Cub Cadet review: The Tank Zero turn radius mower 42

I bought a new 48" Tank in July 2006 and have the same trouble with grass build up and failure to discharge properly. I assume it's the nature of the deck design, which is clearly flawed.

I have a 48" tank also. It loves to choke on its own clippings also. When the mowing gets tough, I start up the old 30 year young, 18hp John Deere, it's not pretty and shinny anymore, but sure does cut grass like lightning.

I have 60'tank that had a similar problem. I removed the grass shoot and replaced it with a piece of heavy rubber from an old conveyor belt.the old shoot tapered down to the ground. My new shoot does not.

I got the idea looking at a friends tor they come standard that way. It helps alot because it less restrictive.

I have a zero turn tractor one year old have had to replace the drive belt three times. Want to give it away.

we purchaced a cub cadet 48 inch cut zero turn in august 2008 have used it 13 hours on hour meter worked on machine 5 to 6 hours fixing and getting mower to run when we contacted cub cadet 800 give a care number you guessed it they did not give a care. you ask will we by another not not not piece of junk. If we just keep one person from purchaseing on will be worth it all go to wal mart

i have a 48" Z cub with a fab deck that will not discharge the grass. i have had it looked at by other dealers and they agree that it is a poor design of the baffles under the deck around the left hand blade as none of the other brands have that design even the other cubs i have looked at. this is the second year i have had it and also i have to get out the 11 year old John Deere to mow with no trouble. i have talked to the tractor supply company where i purchased it an they have been real helpful but not saying some much about the MTD rep. that will not even call the store back. anybody thinking about one word of advise stay with the green machine.

I have a cub cadet RZT50 mower with 53 hours on it, while mowing the blades quit, I thought the belt popped off. I looked underneath and the whole pto clutch fell off. The bolt in the end of the crankshaft broke off, I removed broken bolt to dscover the end of the crank keyway is wornout, the clutch now is sloppy on the crank! It now needs the crankshaft and the clutch replaced. Took to store (LOWES') and was told SOL. contacted cub cadet dealer also no help! If you know how to get this fixed let me know.

I have a RZT 50 and i have had none of these problems i've had it for 3 years and i use it on my own property and some commercial use and have not had the deck clog once or had any other issues except the connections on the elec pto switch have come loose.

I purchased a 60 inch Cub Cadet about 2 years ago. It has been nothing but one problem after another. It has never started after sitting for more than 5 days without me having to work on it to get it started. I have gone through 2 electric clutches to date. It is the worst piece of equipment I have ever purchased. I will never recommend this or any other Cub Cadet product to any one I know and if given the chance I will discurage anyone I can from perchasing one.

I BOUGHT A NEW HFF 1748 WALK BEHIND MOWER THIS SPRING @ 17 HOURS I WENT THRU 4 BELTS @ $40 A PIECE TWO DIFFERENT DEALERS HAD IT FIVE DIFFERENT TIMES FINALLY SOMEBODY FROM THE FACTORY CAME AND SORTA FIXED IT, I KNOW GET 80 TO 100 HOURS OUT OF THE DRIVE BELT, BUT BACK TO THE DECK ISSUE I BELIEVE IT'S THE COMMAND CUT DECK THAT SUCKS, IF CONDITIONS ARE PERFECT (NOT TO HIGH OR WET) IT HAS A GREAT CUT, BUT IF IT'S A LITTLE WET THAT THING WILL LEAVE LITTLE CLUMPS OR RANDOM ROWS OF GRASS. I'M NOT REAL HAPPY EITHER ACTUALLY I TRY NOT TO USE IT THAT MUCH. MY DEALER TRIED VERY HARD TO MAKE IT RIGHT ITS JUST GOT ISSUES. IT DOES DO A GOOD JOB ON LEAVES. THIS SPRING I'M GONNA DUMP THIS PROBLEM ON SOMEONE ELSE AND GET ME A NEW ZERO TURN

I have an 2009 ZF50 that is on it's third drive belt in 60 hours! Dealer has no idea why it keep throwing the belt and it's not covered under warranty because it's a wear item. I get two chances when it throws the belt and on the third throw it snaps it. I too have to creep through the yard due to the clogging issue. Wish I still had the old green tractor mower I had before this one.

