GT2542 Cub, is this a good tractor

[pearlmanz]

Fordlords in the catalog I have it show the 42 and 44" models as both having the 20HP Kholer Command engine?? I have used a two blade Snapper for 14 years and love the cut, so not real hot on going to a 3 blade system but hey that is the great thing about America. We can still choose....grin.

Plus as I said, can't see 500.00 more to get 2 inches of cut for my yard when just the 6 HP increase in power from my Snapper 14HP Kholer to the 20HP with shaft should speed up my cut time, especially on the sloped back yard I have.

By the way, I read one small dislike about the oil drain system on the GT2542 and looked like you might have come up with a solution to improve that problem?? Did that come to pass? It looked like some kind of hose system?

Thank you for all your positive input and time friend. PearlManZ

 

[pearlmanz]

One thing I'd look for on the Cub is the shaft drive... it isn't really a shaft drive. They go from the engine to a belt and then to a shaft. They advertise that there are no belts to slip or replace, but yet there is a belt. Kind of weird. In my book that isn't really a shaft drive.

Is this true??? I thought I saw the shaft come right out of the engine. If what this poster said on another board is true, then I am dissapointed in CC advertising and feel mislead. Please set me straight Ford man!! Thanks, PearlManZ

 

[Fordlords]

The Cub website shows the 2542 at 20 HP, the 2544 at 21 HP. Either way you would never feel that difference anyway, the horizontal shaft Kohler Commands are more than amply powered for any task you can throw at one of these tractors- they can handle big snowblowers, front blades, or anything within reason you can tow behind them. Mowing is a walk in the park for these tractors. Best frame and transaxle on the market to match. From what I just heard the oil drain valve issue on the 2006 models has been corrected on the 2007's. Short of JD's X700's, (at nearly $10k a copy) there isn't much if anything on the LGT market that really compares to Cub's GT2500 and 3000 tractors as far as what you get for the money.

The 2500's have shaft drive to the transaxle. The mower deck is belt driven through an electric PTO clutch. This is a setup that goes back to the International Harvester days, and it is very relaible. There is also a small belt that goes between the two deck spindles.

On a Cub 3000, they are shaft driven to both the deck and transaxle. There really is no honest to goodness need to shaft drive a mower deck.

You can look at the gallery pictures of the internals of my old 682 and see how this setup works, it is about identical on modern Cub 2500's. A belt from the clutched pulley on the front of the engine goes down to the deck.

-Fordlords-

 

[pearlmanz]

So this guy's claim that 2500 series tractors are belt to shaft for the drive is not true based on what you just told me, correct Ford Man?

I know the deck is belt driven for the blades but the shaft looked to me like it comes straight out of the engine to the differential?? This guy claims a belt comes off the engine to drive the shaft that then goes to the differential. If that is the case, then the Cubs are not true shaft drive and the belt to the shaft on the engine side could slip and become a problem. Very confusing. The PearlManZ

 

[Fordlords]

You can look at the 2542's parts blowup on CNG's site Carter and Gruenewald Company, Inc.

The tractor's drive shaft comes right off the flywheel side of the engine directly down to the transaxle.

I saw Cub's advertising is a little misleading saying there are no belts to replace. There are two belts used to drive the mowers on the Cub Cadet 2500's. But, as far as the tractor drive itself goes, no belts at all.

-Fordlords-

 

[pearlmanz]

Like I said, it is ashame people post information that is not true because they don't like CC or own another brand of tractor. This guy was a JD owner and lover all the way......

One thing I did not like when I test drove the GT2542 was how much it vibrated at idle when I came to a stop and throttled down. Of coarse It won't be running that slow most of the time...hi hi. But if it did with all that vibration, it makes me wonder if the engine would vibrate off the the frame....grin. The dealer lauged at my concern and called it the Harley Davidson factor....grin. Not funny to me...hi hi as that is why I ride a big Yamaha Roadstar, I didn't want vibration.

Time to go to bed here in Virginia. Looks like I might be bitting the bullit for a new CC come Monday. Thank you for all the information FordLord. I appreciate it very much. The PearlManZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

 

[VA_Joe]

Joe thanks for the reply, I have done some Goggle searches but just have not seen a lot of information on the GT2542 model.

I will agree though after pricing some JD models, they are higher and not built as well in my opinion as the CC and I hear parts start becoming hard to come by a lot faster than some other brands as the years roll on. The frame and drive system to me are a lot better on the CC than the JD and other models.

