So I purchased a 2011 Cub GT2100 garden tractor in May 2012, it served me quite well but as fall was drawing near, I knew snow would come soon after so I began to research snow blades. I researched whether a used blade a few years old would fit or not and after some study found out my only option was to purchase a new blade as Cub made changes to the frame with the new 2011 GT 2000 series models. A new snow/dirt blade retails for $799! so I thought for that price the quality would/should be comparable to the 42" blade I had on my 1978 John Deere 210, well lets just say they don't make em like they used to. I did get a "deal" from my local cub dealer for $729 and it was mostly assembled (with the exception of the angle adjustment arm) when I picked it up. The first thing I noticed was how light it was, the whole mounting assembly and blade only weigh 70lbs, my old JD blade weighed at least twice that, I was concerned but I needed a blade so I took it home. A couple weeks after I got it I did a test install to make sure everything fit and worked ok, I immediately noticed some "slop" when the blade angle was in the notched or one of the 3 angle positions. The bolt that attaches the 2 layer catch plate was too long and allowed lateral movement of the plates when engaged, this has the potential to cause problems. When force is exerted on either end of the blade the plate slops left or right in correspondence to the side of the blade taking on load. I pondered how to remedy this so I measured a few things and found a washer the perfect size to eliminate the "slop" while not being to thick as to not allow the latch plates to move freely. (See included photos for details). One photo is with the bag the washer came in for reference (if you can see it). The washer install is fairly straight forward, first release the spring, then just loosen the nut on the end of the bolt, slide the bolt out, slip on the washer, slide the bolt back where it came out of and tighten it back up. No more slop and the plates still move freely and engage the notches without issue, I did spray on some graphite to make sure there was no hang up issues.
Has any one else run into or noticed this design flaw?
My next improvement will be to replace the wimpy scraper bar, that thin 12ga pos it comes with wont last long at all where/howI use it! (Future thread)
John
Has any one else run into or noticed this design flaw?
My next improvement will be to replace the wimpy scraper bar, that thin 12ga pos it comes with wont last long at all where/howI use it! (Future thread)
John
