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flyfish99

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Was using my LTX 1046 that I purchased in April to do a final mowing and move some leaves around, when I smelled something burning. I shut the motor down, and, (fortunately), jumped off to see what the problem was, and the thing went up like a roman candle. Really scary. That plastic burns real good.

Going to file a claim with my insurance tomorrow, but, with the deductible, i doubt I'll get half the cost back. I'm also going to talk to my dealer, to see if CC will do anything for me. I doubt I'd get much, maybe a discount on a replacement, but at this point, I don't know if I even want to replace it.
 
#6 ·
Do you know where the fire started? If you had leaves build up near the exhaust, it might be a design flaw, and manufacturers have been known to do recalls on those types of things in the past. Contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission to report it and to see if others have reported the same problem. If there's enough complaints, the government could issue a mandatory recall.
 
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#7 ·
Motown said:
You may want to do a search on the forum. If I recall another member had his tractor burn up, a little while back. I thought that their was a common problem with a certain model and fires.
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I was thinking the same thing. It was a long thread and should be easy to find...except I couldn't find it. I searched on "fire", "burned" and "smoke". Was the thread removed?
 
#8 ·
Sorry to hear about this and I'm glad to hear no one and nothing else got harmed.

How were you moving around the leaves? I know from mulching them with my Cubs like I do, you can have quite the pile-up going on underneath the machine during the process. This is fraught with danger given how HOT the low hanging exhaust systems are on these LT/GTs. I'm actually surprised we don't see this happen more often in the fall.

Joel
 
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#9 ·
Gary in NJ said:
I was thinking the same thing. It was a long thread and should be easy to find...except I couldn't find it. I searched on "fire", "burned" and "smoke". Was the thread removed?
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Yes,
I watched that thread (did not post in it) and one member came in and started flaming everyone until it was deleted.
 
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#10 ·
there was a thread a while back, I can't remember if it was a 1045 or 1046. The guy did post a pic or two. The heat shield or something like that under the hood caught fire. There were some cross words between a few....
 
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Discussion starter · #11 ·
I didn't notice any excessive buildup, I just smelled something burning, and looked down to see leaves on fire all around me. I jumped off and grabbed a hose.

I posted yesterday on Facebook. and I was amazed at how many people I know have CC tractors, and how much trouble they are having with the new models, including one other fire. When I went to submit an insurance claim today, the woman that handles my account told me she and her husband bought a new CC this year, and the engine seized up with less than 10 hrs on the tractor. Engine replaced under warranty. She suggested that I see the dealer and see if CC would kick in some money toward a new unit. I doubt they will, and if they don't, I think my next tractor will be a John Deere.
 
#12 ·
I remember that deleted thread also. Tractor was about 2 years old and had 90 plus hours. CC basically said "not under warraty/Act of God". Big flame war between members started [no pun intended] and the thread got squashed.
 
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#13 ·
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#14 ·
Flyfish, if you get a JD don't get one of the low end models from lowes etc... I've mowed with them before and they are total junk. Much worse than the low end cub cadets. Maybe you could look into and older cub cadet or JD.
 
#15 ·
3 years ago a guy I worked with, was in deep leaves with a brand new C.C., the muffler was down by the front axle . It started a fire , he started throwing the leaves out from under the front of his tractor then realized he had 7 or 8 fires burning all around his tractor. He ran for the hose, it wasn't long enough, and by spraying with his thumb over the end of the hose , put out all the fires . No damage to the tractor other than black soot on the hood.
 
#16 ·
I've got an '07 LT1045 with around 160ish hours. It's used mostly in the fall for bagging. So far so good. I do wash the tractor off and make sure all the leaves are away from everything after each use.

IMO I don't care what brand you get their respective entry level models suffer tremendously due to meeting the price points of the big box stores dictating.... Sooner or later what out for someone putting out a plastic deck and I'm serious about that...
 
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Discussion starter · #17 ·
aagitch said:
Flyfish, if you get a JD don't get one of the low end models from lowes etc... I've mowed with them before and they are total junk. Much worse than the low end cub cadets. Maybe you could look into and older cub cadet or JD.
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If I were to get a JD, or any other tractor, it would be from a dealer, not a big box store. Having heard all the recent complaints about the newer CC models from friends and acquaintances, I will be looking in another direction unless CC comes through with some help.

Just an example - My daughter's next door neighbor had an older CC for many years, and it was trouble free. He lost it in a house fire, and replaced it with a new CC last year, and has had numerous problems with it. Appears that the quality has gone downhill recently.
 
#18 ·
bignastyGS said:
Same guy on Only Cub cadets forum...Pics too...
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5903&highlight=fire

I have a 07 1045 LT and was trying to sell it earlier this summer,I was asking 1000 bucks,but no interest,s I decided to keep it. It does a great job mowing,but that's all I use it for. I keep an eye on the leaves as well.
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The 1045LT was only around $1500.00 brand new, and it's a lawn tractor, not a garden tractor. Lawn tractors do not hold their value like a GT, and to expect 2/3 of your original purchase price on a 3 year old lawn tractor is a little unrealistic in my opinion. If it's worth that much to you, then good on you and you did good to keep it.
 
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#19 · (Edited)
bignastyGS said:
Same guy on Only Cub cadets forum...Pics too...
http://www.onlycubcadets.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5903&highlight=fire
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This guy posted a photo. Looks like the fire was on top of the VS engine... not underneath. It also appears it happened during August.

His LT1045...
Image



Although my GT3235 is Horizontal Shaft (not VS), I know that I need to watch the top of the engine as the flywheel sucks dried grass through the flywheel screen (there's a big OEM hole in it for the drive shaft) and it then accumulates on top and between the twin heads' cooling fins.

I ended up removing some of the SIDE heat shields around the heads because they were only contributing to entrapping debris on the engine.
 
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#20 ·
Did those shields direct the airflow for the heads or cylinders? I understand the debris problem, but I hope that you haven't created a cooling airflow problem. The shields were there for some reason, and the OEM wouldn't waste the 50¢ they cost if they didn't need them.
 
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gcbailey
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