Cub Cadet Ultima ZT1 Good Quality Or Junk? With Service Review and Tips

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We review and go over service tips and maintenance for the Cub Cadet Ultima ZT1 zero turn mower with 50" Fabricated Aeroforce deck. Is it worth the money? Buy it or take a hard pass?

Has the Kawasaki FR691V Engine and we show how everything Is accessed, adjusted and what to look out for on service and maintenance.

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#cubcadet #mtd #kawasaki #service # maintenance #smallenginerepair #individualizedrepair #smallbusiness #diymaintenance

About Us:
My name is Martin. I have been repairing tools and small engines for almost 20 years. We operate a small engine repair shop in Illinois. We service / repair Briggs & Stratton, Kohler, Kawasaki, John Deere, Cub Cadet, Toro Tecumseh, Loncin, Honda, Craftsman, Husqvarna, MTD, Troy Bilt, Simplicity, John Deere, Exmark, LCT, Generac and many more brands. We work on riding mowers, walk behind mowers, snow blowers, zero turns, generators, pressure washers and much more. We normally repair about 3,000 pieces of equipment every year and look at many more that are beyond an affordable repair. Hopefully our videos will save you some money and give you the information you need to work on your own equipment or figure out the issue at hand.

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Please be careful when repairing any piece of equipment and follow all possible safety measures. This video is for entertainment purposes only.

[crispycoleman]

Great video. This video helped me tremendously in what to look for and purchase. I bought my 50" last night. Thank you!

[speedwagon]

My daughter bought this exact model, 2 yrs ago, and one of her goals was, help/ pull, dad into the 21st century… (I was hooked on using a 30+ yr old garden tractor… ), didn’t take long for me to recognize huge advantages in speed and comfort… so, last spring, I got a cub cadet Z2, 60” at a dealership.. priced a bit higher, with larger Kawasaki engine, larger tires, upsized 2800 tranny, $4300, included an extra set of blades… their both great machines, I do the maintenance on both of them, and I agree with all your maintenance tips…:)

[kansasgardener]

After owning my ZT1 42" FAB for a while now, there's a few things I've learned about this mower. The fabricated deck is indeed NOT fabricated. It's more of a stamped design hybrid if you will. It is, however, heavy duty compared to the all stamped deck. Never use water on your deck! Especially if it's hot. The water will be drawn into the spindle bearings, causing the bearings to rust. The plastic seat bumpers are really hard and dont help the ride quality at all. I replaced them with 3" Harley seat springs, and that made a big difference. The mower doesn't come with a strap to keep the seat in place while leaning it forward. Bought one from Amazon. The mower does not come with an hour meeter but is available from Cub cadet. Buy one, and it will help with the maintenance schedule. Do I like the mower. Yes, very much so. I hope my tips will help if someone's looking to buy a Cub cadet. As for the vibrating belt I talked about on my other post, I just learned to live with it.

[foundationsteppas]

Thanks for the info! Ordered mine, arrives next week. Can't wait for summer so I can start mowing!

[mattvmani]

Really appreciate this, its hard to find videos or even comments areas where its not just bashing or clearly biased. Seems like a good overall design and think I'll bite the bullet on one.

[bpisky]

Really appreciate the information! Great video... very informative! I'm actually going to pick this exact model up after work today...

[ronray]

I wanted a 50 inch deck, but what I've learned with these is it's not the "size" of your deck that matters, it's how you 'use' it.

[terrydeeter]

I bought a 54 inch with fabricated 3 years ago almost 700 hours replaced a starter and throttle cable awesome machine also have 54 tractor fabricated deck gtx 2000 power steering 11 years old no problems still mows like a champ

[coltbecker]

Thanks, this really helped tip me into the Cub Cadet Ultima ZT1 camp.

[earlelm]

I have a 23 year old 42 inch drive shaft cub.Still in perfect shape.Cut 3 Acer yard.1000 hrs.on it.

[elis]

I’ve had my cub cadet 50” for 2 years since we moved to a 2.5 acre property, other then the quality of the $500 bagger option it’s been an awesome mower and I still enjoy operating, cleaning/enjoying its design. I’ll be adding some led lights to it for evening mowing. I highly recommend it it to everyone. Ps ours has the kawi motor and the pre-fabbed 50” deck

[TexasScout]

I have had two of these over the last five years or so, they have given me stellar service. The first one I thought I lost the transmission so I went out and bought a second one, but it turns out that the only problem was the spring had popped off the paul that interacts with the disc cog and locks the wheels. After I popped that spring back into place it ran just fine. I ended up selling it to a friend and he still uses it to this day to mow 7 acres+ at his place I’m mowing about 2 1/2 at my place.

I took off the pulley guards because grass was gathering up in there and It was very hard to remove. Once I took the guards off the deck pulleys, I had no problem with grass. It blew off the deck as I mowed. One thing to watch out for is the throttle cable, will rust and get stuck, and you will have to replace it. The only other trouble I have had with this last one is that the seal for that disc brake cog went bad and I had to replace it. I found it on McMaster - Carr for eight dollars. The cub cadet dealer couldn’t even find that seal on the diagram. He said I’d have to buy the whole transmission to get that seal! One last thing, you need to keep the underside of the deck clean. As grass builds up, there will be a stripe of uncut grass left between the right side and middle blades. They really don't over lap. All in all, I can highly recommend this mower.

PS: Can you do a video on changing the transmission fluids?

[jonjohn]

I have had 4 cubs, 2- 50" and now I have 2 54". Love them. They do a beautiful cut and easy to work on and light weight. Haven't even though about getting any other brand.

[DoMorewLess]

Got mine a month ago same exact one, had the dealer install the hour meter for me, no charge..so far this machine is really really great, last machine lasted me 12 years, hopefully same with this one

[JimmyMakingitwork]

Considering my options to upgrade from a Cub 1045 to one like this. Lots of viable options.
I do think using the blower we have out already for yard work is a good idea to get the grass off the mower after every cut. No matter what brand or style.

[stevenodell]

I purchased the exact same model (Home Depot) spring 2023 to replace a 42" cut Craftsman (made by Cub Cadet) lawn tractor that wasn't really a good match for the bigger lawn at my new home. I mowed my "new" 1.5 acre lawn 37 times that entire summer and into the fall and so far nine times this year with no significant issues at all. The Kawasaki engine is impressive, it cuts well, and it's easy to handle and service. I wish it had an hour meter like my Craftsman did, but it's not hard to keep notes on things, so that's not a big deal. All in all, I'm totally pleased with it. I'd recommend one to my best friend, and I'd buy another in a heartbeat.

[kylestivers]

Yes. Got one 4 years ago. They were only $2999 out the door. no issues.

[midwestmortgageman]

Get mine in 2-3 days and cant wait! Great video!

[bwspacity]

I have alot of uneven ground on 3 acres about messed up and bought a giant deck.tried one and it wanted to gouge.need this 50

[richardfreeman]

I just bought a zt1 54". I dont like they didnt put an hour meter on it. (Like john deere) They wire it but they make you buy the meter. Mine was $40. Their way of "maximizing But so far i like it alot. For the last 17yrs i have used a 50" cub zero turn with the Kawasaki, i have never had any trouble... Hope this new one is just as good!