Cub Cadet Z-Force User Manual
Service Manual
Cub Cadet Z-Force
IMPORTANT: READ SAFETY RULES AND INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY
This Service Manual is not a substitute for the Operator’s Manual. You must read, understand
and follow all of the directions in this manual as well as the Operator’s Manual before working
on this power equipment.
CUB CADET LLC, P.O. BOX 361131, CLEVELAND, OH 44136-0019
PRINTED IN USA
FORM NO.769-00967
(11/2003)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Deck Leveling....................................................................................................1
Deck Removal...................................................................................................2
Deck Belt Removal............................................................................................3
Spindle Removal............................................................................................... 3
Spindle Inspection.............................................................................................4
Tracking and Neutral Adjustment...................................................................... 5
Lap Bar..............................................................................................................9
Brakes...............................................................................................................10
Reverse Cutout Switch Adjustment...................................................................12
Electrical System...............................................................................................14
Deck Lift Shaft...................................................................................................19
Steering Input Shaft...........................................................................................23
Pivot Bar............................................................................................................25
Engine............................................................................................................... 27
Z-Force Model Lineup....................................................................................... 30
Z Force
1. DECK LEVELING
1.1. Park the mower on a flat paved surface, engage
the parking brake, shut off engine, remove the
key from ignition switch, disconnect the spark
plug wires.
1.2. Check front tire pressure. Adjust as necessary to
20-25 psi.
1.3. Check rear Drive tire pressure. Adjust as necessary to 8-10 psi.
NOTE: Tire pressure can effect blade height as
much as a 1/4 “
1.4. Measure the distance from the right rear corner
of the transmission mounting bracket to the
ground. Repeat on the left side. See Figure 1.4.
1.6. To make side to side level adjustment align
blades across the width of the deck, perpendicular to with center line of the mower.
See Figure 1.6.
Measure blade height
Figure 1.6
1.7. Measure height of the outer tip of the right blade.
1.8. Measure height of the outer tip of the left blade.
Figure 1.4
1.5. Adjust tire pressure within specified range, to
equalize the left and right measurements. This
will level the frame right to left.
1.9. Adjust the threaded link at the left side of the
deck, using two 3/4” wrench, so the height of the
blade tips match. The right side link is not
adjustable. See Figure 1.9.
Deck height
adjustment nuts
Figure 1.9
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Z Force
1.10. To do fore and aft pitch adjustment, align the
blades front to back. See Figure 1.10.
Measure
blade height
Figure 1.10
1.11. Measure blade height distance of the rear tip of
either outer blade.
1.12. Measure the blade height of the front tip of the
center blade.
NOTE: The blade height of the rear tips should
be 1/8” to 1/4” higher than the front tip.
1.13. Adjust blade pitch using a 7/8” wrench to
lengthen or shorten the front lift rods.
See Figure 1.13.
1.16. Tighten inner jam nut to lock the adjustment.
1.17. Double-check side-to-side and pitch measurements before returning the unit to service.
2. DECK REMOVAL
2.1. Position the mower on a shop lift, turn off the
engine, and remove the key from the key switch.
2.2. Raise deck to the highest position.
2.3. Raise the lift.
2.4. Move deck cart under lift.
2.5. Lower lift so that deck is BARELY touching cart
2.6. Using deck lift handle, lower deck on to cart.
2.7. Unhook the belt tensioning lever on the left side
of the deck, and swing the lever outward to
relieve tension on the deck belt and the PTO
belt.
2.8. Remove PTO belt.
Front lift rods
Jam nuts
Figure 1.13
1.14. Using a 7/8” socket loosen or tighten the outer
jam nuts to obtain proper measurement.
1.15. Check for “slack” in front lift rods. If one rod is
looser than the other, deck vibration will be
amplified.
2.9. Remove either linch pin from the lift rod cross
bar, and withdraw the bar. See Figure 2.9.
Lynch pin
Lift rod
cross bar
Front lift rod
Figure 2.9
NOTE: As the cross bar clears each lift rod, it
can be easily unhooked from the deck and
removed.
