Cub Cadet RZT 50 - Ongoing Reviews

[MAsZ71]

It has been a while since my last update. I've gotten very use to my RZT50 now and it is actually fun to cut my grass! No problems to-date....motor starts easy and she does a fine job of cutting my grass! :thumbsup:

One thing that I have been doing after every usage is to blow the clippings off. There are several areas that tend to accumulate clippings that would probably present a problem if not removed. Especially on top of the deck under the areas that protect the pulleys. Preventive maintenance, especially with these non-commercial grade zero-turn mowers, is essential to their longevity!

So Far...So Good!!

 

[LeftTurn]

Watch for transmission troubles (loss of power to one side).

I just spent over $900 to replace one of the two transmissions on my RZT-50 after 215 hours.

I take good care of it - blew off clippings with compressed air, store it inside, only mow dry grass, change the engine oil & filters twice a year. There does not seem to be much that one can do to protect the transmissions. Reading here, there seems to be no way to change transmission fluid without disassembling the whole thing.

The Cub dealer had 3 others that came back as trade-ins with the same problem & admitted that it was a common problem that he saw.

It is a nice mower when healthy.

 

[billl]

Mark I started to have problems with my hydro drives at 300hrs. Only to discover this
is a common problem, actually the problems start showing up around 250hrs. for most,
I got to 300hrs. I have talked to other owners and found out the drives end up having to be replaced this cost 700-900 each, so 2/3 the cost of the mower. I was really shocked to see this is common after so few hours. My old lawn tractor has a hydro trans with 1000's of hours on it and still works fine. I hope for you that the newer models have different drives on them the old ones dont even have a drain much less a filter. All fluid work has to be done through the vent on top.

 

[JTKub]

All the 200-300hr Hydrogear EZT failures you read of are a shame. The thing is, I have to think Hydrogear Corp has improved these drives from what they were 3-5yrs ago. Every single manufacturer of ZTRs that I know of uses the EZT transaxles on their entry level ZTRs. You wouldn't think big boys like John Deere, Toro, Gravely, etc, would risk it. On the flip side of all of this, separate hydrostatic pump and wheel motor drives that you find on higher end machines run ~$1500+ per side. Nothin's inexpensive on these.

Joel

 

[MAsZ71]

...I have to think Hydrogear Corp has improved these drives from what they were 3-5yrs ago. Every single manufacturer of ZTRs that I know of uses the EZT transaxles on their entry level ZTRs....

I hope you are right Joel! :thumbsup:

 

[JTKub]

Mark, it's gotta be. Look around. Every single ZTR manufacturer I can find that makes an entry level, residential machine is using Hydrogear EZTs and then ZT-2800's on their next notch up. I'm still questioning why Tufftorq hasn't entered the game. I have yet to get an answer on it. Regardless, I'd rather replace a ~$900 EZT than have to tear into and replace a high end pump & wheel motor drive. You're talking ~$1500+ there.

Joel

 

[Carl_NH]

JTKub

On my Ferris !S2000 it has the Hydrogear 12CC pumps and 15IN wheel motors - commercial series I do beleive. Runs about $450 to $500 each for the pump and wheel motor total aound $950. I looked into these before buying and found that all brands (Scag, Exmark, Hustler etc) all use some combo of Hydrogear alone or Hydrogear and Parker wheel motors, and from the various forums I see some failures across the board but nothing specific to cause concern.

 

[JTKub]

Yep, Ferris is one of the few that still used separate hydro pump and wheel motor drive systems, even on their starting model ZTR. Any of those babies has got to ride nice with the front suspension!

Joel

 

[EuropaChris]

Yep, Ferris is one of the few that still used separate hydro pump and wheel motor drive systems, even on their starting model ZTR. Any of those babies has got to ride nice with the front suspension!

Joel

I got to mow my neighbor's yard a few times earlier this month while they were on vacation with his IS1500Z - 48" deck with the Kawi engine. Prior to that I did a full PM job for him - oil, lube, filter, sharpen, deck adjust and level.

