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Cub Cadet Z Force mower tractor Service Repair Workshop Manual INSTANT
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Professional Shop Manual
Z-Force S
MTD Products Inc. - Product Training and Education Department
FORM NUMBER - 769-05513
06/2010
NOTE: These materials are for use by trained technicians who are experienced in the service and repair of outdoor power
equipment of the kind described in this publication, and are not intended for use by untrained or inexperienced individuals.
These materials are intended to provide supplemental information to assist the trained technician. Untrained or inexperi-
enced individuals should seek the assistance of an experienced and trained professional. Read, understand, and follow all
instructions and use common sense when working on power equipment. This includes the contents of the product’s Oper-
ators Manual, supplied with the equipment. No liability can be accepted for any inaccuracies or omission in this publication,
although care has been taken to make it as complete and accurate as possible at the time of publication. However, due to
the variety of outdoor power equipment and continuing product changes that occur over time, updates will be made to these
instructions from time to time. Therefore, it may be necessary to obtain the latest materials before servicing or repairing a
product. The company reserves the right to make changes at any time to this publication without prior notice and without
incurring an obligation to make such changes to previously published versions. Instructions, photographs and illustrations
used in this publication are for reference use only and may not depict actual model and component parts.
© Copyright 2010 MTD Products Inc. All Rights Reserved


I
Chapter 1: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Professional Shop Manual intent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Fasteners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Description of the Z-Force-S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Model and Serial Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Chapter 2: Engine Related Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Muffler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Fuel tank removal/replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Chapter 3: Brakes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Brake system description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Brake adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Brake puck/rotor replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Brake shaft assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Parking brake lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Chapter 4: Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Floor pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Left control console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Right control console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Seat . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Seat box assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Chapter 5: Drive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Drive belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Drive belt adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
EZT transmission removal/replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
ZT 2800 transmission removal/replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Drive pedal biasing adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Hydro neutral control adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Chapter 6: Steering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Wheel alignment and drive control link adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Steering gear box removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Steering gearbox installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Rebuilding the steering gear box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Front wheels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Front yokes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Removal of the steering gears . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Tie rods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Steering shaft, bushings and dampener removal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Table of Contents

II
Chapter 7: Electrical System .............................................................................. 87
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
RMC Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Key switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
RMC Module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
To identify a faulty RMC module . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
PTO Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Parking Brake Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Reverse Safety Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Seat Safety Switch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Starter solenoid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
PTO Relay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Lighting circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Start Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Run Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Run Circuit / Reverse Caution mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Engine shut-down circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Charging circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
PTO Circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Reverse Mower Control (RMC) circuit operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Electrical diagnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Electronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Electrical environment: AC Vs. DC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Ohm’s Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Kirchhoff’s current law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Kirchhoff’s voltage law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
How the system is wired together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Types of circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Series/parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Shorts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Opens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Increased resistance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
The Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Digital Multi-meter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Wiring diagram or schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Fused jumper wires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Test lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Self-powered continuity lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Ammeters and specialized charging system testers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Charging the battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Checking battery condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Battery Testers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Adjustable load testers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

III
Fixed load testers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Conductance testers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Battery discharge test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Storage of batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Electrical Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Voltage Drop Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Testing switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Diodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Relay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Schematic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Chapter 8: Decks And Lift Shaft ....................................................................... 137
Cutting decks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Cleaning the deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
To clean the deck while it is removed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Blades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
PTO belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Deck Belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Belt tension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Spindle pulleys and spindle shafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144
Spindle removal/installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Spindle overhaul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Leveling the deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Side to Side Leveling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Front To Rear (pitch) Leveling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149
Deck Gauge Wheel Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Front and rear deck lift shaft assembly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Deck lift pedal lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
Chapter 9: Maintenance Intervals ..................................................................... 155
Lubrication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Engine maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
The spark plugs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Air filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
Oil change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
Oil filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Fuel system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Servicing the fuel system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Fuel filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Clean the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Transmissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

