Here in Australia we only got the 2135 ,2155, 2185 all hydros of course , they all were Kohler powered however the documentation does mention Onan but no mention of B&S
There were also 2130 and 2150 models
At the site listed it has manuals for 2160 and 2165 both with Vanguard motors
https://www.cubcadet.com/webapp/wcs/...&serialNumber=
HDS 2140 , 2145 , 2146 had Cummins /Onan motors 14 HP for part of production , see following
https://www.yesterdaystractors.com/c...ttalk&th=41796
Oz

I acquired a 2185 about 7 yrs ago and it had a 18hp Command Kohler in it. Repowered my 682 with it. The rest of it went to the scrap yard. I also had a 2135 givin to me along time ago. If I remember correctly the 2135 had a 12.5 onan engine in it. Engine always ran good. The rest of it was junk. Would not waste my time on them. :bigthink:

I keep reading that the 2000 series is 'junk' but other than rotted out decks, most I've found need nothing but basic maintenance.
Things like dry rotted tires, dead batteries, broken belts and such.
The decks I've seen look pretty low end but the machine itself don't look that bad.
Its shaft drive, they all seem to use pretty solid engines, they have metal hoods, and a decent looking frame structure.

The down sides I've seen are the smaller tires on the smaller engine models, the thin decks, and I've not yet seen one with a good head light lens on it. They must of made the headlight lenses out of real crap because out of the about 50 or so of these I've seen so far only one had its headlight lens, and that one had it taped and tied in place. Its not just CC that has headlight panel issues, I've got two Simplicity machines about the same age on which the headlight assemblies fell out while mowing and got run over. The tabs that held them in place broke off after about three years and the lens just fell in front of the mowing tractor. I never knew it fell off till I parked it when I was done. On the second machine, I taped the lens in place as a precaution so when it gave out, it only flipped downward and stayed attached.

My biggest concern is the transaxles in these, I have no clue how much they will take. I'm only using it to move small trailers around the yard so I doubt I'm doing much to hurt it.
I did use the 2135 to drag an old Farmall 140 with a locked up rear out from behind the garage last week but it really surprised me and it pulled that thing out to the driveway with ease. I'm only really using it to move things I can't lift or things that I won't chance with a hand dolly due to the slope of the yard. I did the job for years with an old Noma tractor from the 70's. I gave up on that one after the fuel tank kept filling up with rain water. It turned out one of the screws that held the tank in place had rotted out and was letting water in. (I'll never understand why they put the gas fill on any tractor or outdoor machine out in the open where it gets rained on?)

At least on the 2135 there's room to put a coffee can upside down over the gas cap so the vent hole don't take on water.

If this rain ever ends I have to pull the fender pan off the 2130 to replace the fuel line and to reinforce the pan where the seat attaches. The hinge area is cracking all around the edges on this one. I'm thinking of adding a pair of 3" risers there to get some more leg room on this thing.
I did that to my other machines and it made a huge difference.

I would suppose that those who think the 2000 series are junk maybe never owned one or if they did performed little or no maintenance
My HDS 2155 is still going strong 21 years old now owned by a mate
It has regular maintenance
Oz

I tack welded the seat and springs from a 1330 on my 2166. the ride height was pretty awesome for me, so was the comfort with low pressure ATV tires. but the kid couldn't drive it anymore. At the moment I've got a blanket and intentions of building a little bench seat for it, but I don't think you'll complain about adding a 3 inch block.

I'm thinking of just making up a square box out of 3 or 4" c channel to mount between the pan and the seat hinge It'll both raise the seat and give me a small storage box for a chain or strap and things under the seat.
I've also got a few lengths of old trailer frame here I can use, not quite as heavy but good enough to make a seat riser with.
Of course, more height may make it a wheelie machine if I'm not careful, especially with how the 2135's hydro tends to misbehave at times.

Whatever you have in the free pile ought to do just fine.

If I remember right, the seat has two pivot holes on each side. If you move the pivot bolt to the lower hole it raises the front of the seat. I then added rubber bumpers to the springs to raise the rear of the seat.

