Not such a great start --

[bullrider]

Maybe I should have titled this thread "Cub CaDEAD"!

So... I got my new EFI XT1 tractor about a month ago and so far I've run it very little. It's had a very gentle break-in but I've always gotten it fully warmed up and have not been hard on it. Haven't needed to mow yet but I did use it to haul around a core-type lawn aerator. There's about 2.5 hours on it. It starts beautifully and runs like a dream with the EFI, I'm very happy with that. The only thing that made me wonder was a sort of a noise which really sounded more like some sort of rattling of two metal parts together. There are plenty of posts about such noises for various tractors and they're attributed to pulleys rattling against brackets or other annoying-but-harmless things, so after doing some reading about it I decided it must just be one of the many possible such sources of that noise. It didn't seem to matter if there was a load on the engine or not, however the noise would fade out briefly and then back in when I changed the engine speed. I decided not to worry about it. In hindsight, that is the kind of response you'd get with a bad rod bearing or wrist pin.

Tonight I used the CC to pull the core aerator around in my back yard. Just as I finished and was heading back to the garage, the Cub's motor let loose with a loud sound and in very short order - probably less than a second - it came to a stop. When I try to start it the hour meter shows good voltage and when the starter hits it just hits but doesn't turn the engine at all. Okay, now I know that noise was more than an annoying sound. What gets me is that I've noticed this sound from really I think the very beginning, and I can't understand how something that defective wasn't picked up on at the factory.

Yes, I've checked the oil (a few times, including today) and it's as clear as Wesson cooking oil and right in the normal range on the dipstick where it should be.

Friday I call Home Depot and ask what I have to do to get it fixed. Well at least I'll get a new engine and hopefully the next time it will be a good one. There's a guy who posts online, might be here at lawnmowerforum, who's a veteran small engine mechanic and says that the Chinese engines he's worked on have been great, no problems with them... CC has been using this FI engine for a couple of years now and I would expect if it was a bad design they'd have done something about it before now.

Oh well. Stuff happens, and usually to me. Postscript - before I bought the CC I did look at a Husq-built tractor at Sears which I decided against for several reasons. The real puzzler for me was that though the tractor was brand new and hadn't even been run (it was a floor model) it only came with a 30 day warranty. I've had my CC for that long and only used it a couple hours so far. If I'd bought the other tractor and this happened I'd be S.O.L.

 

[bullrider]

Cub CaDead Update

Update: Okay, the Cub is dead. 2.4 hours from new and it's blown. Just my luck.

I called HomeDepot and they told me where to get it warranty-serviced, a local equipment dealer just a couple miles away. Very nice and reputable looking place with a few branches in the region. Called them Friday and they said they could pick up the Cub the following week, or I could bring it in sooner myself of course, and to have the purchase info etc. for the warranty. I found all that stuff and registered the tractor online. (You can also do it from the bluetooth phone app.)

Today (Saturday) I found that the Cub would fit in the back of my truck so loaded it up and brought it in to the service place and gave them the paperwork. The guy there told me that what would probably happen is that CC would want them to pull the engine and take it apart to see what was wrong and submit photos and then CC would tell them how to proceed. (I'm expecting a new engine will be cheaper and a better resolution than them trying to repair the bad motor.) If things went very quickly I might have the Cub back in a couple of weeks, but it all depends how long it takes CC to review the info and photos and also whether they've got a replacement engine in stock to send. I've got my old Wheel Horse from 1972 which will suffice til I get the CC back and hopefully it won't take TOO long for that to happen.

I note that the guy at the repair place didn't say anything like 'Oh, one of THOSE again...' or anything suggesting that they've seen much of these engines having failed.

Here's my Cub Cadead in the back of my truck... the 42" deck with the discharge chute folded up just fits between the wheel wells of the bed. (It's a 2001 Dodge Dakota with about 45 inches between the wheel wells.)

 

[bullrider]

Another update

A week ago yesterday I took my Cub into the local dealer for warranty service since the engine seemed obviously blown with 2.4 hours on the meter. First - the local dealer is just across town but down a side road and I've never really noticed them, otherwise I probably could have gotten the same price for the same tractor from them as from Home Depot and would have bought it there.

Anyhow after a week I stopped in to check on how the situation was going. This is a great dealer - this is no 'Ed's Mowers and U-Haul Rental'. If you have a business and want to buy ten professional mowers or a tractor or something, this is the kind of place you'd probably want to do so.



The guy behind the counter punched in my info and had it all on his screen:
- the engine WAS blown as I thought
- don't recall if the guy said but I think it was the connecting rod came away from the crankshaft, the piston slammed into the head, all manner of mayhem took place, engine was trash (Based on the sound it was making I believe it was the connecting rod bearing or possibly the wristpin
- Cub Cadet approved and had shipped a new engine and it was received on Friday (six days after I first brought in the tractor)
- tractor should be ready by mid-week

The counter guy said they haven't seen any apparent problems with these engines so I wonder what happened - all I really care is that they found the problem quickly and in 10-11 days total I'll have my Cub back and we can start fresh.

 

[cpurvis]

What brand of engine was it?

 

[bullrider]

Supposedly it's a Cub Cadet branded engine... they worked with (someone) to design it from scratch.
I'm not worried about it though, they've been using this engine for at least a couple of years and I would expect any actual bugs or flaws to have turned up by now, before they started offering it in more models. My CC factory warranty shop indicated they've not seen any pattern of problems with this engine.

 

[cpurvis]

The engine manufacturers have known how to build good engines for a long time.

What they don't know how to do is build those good engines for less and less money, and that's where the pressure is these days--cutting costs.

 

[bullrider]

The engine manufacturers have known how to build good engines for a long time.

What they don't know how to do is build those good engines for less and less money, and that's where the pressure is these days--cutting costs.

I doubt that the engine in my Cub will ever stand up like the one in my 1972 Wheel Horse - a 10hp Kohler single that still doesn't use oil and runs like a champ. (While my Cub is in getting a new engine I fired up the WH and mowed my lawn with it yesterday as the grass was starting to get too long.)

Nonetheless, I don't know if it was in this forum or another on the Internet where I read a longtime small engine mechanic's comment that the current small engines of all kinds, including those made in China, are fine and not junk.

 

[cpurvis]

I doubt that the engine in my Cub will ever stand up like the one in my 1972 Wheel Horse - a 10hp Kohler single that still doesn't use oil and runs like a champ. (While my Cub is in getting a new engine I fired up the WH and mowed my lawn with it yesterday as the grass was starting to get too long.)

Hang onto that Wheel Horse. It may come in handy again.

 

[bullrider]

Hang onto that Wheel Horse. It may come in handy again.

I've got three of them; I will probably hang onto the 7hp 1967 model. I was a kid in grade school when my neighbor across the street bought it new.

 

[tsfrance]

Wow. It sounds like it may have been a lemon engine. My Cub Cadet is a year old and I hope that never happens to me. I really don't use it much for mowing though. More for general yard stuff.