Muddawg's Cub Cadet Review

[@oznetyoutube125]

Great review, Sir. I just purchased one, ( I'll be picking her up tomorrow ) and needed good operating instructions. You showed me that and more.... I'm really impressed with how this machine powered through your demo. Thanks, Ken..

[@michaelgephardt5576]

Kenneth, Thanks for taking the time to make this video. I have a LGT 2554 Husqvarna. Like you keep fiddling around fixing the broken mower. It seems that things now days are built to break. Seems as though every other week I’m fixing or replacing something else that broke. As I write this I’m waiting on steering parts to be delivered. There is nowhere to buy them locally. Maybe I should take your lead and start looking at new mowers. As we both know well “A new broom always sweeps clean”. I’ll be looking for your 1 year update next August. Best of Luck to you and the Mrs.

[@azumi-osaki]

That is a nice opinion, in my case I have a march 13, 2024 Troy-Bilt 50 XP Super Bronco, 24 HP (725 CC), Kohler 7000 serie, 50 inches deck, 3 blades, mtd bagger (3 bags), agm battery. It took time to read a lot about riding mowers (a month) and I concluded many things (girl opinion of course, it was not easy). MTD seems to own many sub-brands of riding mowers (cub cadet, troy-bilt, craftsman, yard-man, yard-machine, huskee, bolean etc) and also having (almost) the same replacement parts for all of them (gas filter, oil filter, air filter, tire diam, spark plugs, bagger, ignition switch, pto button (or manual), attachments etc). Just by looking the motor cover on this video, it looks the same (94 %) as my Troy-Bit. Out the fact that Cub Cadet have a design and unique colors, mine is black, dark grey and red with a different design (almost military). My feminine intution tells me that both (TB/CC) look the same but simply under different brand(s)... So I think the choice and decision depend of the buyer personality and what they really like. I am happy of my TB as many others would be with their CC 💕

[@rick4946]

I picked up the cub cadet xt1 50 inch fab deck 24 hp kohler, same as troy xp but yellow, both MTD as well as Craftsman and few others, pick your color they are all MTD built the same, shipped $2399. lucky me catching this when Husqvarna mower died.after 10 years.

[@kennethholland4627]

Ahm. Not to start an argument, but there are some huge differences in the Troy Built and the Cub Cadet. Same body? Honestly, I don't know. I care little about what something looks like. I'm all about functionality. If it works and dose the job, i don't care what it looks like. Their hoods may be stamped out on the same production line. I don't know. Didn't look close enough to tell you. Engines: Most all manufacturers run basically the same engines. Craftsman, Troy Bilt, MTD, Cub Cadet and Husqvarna all run Brigs & Stratton and Kohler engines in the biggest sellers. You may even find a Suzuki engine in some of the more professional models. The differences come in the body and running gears of these mowers. For instance, where your Troy Bilt , Craftsman and MTD all have neoprene wheel bushings, my Cub Cadet has axel bearings with a zert fitting to keep them greased. The steering linkage is of a different design. I have run all these mowers in the past and found things I liked and disliked with each of them. I will admit that Craftsman was my favorite for many years but the differences in the Cub Cadet has so far blown my Craftsman to the roadside. But, I do appreciate your comments and would like to invite you to stay tuned. After I run this mower for a while, I may just do a follow up review.

[@azumi-osaki]

@@kennethholland4627 ok "(^ . ^)"

[@kennethholland4627]

@dailydriver6264 Yep. I got to looking on it and there are several grease fittings on this mower. The more I look at it, the more I'm convinced that it was built to last. Regular maintenance and it could easily be the last one I ever have to buy.

[@wildbill23c]

For box store mowers yes, they're pretty much the same and all built by MTD. When you get into dealer only models like the Cub Cadet XT2 series and the discontinued XT3 series, you get a lot of upgraded features that the box store models typically don't have. I just bought the Cub Cadet XT2 GX54D lawn tractor...it has the Kohler 7000 series 26HP engine, K62 transaxle with differential lock, and fabricated 54" mower deck. Another thing that the XT2 adds is on the front wheels of an XT1 they have bushings rather than bearings in the wheels, so the plastic bushings wear out after a few years and need replaced, compared to the greaseable bearings on the XT2 series machines. The XT2 comes with a front quick attach bumper as well...the XT2 will also accept a sleeve hitch in the back to add some ground engaging attachments like a disc, and a cultivator. The XT2 comes with slightly larger tires than the XT1.

