2022 Cub Cadet Z force SX54

Alien5044 · May 26, 2022

Got a satellite shot..
Everything slopes from the road toward the small lake out back.

Sumo91 · Jun 1, 2022

New member here

Hey @Sergeant I just picked up a 2022 Cub Cadet Z Force SX 60" today. I called over 40 dealers yesterday trying to find a Z force in stock. The dealer I bought from had four 60" in stock luckily, and only a 1.5hrs from the house.

We just moved to E TN and the hills are wayyyy different than the flat Louisiana land I'm used to (but we are absolutely loving it!) The house we bought has 1.5 acres of sloping/hills land. My faithful snapper 33" sr133 just wasn't up for the task like it was in LA. Took me about 4.5 hrs of mowing, and I almost rattled me teeth out. So I did tons and tons of research on mowers that are safe and capable on slopes, and that's how I ended up with the Cub zero turn with the steering wheel.

All I have to say is. WOW!!!! This mower is a monster. One section of my yard that took 1.5 hrs with the snapper, took 20 mins with the Cub. The larger deck size, almost double what the snapper is, made quick work of the yard. 60" is honestly too big, but it's all I could find. There was no way I could mow with the snapper again. It's also really nice to be able to mow faster than the speed of cold molasses.

One thing I do need to adjust/modify is the deck height lock bar locking mechanism. I have it set to 3.25in. And that is on the outer portion of the stamped holes (towards the front of the mower). When I lower the handle on the lock bar, the locking mechanism doesn't fully engage "around" the bar like it should, and it frequently pops off. I can either 1) File/grind down the stop on the lock bar 2) loosen both bolts holding than handle, and see if there is any room to move the handle towards to the front of the mower to achieve better engagement. I'll be trying option 2 first. I'll try to get pictures today. If I don't get them posted up today, I'll do it tomorrow. I gotta blow off the mower with the compressor, then give her a quick rinse.

Sergeant · Jun 1, 2022

Sumo91 said:
New member here

Hey @Sergeant I just picked up a 2022 Cub Cadet Z Force SX 60" today. I called over 40 dealers yesterday trying to find a Z force in stock. The dealer I bought from had four 60" in stock luckily, and only a 1.5hrs from the house.

We just moved to E TN and the hills are wayyyy different than the flat Louisiana land I'm used to (but we are absolutely loving it!) The house we bought has 1.5 acres of sloping/hills land. My faithful snapper 33" sr133 just wasn't up for the task like it was in LA. Took me about 4.5 hrs of mowing, and I almost rattled me teeth out. So I did tons and tons of research on mowers that are safe and capable on slopes, and that's how I ended up with the Cub zero turn with the steering wheel.

All I have to say is. WOW!!!! This mower is a monster. One section of my yard that took 1.5 hrs with the snapper, took 20 mins with the Cub. The larger deck size, almost double what the snapper is, made quick work of the yard. 60" is honestly too big, but it's all I could find. There was no way I could mow with the snapper again. It's also really nice to be able to mow faster than the speed of cold molasses.

One thing I do need to adjust/modify is the deck height lock bar locking mechanism. I have it set to 3.25in. And that is on the outer portion of the stamped holes (towards the front of the mower). When I lower the handle on the lock bar, the locking mechanism doesn't fully engage "around" the bar like it should, and it frequently pops off. I can either 1) File/grind down the stop on the lock bar 2) loosen both bolts holding than handle, and see if there is any room to move the handle towards to the front of the mower to achieve better engagement. I'll be trying option 2 first. I'll try to get pictures today. If I don't get them posted up today, I'll do it tomorrow. I gotta blow off the mower with the compressor, then give her a quick rinse.

I Installed the electric Lift so The Bar that come with it just rest on the Pin at the set Height

Sumo91 · Jun 1, 2022

Sergeant said:
I Installed the electric Lift so The Bar that come with it just rest on the Pin at the set Height

I saw that you installed that. I looked at the kit, but after raising and lowering the deck I believe the spring assist is more than adequate (I'm still young, early 30s), I actually have to apply pressure downwards to lower the deck. I'm gonna take a look at it tomorrow and see what I can figure out. It's only a 15 min fix.

