Cub Cadet 3206 4.60 star(s) (5)

One Tremendous Garden Tractor
Model Year: 2000

I bought my 3206 new from my dealer 13 years ago now. It looks just exactly like it did when I brought it home, and has never spent the first night outside. Runs perfectly. Applied pledge furniture polish, flies will break their legs trying to land on her. Have had my dealer do routine service if I couldn't get to it but otherwise I've handled it myself. Love the hydraulics, differential lock, looks, handling, and sheer power. She's a beast and a good looking one at that. One of the posts refers to a hydraulic leak, one thing you'll want to check is the very delicate o-rings where the hydraulic tubes attach at the top of the valve body. If over-tightened fluid will slowly ooze there and work it's way down the sides of the valve body to the transmission & rear end assembly below, it will make a slow drip mess and generally cover the whole area with dust & fluid grease mess, making it almost impossible to figure out where it's coming from, that little bitty O ring way up at the top. Another thing the same post mentioned was the engine continuing to "diesel" as we call it after he shut of the ignition, this is caused by simply not running the engine throttle up fast enough when shutting down. It's very important NOT to have the engine running at a slow idle when shutting down; keep the throttle up at least half way or even more when shutting her down, this way the engine is running fast enough to burn more efficiently the last bit of gas that it got from the carb just before you shut it off. Well I can't say enough how happy I've been and will continue to be with my 3206! Something I've enjoyed lately is that I've replaced the headlight bulbs with a pair of 7.5W LED lights, much brighter and far lower wattage. I also added 2 10W LED work lights on the back plus 2 10W LED work lights on front. I used a pair of light mounts for a Jeep, the angle worked perfect for the slope of the Cub's front. Man, does this beast light up the night now, I can mow or work till I'm good and ready to quit now, without having to worry about getting done while it's still light outside!

Pros: Great looks, perfect quality, powerful, handles like a dream, hydraulics, lighting taillights & backup lights.
Cons: None.

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Cub Cadet for the Long Run
Model Year: 2000

I have had a lot of mowers (all makes) but until I got a Cub Cadet 3206 I had spent a lot of money on other mowers. love my 3206 Cub. The only thing I would say to anyone is keep your trans filter changed or you will end up spending a lot to fix your hydrostatic transmission. Also keep the oil and filter in the engine changed other then that you will gat a lot of wear from your Cub Cadet 3000 series.

Pros: Good tractors for the money.
Cons: Keep filters clean.

2002 Cub Cadet 3206
Model Year: 2002

The tractor has always had hydrostatic issues since purchase. The housing was cracked and poorly repaired with some sort of sealer when purchased. Housing eventually replaced by a different dealer under warranty. System still leaked. 2011 transmission completely rebuilt with all seals replaced at a significant cost. the unit still leaks. Do not understand why. the tractor is not abused and only has 258 hour on it over 10 years. It is well maintained and is basically used to mow a two acre lot 8-10 times per season. Other than the same transmission issues it is a great tractor.

Pros: Power steering, shaft drive, 54 inch mower deck, 22hp motor, cruise control.
Cons: Constant leak in transmission, unit backfires when shutting off.

Owner
Model Year: 2002

Good machine, but you have a tendency to use it for work it wasn't made for. This year I replaced the PTO belts and this week the battery. They were the originals. Have 2 sets of blades, they seem to be holding up well. Only thing I have found is replacement parts are costly at the dealers.

Pros: Well built for the size of unit.
Cons: Parts costly.

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Model Year: 2004

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