[@draghonblademorrow946]

That's the exact same mower I bought at the beginning of summer this year, even the same manual choke, and didn't come with the hours run meter just like yours. So far I'm very happy with it. One of the things I really like about it is it's much easier to clean under the deck than the 3 blade Husqvarna I used to have. I raise the deck as high as it will go and scrape under it as much as I can reach with a plastic putty knife, then use the deck washer port with a water hose to further clean out all the grass.

[@tyrickdisney3832]

Nice review. I just purchased the XT2 GX50. Cub cadet seems like the best bang for your buck as I’ve been research the different brands on the market

[@kennethholland4627]

I looked at those. Wow! That's a nice mower, but my wallet said I had to stop somewhere. If I were in the lawn care business, I'd probably buy one.

[@BenCarson-sn8ye]

Kenneth I have had my cub cadet for 10 years with the cable PTO, have yet to break the cable.Only thing I had to do is replace a deck belt and 1 idler pulley.But I also changed the stock blades for mulching blades.I believe if you take care of them,do your maintenance and dont leave it outside it will last many years.

[@wildbill23c]

On my Cub Cadet XT1 42" mower I used to have, in the 6 years I had it, I replaced the deck belt once, and never had any issues with the PTO cable, and it seemed like it would have been easy to replace. Other than oil/filter changes and changing the transaxle oil once at 50 hours. My uncle took the mower after my grandfather passed away this past January because his Husqvarna mower kept having issues and when my uncle took it, I had 126 hours on it....I did use a 42" snow blower on it a few times and it seemed to have plenty of power for it and it only had the single cylinder 18HP engine in it. I just bought a Cub Cadet XT2 GX54D a couple weeks ago to start this coming 2025 mowing season. Nice upgrade to the XT1 42" mower LOL.

[@perrylongjr7478]

Awesome video, hoping to buy one in a day or so

[@unti419]

I have the LT 42. I agree with you. I hit a hidden rock that stopped the mower, and it seemed to have bent a blade, and it doesn't cut right. I already had the Gators bought but wanted to get thru the hot summer and deal with it during the winter.

[@MarkMeadows90]

I plan on getting this exact mower in the near future. Sounds like a good deal.

[@BillyBlaze7]

you will regret it

[@warrenlindner7830]

I bought an XT2 42 last Summer. Mine has the Briggs engine. Wishing I had put the money into rebuilding the mower deck on my old Poulan PRO 42. This XT2 is a great looking mower that mows grass. Beyond that, if you want the mower to pick up and bag leaves forget it. I had to gorilla tape a thin rubber flap completely around the bottom of the deck to get it to suck up leaves. Design of it's deck is too shallow to create a good vortex to pick up grass clippings and leaves. If you don't do this it will spread the leaves and debris around instead of picking it up.

[@timr31908]

I agree this mower deck is a total piece of garbage.. they were on drugs when they designed it.. I've never been happy from day one with the quality of cut because it doesn't suck the grass up good enough.. I smell lawsuit

[@wildbill23c]

You most likely have the wrong deck attachment for the bagger....there are a couple different styles one for fabricated decks the other for the stamped decks, if you have the wrong adapter you'll have the issues you are experiencing.

[@Lance-Stroll]

I had the same exact craftsman and bought an xt2 cub. I hated to pay that much but man, that cub mows

[@wildbill23c]

Your PTO clutch will last a lot longer if you engage and disengage the mower deck at low RPMs. My old Craftsman GT6000 still had its original PTO clutch when the engine failed after 21 years of use...mowed 2 acres all those years with it and never had to replace the PTO clutch, I think due to never engaging or disengaging it at high engine speed.

[@kennethholland4627]

Electric clutch or cable?

[@wildbill23c]

@@kennethholland4627 Actually both. With the manual cable actuated PTO you are slipping the belt around the pulleys as you engage the deck, higher engine speed means more slippage, as well as if you engage the deck slowly you are slipping the belt more, low engine speed and quick manual PTO engagement saves your belt and idler pulley which is usually plastic. On the electric PTO clutch you are activating an electro-magnet which pulls the clutch plates together, so again higher engine speed means you are going to slip those clutch plates a lot more at a higher rate of speed wearing those plates out much faster.

[@thegeneraljudge]

Great review, thank you.