At the inch and half inch holes it latches securely, it's just the .25 inch increments that it doesn't latch all the way. I'll post my results whenever I fix it

She cleaned up really well after rinsing off with the water hose. I also applied some Aerospace 303 Protectant as soon as I got the mower home to help preserve the plastics and keep them looking new, ill do a other application in the next day or since I rinsed it off today. It's great stuff for anything on vehicles or equipment that needs UV protection. I've been using it for years.

My craftsman 917.27308 · Jun 2, 2022

You want to avoid using water to hose it down and clean it up. Use your leaf blower.

Sumo91 · Jun 2, 2022

My craftsman 917.27308 said:
You want to avoid using water to hose it down and clean it up. Use your leaf blower.

Is there any reason in particular for this? I'm not using a pressure washer or anything. Just lightly spraying it to get the dirt and dust off that my compressor won't blow off, mainly the dust that "sticks" to it. I've never had any issues doing it on lots of other equipment. How are you supposed to wash these mowers?

Sumo91 · Jun 2, 2022

I got around to adjusting the deck lift handle. It does in fact have slotted holes for adjustment, I was able to loosen the bolts and get it set up correctly. It works great now! I did remove the handle so I could take pictures and document my findings to hopefully help someone else out and save them a trip to the dealer.

I also removed the front cover plate to inspect all the steering components and see how they work, and to check tolerances, etc for future reference, just in case there's maintenance to do in the future. I can post pictures of the cover removed if yall would like to see it. There was a fair amount of grass underneath the plate after using the mower once. I thought I got everything out with my air compressor, but I guess not, it seems as though grass can get in, but can't get out easily. I'll check it after mowing a few more times to see how it trends.

I also removed the spindle guards and applied anti seize the the bolts. Better sooner than later. It's good preventive maintenance.

Country1966? · Jun 5, 2022

Sergeant said:
Well Purchased this Hybrid Lawn Tractor / Zero turn 31 October 2021. Arrived 10 March 2022. I received it today, 31 March 2022

Had an electric lift kit & headlight kit installed (dealer told me Electric lift kit was an easy install, But the headlight kit almost the entire front end of the machine needed to be taken apart to install) Reason why I let them install it. Because I looked at the direction to install the light kit and decided I didn't want to spend the time to install it myself.

The Machine can take a 58-inch Snow/Dozer Blade, But I probably will not invest in it, because as many of you all know, I have enough tractors for plowing or blowing snow.

The machine is a lot bigger than I thought it was going to be, because it is about the size of my Cub Cadet XT3GSX

I just decided since I mow Twice a week and the patterns I mow with That a Zero turn was more suited for that mowing

The Machine has Twin Hydro-Gear ZT3100 transmissions. Hydro-Gear entry level Commercial Transmissions, Comes with a 24Hp FR730V Kawasaki engine and a 54-inch Fabricated Deck

I'll be installing this Z-Trimmer | PECO Lawnvac shortly to cut down my trimming time. Because with all the fences I have, I have a lot of trimming to do. Will be adding a mulch kit and rear deck rollers as well

Now if spring would finally come here, because I am a little antsy to try it out and see if it really does speed up my mowing time

View attachment 2544760 View attachment 2544761 View attachment 2544762 View attachment 2544763

That is a great mower and drive system. Not commercial but not far from it. I had a Gravely ZT HD 60 with that engine and drive system. Hard to beat for the price. My kids now mow their place with it.

Nice outfit you have there, you should be happy with it for years.

Sergeant · Jun 5, 2022

Country1966? said:
That is a great mower and drive system. Not commercial but not far from it. I had a Gravely ZT HD 60 with that engine and drive system. Hard to beat for the price. My kids now mow their place with it.

Nice outfit you have there, you should be happy with it for years.

ZT3100 is considered a entry Level commercial Transmission ZT-3100® - Hydro-Gear

Country1966? · Jun 5, 2022

Sergeant said:
ZT3100 is considered a entry Level commercial Transmission ZT-3100® - Hydro-Gear

Oh, so it is considered commercial grade. Cool. I know I put it through some abuse for a couple hundred hours before letting my sons borrow it. "Borrow" it.

