Ub Cadet 4x4 UTV (Volunteer)

[DavisHollow]

Where is the dang oil drain plug? The entire bottom is practically a skid plate, you have to crawl under it and peek through a hole to see what's in there. To find the engine I had to follow the exhaust pipe and I really can't distinguish the engine from the hydrostatic transmission. Operator's manual is useless, it doesn't show location of anything.

This is a 31HP Kohler I think, purchased in 2010, it was a demo so it has all the upgrades (including FE engine). Can't find any info online, so here I am. Thanks.

 

[timswi]

Where is the dang oil drain plug? The entire bottom is practically a skid plate, you have to crawl under it and peek through a hole to see what's in there. To find the engine I had to follow the exhaust pipe and I really can't distinguish the engine from the hydrostatic transmission. Operator's manual is useless, it doesn't show location of anything.

This is a 31HP Kohler I think, purchased in 2010, it was a demo so it has all the upgrades (including FE engine). Can't find any info online, so here I am. Thanks.

There's an access hole thats the shape of a tringle if i remember right..the plug on the Volunteer i work on is one of those plastic petckock things (I hate them)....Changing the filter is really fun too.

 

[DavisHollow]

Oops typo, I meant Cub Cadet not Ub Cadet. I don't think I can change the title to a thread.

Thanks for the tip, I'll give it one more look before I haul it in for an expensive oil change.

 

[timswi]

Oops typo, I meant Cub Cadet not Ub Cadet. I don't think I can change the title to a thread.

Thanks for the tip, I'll give it one more look before I haul it in for an expensive oil change.

Don't give up too quick...After you take another look, let me know what concerns you have..It's not an easy change, but certainly doable

 

[JeffandTamara]

Other than not routine maintenance friendly, How do you like the Volunteer? I was between the Cub and the Mule before I decided on the Mule. Was wondering what what you think about it so far? I really liked the larger payload than my smaller Mule...

 

[timswi]

Other than not routine maintenance friendly, How do you like the Volunteer? I was between the Cub and the Mule before I decided on the Mule. Was wondering what what you think about it so far? I really liked the larger payload than my smaller Mule...

I don't own one but I mantain and use the one our sportsmans club has...I like it actually, pretty quick, very stable and has a nice payload...Gotta watch the dump bed on the Volunteer, almost knocked myself stupid with it...

Would be nice if they had some guages and stuff installed as OEM, but a nice machine all and all.

Oil/filter changes are no fun on this...Makes my RTV1100 seem easy...The Cub dealer asked my what I was complianing about, he has to deal with this every day.

 

[DavisHollow]

Well I have no point of reference really, my first UTV. I ruled out the Mule because it had an axle on the rear and I wanted better clearance. I have a lot of limestone outcroppings (central Texas Hill Country), so I wanted clearance above all else. The bottom of the Volunteer is basically a skid plate, which is what makes oil changes difficult.

Not saying its any better than a Mule, only saying that was my thinking. I had narrowed it down to a Cub Cadet and a Gator, but I have a John Deere mower (LA120) and have been very disappointed with the quality. I probably would have gone with a Gator anyway but my Dad was the one who was buying it for me (well for him, but on my property) so I deferred to him.

The Volunteer is very solid, the only problems in 2 years (170 hours including lots of kids driving and lots of rocks), are ... (1) One end of rear stabilizer bar came loose, doesn't seem to affect anything but I'm going to get it fixed. (2) Pin came off of electric dump bed lift, $2 fix. (3) Something is rattling with the steering, may be nothing, I'll have the dealership look at it. (4) And since it was new I have never been able to get the gear box into low range, something wrong with the linkage or maybe the gearbox has a problem, but I don't really need low range so its not an issue. I will have dealership look at this also.

I should point out this was a tricked out demo model, sold to me as new but with some hours on it. It has the larger Kohler engine, 31 HP as I recall. It drinks gas, not fuel efficient. It has never failed to start or operate.

The dump bed is somewhat flawed, if you fill it full of dirt/rocks, dump a load, then you can't close the gate because pebbles fill the gap and it takes 10 minutes to dig them all out. And it's just not a very big dump bed, so I don't ever really use it for anything except hauling stuff around.

Frame is very solid. Lots of lights but it needs a cab light so you can find the switches in the dark, no lights out back.

