New member, LTX1050KW w/steering problem

[Ol’ Autocrosser]

Hello, everyone! Just joined, and look forward to some good discussions/information sharing.

My Cub is an early 2012 model that I bought new and which, up to now, has been almost flawless except for the sloppy dealer prep I received, but that is another story.

My issue is the steering, which has apparently been deteriorating (slowly increasing slop) for some time, but at a slow rate which made it almost unnoticeable until it reached its current state. Last week while mowing my 3/4 acres, the steering suddenly started jamming when making a tight right-hand turn. Pulled the deck to inspect, and discovered the lower steering support bracket was manufactured with NO BEARING to prevent wear. The hard shaft has ground a slot in the bracket about an inch wide from the side loads imposed when turning the wheel. Zero mention in the Owner’s Manual about lubricating this critical wear point either (nor access to do so without deck removal).

Got on the Cub website to check the drawings and order parts, and discovered the bracket shown for my model does (at least now) have a large hex hole designed to secure a bearing. No problem, I thought, I’ll just order the new bracket, a bushing and a new pinion gear. Put the pinion and bearing in my cart …

…then the real problems started:
1) the system won’t let me order the new bracket;
2) it also won’t even let me SEE my cart;
3. Finally, I don’t know if I also need to replace the steering column. I assume the flanged bearing is probably thicker than the original punched hole in the bracket, so the bottom end of the shaft may have been lengthened to accommodate the bushing.

I haven’t yet been able to get thru to ‘chat’ with their Customer Support folks, so I’m hoping…maybe…I’m not the only one who has had this come up. HELP!

Also tried eBay to see if anyone was parting out an LTX to find a bracket, with no luck so far.

I’ll keep trying Cub Customer Service in the meantime. If nothing else works I might try either welding up/redrilling the old bracket, or drilling/grinding/filing a hex hole to take the bushing.

Other than this and the crappy plastic bearings on the front wheels (I replaced with oilite), the mower has been wonderful. Almost nine years on the original battery and belts, Kawasaki FR691V is bulletproof, I blow the grass out of the deck EVERY mowing, have used ONLY 91 octane ethanol-free gas since day one, only engage the blades at part throttle.

Been thinking seriously about upgrading to a 50” or 54” ZT1, but apparently they just dropped the engine hour meter on the 2021 models! What’s up with that!? ALL their maintenance schedules are based on engine hours, duh!

[Ol’ Autocrosser]

Update to my previous post:
Turns out I was wrong about the steering support bracket - it DID have a bushing in it, I just couldn’t see it ‘till I cleaned it up. Just replaced the worn-out bushing and replaced the pinion gear, and I’m good to go for another several years.

I’m STILL thinking about upgrading to a ZT1-50 or 54 since I have added so many trees that a zero-turn will save a bunch of time and also be less work (no more wrestling the steering wheel. I THINK they now offer an hour meter kit for those mowers now, and that would be a “must add.”

[ironman]

I'm not suggesting to cobble up a brand new machine, but if it's that important to you,
you could always go this route.....
https://www.ebay.com/itm/303349627152
https://www.ebay.com/itm/37342072688...pid=2176574050