Country1966? · Jun 5, 2022

Sergeant said:
Cub's I currently own!

1961 Original Given to me in 2002 less than a week after Retiring from the Army

196? 60 Given to me by my neighbor on his deathbed in 2006

1965 70 Inherited from friend In 2007 when he went into a nursing home

1970 106 Bought summer of 2003 From a late Neighbor's wife

2018 XT3 GSX Bought new Summer 2018

1976 1450 Bought Summer 2020

1991/92 2182 Bought January 2021

2022 SX54 Z force purchased October 2021

Previously owned Cub Cadet

2002 2206 Bought new 3 weeks Before I retired from the Army site Unseen traded in 2018 for XT3 GSX

So while I own a Deere 110RF, 112SF, 140H3, GX335, X748, 2025R & Sabre 1542HS I have for the Most Part owned a Cub Cadet alongside a Deere for the Last 20 years.

I Looked at Many Zero turns through the Years Don't Like Deere, Toro, Exmark and a few Others

Only Lap Bar Zero turns I Like our, the Simplicity & Ferris do to their suspension

I would Have considered a Walker B series Model B27i But $13,705 Just seems a Little steep for a Machine I will Just use for Mowing, Plus the dealer network is not too big around me

Have Loved the Cub Cadet steering wheel zero turns since they came out( which some other would go to the steering wheel as well! Toro/Exmark doesn't count as they were Built By MTD for those Labels) Because You get great control when trimming next to objects, Because it Is like driving a conventional Tractor to do precise movements for trimming. Plus, the ones I have tried out have been great Hill climbing machines compared to most standard Zero turns(not That I need a hill climber where I live now) You really do get the best of both worlds, a Zero turn that can handle like a lawn tractor.

MTD Has always sort of given Cub Cadet a bad reputation since it purchased Cub from IH In April 1981. Well when you produce a lot of lower production cost models, you end up selling a lot and there are more people to complain about there issues to the world. But I have had so many MTD Made Machines In my life That have been reliable for years That By the early 2000's I realized MTD is actually a good quality company for Lower and Medium cost machines, So Cub Cadet has really been worth it these last 20 years to me. While it's not over built Like a Gravely,Ariens or Ingersoll or even a dealer level Deere . It's still a quality Machine to own

Ha, Well. I was going to sell my Ingersoll 3014 since I honestly don't "NEED" it. But I like it. However, after reading Sergent's list, dangit, I'm keeping it. If he can have that many tractors I think I can have a couple too.

Sergeant · Jun 5, 2022

Country1966? said:
Ha, Well. I was going to sell my Ingersoll 3014 since I honestly don't "NEED" it. But I like it. However, after reading Sergent's list, dangit, I'm keeping it. If he can have that many tractors I think I can have a couple too.

Currently In the Inventory

Cub Cadet:

1961 Original Found In Lombard, IL

196? 60 RER Pre production models Belong to the IH Test engineer, Glen Ellyn, IL where I grew Up

1965 70 Late friend who Bought It In Lisle, IL

1970 106 Bought from Old Neighbors widow from Glen Ellyn, IL where I grew Up

1976 1450 Bought On ebay from a reseller In St Charles, IL who Got it from Original Owner In Chicago southern Suburbs

1991 2182 Bought From RF Houtz Now a Cub Cadet Bone Yard In Elburn, IL

2018 XT3GSX Bought From Dekane Equipment, Big Rock, IL

2022 SX54 Z-Force Bought from Carol Stream Lawn & Power , Carol Stream IL

Ingersoll:

1992 3016PS Bought from Dealer Near FT Devens Massachusetts

John Deere:

1964 110RF Bought from a friend and Former JD dealer In Belivider, IL

1969 112SF Bought from My JD Dealer 2008 Harvard, IL

1974 140H3 Bought on eBay in 2006 In Western, IL

2004 GX335 bought on eBay 2016 from John Deere dealer In Western, IL

2012 X748 Bought from Roeder John Deere dealer In Dubuque, Iowa In 2014

2018 2025R compact Bought from the former Buck Bros of Harvard In Harvard, IL

1999 Sabre 1542HS Grandfather Bought it from Muscatine, Iowa JD dealer

Simplicity:

195/6? Wonder-Boy RER Got from a Old Neighbor when I transported His JD 214 to the dealer for service in 2008

Wheel Horse:

1992 416H bought on eBay from a Tractor forum Member in January 2019 In Elkhart, IN

White:

1999 GT2055 Bought from a White dealer In Belvider, IL had shipped to Fort Drum, NY area

Previous Models Owned

Cub Cadet:

2002 2206 Bought from RF Houtz Elburn, IL

Dynamark:

1989 8/32 RER Given to me By My Late Grandfather Purchased at Fleetway Muscatine, Iowa

John Deere:

198? R70 Bought from Dealer In Muscatine, Iowa Took back to near Fort Drum NY

198? 130 Bought from Deere dealer near Fort Drum NY

1988 240 Bought from a Deere dealer Near FT Devens, Massachusetts

1994 John Deere 425 Purchased 2000 Near FT Drum, NY trade In 2003 for New JD X485 Belvider, IL

1997 GX75 Given to me by Neighbors widow in 2008 Purchased In South Holland, IL

2003 X485 Purchased new Belvider, IL Trade for attachments for X748 at Buck Bros of Harvard, IL in 2014

2017 1025R TLB Bought from Buck Bros of Harvard,IL

Murray:

198/9? 11/38 Bought from a Lawn Mower repair Place In Aurora, IL Brought Back to Near FT Benning Georgia

MTD:

1994 Montgomery Wards Signature 2000 Garden tractor 18/46 14 speed shift On the Go Bought from Wards Warehouse In Franklin, Park, IL Brought Back Near FT Bragg, NC

196? Firestone(made By MTD) 5HP Pull start rider when I was a child Father Bought it from His Father In Law when My Grandfather Bought a Sears Lawn Tractor

Simplicity:

197? Simplicity 7016 Sovereign Picked It Up In Greensboro, NC Via Cowan, TN in 2008 off to Simplicity Bone Yard In 2014 or 2015

The MTD Wards and JD 240 wish I still had The 240 was the 1st John Deere Machine I Bought New In 1988(sold it to a cousin in 2000 and He still uses it for tilling and snow removal). Got the MTD Wards for $600.00 Less than MSRP because it Had scratches On the front. Traded it for MSRP Price against Kwik-way Loader for White GT2055

Some of My Tractors Traveled as Far as Me

Asker123 · Jun 17, 2022

That is a nice place Sergeant and you mowed it just to be picture perfect.
My property in rural Manitoba, 5 acres, We have had very wet spring and the grass (and the weeds) have been growing like crazy. I have put this machine to the task and mowed the grass and weeds. I have changed the factory fill oil after 6.6 hours and have gone to specified 10W40 weight, Amsoil full synthetic.

I am trying to figure out how much can I safely tow using this machine and having difficulty finding the answer directly.
The mower has an accessory called Cub Cadet Hauler advertised on the website (and I have bought it) which mentions capacity of the hauler as 800lbs. I know for sure that it will be foolish to tow the Hauler (which weighs100lbs empty + 800 lbs so total 900 lbs with this Z-Force SX54 but I am unable to find the limit of the tow. The machine comes with a tow hitch attached so I know that it is not against the operation of the machine to tow something with it.

I searched the internet and found that the rule of thumb is that half of the weight of the machine+ operator can be generally towed by a tractor or a mower. I am unable to find the weight of this mower from Cub cadet website. I also called the customer service but one agent looked at the shipping weight and gave me a number 950lbs that seems wrong.

The mower has Hydro Gear ZT3100 transmission and specifications of that tranny mentions Gross Vehicle Weight of 1200lbs so that is the only accurate information I have.

If I deduct the mower and operator's weight from 1200 that should give me spare capacity I can tow.

If I put the number that the customer service gave me 950lbs , I can only tow 1200- (950 +170 my weight) = just 80 lbs with this. The Cub Cadet hauler empty weighs 100 lbs . In that case Cub Cadet should not be advertising the Hauler as an accessory for this mower. So seems like something is wrong in my calculation.