I bought a Gt 1554 and it has 28 hours on it and has been in the shop more than at my own house because thew blades won't stay running. the sorry [censor] mechanics at CULPEPER VA. CUB CADET couldn't fix fix it and they are certified! The only thing I can see them being certified in is drinking their lunch and leaning on my trailer telling me it's a battery.
They have checked the wiring, replaced the PTO clutch, ignition switch, PTO switch, and now they don't know what to do so they just told me to come get it, even though the blades only stay on for 2 seconds.
This tractor is the worst I have ever seen and Cub Cadet I thought was a GOOD Co. I suggest if you like throwing thousands of dollars away CUB CADET would be your best decision! A $800 Murray puts the Cub Cadet tractors to shame THAT'S REALLY SAD!
So just a warning from a homeowner and Lawncare Business owner don't waste your hard earned money!

I HAVE A ZFORCE 48 INCH FAB DECK. IT SAYS THAT IT SHOULD CUT FROM 1" TO 4" I HAVE LOWERED IT ALL THE WAY DOWN AND IT WILL NOT CUT LOWER THAN PRBOBALY 2" does anyone have an answer

just want it to do what i paid for it to do

I'm not sure what model year you all have had, but I do know some of the older tank models had major design flaws.

I am a professional tester for MTD. They supply my lawn care company with a full outfit of mowers and other equipment. With over 8 years in the business, having riden all the major brands; I can most definately say next years Tank MKH54" will be something to look at. I just received the new prototype and it's great!

The engineers have replaced the hydro motors. No more wheel and pump design. They are replacing the Parker pk12's with a new integrated pump.

The new overall design is much more aesthetically pleasing.

The brand new SCS deck has a few configurations for different conditions.

My Tank has a 27hp Kohler, it has some pep. This is a larger engine than stock. May be a permanent fixture. I'd prefer to see a Kawasaki.

Hopefully this will renew your faith in an innovative company!

got you all beat! I have a cub cadet M72 with both hydrostats going out with only 250 hours. JUNK, since MTD took over these things have become the bic lighters of lawn mowers, , NO MORE CUBS for me. I have owned 22 cub mowers. In 40 years of being a Cub owner.. NO MORE CUBS ! GoOD BYE

I have a Cub Zforce 60 Zero turn and It mows and runs flawlessly I have had it since 2007 and never a problem. Sits all winter in an unheated barn and put fresh gas and it has always started right up.

I also have a CUB GT2554. This is the shaft drive version. It is 5 years old sits right beside the Zforce in an unheated barn. I just replaced the battery on the GT2554 . The only thing I have had to replace on either of them.
Charlie

I have a '08 M60 Tank and it has been very disappointing. Here is how to fix the discharge. First, right at the discharge is a bar at the bottom that runs from back to front of the deck. I assume it is there for strength but it just gets in the way. I unbolted it and the chute and no more clumps! The clippings would just collect into the corner and eventually just fall off leaving big clumps in my yard. Another thing to check is the grass deflector in about the same place. It is just a bent piece of thick sheet metal and it starts to bend. When it bends it exposes the flat side of the deck and grass can start collecting too. With that and the bar in the way your destined for clumps. I unbolted the deflector, bent it back straight, then welded round rod onto it to stiffen it. Hasn't bent since. Your only modifying a small bracket that unbolts so don't freak out. Mine has also broke 15 belts at $54 each in less than a year. Haven't been able to fix it (although a deck adjustment could fix it) and I don't care to because I'm trading it off for a Hustler Super Z.
Other problems:
Clutch bolt snapped dropping it and cutting the wires all the way off.
First 2 mins of mowing after buying it new a deck wheel fell off and I cut a massive chunk out of it.
Deck wash doesn't work all that well.
No oil drain hole for the oil filter which makes a mess when changing it.
Touchy steering, can be herky jerky until u get used to it.
Seat safety switch failed after 150hrs, not allowing me to engage the blades.
The machine has the makings of being a great mower but the deck overall let's the whole package down. The new tanks have an all new deck which might be great but I have a bad taste in my mouth for the cub cadets now.

i have a 60" tank, peer with a 25 hp kawasaki that threw a rod and I'm looking for a motor if anyone has one please call 352 418 one 8 seven 0 thank you hank

Cut belt problems on the z-force decks is caused by the narrow 1" idler pulley, needs to be upgraded to the older 2" wide pulley.

