2005 Kubota ZD18

e_glaude

New member
Hi y'all. I am a new guy to the forum and I am very glad I joined. Lots of good info for a tractor guys like us. Thank you.

I needed a new mower for my large yard, 2+ acres, and bought a used Kubota ZD18, 2005 with about 250 hours on it. The machine is in mint condition and all maintenance was documented. Landed it on the trailer and took it home for $6k. It looks like it is going to be a mowin' machine out there.

Any advice, may be a bit late in asking, but was it a good deal and is the ZD18 something that is going to last a while? Any tips or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your help.

E
 

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
Welcome to Net Tractor Talk E. I'm glad you found us. :thumb: :D

Congrats on your new (to you) mowing machine!!!! You are gonna love it. I shopped for a ZTR and looked at everything out there in 2005 including the Kubota ZD18 and the Kubota ZD21. Awesome machines. I would own one right now if I had a big enough budget stretcher back then. :D

As it is I ended up buying a Scag ZTR. Awesome machine. It was about 3k less than the Kubota ZD18 with the primary difference being it's a Kohler Vtwin 27hp gas engine instead of the diesel Kubota puts in there ZTR's.

One tip which will apply to all ZTR's. If you find yourself leaving skid marks everywhere you turn no matter how easy you seem to be taking it, check your tire pressure. My pressure was to low one year and it drove me bonkers trying to figure out how I had lost my touch over the winter off season. Once I bumped up the air I was good to go.

You'll love how much quicker you'll get your mowing chores done. I mow about 4 acres and it's a breeze. The first couple seasons with the ZTR I actually looked forward to mowing. Plus I don't have to give the wife a hard time any longer when she wants to plant more stuff in the yard that I have to go around. No biggie to maneuver around anything. I love it. :D

Post a pic of your Kubota when you get a chance. We sure like pics here. :D
 

Kerry

Member
Love mine

I have a 2005 ZD21 and I love it. I keep about 12 acres as lawn with it. It takes me 6 hours to cut it all.

The first thing you need to do is put your seat belt on. When I first got mine I hit an 8 inch cedar stump going wide open. It caught the back of the cutting head. Talk about coming to a fast stop. Did not even put a dent in the head. It did pull the stump out.

Once I hit a tree limb with the roll bar. Put her right up on her butt. The safety switches turned it off. Kind of wild to be looking straight up.

Last year the clip that holds the left front wheel popped off, I hit a bump and the wheel assembly went right into the cutting head and out the discharge chute. Had to straighten out the wheel assembly and replace the wheel axle. Did not hurt the cutting head at all.

The only problem I have had with it are the front tires. Had to put tubes in them. One of the handy things is I have the same engine in my RTV 900. They both burn about 1/3 gallon per hour.
 

Kerry

Member
Forgot

I forgot to warn you about leaves in the belt assembly. I pushed into a pile of leaves and they got into the cutting head belt area. Tore the hell out of the belt. Cost $80 for a new one and they are no fun to replace.

Also I have 400 hours on mine.
 

e_glaude

New member
Thanks for the info guys. I am looking forward to mowing season now. Kerry, I am just glad that I don't have 12 acres to mow. I only have 2 and I can't keep up with it. That is a lot of lawn. I'll make sure to not hit any stums either.

Looking at the maintenance log that came with it, it doesn't look like the previous owner changed the transmission oil or mower gear box oil. Is it worth bringing this to a dealer to get done or is this something that a weekend mechanic can handle. I intend to have my mower for a while and I want to to last. Any other sensitive areas?

Thanks again for the replies. Any others are appreciated. When I get her cleaned up nice I'll post some pics.
 

bordercollie

Gold Site Supporter
Gold Site Supporter
We have a ZD28 and it is great. I love the arm rests too. I agree they cut very fast . I think you could easily change the fluids. In my opinion,it is very important to use Kubota fluids at least in the trans. We bought this one with 65 hrs and I now have about 200 on it. Did you know that (at least this one) has 2 fuel filters.? one is hidden up underneath. You will also find a trans filter under there. Did you get an owners manual with it? All the steps to changing fluids are in it. Also be sure to grease it often as the rotating wheels can use a lot of grease. I have also had the front deck tire pin come out and ran over the swivel deck wheel. ugh .I changed the clip pins to cotter types so they can't be pulled out by limbs.Ugh .. I also tore off the mailbox with the folded rollover bar as it stuck out and boom. same goes for tree limbs. Yes ,The deck can be cranked up but to get grease in some places but to help , I just made 2 drive up and on dirt piles- leaving a nice crawl space . I chance the oil in vehicles there too. It helps get the grease in the shafts "up under there" in places the crank won't help. Have fun!! Bordercollie
 

