Finally Bought a Diesel Garden Tractor! 1984 Cub Cadet 882 Joins the Fleet

When I said a few weeks ago that I wanted to find a diesel Cub Cadet tractor to go alongside the 782, I wasn't expecting to find one so soon (especially since I just bought the 318). But I managed to pull the trigger on one just a few days later. I guess that means I'm in with the "cool kids" now. I'm no stranger to diesel engines, and I've operated and been around a lot of diesel garden tractors, but I never owned one and finally decided to venture into that side of the hobby. This will be the last garden tractor I purchase for a long time...need to put a cap on my collection as I already have enough projects and don't have enough space for more tractors. If I purchase another one, I'll have to sell one of my existing four, but I don't plan to do that. I think the "big four" make a great team together.

Two weeks ago, I brought home a rare 1984 Cub Cadet 882 diesel, with a 44C mower deck, Trac-Vac system, QA42 snowblower, wheel weights, and a box of spare parts, including chrome baby-moon hubcaps. The tractor came from Danville, PA and was owned by the same family its whole life, used for mowing and snow removal. The tractor was for sale on Craigslist all winter, then the post expired and it resurfaced a month later with a lower price. I made the seller an offer, and he accepted. Jimmy (JohnDeere318Guy) and I headed out to Reading, PA to pick it up. The tractor was well-maintained by three generations of the original owner's family, and the seller didn't have room for it on his property, so he sold the whole package.

The tractor supposedly has about 550 original hours and recently had a new starter, key switch, fuel pump, and belts installed. The 15-HP Kubota D600 engine starts hard when cold (pretty common issue with them), but runs flawlessly. It mowed very well until the deck belt tensioner spring broke, so I will replace that. It needs a couple odds and ends...I plan to upgrade to a high-torque gear reduction starter, solenoid-controlled glow plugs, and a new battery with stronger cables in the future, to help the hard-starting issue. This tractor may also get a cast iron rear end swap in the future, since the aluminum CCC transaxle makes the rear end very light. Eventually I will be swapping the 3-point hitch over from the 782 as well, and I'd like to find a nice set of Super Lugs and V61's to put on it to match the 782. They will look like twins. And no, I will not be turning up the pump or adding a turbo...trying to keep this one fairly stock. 882's are hard to come by and this one was taken care of.