Tractors, Mowers, Chippers, Trailers, Chainsaws, Generators, Driveway Erosion Control, ETC.

With a fresh battery and a spritz of carb cleaner the Courage engine on the Cub Cadet ZT barked to life with one crank and a small cloud of blue smoke after a 5 month stay-cation in the shed.

It threw the deck belt a few times for no apparent reason late in the season so I thought I should look under there.

This might have been part of "that funny noise"...



Times are tough and I try to get my wear out of things, think I did OK with these blades? Probably 2 seasons worth. New ones were $55.



They aren't actually the "correct" blades for the ZT, the originals were made of a material similar to tin foil -- but not as strong... They would bend mowing wet grass I swear and if you touched a twig or pebble it was all over. I probably bought 15 sets before I found these.



New deck bearings, blades, pulleys, belt and I drilled the idlers apart and put bearings in them for the first time and changed the discharge deflector (I have a parts machine).

The machine is a 2006 and has had a rough life, it has thousands of miles on the trailer going between the 6 lawns I mow. That bracket that holds the rear of the deck broke free years ago, I bolted it on with a plate underneath.

 

Let me know how the drilled out rivets hold up with bolts. I have no way of knowing if the ones I do are a quality repair.

The units are sold and no one calls me up and says I did a shit job on the idler repair.

 

How many hours on the Courage?

My brother in law had the 1st unit I repowered . He has 940 hours on his simplicity 18hp single Courage engine.

I swapped it with a Predator 3 years ago. He tells me it takes less gas to cut his 2.5 acres and the unit has lots more power(which it should).

He is one of my engine test subjects.

As a consumer user of a ZT, he is very happy with the Harbor Freight Predator engines.

 

I mostly hear good things about them.

 

Same.

I have 3 people that bought ZTs from me in the last 4 years. All are very happy.

With that said, non are using the machines in a commercial environment.

6 hours/week during the heavy mowing season is about normal.

I really want to know how long they will go being used 10 hr/day, 6 days a week.

 

They were spot welded actually, I figure eight 1/4" bolts with nylocks aren't going anywhere.

 

It is a 2006 with 510 hours, first year for the Courage on this mower, the 2005 models had a Briggs Intek.

As Kirk knows these engines are built like a dishpan with a lid -- the lid holds the upper crankshaft bearing. Early on I read about failures from the lid section bolts coming loose with disastrous consequences. I removed them one at a time and applied blue Locktite.

I did a 5 hour first oil change and then 50 hour oil changes since with Kohler 10-30 oil.
It will puff out a small blue cloud when starting but only uses a few ounces of oil between changes, I see the valve cover is leaking a bit too. The engine has never missed a beat.

And it uses a lot less gas (and oil) than a Kohler K series.

 

A guy down the road has same idea as you. Hes always got sime kind of mower waiting to be sold

 

Suspension seat is on the 3205 with no sheetmetal. I mocked it up on my 3225 fender. It ended up being the same height as the factory seat. Group photo as well.

 

Looks like you have 3 styles of tire, I'm betting all are superior to a standard turf tread, which one have you found to be the best?

 

The 2 in the middle (Ocelot and Polaris with the same tread) are the best in forward traction but terrible in reverse. The one on the left (Sun F) is better in reverse but not as good going forward. The right side is a pair of Sedona Rip Saws that I bought used. They are too hard and worn to give an accurate assessment on.

 

So one tire forward, one mounted backwards, got it. Thanks!

 

I had a pair of them on the loader GT and got nose down in a holler and almost couldn't get out. I've been able to back out several times with the Sun Fs. Those directional tires are crap in reverse.

 

Thank you!
Some day I'll upgrade the tires on the snow plow rig. My driveway is on both a hill and a cross slope, backing up it when plowing is always a p-i-a even with chains.

 

After I posted I thought it was dumb lol. I also thought maybe it would just do a donut...

 

Is anyone super familiar with the Kohler 7000 Series engines?

They have three air intake setups. Small, medium, and "Pro".

My KT740-3085 uses the small. (Ref. 7, 12, 14)

I wonder if I could purchase individual parts and upgrade it to the Pro. (15, 16, 17, 19, 20)

I did see one forum post where someone upgraded to the medium. So I know that should work. (10, 13, 21)

That would help a lot with my dusty conditions concern.

I think that might void warranty unless maybe I get the dealer to sign off on it.

 

Theoretically it should work, I don't see why it would mess with the warranty unless they just wanted to get anal about it.

 

I'm pretty up to speed on the Command versions.

They have different grades of air filters as will.

The only difference is the filters. The carburators are the same.

I would see no reason you couldn't upgrade.

I'd bet the filters fit both engines as well.

 

I do know Kohler Command engines change their service intervals from 20, to 50 to 100 hour as you move to better air filters .

 

My only concern was that they might not like modifying a critical component even if it upgrades it to a better OEM version.

I am not worried that I'll have issues with this machine, especially within warranty period. I should have many many happy hours but it is nice to maintain the integrity of the warranty on a new unit.

I might see if I can call Kohler directly and ask about it. My dealer is a bit odd... I called and asked about my first maintenance items because I like to support local businesses. He said he doesn't recommend synthetic oils. I don't think I'll be referring to them for much...

I'll be going with what Kohler recommends, which to no surprise, is synthetic. Kohler Engines Parts - oil, air filters, spark plugs, maintenance