cub cadet motors

[brichter]

My son in law bought a used Cadet. I asked a question about it on the forum a year or so back and someone told me that the motor in that model was a problem and that folks had had trouble with it. I don't remember if it was a Challenger or Courage motor. Does anyone know which one fo these two was the trouble maker? Thanks,

Billy Ray

[staninlowerAL]

Hey BR, Is this the posted question? viewtopic.php?f=2&t=90205&p=714544#p714544 According to my info the 1042 and 1045 used a single cylinder Kohler Courage engine while the 1046 and 1050 had twin cylinder Kohler Command engine. These were the 1000 series CC tractors sold in early to mid 2000. I have a 1050 and have not had any problems with it but my son has a 1042 and had an internal engine problem with the lever that opens the valves. Best I recall, the casting that anchored the bolt that holds the lever in place stripped out. We were able to repair it and it's been running about 3 years since the repair.

[brichter]

Stan, I think it was the Command motor that was subpar.

[T-Mo]

Command engines are commercial grade and last forever if taken care of properly. It's the Courage engines that I would avoid - too many plastic parts in them.

[brichter]

Thanks, T-Mo, I had them backwards.

[T-Mo]

Thanks, T-Mo, I had them backwards.

No problem. The Command is about as close to the original K-Series Kohlers we have nowadays. If one were to follow the timeline, the K-Series morphed into the Magnum series due to EPA restrictions. Then the Magnum was replaced by the Command series. The Courage series came out over 10 years ago as an entry level engine to compete against the lower end Briggs engines.

[BigBill]

I like the kohler aqs, as engines for being rugged. One caution it says in the owners manual use 30wt engine oil. If we use the correct weight motor oil we can’t kill these awesome engines. Most off the engine blocks are interchangeable I stock up on any brand of parts.