Needless to say, it's an impressive machine. Takes a little practice to drive so it doesn't look like a spastic fool cut the grass:confused2:, and don't grab those levers and give 'em a big shove because you'll end up with a giant case if PIO (pilot induced oscillations) and look like a spastic fool again.

But, that machine chowed through some thick, tall (~6") grass taking it down to 3-1/2" or so and hardly missing a grass blade. I didn't push the speed much beyond normal "old school" tractor speeds, but it would have easily gone quite a bit faster, and still cut better than my 2544.

A few things I noticed - it's LOUD. The deck howls louder than my Cub and the hydros whine a lot louder, too. I suppose having the engine out in the open and then sitting on top of the whole works makes it seem worse than my '05 with the full metal hood.

Also, the blade cutting edges are almost level with the bottom lip at the front of the deck so the deck doesn't bend the grass down and away from the blades as much. My deck has at least 1/2" of deck lower than the blade cutting edges.

Lastly, the Ferris blades are shaped like this: ___---- ----___ with the cutting edges lower than the non-cutting portions. My Cub blades are flat: _____ _____ and that just causes the blunt portion of the blades to beat up whatever grass gets missed by the front cutting pass of the deck, hog power, and make the cut look ragged. After realizing this, I re-leveled the deck last weekend and took it up to 1/4" slope from front to back from the 1/8" that it was (lower in front, that is). Lift of the Cub vs. Ferris blades is similar, and while the Ferris deck is deeper, they both are similarly baffled.

So, I'm going to start looking for a set of blades that has the Ferris profile which will drop down the cutting edges a bit and keep the rest of the blade out of grass. I'd love to improve the cut quality a bit and get rid of that center "mohawk" it always seems to leave - being worse the higher I cut - setting 4 in the fall and spring, 5 in the summer.

 

[rtdiggr]

i love my ZTR 50 cc, i haven't had any problems with my tranny [yet].
My problem is alittle different. My front end pivit point let go. There is a round shaft, that the front arms sit on top. Well the welds or lack there of let go they should have welded the shaft all the way around but they didn't.

So now it is fixed and extra support added.

Shane

 

[JTKub]

I got to mow my neighbor's yard a few times earlier this month while they were on vacation with his IS1500Z - 48" deck with the Kawi engine...
A few things I noticed - it's LOUD. The deck howls louder than my Cub and the hydros whine a lot louder, too. I suppose having the engine out in the open and then sitting on top of the whole works makes it seem worse than my '05 with the full metal hood. .

Yep, I didn't mention it in this thread, but the fab'd 44" on my Z-Force is ridiculously loud as well, compared to the stamped 44" on my Cub 2544. Going without ear protection was not uncomfortable for me at all on the 2544. With the Z, ear protection is a must. The deck on my old Case 220 is basically silent. My Z-Force has those aggressive angled, very wide/thick blades. That may account for a lot of the noise. They're just too new and cut too well to replace at the moment.

Joel

 

[EuropaChris]

I've noticed that with the old mowers compared to the new ones - I grew up on late 60's through the 70's vintage stuff and never recall the amount of noise from the deck that the newer mowers put out. Another neighbor has a JD 317 and all I hear is the purr of the (replaced) Kohler flat twin. Anyone else in the neighborhood with a newer tractor running I hear the deck noise far and above any engine noise.

What's so different?

 

[Bob55]

I just bought a 2006 Z-Force 44 got it new with only 7.0 hours on it. I like a lot my first time with a zero turn. My last mower was a GT 2544. Hope this has the better Hyrdo's
Bob

 

[JTKub]

I just bought a 2006 Z-Force 44 got it new with only 7.0 hours on it. I like a lot my first time with a zero turn. My last mower was a GT 2544. Hope this has the better Hyrdo's
Bob

I believe the 2006's will have either the Hydrogear EZTs or IZT transaxles.