I have a 48" zero turn and it clogs bad, blades wear rapidly, gets stuck very easily and I have to cut everything twice at any speed/height new blades to get it to look right. I just bought a 60" zero turn "Tank" which has two 7.5 gallon gas tanks on each side. One of the gas tanks came off, fell to the ground and the fuel hose was spilling fuel all over the deck. I'm lucky there wasn't a fire. I now have about ten hours on the mower and yesterday the other gas tank came off with same results except gas spewed on the ground. It could have easily spewed on me and engine creating a fire. I have to send in the gas tanks so the plastic plugs at the bottom of the tank which hold the bolts can be compressed back into their octagon shaped holes. Has anyone else had a gas tank come off a "Tank"?

I have a 2006 M72 Tank with the 29 HP, liquid cooled Kawasaki motor. I have had ongoing problems with the belt that goes from the motor to the deck breaking. It transitions from vertical to horizontal in the most illogical fashion that it seems like it should have been identified as a problem early on and not offered to the public. It also seems crazy to race a 29hp motor to full speed and then instantly engage the electric clutch. I just broke another one today after less than 50 hours of use. The one prior to that one only lasted 30 hours. The belt is $110 and I have put 1 to 2 belts on it per year. After the second one broke, the same year I bought it, the dealer offered me a new solution from Cub Cadet that incorporated 2 pulleys on the tensioner versus one. To me, this proves that it ws flawed from the very beginning. After the 4th belt, I called Cub Cadet Corporate headquarters and complained. I wrote them a formal complaint and they covered the cost of the 4 belts. I am asking all of you who are having the same problem to yell from the roof top about this issue. I have 2 broken belts in the last 9 months and I am going back to Cub Cadet Corporate to lodge yet another complaint. As far as I am concerned, as long as I have their flawed system, they should cover a belt that keeps breaking prematurely. The other option is they give me a different mower or motor set up that does not have these same issues. Please provide any similar stories so all of us can make a case about this expensive belt issue.

I have a 2012 60" Tank and have the same problem. I removed the inner baffle and it helped tremendously. I don't know if my deck is of the same design or not, supposedly there were a "ton" of changes between 2011 and 2012. I also keep the discharge chute pulled up tight with a tie strap and that also helps; debris flies in a much broader area but not as many clogs. I am in Kentucky and have a long Fescue for a lawn; if it gets to high or is the least little bit damp, the problem is much worse. Deck wash is still worthless.

Owners manual is terrible. I think they assume that every owner is a factory trained technician. Lubrication chart doesn't even hint at where the lube points are, the hr meter has several function but none are addressed, only mentions hours when in fact it is an hr meter, maintenance minder and tach. The tech writers and testers (if there are any) are overpaid, even if they are minimum wage, they are over paid.

Ive had the same problem, 4 transmissions and about 6 pumps all on the left side, seems after two hours of mowing left wheel gets to jerking.

I have 10 + years running either a 48" or 60" Tank and 1500 + hours of seat time and I to have had this problem ( when I don't run it correctly, ) Wet grass will always clog up any deck and grass that is too long should be cut with a brush hog, this is a lawn mower and a fine one, In the 10 yrs. the only problem I have had was the deck belt thak up pully was out bof line ( tilted ) and wore out blabe belt at 25hrs on the 02 48" fixed under warrenty, I sharpen all blades at 25 Hrs and lube all fittings ( 10 pumps of gun ) 25 hrs. my blades last until they have no back side ( curved part ) and let me tell you I abuse my equiptment. LIKE CARS THESE MOWERS ARE ONLY AS GOOD AS THE NUT BEHIND THE WHEEL !
Good luck its just a machine that can only do what you tell to do?