IV

Introduction
1
Professional Shop Manual intent
This Manual is intended to provide service dealers with an introduction to the mechanical aspects of the Z-Force-
S riding mower.
• Detailed service information about the engine will be provided by the engine manufacturer, in most cases.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this manual is correct at the time of writing. Both the product and the infor-
mation about the product are subject to change without notice.
About the text format:
NOTE: is used to point out information that is relevant to the procedure, but does not fit as a step in the proce-
dure.
• Bullet points: indicate sub-steps or points.
Disclaimer: This manual is intended for use by trained, professional technicians.
• Common sense in operation and safety is assumed.
• In no event shall MTD or Cub Cadet be liable for poor text interpretation or poor execution of the proce-
dures described in the text.
• If the person using this manual is uncomfortable with any procedures they encounter, they should seek
the help of a qualified technician or Cub Cadet Technical Support.
Fasteners
• Most of the fasteners used on these mowers are sized in fractional inches. The engine and transmissions
are metric. For this reason, wrench sizes are frequently identified in the text, and measurements are given
in U.S. and metric scales.
• If a fastener has a locking feature that has worn, replace the fastener or apply a small amount of releas-
able thread locking compound such as Loctite® 242 (blue).
• Some fasteners like cotter pins are single-use items that are not to be reused. Other fasteners such as
lock washers, retaining rings, and internal cotter pins (hairpin clips) may be reused if they do not show
signs of wear or damage. This manual leaves that decision to the judgement of the technician.
Caution is used to point out potential danger to the technician, operator, bystanders, or sur-
rounding property. ! CAUTION
Warning indicates a potentially hazardous situation that, if not avoided, could result in death of
serious injury. ! WARNING ! DANGER
Danger indicates an imminently hazardous situation that, if not avoided, will result in death or
serious injury. This signal word is to be limited to the most extreme situations
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Z-Force-S
2
Assembly
Torque specifications may be noted in the part of the text that covers assembly, they may also be summarized in
tables along with special instructions regarding locking or lubrication. Whichever method is more appropriate will be
used. In many cases, both will be used so that the manual is handy as a quick-reference guide as well as a step-by-
step procedure guide that does not require the user to hunt for information.
The level of assembly instructions provided will be determined by the complexity and of reassembly, and by the
potential for unsafe conditions to arise from mistakes made in assembly.
Some instructions may refer to other parts of the manual for subsidiary procedures. This avoids repeating the same
procedure two or three times in the manual.
Description of the Z-Force-S
The Z-Force-S combines a traditional Z-force lap bar
zero turn rider (ZTR) with Cub Cadet’s patented Syncro
Steer
TM
technology.
The magic of the system: variable ratio steering gears
that turn the front wheels much further than conventional
systems. The steering control is linked to the traction drive
system control.
The traction drive system synchronizes the steering
angle of the front tires with the speed and direction of the
rear tires.
A true zero-turn is achieved when the operator turns
the steering wheel far enough that the inside rear wheel
spins in reverse just like a traditional lap-bar controlled
ZTR.
Figure 1.1

Introduction
3
Model and Serial Numbers
The model and serial number tag can be found under
the seat. See Figure 1.2.
The serial number is located to the right of the model num-
ber as shown above. See Figure 1.2.
The model number is 17AI5BHB010. The break down of what the number mean is as follows:
1 ...............................................................................................Residential machine
....7 ...........................................................................................Residential zero turn mower
.......A........................................................................................Sales level
...........I. ....................................................................................Engine code
.............5. .................................................................................Frame
.................B..............................................................................Transmission (B = EZT, G = ZT2800)
....................H ..........................................................................Style series
.........................B......................................................................Deck (B = 48”, D = 60”)
.............................010 ..............................................................Customer number
The serial number is 0J149Z20021. The serial number reads as follows:
0 ...............................................................................................Engineering level
..J .............................................................................................Month of production (J = October)
.....14 ........................................................................................Day of the month
.........9 ......................................................................................Last digit of the year
...........Z ....................................................................................Plant it was built in (Streetsboro, OH)
..............2 .................................................................................Assembly line number
.................0005 ........................................................................Number of unit built
Figure 1.2
Model number
Serial number

Z-Force-S
4
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Complete service repair manual for the Cub Cadet Z Force mower tractor is available for instant delivery. This manual is used by dealerships and professional mechanics for fixing outdoor power equipment tractors. It covers topics such as deck leveling, removal, spindle, brakes, electrical, steering, and engine maintenance. The manual is in Adobe Acrobat format and is compatible with both PC and Mac. It allows users to print specific sections as needed or the entire manual for reference. Please note that high-speed internet connection is recommended for downloading due to large file sizes.