How to Remove a Cub Cadet XT1 Gas Tank

[@bamajpeezy]

Just did this today! I have the same mower and was having the same exact problem. When I undid the fuel line by the fuel filter, it was just trickling out slowly. So I removed the tank like you did and removed the hose from the bottom of the tank and stuck a wire through there where the hose hooks up, and pushed all kind of trash out of there. Rinsed the inside out, reinstalled everything, and now it runs so good! Thank you for posting this video! It helped me tremendously!

[@richardspaulding5035]

This issue was driving me crazy. The machine would run good for about 5 minutes then shut down. I then recalled when I opened my first repair shop in the 1970s, I had purchased an old tow truck. The truck would shut down seemingly at random. When it would happen, I would have to sit for about 15 to 20 minutes then it would start up and run again. Sometimes it would be good for a several days but would keep happening. It was very frustrating because I could not find anything wrong with this vehicle. One day I decided to pull the gas tank and have a look inside. I found a piece of paper floating around inside the tank. Evidently every so often it would get sucked in front of the fuel inlet. Once the vacuum would drop it would float back into the tank. So, this prompted me to look inside the mower tank. I saw a bunch of tiny particles floating around in there as it then became obvious what I had to do.

[@robertBeatley-n5q]

Explicit and detailed on how to, great video

[@richardspaulding5035]

Thanks for the kind words, glad the video was of help.

[@RichardBrister-ro3qs]

Excellent video! Thank you! I've got to do the same thing and wasn't sure where to start.

[@richardspaulding5035]

In the older machines, it was much easier to remove the tank. I could not find any information on how the remove the tank in these XT machines. Once I worked out how to do it, I posted the video. It is very rare these days to be able to post something that has not already been covered. Thanks for the kind words and thanks for watching.

[@rockystrickler5652]

Thank You sir!! After a few un-succesful maintainnce fixes, I took the tank completely out and hit it with the hose this time. I almost gave up too early but i saw that last pc of gummy clog coming back up into the tank everytime i hosed that small gas outlet on the bottom. Worked like a charm. Thanks Rick!

[@richardspaulding5035]

@@rockystrickler5652 thanks, I am glad you got it taken care of.

[@robwisenbaugh9945]

Thank you so much. 8 been tryn to do this for a week

[@richardspaulding5035]

Originally, I tried to find a video on removing the XT2 and XT1 tanks and found nothing. Once I figured it out, I posted the video. It is getting more and more difficult to come up with content that has not already been covered. Thanks for watching my channel.

[@rocketsledd]

Thank you! I’ve been putting this off for years and it finally got on my last nerve today.😂

[@richardspaulding5035]

hope it went well for you. thanks for watching.

[@rickfink464]

Very helpful video. My brother gave me his old cub cadet xt1. He said he put a new starter on it, it fired up for about 3 seconds and died, and wouldn't start again. I think it was an excuse to buy a new mower. I've never seen an air filter as clogged as his. The fuel bowl looked like it had red clay mud in it. I had to put the carburetor in my sonic cleaner to get the jet out. By far, the worst carburetor I've ever encountered! I took the engine plastic off to give me more wiggle room to get the gas tank out. Just looking at the gap on the coils, I'm sure they need adjusted.

[@richardspaulding5035]

I get a lot of satisfaction bring a discarded piece of equipment back to life,

[@rickfink464]

@@richardspaulding5035 , me too! That's why I have 3 Sears Craftsman lt100's. You can easily find parts everywhere

[@robinwyrwitzke]

thank you , my craftsman is very much like a cub cadet and when looking for the tank removal they kept taking off the seat and i recalled the mechanic said the 1st time i drove it in for a tune up he was quite surprised when he popped the hood . that little comment will keep me from having to drag the mower quite a ways from where i left it with the gas cap off to go get the gas can. it not only collected rain but also leaves . if i had tried to get leaves to fall in that spout i never could have ,but leave it sit there and yes several went in and probably 1/2 gallon of rain . i had finished mowing but was going to top it off and go fill the gas cans . anyway i am hoping taking the tank off and emptying it along with a new filter will fix it . thank you friend

[@richardspaulding5035]

Thanks, I have a follow-up video, one of my viewers wanted to know why I cleaned the inside of the tank but not the outside. The follow-up video addresses that. Here is the link kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJrLmZ6Lfqeqj80

[@Timechevarria]

Thank you so much! You saved me another trip to the repair shop to be told it just bad gas. The video was easy to follow and everything went smoothly.

