Fixing my FIRST zero turn mower: Cub Cadet RZT 

Fantastic Video. I just bought the same exact machine from a good friend this week. $200 and it runs well. Watching your video just taught me everything I needed to know. Leaking valve cover gaskets , Thank You! I’ll order new ones tomorrow. I went got a seat cover, be here tomorrow. I painted the left fender today. Removing the right one has to be investigated due to the ignition and the engagement knob. ( wish you covered that) . But I’m basically on my way to do everything you have done. Thanks Again for a great video.

I found your channel today and haven’t got anything done with my mowers because I can’t quit watching! Keep up the good work!

One man's trash is another man's treasure. This really shows the value of attention to detail and intuition. You turned a total piece of junk into a great machine again with only a few weeks invested. It really speaks volumes about how people take care of their stuff. If everybody had the snap to take care of their homes and vehicles like that, this country would be cheap to live in and easier to find help with almost anything.

how much did you end up selling this for? do you know how much time you spent on restoring it? how much money did you end up spending total? this info would be beneficial for the people who are considering doing a fix n flip. i know you probably spent more time than normal but it did come out great. good job!

Hello there, I am a new subscriber, I just gotmy first zero turn Gravely 2350 for free. It was just the frame and deck when it was given to me by a friend, I have since been hard at work putting it together using cub cadet parts wiring harness/engine/belts/pulleys/front wheels & tires, all from the cub donor. Now it's running and mowing just fine but still not quite right yet, I have noticed something quite interesting and you won't believe it, the left side transmission losses all power when engaged the deck but regained power when I disengaged the deck, I have it solved soon and I'll be watching your videos during my breaks. You have a good one , God Bless.

Worked on one kept having ,trouble put on two new carbs ran good for a while missed and died , checked out Electrical trouble , carb and fuse wiring put on new ground , two places ! Compression test shows leaking off , head gasket or valve s also Compression release gear stuck or striped1 Check Teeth on starter some have 13 +15 or put new head bind ix on old starter/ Push rod s are different Exhaust is steel intake is Aluminum so it will bend and not bust engine , could be valve guides there bad about raising up not letting the valve close causing backfire check bolts under fly wheel they come lose busting the magnets and put new key way in new any time you take off the fly wheel cam gears strip made of plastic! /Now all you like is the Safety cover/belt keepers on deck

That's a Gen 2 starter. Need Gen 3. They break/explode/die. They drill and tap the end but the shaft is too small, usually breaks but yours is bent! Gen 3 is a thicker shaft as well

Surely you did adjust the valves on the second side?

Yes Kyle if the motor runs that’s a great deal here in West Virginialooks great Kyle looks great very nice although ied sell it for several dollars

WOW!! What a great transformation! I am really surprised that the motor didn't blow up with the push rod issue. Plus great luck finding the $80 market place motor. Well done Kyle and have a great holiday season!

Get the xb-455 beadbuster best tool i ever bought. I had an issue with the aluminum pushrod bending more then once, so I ended up using 2 steel ones, not sure if the Kohler is the same but it never bent the steel rod, this was on a briggs

I stopped the video at 16:13 noticing that the exhaust mufflers are different colors. I think the right side cylinder is not firing. Back firing meaning it is firing some of the times.

After heating it I was wondering about buffing it out with silicone spray and buff ????😮

Yes Kyle if the motor runs that’s a great deal here in west virginia

You will enjoy cutting your lawn with a zeroturn. I have a cub cadet 50" deck 19 years old did a value job on it and it runs very nice and cuts my 3 acre lawn. Be Safe and Enjoy

I didnt see you remove the pilot jet.. could easily be the cause of surging

What caught my attention was the title Cub Cadet zero turn since a friend of mine said he had just bought one. I haven't seen his yet but you did a fantastic job on this one, your right it is almost to nice to mow with. Now I really want to see his since he said he only paid 300 bucks for it. I may have another one you can restore. lol.

Grease the spindles on your deck they could be holding the engine tension

I’ll never understand why these guys on these restoration channels won’t drain the old gas, change the oil, and check the plugs and wires BEFORE they try to crank the engine. You’re trying to start an engine in the worst conditions before checking anything then wonder why they fight with it so much to get it started.

I was surprised it ran so well with just one cylinder. Way to troubleshoot, a very nice restoration. If you decide to sell it, you should get a good price. Enjoyed the video.

Hey, Kyle! Just discovered your channel from your comment on Alex’s (Freedom Mowers) most recent video on a zero turn for $200. I appreciate all the work you did on this one to bring it back. Subscribed - I’ll check out some of your other videos.

Also on the tire tearing up the lawn. When turning sharp or quickly, use both to turn one wheels should go one way and the other the opposite . If you use only one you pivot the tire instead of it rolling. That is what tears the grass. Hope that makes sense :) And the choke comment sent before the end when you figured it out. Again thank you and great job :)

With the damage you have with your valves I would not trust your compression gage, I can not trust 170lb per cylinder.

1sr issue ITS A CRAP CUB... they are not made like the old ihcc..

Kyle you did an awesome job brother. Super stoked for you!! Your troubleshooting skills payed off and got this unit running great after all the little hang ups. That piece on the transmission that was missing on one side is the parking brake. When those teeth mesh with the gear it holds it in place. The cadet turned out excellent. A tip for overspray is just take a little gas on a rag and it wipes right off, especially when it is still curing. Keep up the great work 😎😎🇺🇸🇺🇸

Did you end up replacing that vacuum hose that was all pinched up or were you able to save it? Hoses are too cheap to not replace them while you already have them off, especially since you saw it collapsed. Great video!

