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Friday after work I purchased from the local dealer a Cub Cadet XT2 LX42 EFI (42") 547cc Lawn Tractor. I did a few things to it Saturday (I put a switch on the LED head lights and I put on the mulch kit), but otherwise haven't tried it with any work. Today it rains....
I'm just curious if anyone else owns this tractor and wonder how you like the engine? I can't find anything about it. The dealer says it's built by Cub but I figure it's another make engine masked in the Cub Cadet name.

Are you satisfied on the HP of the engine?

Otherwise I find the tractor very comfortable and it seems to be well made. The fuel injection engine starts fast and it runs smooth. I like it!
This machine replaces two older lawn tractors here on my property. The Scag will do the bulk of it and the Cub will do the smaller jobs.

The engine is actually a MTD engine manufactured in China. It isn't a rebranded engine. it is a new engine available on new Cub Cadet and Troybilt mowers this year.

MTD had Kohler bring in their EFI training equipment to train the troubleshooters at the various distributors, so they could train the techs like me during our annual update training seminar.

MTD has been using their own manufactured engines on equipment since 2005, so the new EFI is just extending that to newer equipment.

Made in China....Great!

Hopefully MTD Cub Cadet engines are made good enough to last a few years. I know this is not a commercial unit (that's why I own the Scag) but was hoping for a well made product anyway. How are the MTD engines overall? Are they on par with the other named engines out there?

I guess like it or not, I will get an education on this one in time. :smile:

tigercat said:

Friday after work I purchased from the local dealer a Cub Cadet XT2 LX42 EFI (42") 547cc Lawn Tractor. I did a few things to it Saturday (I put a switch on the LED head lights and I put on the mulch kit), but otherwise haven't tried it with any work. Today it rains....
I'm just curious if anyone else owns this tractor and wonder how you like the engine? I can't find anything about it. The dealer says it's built by Cub but I figure it's another make engine masked in the Cub Cadet name.

Are you satisfied on the HP of the engine?

Otherwise I find the tractor very comfortable and it seems to be well made. The fuel injection engine starts fast and it runs smooth. I like it!
This machine replaces two older lawn tractors here on my property. The Scag will do the bulk of it and the Cub will do the smaller jobs.

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I have purchased the 42" EFI and sofar I like it.The engine seems well designed and robust It also seems to run cooler than most.The horsepower is plenty to mow a fair size lawn.The electric fuel pump with no need for a filter is to my liking.The mulch plug is poorly designed I think.Steering and turning radius is great.The yellow color seems to attract bees.Also I kinda like the start/stop/reverse switch.
Gary

tigercat said:

Made in China....Great!

Hopefully MTD Cub Cadet engines are made good enough to last a few years. I know this is not a commercial unit (that's why I own the Scag) but was hoping for a well made product anyway. How are the MTD engines overall? Are they on par with the other named engines out there?

I guess like it or not, I will get an education on this one in time. :smile:

Click to expand...

On average most small engine manufacturers have a 1% failure rate. MTD is claiming their engines have a .5% failure rate

ILENGINE said:

The engine is actually a MTD engine manufactured in China. It isn't a rebranded engine. it is a new engine available on new Cub Cadet and Troybilt mowers this year.

MTD had Kohler bring in their EFI training equipment to train the troubleshooters at the various distributors, so they could train the techs like me during our annual update training seminar.

MTD has been using their own manufactured engines on equipment since 2005, so the new EFI is just extending that to newer equipment.

Click to expand...

I am not buying into the China angle until I see solid imformation.Very well could be.The dealer told me the 547cc was built in the USA,so I guess time will tell.
Gary

I still wait to use it for the yard. It rains every single day. The grass is doing great now. Seems to be a foot tall in places.

I thought of the spindles on the machine and I went into the garage to see if it has grease fittings on them. Nope. So I said screw it and I pulled the deck off the machine and removed the spindles off of each side. I figure working on a new clean machine is a lot more fun than working on a old rusty one....

I added a grease fitting to each housing. I then pumped 25 pumps of high temp lithium grease into the housings. I didn't want to push off the remaining seals on the bearings. It seems fine, as I didn't see any grease weep out of the top or bottom.