I have a Cub Cadet ZRT50 bought new in 2007 have moved 5 acres since bought change oil every 50 hours like manual says. Have had one problem with mower it was cables that hold deck up. Called Cub Cadet and they sent me kit to fix which doubled cables and new bolts free of charge. It was under warranty at the time, last year replaced mower deck belt for first time. Has been a great mower. Also have push mower from Cub Cadet the kind with swivel front wheels also no problem bought new in 2007 also. I have keep them in garage since new and still look new. P.S. the flap on deck still has factory zip tie on it and don't have any clog problems unless are mowing to high of grass to begin with. To sum up I would by Cub Cadet Again

wsharky47

I have a 48" Z-force and the deck design is horrible! It packs the grass into the top and never ejects it so the blades wear out from constantly pounding the heavy mat which quickly builds above them. Good thing the motor is strong! Deck wash is not effective at all. The belt from clutch to deck pops off the idler pulley with the slightest bump on the left side, but deck keeps running and chews up the belt. No problem if you bump something on the right side. Nobody mows close on the right because of the discharge, so Cub needs to reverse the idler pulley mount so a bump on the left does not slacken it. .I'm going to try cutting the baffles out under the deck so there is more open space under there to hopefully allow the grass to drop outside the blade area, and coat under the deck with no-stick graphite grain chute spray. If that does not fix it - FOR SALE!

I have ztr 50 bought new in 2009 and it is the BEST mower I have ever owned! I am almost sixty and I have always done my own mowing and upkeep. It still has original
So that is saying something. It even has the original battery. Any trouble or damage is because I abused it. I go out there every spring and it starts right up.that never happened for me with all past mowers.It is my first zero turn and I would never go back to a standard tractor. Be sure to get the Kawasaki engine. Very happy with this mower.

My husband and I are both seniors, 65 and 69! We purchased a cub cadet zero turn mower, because walking behind a mower was getting hard. Well the mower only has 52.5 miles on it and the motor blew! The oil was fine, it is checked every time my husband gets on it! There is no reason the motor should have blown, unless there was a defect inside! There is a huge crack along the bottom and up the side, with a hole big enough to put a finger in! We will never again purchase a cub cadet mower of any type! The motor is made by kohler, it is 17 HP! It ran great, never made a noise, and then when he started mowing the other night, he made two swipes and it started smoking, my husband shut it off and looked at the motor and saw the crack and oil running out! The oil was very clean, no reason for this to happen! Now to repair it, the cost will be about $1400. for a replacement motor, WTH! Never again!

I bought a Tank M48 in 2008 and I mow approx 2 to 3 acres a week and every time I mow I have to clean out the deck. If I try to mow a second week without cleaning, the deck will get so clogged underneath that it will essentially stop discharging? It obviously has a poor design that doesn't promote proper grass discharge. From what I read on other posts this is not just an isolated case. I paid enough for it that I intended for it to outlast me. Other than the poor discharge I don't have any other complaints. I always had a good level of respect for Cub in the past but they sure have a lemon when it comes to this mowers deck design. I may look at some of the competitor’s decks and see if I can get some ideas on altering the baffles or if I could get a different style of blade that may encourage better discharge. If anyone hears of a recall of decides to go after Cub for this lemon I'll support the cause. I kind wish I’d have gone with the X-Mark at this point. A friend bought one and said he has never had to clean his deck. I have an older 42” cut Craftsman that I can mow thru water 3 inches deep and it keeps its deck clean all by itself. I have never in 18 years had to clean the deck.

Between the spindles the belt and now the drive pulley failing it's become impossible to keep up with the grass. Forget getting info on how to repair it. They don't seem to care. I know we live in throw away society but this is ridiculous.

I have a Cub cadet Tank with a 19 hp K 48" deck. I had the same problem with the deck clogging up. I corrected the deck by cutting another opening on the other side of the deck. This took care of the grass clogging the deck up. The other problem I had was if I turned it off for less than 5 min it was hard to start back up. I replaced the plugs with a high standard life time platuam plug and it helped it 100 percent. Now that all that was done I'v owned it since 2007 has been a great mower. It does look like Cub Cadet would have some kind of a up grade kits to correct their mistakes.

I have a z Force 44'. with a stamped deck. The original deck was welded on by a welder for everything from spindles breaking off to wheels. The front wheels are a joke. It was welded on about 8 times. The last time I took it in the welder said, "I can't weld on it anymore, you'll have to buy a deck or buy a different mower." Will anybody from Cub Cadet read this and call me [protected].