Kerry

Member
its easy

Just follow what the book says. It is easy. The cost of the Kubota trans oil will make you sick. Don't even try to find a cheap oil. Use Kubota only trans oil. I just changed the trans oil on my RTV. With 2 filters and oil it cost $110.
 

twist1234

New member
Z18

I am also in the market for a zero turn and am consideringa Z18 with 54" deck. It's a 2000 model with 358 hours (low, I think). My son has a small mowing business (about 14 acres), one of his contracts is for a cemetery with 190 headstones so we thought a zero turn would make the job easier??, also we have a BX 2350 Kubota and considered a mid-mount 60" mower. What are your thoughts regarding preference or combination of both.
 

Kerry

Member
When I first bought this place I had a John Deere 4100. I then bought the previous owners L3710 HST. Along with it came a 60 inch grooming mower. My thought was to use the grooming mower on the Deere. I hated the grooming mower match up. Long turns or you ripped up lawn. The Deere was a gear type so it was slow. Sold the Deere and the grooming mower. Bought my 05 ZD21. Had 2K left over.
 

e_glaude

New member
The ZD18 that I bought this year is a 2004 with 400 hrs on it when I bought her. It is a dream to cut my 2 acre lawn. Really well built and solid. This is no cheap box store machine, it is made for some serious mowing. I did take the time to replace all fluids and filters. If you do it yourself, you will see how well made this machine is. Respect it and stay on top of the maintenance and you will not see the end of this machine.
Once you get the hang of the zero turn, you will not go back to a tractor. Believe me, I mowed with the green yard tractors forever, and this ztr beats it hands down. The diesel is all you really need unless you are mowing large pastures, and this mower is not for that. Your tractor can do that job.
Getting parts or part lists on line is not easy, as Kubota holds them down pretty good, but there are some great dealers out there that will get you what you need and know the equipment. Take a little time and find the right dealer either on line or near you, it will be worth it!
Go with the ZD 18, do the maintenance and have a cold one with the rest of the afternoon.
 

Doc

Admin
Staff member
Gold Site Supporter
I am also in the market for a zero turn and am consideringa Z18 with 54" deck. It's a 2000 model with 358 hours (low, I think). My son has a small mowing business (about 14 acres), one of his contracts is for a cemetery with 190 headstones so we thought a zero turn would make the job easier??, also we have a BX 2350 Kubota and considered a mid-mount 60" mower. What are your thoughts regarding preference or combination of both.
ZTR is the way to go for sure. If you have the other mower and someone just sitting you might as well have them do some mowing ...otherwise I'd tackle that job with a ZTR and save loads of time over how long any other mower would take to do the job.

I mow 4 acres. I was mowing with a 6' rear finish mower and a 17hp simplicity for around the house. The simplicity died and I had to replace it with something. My wife pushed me to get a ZTR. I went for the commercial version since my ground is far from ideal, and I wanted to mow our river lot in addition to the 4 acres. I got a Scag Wildcat mainly cause it was a few thousand less than the Kubota ZTR offerings. It has a 62" deck and mows my 4 acres quicker than the two other mowers used to. So easy to maneuver around obstacles. It's actually fun to mow (at first at least).
Get the ZTR, you'll be glad you did. :thumb: :D
 

mascott

New member
I own a zd21 for the past 5 years and love it.I had the g1800(?) diesel that was bought in 1976 for $3200 and traded in 22 years later on a new g1800, they gave me $3600 in trade.But when the zd21 came out I had to have one. Only problem is DO NOT WASH DOWN THE DECK! It has high speed bearing that will burn out, I found out the hard way, But to his credit my dealer took care of it.
 

e_glaude

New member
Mascott, can you explain what you mean by the high speed bearing will burn our when you wash the deck? There are several bearings on the mower that need greasing periodically and I can't imagine not being able to wash down the deck.

This could be something in the design of the PRO decks. I believe the ZD21 has the PRO as the mower deck. Can't say that I have ever had an issue with washing down a mower deck with a hose. Pressure washer maybe, but that would surprise me. I have the ZD18 with the standard RCK 54 deck.
 

Kerry

Member
I have used my power washer but it is only 1800 pounds presure. I found the best way is to just use my leaf blower to get it crud free on the top of the cutting head.
 
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