Cub Cadet Collectors dot com

Hi everyone, new to forum and hope to learn much from everyone here. Been reading for about a week or two and decided to join. I have been a cub cadet lover for my entire life. My first memories of a cub was when I was about 8 years old and got to mow the yard for the first time. I remember bugging my dad for 2 years and he kept putting me off until my 8th birthday. Can't remember the model number but it was a 10hp, probably early 1970's model. I was 6 when we moved into the new house and I am pretty sure he bought it that summer, 1973.
Okay, on with my tractor, which is a 1995 1641. I bought it brand new when I purchased my first home with about 3 acres to mow. I had no doubt in my mind what I wanted so I headed out to the local cub cadet dealer and started my search. I narrowed it down pretty fast to a garden tractor as I wanted a tractor that could till a garden, mow my 3 acres, blow the snow in the winter and last at least 20 years. I settled for the 1641, and I say settled because deep down I wanted the super garden tractor and would have loved the top end model 2284. Being just married in 1993 and my wife pregnant with our first of three children I knew I couldn't convince my wife to pull the trigger on the top model. It was hard enough to convince her that I needed a cub cadet which was probably at least 5 to 6 times the price of a big box throw away tractor. So the tractor I bought was the 1641 with 48" GT deck, 3-point hitch, chains, wheel weights, 38" 8hp tiller and 45" snow blower. This tractor has served me well over the past 21 years. It has had a few problems but has never cost me a lot of money to fix. I believe I have replaced the starter twice, the PTO clutch once (under warranty), an oil leak on the PTO side of the engine, main center bearing of mower and idler pulley and the ignition switch. The rest of my cost has been on general maintenance over the years. Well this summer I started seeing oil in my garage after mowing under the tractor. I would check the oil every time after I was done mowing and I would be down a little bit, say about 1/3 quart. I would fill it up and mow again next week. Well this went on for about 1/2 the summer and then the oil really let go. I parked the cub for the rest of the summer while deciding what to do with my 21 year old tractor.
Finally took tractor into repair shop to get an estimate on what was wrong and to see if it was worth fixing or letting the tractor go. Repair shop told me it was the seal on the flywheel side of engine and would be about a $600 repair, as the entire engine would have to be pulled out to replace the gasket. Not sure what I wanted to do, I decided to get a second opinion so I loaded up the tractor and took it back to original dealer I bought my tractor from. Didn't go there for the first estimate as I live in a new home and the dealer is 35 minutes away. Just heard back from them this week and they did, what I think, was a much more through diagnostic. They came up with the same problem with engine but also did a compression test, checked out my transmission and the overall condition of my tractor. The gentleman recommended that I fix my tractor, as it is in excellent condition. Engine is strong and overall tractor is in great shape, minus the cosmetics of the plastic components that cub used on these models. He wants to change all gaskets and seals on the engine since they will have it out and their price is also going to be around $600. After feeling pretty good about what they said I decided to give my tractor new life and keep it for another 10 years (hopefully). I think I am making the right decision as it would cost my several thousand dollars to replace what I have with another set up like I have.
Thanks for reading my long post and look forward to this forum and the people that share the same feeling about cub cadet as I do.
Dan

Dan
Sounds like you made the right call! I'm not a fan of those Briggs but the rest of the 1641 is a great tractor! I do completely understand with the super/gt thing I'm in the same boat, but I already have way to many and don't need a super I need a full sized back hoe! Just need to make due with supers and gt's for a while till I can afford the right deal! I would say once fixed up, get new plastic if nothing else to put in a safe place. For now you can still buy the parts, someday you won't be able to! Someday you may want to replace it all!

Sounds like that tractor has served u well! Thanks for the history and I think u made the right call. Our generation is turning out to b a bunch of "throw aways"....it's nice to hear when someone actually takes the effort to repair something! I know the dealer is doing the repair (oh...and we could have walked u through the job) but u r still the one in charge. Good job and keep us updated on how this all turns out. Pics of this beast would b good too

Well I just picked up my tractor from the repair shop. I couldn't be happier. I know I made the right decision. The tractor sounds totally different. The motor has had a complete gasket kit including the head gaskets replaced. I talked to the owner who happened to check me out and he told me I have a good tractor and it should last me another 10 years or more if I keep up the maintenance. They also noticed that my low idol and high end seemed a little off so they adjusted carb and set the RPM's to correct position. They also tightened up my forward reverse lever so it feels much tighter. Did these at no extra charge. This is why I travel the extra distance for service. I also had the transmission fluid and filter changed, as I can't remember the last time I had it done (Probably 6+ years). Here are some picture of my 1641.

Nice!
10? I would say 20 more at least!

But Joe....it's a plastic hood. Let's compromise at 15
Dan...Good to hear about your dealer experience. thanks for the pics too

Picked up a 1641 couple of years ago. Very nice and dependable! keep up with preventative maintenance.
Nice Cub you have!

Nice to hear about such great dealer service...

Very nice