Only Cub Cadets - ZForce Owner 2003 44" 18HP Intek

Hi Folks,

First post here. Love the Yellow!

I have a 2003 ZForce 44" 18HP Intek. I believe it was the year they were introduced? The picture you see is from 5/11/2013 after a full cleanup. Garage kept and used on a 1/2 acre crop of healthy Kentucky 31 Georgia Fescue every 5 days.

All that has been needed other then the routine service are two sets of belts, blades, and a battery.

The mower has given me no trouble in 10 years. Some friends said I should have waited for a Kawasaki motored unit to be available but the demand was so high at the time they had to use the Intek to keep up and it would have been a long wait because Kawasaki was behind.

My 1st Z Turn experience I noted that with a full tank of gas the side with the useless " cup holder/things to lose tray" would slip in situations the gas tank side would not. So I added a 2nd tank to balance it out. This required the deck to be re leveled a little but I was very pleased with the mod.

As for the Intek, after 9 years a valve cover gasket leaked and its vent line was not sealing well. So I was shocked when I read the valve adjustment should be checked yearly. After 9 years it was only a few .000 off. But... it started a little better and would go to idle more reliably. A couple things that came on so gradually I did not notice until I set the valve clearances.

So I am here because I am going through and refurbishing the deck components as needed seeking answers to a couple issues. They will be posted in the RER section today.

http://i1174.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3f962fcb.jpg