[@richardspaulding5035]

Glad the video was of help. When I first needed to remove the tank, I could not find any information. It is not often I get to do something on you tube that has not been done before.

[@billywestfall]

Did my tank cleaning today and it took only 20 minutes from start to finish... Great tutorial Rich!

[@richardspaulding5035]

Thanks Bill, glad the video was helpful.

[@KathieGable]

Made this job fun and easy-to-use. Thanks

[@richardspaulding5035]

I don't know why the fuel outlet on these tanks is so tiny. I have had a number of them come to me with the owners thinking they needed a carburetor when it was just a dirty gas tank. It is becoming very difficult to come up with original content on KZbin. I hit on this one as at the time I could not find any information on how to remove the tank. Thanks for watching and the kind words.

[@JohnNordDesigns]

Thank you SO much! I needed this!!!!

[@richardspaulding5035]

When I searched, I could not find anything on removing the gas tank on these xt1 and xt2 machines. There were plenty of videos on how to remove the tanks on older cadet machines, So I filmed it sort of learning as I went along.

[@JohnNordDesigns]

@@richardspaulding5035 , my cadet has surged and died after mowing a small spot for two summers. I changed carb, filter, and lines. But now it runs like new after doing this.!!

[@richardspaulding5035]

@@JohnNordDesigns Glad the video was helpful. I had a truck years ago that would die on the road every once in a while, I would have to wait by the side of the road for about 15 minutes then it would run. I removed the tank and found a piece of paper floating around in the tank that would periodically close off the fuel inlet.

[@ernestthebo5441]

Excellent video, but it reminds me of a lot of what should be simple repair projects. Step 1: Disassemble entire tractor into bitesized pieces. I think I'll inspect the tank with my borescope camera before pulling the tank. ET

[@richardspaulding5035]

Yes, I was taken back by how difficult it is to remove the tank on the XT series machines. On the older cub cadets, the tank is held in by a wire bracket and is very simple to remove.

[@ernestthebo5441]

@@richardspaulding5035 Well, I bit the bullet and took my tank off. I did remove the engine shroud as well and that helped, but I'd have been totally frustrated without your video. Thanks!

[@russolstead4424]

Bless you my man! I have the exact same issue with my XT1 and I figured it was a fuel issue but the 2 mechanics I had look at it claimed dirty carb. I will run your testing procedures tomorrow and see if that is indeed the issue. It has gotten completely frustrating to mow for 15 minutes until it dies and then have to wait to restart it to run for another minute or 2. You are correct - this is an exclusive because I have hunted everywhere to try to find out how to remove this tank. You're the best!

[@richardspaulding5035]

I am very sorry I have taken so long to reply. Thanks for the kind words, I hope you resolved the issue.

[@rugelioramereiz9821]

My man, I have been a part of KZbin University for 2 decades now--one of the best how to videos out there! You were so clear and concise in your video, I only watched the video two times the night before and went out and completed the project in under 30 minutes. Thank you!

[@richardspaulding5035]

Thank you, sir, for the very kind words. This was my neighbor's machine. Somehow, he got a lot of debris in his tank. The best way to clean it was to remove the tank.

[@billywestfall]

WOW! I've been searching for a tutorial like this for a long time... You're the MAN Ricj!

[@richardspaulding5035]

Thanks Bill, I don't duplicate videos that are well done. I could not find anything on how to get the tank out of these XT1 machines. So, I kinda learned as I went along and posted the video.

[@patmurphy6244]

Thanks 4 Shearing Much Much Help............

[@richardspaulding5035]

Thanks, It has become very difficult to come up with content that has not already been covered. This was one that I have an exclusive on LOL

[@waxtad80]

Great video, super helpful. Thanks for putting this together!

[@richardspaulding5035]

I am very sorry I have taken so long to reply. I could not find anything on removing the tank, so once I figured it out, I posted the video.

[@robinwyrwitzke]

well i gave it a try. i am going on 70 and older than my years female i could not get that screw holding the steering wheel on so went inside to get the impact wrench with extreme reservations along with a turkey baster just in case i could suck out the leaf debris . i had drained the tank through the fuel line when i took off the fuel filter hoping to remove any water that would be on the bottom of the tank at the same time so i was just left with the leaf stuff. i passed my bird feeder cleaning brush on the way to the kitchen. it is bristles on one end and sponge strips on the other and about 18 inches long. i took it out and gave it a try . i was outside away from pretty much everything where i could flick the brush without hurting anything. the bristles didn't do much but that sponge end grabbed everything and it was spotless inside . i did have to put a bend in the wire shaft to reach into the corners and will have to buy a new one for my bird feeders but will save this one for next time i have a senior moment and leave the gas cap off . thanks for giving me courage to try fixing it myself and now to go have a bonfire with the gas i drained. i think i got the brush for the bird feeder at walmart . anyway just thought it might be worth a try next time.