I just don't want to drop 3000.00 for a tractor if is not going to be reliable and I think most of the negative feedback is about the cheaper MTD made 1000 and 1500 series. I have until Monday to make a decision so I want to get all the feedback I can before going in to debt for 24 months....grin. Thank you Joe, PearlManZ

Sorry - what I meant was to look at other posts on this site. It was getting late and I needed to get some sleep.

I would not go with the 42 inch deck. I would go with at least a 44 inch deck (overlap is a good thing). It's a trade-off - smaller decks have less overlap but better suction/airflow. They are also less likely to get bogged down in heavy grass (of course - all of this really depends on engine horsepower/torque). The 1000 and 1500 series are essentially the standard MTD line of products. I would stay away from them. The 2500 and 3000 are the premium products (higher end engines; better construction; etc.). Compared to the comparable JD models, they are about a $1000 less.

Joe

 

[VA_Joe]

Fordlords in the catalog I have it show the 42 and 44" models as both having the 20HP Kholer Command engine?? I have used a two blade Snapper for 14 years and love the cut, so not real hot on going to a 3 blade system but hey that is the great thing about America. We can still choose....grin.

Plus as I said, can't see 500.00 more to get 2 inches of cut for my yard when just the 6 HP increase in power from my Snapper 14HP Kholer to the 20HP with shaft should speed up my cut time, especially on the sloped back yard I have.

By the way, I read one small dislike about the oil drain system on the GT2542 and looked like you might have come up with a solution to improve that problem?? Did that come to pass? It looked like some kind of hose system?

Thank you for all your positive input and time friend. PearlManZ

They fixed the oil drain issue in 2006. The model that I have has the fix (they piped the oil drain from the side to the front with a 90 degree fitting).

Joe

 

[CCinCT]

I have a 2544, but the only difference between it and the 2542 are the front tire size, 1 HP, and the deck. So with regards to reliability and such, the following info is relevant to the 2542 too:

I love it. It's never given me a single problem, despite my attempts to find a limit to what it can do. I've pulled bittersweet out of trees with it, plowed 5+ inches of very wet, heavy snow and ice from my driveway (and two of my neighbor's), used the same blade to clear about 1000 sq feet of overgrowth and brush, dragged a 400+ pound rock across part of my yard, hauled over 10 yards of gravel (not at one time), hauled over 100 retaining wall blocks (again, not at one time), hauled about 800 pounds of pavers (at one time) from the end of my driveway to my side yard via a fairly steep but short hill, rolled parts of my lawn with a 600+ pound roller, and I'm sure there's other things that I've forgotten about. The point is, I use it for everything I can think of and it never skips a beat, never gives me a problem starting, never makes an odd noise, never does anything other than impress me.

The only issue I'm aware of with the 2006 2500's was a service bulletin out for the hood latch: it would loosen from wear and allow the hood's closed position to eventually be high enough to partially block the exhaust. This could lead to that part of the hood melting. My dealer replaced it and the entire hood under warranty, even though there was no indication that my latch was loosening. I would imagine that the new latch has been incorporated onto the 2007 models.

As far as your deck choice, there is one very nice thing about the 42" over the 44": it is MUCH lighter. So when you go to pull the deck off, you can manhandle it around much easier. I think the only issue you might have with the 42" is that it probably won't deal with tall grass as well as the larger decks. But that just means more seat time to keep the grass in check. Not a bad tradeoff

 

[JTKub]

..I was hoping to get responses from folks who own GT2542's instead of everyone telling me I should buy the 2544. Where I live the price is 500.00 more and to me with the same motor, a deck is not worth 500.00 for an extra 2" of cut or I would try and buy the 44" deck with no offense intended.

One again perlmanz, there are reams of info on the 2500 series machines on this forum and others. All the 2500's are the SAME TRACTOR aside from deck sizes and slight HP differences. The 2542 does have smaller front tires than the 2544+, but that's neglegible. If you read through some posts, you will see lots of specific information on the 42" deck. It is a decent bagging and side discharging deck. Not so great at muching. It's a shallow deck design that cloggs and clumps more easily than the rest. The 42" and 44" BARELY clear the sides of the 2500 series machines making close-trimming a tad more challenging. If you need to do lots of edgework, a wider deck that sticks out beyond the tractor's tires makes the job easier. Is that specific? Hope I didn't offend you.

Joel