That's my quite review of the Volunteer. How do you like the Mule? I don't think you can go wrong with a Mule.

 

[JeffandTamara]

I Bought the Mule 610XC New in 2010, Now have just over 110 hrs. Use it to Haul firewood from the woods to the house, Probably half of the hrs are from riding around the farm unloaded. I think the single cylinder about 14 hp engine is pretty fuel efficient, But there in lies a potential problem, not a lot of speed or power, but so far it is fast enough for what I do with it, and it has pulled some pretty big loads without not too much trouble. Breaks are maybe a little undersized, but no problem's so far. The relatively small size is really nice in the woods, but for the wife and I and a grand child is kinda tight. No repairs so far, just normal PM work All in all, I am satisfied.

 

[Egbert]

I know this is an old thread but I had to laugh when I read "Where is the dang oil drain plug?" I spent at least an hour trying to find the bugger!

I have to say my Cub Cadet experience has been anything but good. With about 20 hours on my new $10K Volunteer, the radiator hose fell off. The lower connection was apparently loose from the factory. Of course, I had no idea until the unit over-heated. To make matters worse, the engine was apparently so hot that turning off the ignition did not kill the engine. By the time I could get it killed, black smoke was billowing out of the oil fill cap. To make a long story short, Cub Cadet gave me a free fill of coolant and sent me on my way - having not even made the first payment on the loan.

I was, and still am, livid with Cub Cadet. I will never believe this engine has not suffered damage from such severe over-heating that will likely cause a premature failure. The least CC could have done would have been to replace the engine.

Rest assured, I will NEVER buy another Cub Cadet anything. The lack of concern shown to me was inexcusable. They had my obligation on the note, and that was all they cared about. I post my experience at every opportunity and can only hope it costs Cub Cadet more than it has cost me.

 

[DavisHollow]

I know this is an old thread but I had to laugh when I read "Where is the dang oil drain plug?" I spent at least an hour trying to find the bugger!

I have to say my Cub Cadet experience has been anything but good. With about 20 hours on my new $10K Volunteer, the radiator hose fell off. The lower connection was apparently loose from the factory. Of course, I had no idea until the unit over-heated. To make matters worse, the engine was apparently so hot that turning off the ignition did not kill the engine. By the time I could get it killed, black smoke was billowing out of the oil fill cap. To make a long story short, Cub Cadet gave me a free fill of coolant and sent me on my way - having not even made the first payment on the loan.

I was, and still am, livid with Cub Cadet. I will never believe this engine has not suffered damage from such severe over-heating that will likely cause a premature failure. The least CC could have done would have been to replace the engine.

Rest assured, I will NEVER buy another Cub Cadet anything. The lack of concern shown to me was inexcusable. They had my obligation on the note, and that was all they cared about. I post my experience at every opportunity and can only hope it costs Cub Cadet more than it has cost me.

I have about 220 hours on mine. I bought it "new" with about 90 hours on it, it was a demo model, loaded. About $11k, I think its a 20007-8 model I got it in 2010 as I recall. It's been ok. I spent $1100 fixing it once, the steering column was broken (it worked fine, but rattled), including about $200 in general maintenance. It is not very rugged. The bolts that attach the rear wheels to the read stabilizer bar keep falling off. The fuel pump died, but I managed to replace that myself for $100.

My largest complaint is the poor work done on it in Dripping Springs Tx, don't ever go to the Cub Cadet dealer there. It took them maybe 5-6 weeks to fix the steering wheel, mostly waiting on parts. When they got it, they slapped it together. After a week I noticed the battery dying. I traced that to the fact they never tightened the generator belt, which also explains the smell of burnt rubber as it was slipping past the pulley. A week later my daughter said the steering was jacked, went out an looked and the front wheels were pigeon toed. Turns out they never put a nut on the steering arm bar that connects one of the front wheels to the steering arm, I had to take off the other nut, go back to town and get a replacement. They clearly just slapped it back together to get it out of the shop. And they are rude.

I will say the frame is solid, pretty reliable but I can't compare it to a Gator or Mule. Well the Mule might be a more reliable UTV but with a rear axle it wasn't an option with all the limestone outcroppings I deal with. If I had it to do over again, I would go with a Mule. And correct, Cub Cadet won't pay for anything that breaks, period. John Deere did replace two expensive things on my LA120 riding mower once, crappy mower but at least they fixed it.