I am not having clipping discharge issues because I can not get through a single mowing without some type of issue. My wife bought me a Tank SZ60 last year on my Birhday 05/28, I was super excited, best birthday gift ever. So, I thought! We had issues with it not pulling, missing, backfiring, and not stopping when accelerator was released, for 4 months it was with the service people more than with us, unfortunately the place I bought it from was not helpful and could care less that I was not able to use the product that we just gave $11, 000.00 for, we had several unpleasant word exchanges. Well, the straw that broke the camels back was when they brought me my mower back after supposedly fixing the pulling issue and I started it up and took off and something gave in it and just about ran me straight into a barbed wire fence, I called them and told them to come and get it and to refund my money, it was not coming back to my house. After, several days of arguing and threats of a law suit they brought me a different mower. It seemed great until it started missing, I took it to a different dealer, Lane Sales in Dandridge, Tn (Roger and his staff are awesome). I explained everything to him and he kept the mower with lless than 10 hours of mowing time on it, come to find out the gas tank had black plastic shavings and chunks that clogged things up, mowed twice and put the mower up for the season.
2015, new mowing season, everything was going good had mowed several times, had the over to Lane Sales for a mulching kit installation, and another time for when I knocked the belt off its spindle, mower had been running great. Mower had acted up once with my wife, we thought we had a round of bad gas. Until, yesterday, went to start it and it had a slow dragging start, took the battery and had it tested, needed replacing, replaced it and two fish tanks of gas ready to mow. Wishful thinking, the mower is not running smoothly, it stalls, misses, hesitates, and backfires. So, I am scheduled Monday to have serviced, I called to complain to Cub Cadet and after being on hold for 27:40, I spoke with a rep that just gave me a reference number to give to the service technician. If you are researching Cub Cadet for a future purchase in my current situation I would not suggest their product, I had a Husqvarna mower for 10 years and replaced the battery once and fixed a flat tire, I sure miss that mower now, I apologize for the length of this rant, I am just aggravated with my situation, good luck to everyone.

I have owned one cub and it eas the 52" as far as clogging or anything else no problem but i had it maybe a month and one of the hydro pumps started slowing down so I sold it to a buddy that said he wanted it I told him that it wasn't worth fixing but he wanted it anyway so I sold it to him two days after I sold it to him he came to me and said I mow ten minutes with it and both hydro pumps are gone no steering he went and got a price and they told him 600 a peace for the hydro pumps to be replaced I myself went and got a hustler and wont own anything else besides a hustler not one problem its not commercial but I could use it as a commercial if I have to and it is only 3000 at hustler I recommend it or any other mower for that over cub cadet any day for those that don't have a problem Congrats you got lucky they are crap mowers and don't see how they are still in business to be honest but I guess you get what you pay for

I have a cub ZTT I1042 with timed blades if one blade gets out of time the blades hit and mowing is over. I took to the shop several times they would just shake their heads it's that dam cub again. So this time I told them to weld the blades on one left and right the other front to back. When I got home I cut all my yard and it's still cutting no problem. But the guy that came up with timed blades needs to be hit dead in the mouth. also the blades are 22 inch which = 44 inch cut but the deck is a 42inch deck so the blades should be 21inch = 42inch cut and I bought it new with the 22 inch blades get you some of that. THANKS MTD FOR RUINING CUB CADET.

I have the 50" and have had nothing but problems with it that I had to buy another lawnmower, problems with the steering it's very hard, the mower is very slow and it actually goes faster in reverse and it will not go up hill, and I don't know how many times I have replaced the belt and there is no service centre in Italy

Tank 60" Sz will not stop unless the reverse pedal is tapped to stop forward movement. . Wife drove it right into our car the other day. Serious safety issue. I talked with another owner and theirs does the same thing. Someone is going to get hurt. This must be a issue with more than just two of these. Problem starts out small and keeps getting worse. Was a small creep and now developed into a full drive forward situation until reverse pedal is tapped.

My 2012 Tank LZ 60 is junk! from the deck and mounts to the engine and hydro system.