[@richardspaulding5035]

Thank's for the thoughtful post, I enjoyed reading it. I am glad you got the tank clean. By the way I just turned 70 myself.

[@tombrownca]

I suspect same problem, but question is How does debris get in the tank?

[@richardspaulding5035]

In this case I traced it back to the owner's dirty gas can

[@skyesturgeon3249]

Thanks for this video. Very helpful.This happened to me last year and again this summer. I did the same trouble shooting that you did and came to the same conclusion. After using compressed air I saw the detritus come out of the tank drain hole. I attempted to follow your directions, but was frustrated when I was unable to remove the steering wheel bolt, even after adding penetrating oil. The Wheels would turn when I tried to loosen the bolt. Any suggestions? Would a power ratchet be required? I drained all the gas from the tank and let it sit overnight, The next day, the tank was completely dry, so I used a coat hanger to dislodge the particles and then I used a mini-shop vacuum with a nozzle attachment to vacuum the particles. Happy to say this worked! I think this is a design flaw in an otherwise exceptional lawn tractor. Never leave your cap off while you go and retrieve gas to fill the tank. Also, be sure to keep the area around the cap free from detritus, it is easy for particles to fall in and they do not have to be very large to clog the drain hole. I say make the drain larger and let the fuel filter capture any debris. Much easier to change!

[@richardspaulding5035]

In my case the steering wheel bolt was not that tight. However, as I recall I did use a power ratchet. Perhaps someone could hold the wheel while you loosen the bolt.

[@johncuneo5609]

Hi Rick, Thanks for a GREAT tutorial. I really appreciate the care you took in terms of explaining AND showing. My wife and I've been studying our new CC XT1 mower manual. It has a Briggs and Stratton engine, so we've also been studying that manual. Try as we might, we can't find it. From other drawings and pix I think we know what to look for and where to look, but still can't find it. I've traced the fuel line coming out of the tank, going to the fuel filter. From there the line goes to what I think is the carburetor, but I'm not sure even tho I've looked at a bunch of parts diagrams. I know it's a lot to ask, but would you be willing to record a short video showing what the fuel pump on the XT1 B&S engine looks like and where it is? Again, thanks so much for what you've already done.

[@richardspaulding5035]

If I get one of those in for repair I most certainly will.

[@johncuneo5609]

@@richardspaulding5035 Thanks!. I'm not even sure there is one and it may be gravity-fed. Love to see what you can make of it!

[@coltonBergin]

My lawnmower it will spin. It will crank, but it won’t run and we put everything in a new spark plugs.

[@richardspaulding5035]

Remove the air filter and try spraying a little starting fluid or putting a few drops of gas directly into the carburetor. if it fires up for a few second you will know it is a fuel delivery issue. Another thing to look at is to remove the engine cover. Sometimes rodents will get under there and chew the wires off the ignition modules.

[@patriciamartin4331]

Sir you didn't show where the other end of the vent hose goes to. Idk if it just hangs loose at the other end or of it attaches to something, does anyone know?

[@richardspaulding5035]

I am sorry I did not show or explain that, Patricia. One end as you know goes to the top of tank. The other end loops around the motor on the starter side. There are 2 silvery brackets sticking out that the hose passes thru. There is a nipple it connects to just under the air filter mount in the very front of the motor on the right side as you stand in front of the machine. If needed by all means get back to me and I will post a short showing exactly where it goes. Good to hear from you and thanks for watching.

[@BADD400]

Rick what was your method for cleaning the tank? Also would you recommend cleaning the carburetor for any. Fine particles.

[@richardspaulding5035]

I am sorry I should have shown that in the video. After removing the tank, I poured fresh gas in then shook it around and dumped it out. I did this about 3 times until it looked really clean inside. As far as the fine particles, the gas filter took care of those. As always great to hear from you.

[@BADD400]

@@richardspaulding5035 ok thank you for that info. I did forget about you saying it had a fuel filter. Thanks

[@larrywiedemeier4517]

why not clean the outside of the tank and surrounding area?

[@richardspaulding5035]

In this instance the owner of the machine needed it back in a hurry. He just asked me to get it running and get it right back to him. I just finished doing the same job to another machine and I did indeed do as you suggested. I will post it in the days to come.