Enjoyed your video. Obviously the previous owner did'nt know what they were doing. Nice looking machine and great job.

Love the dual mufflers lOl :)

Man I Have Been Working On One Just Like It !!! Thanks For Some Pointers !!!!

Then at 31:04 you noticed one exhaust was cold after removing the spark plugs. I say all this because I also wasted a lot of time before I noticed the exhaust on my Scag Zero turn restore. Worth keeping this in mind.

Yes I can agree with all the work you did to it I couldn't blame you for keeping it on the other hand I see the worth on selling it also nice work on bending back the push rod 👍

Yep it came out great should be a good resale item especially when you had most of the parts in stock and did not have to invest a lot of money into the total repair.

Hey Kyle, enjoyed the video. I'm wondering, the screw you took out of the carburator. There might be an air mixture screw that someone broke off. Might be why it's surging. Anyways, another great video!!

Mines a 2010 with kholer 22..Yours has dual exhaust 😂..Looks good.

Yeah but I bet it's quicker, comfy and easier to mow with than your other options. 😁👍

I had a starter bend like that because the compression release wasn't working. Had to replace the cam shaft.

That loose cable is for each wheel, pull them out and over (so they stay out) to unlock the wheels to move the mower manualy short distances while not running.

Go to the O'Reilly Auto parts buy a gallon of d&w tire black and you won't have to rest blowing yourself over the torch

get this missing part at hydro gear or off used parts unit. very common part :)

Love the seat, that looks better than the factory, armrest are a nice option too, for the zero operation :)

320 wet dry sandpaper works good to clean up faded plastic

Nicely done. Thanks for sharing. Cheers

Thomas Eric Hernandez Angela Martin Jeffrey

With that high compression reading I would guess either the valves are out of adjustment or the compression release is broke inside the engine. The compression release drops the compression making it easy to start. I think the compression should be around 60lbs. with compression release working. I would guess that's why the starter motor got bent. Good luck

Working on one now with similar engines and have done many of the things you did. REALLY ENJOYING the video. Great detail and good camera angles. Saving this video. Keep up the great work!

Really it’s good deal if engine is solid and not trash, if hydo bad you messed up big time lolol 😊

It is a lot of money to spend on a machine that has so many issues. I would rather be getting paid to do all this work but in your case your stuck with it now. I would sell it to recoup money spent but it would work great around your property and cut down on time mowing thus saving you money in the long run. Your choice.

Intake is usually aluminum because it doesn’t get as hot as exhaust thus exhaust are steel if they are the same length steel is ok for intake but aluminum is not good to use on exhaust

Cub Cadet is made by MTD... Many Troubles Daily Made To Die

Your doing this wrong your paying way to much your buying $50 and $100 dollar tractors for $300 your buying these blind tell them to send pictures and what's wrong with Don't be afraid to walk away the object of what your doing is tic toc time is money your buying fixer uppers try buying mowing running tractors that need some love and a power wash you will see you will sell A lot more and make more money I flip 15 to 20 a month I wish you the best these lawn mowers are like old girl friends hello and good by your making way to much love to them

I wonder if you can adjust the deck height up so you can use the lowest setting on the slots

Good job...looks great

kohlers head gaskets are known problem with leaking oil , that was my problem. Put new head gaskets on and no oil leak, ran better too.

Hey Brudda, awesome job :) Make sure the choke is adjusted properly, may not be getting full choke :)

If you buy from flippers keep watching 😢

Beautiful

Great job Kyle. Did those foot rubbers come that length or in a roll? Amazon?

Great video

Why do you goobers keep pulling in the handle bars when trying to start a ztr? There isn’t a zero turn out there that requires the bars to be in to start.

😭😭😭🥶🥶🥶

Cable goes to the parking brake :)

I knew it was only one cylinder.Worked on enough time to recognize the exhaust sound. Good luck

They call these my big mistake 😢😢 it’s true 😊

No you can use them you can use to steal push rods

Just wipe the plastic down with WD-40 and it will look like new.

Did you change the gas and oil,fuil filter .

Should have painted height adjustment rack Great Job oldman

Make sure the choke is actually turning on

What is the spray you use at the beginning?

Great job there! looks nice!

I didn’t see you pull the emulsion tube or pilot jet on this carb. Any particular reason? Is there actually a pilot jet - I couldn’t see one. I thought that might be one of the issues until you finally discovered the throttle cable wasn’t adjusted correctly to actually hit the choke setting. Once I get cables set correctly I hit either side of the clamp with paint marker for the future.

I would have cleaned up the threads on that loose valve stud and used some thread locker and torqued to spec to prevent a recurrence. I also would have pulled the other ones for the same reason - if one came loose then the others could too. Did you check the lash on those while you were at it? Very cool straightening the bent pushrod! You’re the very first one I’ve seen do that. Apparently, it works! Great trick!🔧👍

Wipe it on live it up😊

😢won't last long

Good job on the mower. Look good.

Great video keep it up

Fuel solenoid

have to find some covers for the mower deck

Check spark plugs

I am 69 years old and I have never had a chance to try a zero turn mower yet. I really like the way they operate. I hope to try one soon. It seems to take less time to mow a lawn because of its ability to turn on a dime cutting out the wide turning with a lawn tractor. You have to cover more ground to get to certain spots on the tractor style mowers. Zero turns are definitely time savers.

Yes sir Team Cub all the way! Same seat on my ZT1, and very similar to my ZTR50. Mine has 22hp Briggs 600hrs. Keep it 👍🏾

4000

Nice job mate

👍

Probably easier without ryobi slowing you down