As I disassembled the housings the bearings just slipped out. The original bearings were greased from the factory. They are the sealed type so I removed 1 seal from the insides and kept the seals to hold back the dust from the outsides. The bearings are stamped made in China. But they seem to be of good quality. (Heck with a 3 year warrantee they should last that long before they burn up, without added grease).

I used a number 3 drill and a 1/4-28 tap then tapped the housing with the hand drill. The housings are soft aluminum cast type of material.
Now I can grease them from underneath. I figure when I sharpen the blades, I can pump 10 pumps of grease into them on each side.

Maybe with luck the bearings will last many years now that I added the grease fittings on a crappy rainy night. Now if the damn rain would just stop for the weekend, I could go try this Cub Cadet out. :smile:

I added a picture so you can see what it is. It stopped raining today. I will try it out in a few hours (let the grass dry up some)



Here is a picture of the grease fittings I added to the deck spindles. you can grease them from underneath easily.




I tried out the machine today. The motor has enough power to cut 12" tall grass and the motor didn't even slow down. It cut the grass beautifully also. I'm happy with the machine.

xt242lx said:

The mulch plug is poorly designed I think.
Gary

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Did you add the extra hardware on your mulch cover? There is a wire and a wingnut that holds down the mulch cover.

I ran the machine for two hours today and it seemed to be fine. Your right about the yellow paint, flies are attracted to the hood. I did cut thru heavy thick 12" tall grass and the engine didn't even bog down. I think I'm happy with the tractor.

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Is the wire under the wing nut included in the mulching kit? If not where can I buy?

tigercat said:

Did you add the extra hardware on your mulch cover? There is a wire and a wingnut that holds down the mulch cover.

I ran the machine for two hours today and it seemed to be fine. Your right about the yellow paint, flies are attracted to the hood. I did cut thru heavy thick 12" tall grass and the engine didn't even bog down. I think I'm happy with the tractor.

URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/500magnumnut/media/gun%20room/cub%20cadet%202%20003_zpst8m3li2i.jpg.html]

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Is the wire included in the mulching kit?

Is the wire under the wing nut included in the mulching kit?

Yes it was included. I purchased it at the time I purchased the tractor from the dealer. There are 2 blades, a cover, a wingnut and a retaining wire in the box.

Thanks for the quick reply.
Love the'pwer, not too impressed with the mulching kit, hopefully this one will work better!

Re: New Cub Cadet XT2 - 42

I received the replacement mulching kit for my XT2 mower.
After installing it, I find that grass still comes out from the bottom. Do you have this problem with yours?
They did not replace the plug, it certainly looks like the new one.
Thanks

Re: New Cub Cadet XT2 - 42

The cover won't fall off as your cutting the grass but it looks messy afterwards with grass pushing out at the bottom. When I'm done using the machine, I blow it off every where good with my leaf blower, then I unscrew the screw and wire then wipe the grass clean on the deck. Then I replace the wire, washer and wingnut.

I think the way the deck is made (and the way the cover fits) grass will fill up the voids around the opening. In defense of the Cub Cover plate, my former Sears machine did the same thing. I had to undo the rubber bungee cords and remove that cover to clean out the grass in the same areas. I guess it is what it is with these covers being some what a "after thought" accessory for the machine.

My little snapper 20" push mower as a cover and it fits a lot tighter. I don't clean that out, as it sits very tightly around the opening.

Perhaps if the grass pushing out is a concern for you, take some window caulking and put a nice bead all around the opening of the cover. Attach the cover and let it dry for a few days. That would form a gasket where the grass won't push out of that opening. I don't know how long it will last. Even better find a black rubber used for car windows. That would last and look better than the white stuff.

Great advice, thanks again for your quick reply.
I have mowed twice now, and it seems to be doing lot better.
Thank you

It is an interesting machine. Do they make a garden tractor with the EFI? I might try one as ole Intek lost a cylinder yesterday and may be near the end of expected life (2004). I want a garden tractor ( better frame/axles/tranny) so I can pull some lite ground implements. I think there is a dealer in Portland, but have never stopped by.