Joel

 

[Carl_NH]

I've noticed that with the old mowers compared to the new ones - I grew up on late 60's through the 70's vintage stuff and never recall the amount of noise from the deck that the newer mowers put out. Another neighbor has a JD 317 and all I hear is the purr of the (replaced) Kohler flat twin. Anyone else in the neighborhood with a newer tractor running I hear the deck noise far and above any engine noise.

What's so different?

Chris,

A number of things - the blade tip speed is a lot of it, my 20 yr old cub cadet 1811 has much less noise than my Ferris mostly due to the blade speed, and second due to the design of the decks and blades. My neighbor has a Cub Cadet 3200 series and it is almost as loud as my Ferris ZTR. The newer GT's have a larger pulley and higher blade speeds than the old ones..

This does improve the discharge, especially with non powered grass collection systems, however on the ZTR's it is more about blade speed and cutting a a faster travel speed.

 

[JTKub]

True about the blade tip speed thing, but as far as I know, there's only been two blade tip speeds (allowed by law) for many years: A residential speed and a commercial speed. The cutting deck has to be fabricated steel or a very thick gauge stamped steel to allow for the faster commercial speed. The Cub 3K's and associated attachments are not considered a commercial machine. Based on the noise, suction and discharge blast of my new fabricated Cub 44", I'm *assuming* the tip speed is faster than it was on the stamped 44" on my Cub 2544. The 2544 was much quieter. My Z-Force isn't classified as a commercial machine, but the deck is fab'd plate steel. What's strange to me is; listen to one of those multi-deck, turbo diesel, hydraulic monsters you see mowing town/commercial lots or golf courses. There's no deck noise on those at all (or very little). I was just near one the other day when I was with the kids at a town park. It was a huge Jacobson diesel, rear steer, with 3-4 decks out front. Young kid at the controls mowing (flying) at ~15mph. No deck noise. Only the the drone/hum from the diesel. Sorry for the ramble.. but I guess my point is; I'm thinking the noise is dependent on the specific design of the deck. I'm thinking the very high quality, highly designed and expensive decks are the quiet ones. The 44" on my Z-F, although strong and heavy, is a cheap MTD inverted roasting pan.

Joel

 

[Carl_NH]

The batwing mowers I see on golf courses are almost always hydraulic reel mowers which are very quiet. IF they are traditional blades and quiet they might be rear discharge? Dont know if that makes a difference.

Interesting thoughts about deck design and noise - I have seen/heard many high end machines have similar noise, so I dont think its necessarily the grade of machine you have - In my opinion there probably is little difference in your "inverted roasting pan" to the higher end machines tho i havent compared them side to side.

 

[EuropaChris]

Verrrrrrryyy interesting.....verrrryyyy interesting indeed.

I can say that I don't recall any of the "old school" mowers I grew up on being able to handle tall grass and especially tall grass at higher speed that my 2544 can, and my neighbor's Ferris is just an animal. :drool: Granted, I probably have twice the horsepower compared to the past, but back in the day, trying to plow through 5 or 6" tall grass would leave a huge clumpy mess behind and you'd be bogging badly. I can zip through that on mine set on "5" and not even have to rake.

 

[JTKub]

The batwing mowers I see on golf courses are almost always hydraulic reel mowers which are very quiet. IF they are traditional blades and quiet they might be rear discharge? Dont know if that makes a difference..

Yep, good points, but the silent ones I'm referring to were regular rotary decks. Discharge orientation is a good question! I didn't notice, but on gang mower like those I'd assume they're rear discharge decks.

Joel

 

[billl]

mas Z71
I had a real problem with my hydros not working and was seriously disgusted with the situation only to find out there is a simple cure. Had a new belt, but after reading the suggestions about belt tension I crawled underneath and noticed that the belt had some play in it (still felt snug) and the tensioner was not really holding enough tension...went and got a 1" shorter belt and drives are working GOOD AS NEW. THANKS BLUECHIP. back to the good old days.