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Cub Cadet RZT 50 alternate decks?

#1

K

k_damore

The most frustrating part of refurbing these Cub Cadet RZT 50s (2006-2012) are the decks and how quickly they rot from people not blowing off the grass after cutting. It's very difficult to find one and I'm hoping to identifying an alternate from another MTD model that can be substituted even with a little modification. Has anyone come across one?


#2

wrldtvlr

wrldtvlr

I wish the yard I cut was just grass that would blow off after cutting. The problem I have is enough dirt/dust and wet weeds that the glass clippings turn into concrete by the end of the mowing. To clean the deck I have to get a lift out and spend 30 minutes scraping the bottom of the deck. That gets gone at my end of year maintenance before going into storage.


#3

C

ChrisBFRPKY

Any MTD 50" zero turn deck will swap over. I have one from a White zero turn under one of my RZT50 mowers now. Red/maroon deck and a yellow Cub, cringe but it does a great job with the lawn. As long as I get those "Attaboys" from the wife when I'm finished with the yard, I don't care much what the mower looks like. The "lawn tractor" decks won't work without some ingenuity and that's a shame because everybody and his brother has a 1050 with a bad engine to almost give away. It is possible though. I was looking at an i1050 I bought for parts the other day and studied the deck a bit. You have to mount some of the zero turn deck goodies and add some extra idlers to route the belt to the back instead of the front, but it's doable. I have a 54" deck under a Cub SLT1554 also with a bad engine that got me to thinking. I'm still undecided whether to rebuild the SV740 on the 1554 or pull the deck and start fabricating a RZT-54. Just a suggestion, do what you want but when you get a good deck rebuilt and ready to go for yours drill some drain holes in the pond area they created on the deck next to the spindle mounts.


#4

K

k_damore

wrldtvlr said:
I wish the yard I cut was just grass that would blow off after cutting. The problem I have is enough dirt/dust and wet weeds that the glass clippings turn into concrete by the end of the mowing. To clean the deck I have to get a lift out and spend 30 minutes scraping the bottom of the deck. That gets gone at my end of year maintenance before going into storage.
Click to expand...
you can buy/install a deck washing kit (adapter) on any deck to clean the underside. Just buy from Amazon, drill a hole, snap on the adapter and hose and go, follow this link:


#5

K

k_damore

ChrisBFRPKY said:
Any MTD 50" zero turn deck will swap over. I have one from a White zero turn under one of my RZT50 mowers now. Red/maroon deck and a yellow Cub, cringe but it does a great job with the lawn. As long as I get those "Attaboys" from the wife when I'm finished with the yard, I don't care much what the mower looks like. The "lawn tractor" decks won't work without some ingenuity and that's a shame because everybody and his brother has a 1050 with a bad engine to almost give away. It is possible though. I was looking at an i1050 I bought for parts the other day and studied the deck a bit. You have to mount some of the zero turn deck goodies and add some extra idlers to route the belt to the back instead of the front, but it's doable. I have a 54" deck under a Cub SLT1554 also with a bad engine that got me to thinking. I'm still undecided whether to rebuild the SV740 on the 1554 or pull the deck and start fabricating a RZT-54. Just a suggestion, do what you want but when you get a good deck rebuilt and ready to go for yours drill some drain holes in the pond area they created on the deck next to the spindle mounts.
Click to expand...
thx for the reply, i've refurbed and sold about 35+ riding mowers but am mostly focusing on Zero turns, especially the Cub Cadets, Toro and JD. I see the RZTs all the time with bad decks and I have to do a lot of cutting and mig welding to get them right. The LT1050 decks look right but need an additional pulley and weld I think


#6

wrldtvlr

wrldtvlr

k_damore said:
you can buy/install a deck washing kit (adapter) on any deck to clean the underside. Just buy from Amazon, drill a hole, snap on the adapter and hose and go, follow this link:
Click to expand...
My RZT-S54 actually came with a wash port preinstalled. Unfortunately, I found it not very effective and unless I bypassed the seat switch, I had to have something heavy in the seat to keep the blades turning. It sort of worked around the blade where the port was located but the other two blades weren't affected. Making the remaining grass even wetter seemed to be a bad idea.


#7

C

ChrisBFRPKY

Yep, those outer spindle pulley covers are grass traps. Wet grass on those decks rots them away. Learned the hard way. My spindle covers are hanging on the garage wall and they'll stay there, I'll keep em around in case the next guy wants them. Those deck braces for the spindle area are awesome BTW, if you haven't got a set for your's it's a great upgrade. I buy those things everytime they go on sale. I think the last 3 pack of spindle braces I bought were just a bit over $20. I found if you have a rotten deck you can install another set of braces on top of the deck under the spindles as well.


#8

A

Auto Doc's

k_damore said:
The most frustrating part of refurbing these Cub Cadet RZT 50s (2006-2012) are the decks and how quickly they rot from people not blowing off the grass after cutting. It's very difficult to find one and I'm hoping to identifying an alternate from another MTD model that can be substituted even with a little modification. Has anyone come across one?
Click to expand...
The original (cheap) factory paint is basically sprayed over bare metal, with very little surface prep work. It is then oven baked dry too quickly which hardens the paint and makes it brittle. Good for a couple of years, then it flakes and peels. Lawn equipment is not painted like a conventional automobile.

