I just bought a 2500 series Cub Cadet garden tractor (mfgrd in 2006) with a Kohler Command 21 CH23S v-twin engine and hydrostatic transmixer. This is not my first hydrostatic drive but it is my first Cub Cadet and this one doesn't quite operate like I'm accustomed to. With the old one (a Murray/B&S), when I lifted off the forward/reverse switch, it stopped almost immediately, nearly as quickly as if I'd hit the brake. And if came off the forward and did use just a bit of reverse, it slowed as if I was applying the brake gingerly. Which made it super-fast to mow with because you could fly up to an obstacle and stop in a predicable distance just by manipulating the fwd/rev switch. To me that was the advantage of the hydrostatic drive. But the Cub Cadet is much more leisurely about slowing when you lift off the gas. In forward it might take 50-100 feet to come to a complete stop, if then. The overshoot is not that pronounced in reverse, but then reverse is creep speed compared to forward. The other thing is that just a little of the opposite pedal (which worked as a brake on the Murray without drama) on the Cub Cadet is like tossing out an anchor. It stops very abruptly, which I'm guessing is none too gentle on the running gear. And the CC's brake is on the same side as the fwd/rev, and higher than the forward switch, high enough to be an awkward reach. The brake on the Murray was on the left so it's taking some un-learning to use it effectively (already had into the house once). I saw a reference in the owner's manual to a "hydrostatic neutral adjustment" so I gave that a look. Put the mower up on jack stands, started it and released the parking brake and the wheels [u]did not[/u] turn. So by their test that seems to be 'normal.' Does mine sound like it's operating abnormally to you? And is there some Cub Cadet hydrostatic owner's operating method I'm overlooking for close trimming? Zipping in and out of the short 'dead ends' was something the Murray excelled at but I'm not getting the knack yet with the CC.

Hi! In a fit of rage of how my kids left my wood splitter last winter, I took the engine apart and let it sit! Now I need it up and running ASAP. The engine is a Vertical Briggs and Stratton 6.5hp OHV Intek. Cleaned out my garage to find all the parts, rebuilt the carburetor and now comes the assembly! I have looked everywhere! I need help doing all the linkage (throttle, choke, governor). I took pictures but lost them in my old phone, and everything I find is on a Horizontal motor not a Vertical one! I have one loose piece that I cannot find a place for, and I'm losing time, money and patience! The engine is a Briggs and Stratton 6.5hp, OHV Intek #121332-0036-E2 VERTICAL Can anyone help?