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Z Force
2.10. Remove both front lift rods.
2.11. Pull the J-pins outward to release rear deck lift
hangers. Rotate the J-pins to lock them in the
out position
2.12. Raise lift. Confirm that none of the belts or linkages will interfere with removal of the cutting
deck.
2.13. Pull cart from under lift.
3. DECK BELT REMOVAL
CAUTION: Before doing any work to the deck, it
needs to be safely secured so that it will not fall.
See Figure 3.0.
Strap
3.2. Pull the belt below the flat idler and remove the
belt from the spindle assemblies and stack pulley.
4. SPINDLE REMOVAL
4.1. Strap deck to cart.
4.2. Tilt top of cart until securely locks in place.
4.3. Using two 1 1/8” wrenches remove blade nut
from spindle shaft. See Figure 4.3.
Deck service
cart (Heftee)
Figure 3.0
3.1. Insert a 3/8” breaker bar into the hole on idler
arm assembly. Rotate the idler arm to the left
while rolling belt off of the flat idler pulley.
See Figure 3.1.
Idler
arm
Flat idler
(tensioning)
Stationary
idler
Figure 4.3
4.4. Remove blade and spacer. See Figure 4.4.
Spacer
Figure 3.1
Figure 4.4
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Z Force
4.5. Remove the spindle shaft and pulley from the
spindle housing. See Figure 4.5.
Spindle pulley
Hex head on
spindle shaft
Figure 4.5
NOTE: If the spindle is to be removed from the
deck, rather than serviced in-situ, the pulley and
shaft must be removed before the spindle housing can be removed from the deck.
4.6. Using a 1/2” socket and extension remove the
four bolts holding the spindle housing to the
deck. See Figure 4.6.
5. SPINDLE
NOTE: Spindles can be rebuilt while attached to
deck, or they can be removed for service.
5.1. If the spindle is removed from the deck, carefully
fixture it in a bench vice.
5.2. Remove covers. See Figure 5.2.
Bearing cover (bottom)
Figure 5.2
5.3. Using soft drift, remove the bottom bearing from
the spindle housing. See Figure 5.3.
Spindle
bolts
Figure 4.6
Tapered roller bearing
Spindle housing
seen from top
NOTE: The seal will come out with the bearing
5.4. Remove the spacer that fits between the bearings.
5.5. Repeat bearing and seal removal on the second
bearing in the spindle housing.
Insert drift
Figure 5.3
Seal
Note: lip
faces out
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Z Force
5.6. Clean and inspect all of the components.
Replace any that exhibit wear or damage. Evaluate the feasibility of repair versus complete
spindle replacement.
5.7. If a roller bearing is damaged, drive the bearing
race out of the housing and replace it as well.
Do not over-look the bearing race at the inspection stage. See Figure 5.7.
Cover
Seal
Bearing
Seal
Cover
Spacer
5.11. The double pulley that transfers drive from the
PTO belt to the deck belt has two different size
sheaves. The PTO belt rides in the top sheave,
which is the wider of the two, to accommodate
the angularity that results from different cutting
heights. See Figure 5.11.
PTO Belt
(wide sheave)
deck belt
(narrow sheave)
Figure 5.11
Figure 5.7
5.8. Drive new bearing races into the spindle housing
if required, using a heavy hammer or press, and
and appropriate driver.
5.9. Pack the bearings with grease and assemble the
spindle.
5.10. Install the seals with the lips facing outward,
using an appropriate driver.
NOTE: Failure to install the double pulley in the
right orientation will result in belt loss and premature belt failure.
6. TRACKING AND NEUTRAL ADJUSTMENT
6.1. For preliminary checks, park the mower on a
flat paved surface, engage the parking brake,
shut off engine, remove the key from ignition
switch.
6.2. Check front tire pressure. Adjust as necessary to
20-25 psi.
6.3. Measure distance from the right rear corner of
the transmission mounting bracket to the
ground. Measure the distance from the left rear
corner of the transmission mounting bracket to
the ground. If the measurements are not equal,
the air pressure in the tires will need to be
adjusted to level the frame.