The paint is very poor quality on just about every CC that I have seen in recent years. I usually catch them before the rust get terrible and sand them down, then brush paint them with POR 15 (epoxy) restoration coating.

After that, spray them good ole' yellow Krylon paint that is close enough to CC yellow.

Blowing them off with shop air and a long wand works very well and avoids the excess water sitting too long. A leaf blower also works very well.


#9

Tiger Small Engine

Tiger Small Engine

k_damore said:
The most frustrating part of refurbing these Cub Cadet RZT 50s (2006-2012) are the decks and how quickly they rot from people not blowing off the grass after cutting. It's very difficult to find one and I'm hoping to identifying an alternate from another MTD model that can be substituted even with a little modification. Has anyone come across one?
Click to expand...

Swapping decks other than the exact correct deck on any mower will involve lots of modification and time, unless you get lucky. The wash port is a total gimmick and doesn’t work.


#10

A

Auto Doc's

k_damore said:
The most frustrating part of refurbing these Cub Cadet RZT 50s (2006-2012) are the decks and how quickly they rot from people not blowing off the grass after cutting. It's very difficult to find one and I'm hoping to identifying an alternate from another MTD model that can be substituted even with a little modification. Has anyone come across one?
Click to expand...

Most zero turn MTD decks with a center single front hanger rod should be adaptable. The Z-Force models have a double front hanger design, and it would take a total redesign to adapt.

If you have the design skills, a torch and a MIG welder, most anything can be fabricated. The only hurdle would be figuring out the belt routing and tension.

For a new replacement deck shell, Ebay:
www.ebay.com

CUB CADET 903-05121-4021 Yellow 50" Deck Shell RZT-L50 RZT-S50 Zero-Turn Mowers | eBay

OEM CUB CADET Part Number 903-05121-4021 Compatibile With: Cub Cadet: RZT-L50, RZT-S50.
www.ebay.com


#11

K

k_damore

Auto Doc's said:
The original (cheap) factory paint is basically sprayed over bare metal, with very little surface prep work. It is then oven baked dry too quickly which hardens the paint and makes it brittle. Good for a couple of years, then it flakes and peels. Lawn equipment is not painted like a conventional automobile.

The paint is very poor quality on just about every CC that I have seen in recent years. I usually catch them before the rust get terrible and sand them down, then brush paint them with POR 15 (epoxy) restoration coating.

After that, spray them good ole' yellow Krylon paint that is close enough to CC yellow.

Blowing them off with shop air and a long wand works very well and avoids the excess water sitting too long. A leaf blower also works very well.
Click to expand...
i've been refurbing the decks first with a needle scaler as it gets thru the rust and flaky paint quick and in tight spaces to avoid removing the spindles and pulleys because those screws always break and ruin the spindle. Then hand scrape or wire brush any leftover flakes, clean with alcohol, then spray with rust reformer and finish with paint. I have used Bondo on occasion to smooth out deep pits or welded areas but not a whole lot. Still unsure how long Bondo would hold on to a deck with all that vibration, but over 5 years haven't heard anything from 35+ tractors i've sold. Also i've stripped the underside and painted with truck bed liner but again haven't followed up or heard how long that would last.


#12

K

k_damore

Tiger Small Engine said:
Swapping decks other than the exact correct deck on any mower will involve lots of modification and time, unless you get lucky. The wash port is a total gimmick and doesn’t work.
Click to expand...
the deck washing system only works if you use it all the time AND lower the deck to the ground while washing. if you have dried up,caked up grass in there it won't necessarily knock it off. Also remember to raise the deck up when done washing and run the blades for a couple of minutes to dry the underside


#13

R

Ranchito

I run the machine into a large shallow puddle that forms on my property during the rainy season and this works much better than the deck wash system. I like the idea of removing the spindle covers and using them for wall decoration in the shed. At the end of the busy mowing season, I remove the deck, pressure wash the underside and recoat with bed liner spray from Rustoleum and it's ready to go for the winter mowing season. Last year I changed the oil in the hydros and fitted larger tires to get more deck clearance as the mower was cutting too short at the crest of a hill (yeah I know, there are no hills in SW FL) with the deck set at max height. Years ago I sandblasted the underside but haven't had to do that since using the bed liner which lasts much longer than paint. As I recall, I found the CC yellow at Tractor Supply and it has stood up well on this ~ 14 year old ZTR.


#14

K

k_damore

Ranchito said:
I run the machine into a large shallow puddle that forms on my property during the rainy season and this works much better than the deck wash system. I like the idea of removing the spindle covers and using them for wall decoration in the shed. At the end of the busy mowing season, I remove the deck, pressure wash the underside and recoat with bed liner spray from Rustoleum and it's ready to go for the winter mowing season. Last year I changed the oil in the hydros and fitted larger tires to get more deck clearance as the mower was cutting too short at the crest of a hill (yeah I know, there are no hills in SW FL) with the deck set at max height. Years ago I sandblasted the underside but haven't had to do that since using the bed liner which lasts much longer than paint. As I recall, I found the CC yellow at Tractor Supply and it has stood up well on this ~ 14 year old ZTR.
Click to expand...
Truck bed liner is great stuff for the underside and topside between the spindles to stop moisture from rusting the top. I do that when I'm doing a full rebuild. It's so easy to simply blow off the grass after mowing that I'll never understand why I see so many rotted decks in the center and under the deck covers


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