[@thatdonnyguy]

I have a 23 model that has been a beast.

[@scottdupont5842]

Do you still like your LT 46 as much now as when it was new? Would you buy it again?

[@kennethholland4627]

I'd have to say yeah. It's been holding up very well. I wish I had the camera a few weeks ago when I was cutting a cleared lot here by the house. Should not have had just a mower in there as there were saplings, heavy grape vines, twigs, sticks and limbs strown all about but other than throwing the deck belt off a couple times, the machine waded through it like a champ! The drive belt for the deck is getting loose from excessive ware, but other than that, I've had no issues despite the abuse.. If I were to do it over again, I'd get one with an hour meter.

[@vafafarzaneh4815]

My cub cadet XT1 enduro 50” fab dec the transmission went out at 66 hours and AGM batter too weak replaced at 30 hours they are getting cheaper on quality , that is MTD for you, i hope you have better luck than me lol

[@a.dudeman7715]

I just bought one a few months back. I think my only real complaints are the noise and the fuel consumption. Boy howdy, she's loud and thirsty.

[@kennethholland4627]

You know? I did notice that she drank more gas than my old Craftsman did. BUT... When I can do the same job in a third of the time, I got to figure that I'm actually saving gas.

[@vafafarzaneh4815]

Craftsman is the same as Cub cadet now , only the older models were different , Ryobi took over MTD in 2022

[@I_Am_Your_Problem]

It's a Black and Decker...

[@abdonelectric957]

ENJOY IT NOW ,BECAUSE ITS ONLY A FEW HOURS AWAY FROM BLOWING UP

[@BillyBlaze7]

100%

[@BillyBlaze7]

I bought two new cub cadets 3 years apart, both blew head gaskets under 10hrs of use, when I called for warranty work they hung up on me....,multiple times, every time I mentioned warranty they hung up. I would rather cut my grass with scissors that spend a penny on ANY cub cadet product again.

[@vafafarzaneh4815]

My old MTD (Cub Cadet) lasted me 14 years, but the new once are junk

[@leo959]

Put some x blades on it

[@abdonelectric957]

IVE HAD 2 CUB CADETS WITH THE KOHLER COURAGE MOTOR, THE ABSOLUTE WORST MOWER EVER MADE, COMPLETELY UNDEPENDABLE PIECE OF ####, 1ST MOWER GOT AROUND 102 HOURS BEFORE MOTOR BLEW UP. THE 2ND ONE GOT 59 HOURS BEFORE A LARGE PLASTIC GEAR INSIDE BROKE, 350 TO FIX, A TRUE PIECE OF ####, NEVER EVER AGAIN EVER.

[@kennethholland4627]

I could do a review on just the Kohler engines. My first was in a Craftsman mower that I bought back in March of 94. This was when the pressurized oil system was still new. That engine proved tom be indestructible. I ran it until the mower deck completely disintegrated and then put tractor tires on the mower and continued to use the machine as a tractor. I had a full gang disk harrow that I pulled with it, along with a breaking plow and a grading blade that I used to keep our dirt road maintained. I only stopped using it when the steering got so worn out that I could not drive a straight line with it anymore. After more than 15 years of brutal hard work and abuse, the engine was still running strong after the tractor had long since fallen apart. If you are having repeated problems from different Kohler engines, I'll have to say, "It might be something that YOU are doing wrong."

[@BeHappy-e9h]

Wait a couple of years and you will see. I will not buy another cub cadet.

[@kennethholland4627]

Uh, oh. Please elaborate. What type of problems have you been having? it would be nice to know what I have to look forward to. Frankly, I'm surprised at finding a negative comment about Cub Cadet. Everyone that I've ever known that had one loved it. In fact I know where there is one still in use that was purchased new back in the 70's. It's so old that it's got the metal hood on it.

[@MarkMeadows90]

@@kennethholland4627his username says it all lol

[@hcsoh18]

Well I’ll be; I’ve had my CC tractor XT 1 for 7 years all I’ve done is replace the battery and the typical preventive maintenance. Best mower I’ve ever owned.

[@MarkMeadows90]

@@kennethholland4627 did my comment get deleted?

[@kennethholland4627]

@@MarkMeadows90 The one about bidensman8453? No, uh, uh. I got it. I have to admit, if I had noticed the name, I probably would not have commented back to him.

[@wallyklw5]

Who is he kidding? The Cub is the King of the crap pile.