--so there is more of a market in these things than one might initially suspect.

Donsyl · Sep 16, 2009

if you were closer, i would think about taking it off your hands for a reasonable price........the motor in mine smokes really bad....Don

dex3361 · Sep 16, 2009

These units are not throw aways. When I got my BX1500 I kept my 129 Cub Cadet I had put a new crate 16HP Kohler on it about 10 years ago and it has had 0 issues since then. It is just a little small for how much I mow. I use it to mow under the apple trees.

2manyrocks · Sep 18, 2009

Some IH Cub cadet folks, including my Cub mechanic, consider the 149 and the 169 the best of the older IH Cubs for their level of mechanic refinement and serviceability. This was the last series before the 1250-1450-1650 series that had rubber iso mounts on the engines that eventually fail, side panels that slow down servicing, and a muffler box system that eventually cracks. Find an axle because a 149 in good running condition is worthy of it.

Now there are some that say the very last IH units that had diesel engines were the best, but to me they were in a separate class of machinery. In some respects, they were the precursors to the CUT we have today--just in super garden tractor sizes.

mjlyons · Oct 1, 2009

Just as an update, I found a used axle and my local imp. dealer agreed to
give it a fall checkup after the axle is on.

Thanks for those replies, it helped make my mind up to keep the old girl.