Also, you might want to read the operators manual regarding the operation of the foot controls. To change direction from forward to reverse the brake pedal is supposed to be used.:bigthink:

Lastly, I bought mine last fall and it had 300 hours on it. The hydro fluid looked really clean on the dip stick. But, the foot control operation did not seem right. It would not stop when the forward pedal was released. When I went to replace the filter (which looked to be original) 5 of the 7 quarts of fluid came out and it was the color of graphite! Nasty! I removed the drain bolt and dropped out the last 2 quarts. I did this with the unit cold, because my intent was to just replace the filter. You then have to run the hydro with the wheels jacked up to prime the hydro, or it will not drive the tractor. As soon as I drove the tractor, it performed like I would expect a new one would. I plan to do a hot drain and fill, with new filter, IF the grass ever starts to grow this year. I use the Farm and Fleet universal fluid with the blue writing (as opposed to Hy-Tran type red writing).

I think it is a fun little Cub to own,
PeterJ

The seat hinges only had one set of pivot holes, the right side was pushed through the seat pan with a crack over to the seat safety switch wire hole.
I welded a piece of diamond plate across the pan and made two inch taller seat hinge brackets using 3/16" steel. I tried just raising the two rear springs up but they kept folding over so for now I just made two stands with rubber snubbers.

The seat pan was hard to weld, it fizzled like rusty metal but looked fine other than the cracks. added a full size lower plate as well.

I have a 55 gallon barrel of universal tractor fluid here, will that work?
I talked to one local dealer and they said Hydro Gear recommends 20W50 motor.

When I drained out the old fluid, it looked more clear with a hint of blue. I refilled it with regular tractor oil. It feels the same as before the oil change.

If I hit the brake even ever so lightly after letting up on the forward pedal, the tractor stops very abruptly.

I pulled the pans off of both machines, the 2130 and the 2135 and there's no hydraulic cylinder on either side. I gave both machines a good pressure washing underneath, the 2135 was pretty clean with just some dust underneath, it didn't have any signs of ever even cutting grass, the 2130 was packed pretty solid around the transmission and inside both frame rails.

After seeing these with the fender pans off I can see how light duty these are chassis wise compared to some older Cub Cadets.

I'm going to revive this thread because I'm still dealing with the same machine and same speed issues.

I bought a parts machine last week, another similar 2135 with the same motor, and same trans. The motor smokes pretty bad and the owner said makes a bad tapping noise from time to time.
It runs and moves normally though.

With my original 2135 still running way too fast, and as of yet not being able to figure out what was done to it to make it go faster, I decided to swap the transaxles.

After doing nothing but swapping the transaxles, the thing still goes way too fast. And the parts tractor, now also with a swapped transaxle still runs at normal speed.

The engine on the original machine runs at normal speed, it tops out around 3410 rpm, but I rarely run it over 2800 rpm. The transaxle is from a known normal machine yet it still goes way too fast.
I'm at a loss at this point.
The parts machine also gave me a deck for this tractor, which I've also swapped over.
One thing I noticed about the transaxle is that while it will go forward and backward at greater than normal speeds, it has no 'power' in reverse. It does fine empty or unloaded, with just my 350 lbs self on the tractor, it backs up with no problem, up or down hill. With the deck on it, it will not move in reverse, if I disengage the PTO, it backs up fine. If I connect a small wagon, it will not push the wagon backwards, even empty? I've been using it to pull my boat out from the back yard when I need it, it'll tow my 2,500 lb boat and trailer up to the driveway up about a 2/12 incline. Yet it will not back the boat back in? With any load, it just sits there, with the hydro moaning as if its doing big work but nothing moves. Unloaded, it'll spin the tires in reverse for three feet if I stomp down hard on the reverse pedal.
(If I step too hard on the forward pedal, it will flip over rearward or roto-till up about three foot of dirt). The Trupower AG tires on it are murder on the lawn.

I tried the other machine, and it backs up the trailer just fine. I swapped the transaxles back now, not wanting to leave a 900 hr trans in a 200 hr machine.
But the symptoms still didn't change.
A buddy hopped on it over the weekend, he was helping me put a roof on the new shed here and he was moving the dump trailer around to the side we were working on. He nearly had a stroke when the thing took off like it did.
Something I noticed while watching was that this thing leaves two equal patches of tire marks, both wheels always pull. Unlike most GT's I've owned which tended to just spin one wheel when they lost traction.