6.4. Check rear Drive tire pressure. Adjust as necessary within the range of 8-10 PSI.
NOTE: This adjustment may be redundant if the
deck has recently been leveled.
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NOTE: Tire pressure will effect tire circumfer-
ence, which will effect tracking.
Z Force
6.5. Check the IHT (Integrated Hydrostatic transmission) release the levers to be sure the transmissions are fully engaged. See Figure 6.5.
Release rod for right
hand side IHT, seen at
rear of frame.
Released position; lift
and push in to engage
Figure 6.5
6.6. Check steering linkage for wear and damage.
i.e.; loose ball joint ends, worn bellcrank bushings, and loose or bent hardware.
IHT release rod
IHT release
lever
Forward end of the same
rod, connected to lever on
right hand side IHT.
6.11. Turn the engine off and remove the key from the
switch.
6.12. If there is wheel movement in neutral, disconnect the control linkage from the transmission
that is driving that wheel.
NOTE: If both wheels “creep” then both control
linkages need to be disconnected.
6.13. Using two 1/2” wrenches, remove the Nylock nut
holding steering link rod end to the return-toneutral mechanism. See Figure 6.13.
Steering
Return-to-neutral mechanism
link rod end
6.7. Replace any worn or damaged components
before attempting to make a tracking adjustment.
6.8. After the preliminary items have been covered,
check the neutral adjustment.
6.9. Raise rear wheels off ground and support the ZForce by the frame.
6.10. Start the engine and release parking brake, do
not move the lap bars from the start position.
Neither the rear wheels nor the brake rotors
should move. See Figure 6.10.
Leave the lap bar in the
“START” position
notch. This will hold
the lap bar in neutral.
Parking brake
released
Figure 6.13
6.14. With the steering link rod disconnected, start the
engine, release the parking brake, and check for
wheel and brake rotor movement.
6.15. If “creep” has been eliminated by disconnecting
the linkage, then only the linkage must be
adjusted to eliminate the “creep”. If “creep” still
exists, then the return-to-neutral mechanism on
the transmission must be adjusted.
Figure 6.10
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Z Force
6.16. To adjust the return-to-neutral mechanism,
loosen the socket head cap screw that locks the
indexing plate on the return-to-neutral mechanism in position using a 1/4” allen wrench. It
should be possible to move the indexing plate
with light effort. See Figure 6.16.
Rotate entire mechanism to adjust
Socket head
cap screw
Figure 6.16
Indexing plate
6.19. Start the engine. Carefully rotate the return-toneutral mechanism until a position is found that
results in no “creep”.
6.20. Tighten socket head cap screw. Confirm that the
adjustment did not shift as the screw was tightened.
6.21. Repeat the procedure on the second IHT, if necessary
6.22. Turn the engine off, and remove the key from the
key switch.
6.23. Reattach steering link rod.
6.24. Enable the seat safety switch.
6.25. The steering link rods can be lengthened or
shortened to adjust tracking.
6.26. Loosen the jam nuts on the link that connects
the bellcrank to the return-to-neutral mechanism.
See Figure 6.27.
6.17. Temporarily disable the seat safety switch.
Because the plug has a double-safety, simply
unplugging the switch has no effect. Applying
pressure to the part of the seat normally occupied by the operator’s gluteus maximus will
extend the three tabs. Clamping one of those
tabs with a pair of alligator clips or a similar tool
will hold the switch in the actuated position.
See Figure 6.17.
Seat safety switch
tabs
Bellcrank
Link
Figure 6.26
NOTE: One end of the steering link rod has a
right hand thread, the other end has a left hand
thread. When both jam nuts are loose, the steering link rod can be rotated to make a length
adjustment.
NOTE: When adjusting the steering link rods,
maintain sufficient engaged thread length within
the rod end.
Jam nuts
Figure 6.17
6.18. Insure that no unsafe conditions will be created
by starting the engine and operating the drive
system.
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