The 5234D "Mechanics Special" Rebuild

So, A while back I picked up a Cub 5234D with ~450 hours on it. The seller was one of those guys that wasn't very mechanically knowledgeable, and didn't know the issue/what needed to be fixed. He had the tractor at a dealer after the transmission went BANG and it stopped moving, this is after he had the tractor in for transmission repairs a few months earlier. The dealer told him they'd call him with an estimate. A few months later, they called him and told him if he wants his tractor back, he better come get it, since they are going out of business.

The tractor was partially disassembled by the dealer. The hydro pump/motor and linkage were missing. The driveshaft was bent and snapped one of the u-joint crosses. The rear fenders are pretty banged up, cracked and pieces missing. I got it for what I think is relatively cheap, got the package of loader, 60" mower deck, snowblower, and tractor for about what the loader attachment would cost.

After an eight hour drive each way, I got it home.



First task was to jockey it into an area to remove the loader. I tied pieces of steel angle on the arm cylinders to hold them up, and chained the bucket. I did have the fenders and seat placed on the tractor just so it didn't look like such a pile sitting in the yard.



Next was the adventure of removing the loader without hydraulics. Compounding the aggravation was that the front loader bracket was mounted UPSIDE DOWN, requiring careful jacking and blocking to support the loader as I removed the front loader mount, and the cross bar from the loader frame. After some time, separation was successful.



Getting ready for teardown



Rear hitch removed



ROPS bracket removed



Transmission removed



The frame and transmission are covered in dirt, oil, and diesel fuel. Before any more teardown occurs, things are going to get a thorough cleaning.



Once things were clean enough, I opened up one side of the case for inspection, and started pulling gears and shafts out of the case. The interior of the case is very clean, no filings or debris.



The bearings behind the hydro were very dirty since they were exposed to the elements for who knows how long. I didn't want to chance just cleaning them and hope for the best. I purchased new bearings and installed them.



Since everything looked decent in the main case area, I flipped the transmission over and opened up the 4WD gear area. I had a concern with the front output shaft since it seemed to be very wobbly and the seal was leaking.



4WD shaft removed. I was wondering why it only had a single roller bearing at the front end, and no support at the rear, then I realized the shaft end was broken off. New replacement shaft on the left.



Now here is the doozie: shouldn't the broken off piece of the shaft be inside the 4WD pinion? I guess somebody who had it apart before pulled it out, shrugged and tossed it in the trash without bothering the replace the busted shaft it was part of.



Put everything back together and sealed up the right side of the case.



Installed all the gears and shafts back into the left side of the case. You can still see paint marks from the last guy that had this apart.



Left side all sealed up.



Ready to reinstall in the frame. There is a rag where the 4WD shaft goes, I didn't have the new shaft yet.



New hydrostatic pump mounted. This was another adventure since the two bottom bolt holes were stripped. Holes were repaired with Heli-coils.



Commencing re-entry procedures





Since the rear axle was back in, I took a break from it and tackled the leaking front knuckle. There was water in the bottom of the hub. The knuckle bearing was thrashed.











Back to the rear end again. Hydraulic lines reconnected. I also straightened the frame rail flanges where they were damaged by the flailing driveshaft.



Things were incorrectly installed for the mower deck lift, causing the lift link to rub on the 4WD linkage. Half of the diameter was wore away, so I restored it with some welding/grinding.



There were 2 different styles of couplers on the tractor. I replaced two so they are all the same style. Now that the tractor is running, the remaining old two couplers weep, so they will be getting replaced as well.



Repaired the damaged wiring harness and fuel lines. I also added wiring for tail lights and reverse/work lights. Fuel tank attached. The carnage bent the front seat bracket, so that took monkeying around to straighten and get aligned so the tank and fenders would fit properly.



New driveshaft and fan installed. Before installing the driveshaft, I primed the pumps by using a hand drill and socket.



Foot board back in place.



After some careful measuring, I drilled holes for the tail lights. Didn't want to mess this up after buying new fenders.





After that, I finished installing levers and other trim pieces.





Reinstalled the loader.





I still have a few things to do like change the engine oil/filter, and fix a few small leaks. Working on getting some steel for suitcase weights so I can actually use the loader safely.