Can someone help finding me any better information on this towing capacity please. Thanks in advance

dave_r · Jun 17, 2022

On flat, level ground, on nice dry grass/dirt/gravel, 900's is probably fine for it to pull around. But wet ground (or even really dry grass on a slope), slopes all reduce the weight you want to tow, because those conditions greatly reduce the ZT's ability to control it, in particular stopping. While the Z-Force SX54 is better, in that the front wheels are controlled by the steering wheel instead of being caster wheels like a regular zero turn, the overall weight of the machine + rider is relatively low (this site American Pride Power Equipment lists it at about 730 lbs), so it doesn't take much of a slope (especially when wet) for momentum to overcome available traction.

Sumo91 · Jul 2, 2022

Anyone else have an issue with the engine heat shield rattling at certain speeds/inclines? My heat shield rattles like crazy going uphill sometimes under load. I tightened it to no avail. I'm thinking about adding some bracing to it, or removing it completely. It's driving me nuts.

dave_r · Jul 2, 2022

Sumo91 said:
Anyone else have an issue with the engine heat shield rattling at certain speeds/inclines? My heat shield rattles like crazy going uphill sometimes under load. I tightened it to no avail. I'm thinking about adding some bracing to it, or removing it completely. It's driving me nuts.

Figure out what it's rattling against, and then perhaps bend that part a bit further away?

Sumo91 · Jul 2, 2022

dave_r said:
Figure out what it's rattling against, and then perhaps bend that part a bit further away?

The thing is, it's not rattling against anything. It's just how the heatshield itself vibrates. Similar to if you had a thin sheet of metal and shook it back and forth, only this is amplified by the engine rpms/load. If there is no harm in removing it, I'm probably gonna go that route. But I also have some things angle bracing I may attach to with some self tapping screws, or bolts with nylon lock nuts

dave_r · Jul 3, 2022

The shield should be bolted/mounted to something, I would check those mounting points, perhaps it has cracked around one of them so the shield can vibrate.

Personally, I wouldn't remove it, as manufacturers rarely install something that isn't necessary.

Could you post a pic of the shield?

Sumo91 · Jul 3, 2022

dave_r said:
The shield should be bolted/mounted to something, I would check those mounting points, perhaps it has cracked around one of them so the shield can vibrate.

Personally, I wouldn't remove it, as manufacturers rarely install something that isn't necessary.

Could you post a pic of the shield?

The mower is brand new. Zero hours when purchased. I've checked and double checked everything (I've done mechanic work all my life, from small engines to heavy diesel mechanics). The shield extends so far out after the bend it makes, without bracing, that is succumbs to vibrations during certain rpms/loads. I'll take some pictures tomorrow, but here is a picture I found on Google. I marked the heat shield with a red dot. You can see how far it sticks out. It's just a flat piece of sheet metal with no bracing. So when the conditions are just right, it rattles really bad. It's not touching anything. It's the specific frequency/vibrations causing the metal plate to move up and down in such a rhythm that is rattles.

Imagine you take a cookie sheet, cut out the bottom so it's just a thin, completely flat piece of metal. Now bolt that to a push mower engine. The end bolted to the engine would be fine, but the protruding piece of metal will more back and forth, vibrating like crazy, and make a terrible racket. That's the best analogy I can come up with at the moment.

dave_r · Jul 3, 2022

Yeah, my Kohler CV22S has one of those, and I made one for my Kaw FR651. I would start with what's making it vibrate, as it's a new machine, the engine shouldn't be vibrating that much, perhaps it's mounting bolts are loose, something like that, or perhaps that shield has cracked around one of it's mounts. And possibly drag it to the dealer to fix given it's a new machine (as if it commonly makes a racket, the manufacturer would have redesigned it).

Course, maybe it's just they always used full rpm when running the engine so it cuts properly and you aren't?

2022 Cub Cadet Z force SX54

Alien5044

Sumo91

Sergeant

Sumo91

My craftsman 917.27308

Sumo91

Sumo91

Country1966?

Sergeant

Country1966?

Country1966?

Sergeant

Asker123

dave_r

Sumo91

dave_r

Sumo91

dave_r

Sumo91

dave_r

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