OK you swapped transaxles and the problem stayed with the tractor so you should have figured out that the problem is not the trans but it has something to do with the tractor. You have 2 choices, swap the good engine or find out what is screwed up with the linkage that controls the trans.:bash2:

The problem is I don't see anything different in the linkage between the two machines pedal wise but the forward bracket is laid out different on the two machines, which I would contribute to it being a running production change.
The one with the problem has no hydraulic shock on the pedal linkage, and the crossmember and springs are a bit different, but it doesn't look hacked up or modified. Its just made different. The frames are different too, but only in the way they're stamped. One is likely an earlier model vs a later model.
The one with the issue is a 1998 model, the parts machine is a 1994 model.
The '94 motor is marked 15hp, (advertised as a 12.5hp), and the 1998 model motor is marked 12.5hp. both motors look identical. both run at the same max RPM.
I can't see where there are any adjustments that would affect the trans slipping or not?
With no load on the machine, just me, if I plant my foot down on the rev. pedal, it spins the tires a bit and goes, with the deck engaged, or a trailer on the back, it just sits there.
This isn't a beat up old wreck, the thing looks like a new machine, it was a one owner machine with only a few hundred hours on it. I highly doubt the elderly woman who had this modified or messed with any of the linkage.

Someone mentioned a long time ago here that there's some adjustment where as if incorrect it could have more forward speed than reverse speed, but I don't see any adjustments, all the linkage is fixed length.
The part I can't grasp is how adding a 40 lbs tin trailer to the back can affect it so much? Its not like I'm putting 400 lbs of tongue weight on it and distorting the whole chassis or something.

I tried something today, I had a buddy sit on the machine and put it in reverse, while it'll back up normally and with normal speed, if I grab hold of it, I can old it back with one hand. Its pulling, but as soon as I provide some resistance, it 'lets go' and just slips. If I let go, it stops moaning and catches again and goes. Yet this is point is never met by simply adding weight on the machine, it has to be fore or aft resistance.

Since its not the transaxle, what's left?

You answered your own question. :beatdeadhorse:

The little old lady who owned this particular machine was not Big Daddy Don Garlits mum , he may have tweaked it for her
My only other suggestion is the valving in the hydro pump is stuck in some type of open position causing your dilemma
Oz

OZ if you read his earlier post he said he swapped trans axles and the problem remained with the tractor so it's not a transaxle / pump issue. He has something funky with the linkage and my guess it just needs to be adjusted.

Sorry Sam missed that we only just got back from cruising the Mediterranean and got through Hong Kong by the skin of our teeth
It has me tricked how a linkage could cause this situation
ps Ship was full of Americans
Oz

I don't see how the linkage being different is the problem? One simply doesn't have the same kind of springs or the hydraulic damper. The one without it has a different cross brace as well, there's no place or way to mount the parts used on the other tractor. I can't see how the lack of a damper would make it go so much faster, it has zero effect on the pressure in the trans or the input or output speed.
All the linkage is flat rods and one push rod, all of these are fixed length from what I can tell. The pedals bolt on but they're fixed by design as well.

With all that said, today I had a new problem, the 'fast' machine broke its driveshaft. It was mostly my fault, I stomped down on the 'go' pedal at full throttle on the asphalt to stop it from rolling backwards and it just let go, it broke the shaft off right where it goes into the rear coupler. It looks like it may have been happening for a while since the broken end shows rust halfway across the break.
I took the shaft from the parts machine for now.

I also found where the rattle is coming from on the parts tractor's engine, there's an outward dent forming on the side of the engine case near the starter. Its starting to bulge outward a bit and form a crack. Funny thing is it doesn't sound like that kind of noise but I can definitely feel something tapping against the inside of the engine case in that area. I haven't tried just free revving it wide open yet to see what comes out but what ever it is it can't be good. I left the transaxle out of that machine, and started to break it down in small pieces. With the shaft in the other tractor now, I couldn't see putting it back together again.

I solved the problem today! I listed it on CL for $600 without the deck and it sold to some kid who just loved how it 'pulled wheelies'.
I took $500 and a running 10hp outboard for it.
Now I just need to find a tractor to fit the 42" deck I've got here with new paint and new blades.

:bigthink:
I've heard lots and lots of people here looking to find deck to match a tractor.. This is the first time I've heard it other way around.

I picked up a pair of tractors today for $75 off CL. No decks included.
One is a 2155, with a running 15hp motor and about 3100 hours on it, and another 2135 with a running 12.5hp and 90 hours on the meter.
The 2135 is clean but the mule drive is locked up, so I'll be stealing those parts off the 2155, then mounting up the deck off the first 2135.
What holds the mule drive pulleys to the outside of the shaft? On both of these, and the one I sold, the mule drive pulleys are just floating on the shaft left and right, which don't seem right, they appear to need to be held outboard somehow but they just slide back and forth?

Download the 2000 series manual
https://www.mymowerparts.com/pdf/Cub...epair-Manuals/