Hello everyone.
Brought my new Lt1045 home from HD a few weeks ago.
Pulls well, and no drive belt slippage.
Very happy with the cut quality using the mulch plug.
The 20Hp Kohler Courage although thirsty is a strong performer for me, and starts immediately.
I like the ergonomics, my large frame fits.
I even like the Rev-Tec once I got accostomed to it, it makes sense.
Tight turning radius, 46 in cut, and the convienience of speed and direction control with one foot have reduced my mowing times by one third.
This is compared to a 15Hp 42 In Bolens with a tired variator drive that it replaced. I will keep the Bolens as a spare.
Now the minuses:
The rattling, tapping idler was an issue from the start, especially since most of my neighbors are driving "green".
Ok given that I know my way around a toolbox and the nearest servicer of HD merchandised Cubs is many miles away and I don't own a pickup truck...
And after doing the research which involved reading extensively on this forum, and downloading parts and service manuals.
I decided to attempt to repair the rattle myself.
A little beef with MTD/CUB customer service:
I wanted to order the parts referenced to in their CC 497 service bulliten.
The parts rep would not acknowledge that the bulliten existed.
I asked to talk to a technican.
The tech rep said that the parts were only available to authorized servicers.
(frustration is setting in for me at this point)
I asked for the part numbers and was told that if I installed the parts my warranty would be voided!
Forgive me but I took this as an insult on my mechanical aptitude.
I made it known that if the unit in question had been manufactured correctly in the first place the conversation wouldn't be taking place.
While waiting on the parts to arrive curiousity got the better of me.
I removed the deck for a peek at what I was getting ready to do.
After blocking the wheels I took a look at the drive idler bracket in question (MTD part 783-04442) while the engine was running at minimum throttle.
The drive belt idler and its bracket were flopping around profusely in both the horizontal and vertical planes.
This couldn't be good for the drive belt.
So I decided to disassemble things to determine the cause of all of the "monkey motion"
Caution: unless you are very familiar with mechanical disassembly/reassembly and milling work don't attempt what I did.
After removing the fender/running board assy, pedals, and assorted nuts and bolts. Two bolts require peeling back the instruction sticker for removal.
After all this I had the drive idler/pulley assembly in my hand.
I can see that this could have been made much easier with a few stratigicaly placed holes in the fender/running board assy.
What I found was very interesting...The small diameter portion of the shoulder spacer(MTD PART 738-0372B) on mine protrouded about .025 above the top of the idler bracket assy.
This causes excess clearance which allows the idler bracket to flop considerably in the vertical plane with it's travel limited to between the large diameter portion of the shoulder spacer and the frame.
Therefore: all the tapping noises and eventually I guess thrown/damaged belt(s).
I milled about .020 in thickness off the small diameter portion of the shoulder spacer.
Then I did final hand fitting with a flat file to obtain the minimum clearance necessary to allow proper horizontal movement of the idler bracket assy. without being loose in the vertical plane.
After washing in solvent and lightly greasing the shoulder spacer/idler bracket assy. at the proper point; I reassembled the tractor.
After this I restarted the engine. At minimum throttle the "monkey motion" is all gone and the drive belt runs true, as in pretty well centered on the idlers for a change.
Of course I couldn't wait to test my work... the grass got mowed a little earlier than necessary this time. But hey it was in the interest of science.
I really can't tell any difference except that all the tapping noises are gone.
It still pulls like an ox at any engine speed.
Now about those parts I went to so much trouble to order:
They are still in the box!
What I received was a 732-04323B spring and a 736-0258 washer.
Neither of which are useful to me except as spares.
The parts list for my mower shows the same part # spring and since mine measures the same diameter and length and is still intact I will leave it as is.
The washer is totally worthless as a fix as it only masks the problem by spacing the whole assy further from the frame. While this may stop the tapping it will not eliminate the "monkey motion" in the idler bracket/pulley assy.
Afterwards I called MTD/CUB and finally got one of their tech reps.
I failed to get them to understand that I was only trying to help them improve their product when I explained what is outlined above.
This particular problem with the Lt1000 series is how many years old?
It's a simple matter of manufacturing with clearances properly specified and tolerances held closely to spec.
Any modern manufacturer should be capable of this.
A $.50 part correctly specified will cure this issue and eliminate a lot of frustration and unnecessary expense..
Why do they bandaid this and then try to deny a problem exists.
With a few inexpensive improvements they can have a much better product.
Overall I still believe its a good product at its price, just needs a little refinement.
And MTD needs to "loosen up" among other things. The stonewall approach doesn't work with me. And it won't win them any customers either IMHO.
Oh well I was hoping to get what I paid for... maybe I did.
