The 1812 is based on the IH cub Cadet wide frame but was mad after MTD took over cub Cadet in 1981 the 1812 was built between 1986 to 1989 and it had a Hydraulic nlift with front Hydraulic ports. It was a mid level Garden tractor for it's time period and had a Hydrostatic transsmission. It was just under the cub Cadet super Garden tractors. It had a optional Cat0 3point hitch for it but did not have a 540rpm rear Pto avaliable for it. They made a seperated 8hp engine driven tiller for it. Avaliable attachments such as either 42inch or 54inch dozer blade ,45inch snow blower and of coarse it is shaft driven. The 2165 is basicly a older version of the modern Cub Cadet 2500 series tractors minus the cast iron Transmission case. It iss shaft driven as well avaliable with a 46inch or 48inch mowing deck. avaliable attachment for the 2165 was a 42inch dozer blade or 45inch snowblower as well as a PTO driven tiller. But the modern Hydraulic tiller and electric lift sleeve hitch from a 2500 series will fit on they tractors The 2000 series tractors for the time of the 2165 were thentry level Garden Tractor because they were still producing mid level GT's with hydraulic lift and they were also producing super GT's still The atachments will not interchange between the 1812 and the 2165 Two diffrent tractors Both where full frame tractors. The 2165 was not avaliable with hydraulic lift. The have a spring assisted 6 postion lift which rases and lower mowing deck and 42inch dozer blade. If I were yopu I would go with the 1812 over the 2165 Just because it a more rugged tractor built close to the old IH cub Cadets. I own 3 John Deere's and 4 cubCadets 3 IH cub cadets and one MTD made cub Cadet I Have a IH made original cub Cadet 1963 and a 1965 IH made 70 and a 1970 IH made Cub Cadet 106 and finally a 2206 which is a few years newer than the 2165 Basicly the same tractor as the 2165. I have the electric lift sleeve hitch and 30inch hydrulic tiller for the 2206 as well. But for modern attachment the 2165 is pretty compatiable with them. The 1812 is already at least 20 years old so I don't know if it will last another 20years But I do use my 39 year old Cub Cadet 106 alot year round Garden plowing,leaf pickup and for snow removal with a 38inch snow blower. The 1812 is based on the same frame as a IH cub Cadet 782 Here is a link that might be useful: IH cub Cadet

ducati, You are right but also wrong. On the right side, I should have told the OP that the Cub he is considering is an excellent, well made tractor that will give him many years of use in a residential application. In addition, I should have asked him to tell us what he intends to use the Cub for, the size of his property and so forth because all of that plays into whether the Cub will suit his needs 100 percent or not. On the wrong side, it isn't me that is comparing the BX1500 to the Cub........it's Kubota themselves. Whether it's a fair comparison or not.... the people at Kubota must have looked at the marketplace offerings to see what came close to the BX1500 specs regarding size, weight, hp etc and made the decision THEY did. Regardless of the comparison, the resulting replies have given the OP something to think about along with a ringing endorsement of the CC he is considering. Whether the OP can make use of three-point hitch attachments or the PTO on a Kubota or similar tractor, is something that he alone can answer. All I wanted to do, was to make him aware that such things exist since he is prepared to spend six grand. If he had been asking about an LA series, then I wouldn't have brought it up out of the blue, like I did. Few people spend that kind of coin unless they have a fair sized property to maintain. And if you have a fair sized property, then lots of other chores come with it. Having a tractor with the widest flexibility to handle time-saving attachments would seem to be a wise move. The Kubota provides such flexibility.

The belt and tensioner spring both stretch quite a bit, even though they may look near new. I drilled two new holes for the bolt that holds the outer end of the belt tension spring, about 1" and then 2" further out from the original, following the same "arc" inside the cover mount ridge as the original. Now when I get a new belt, I start in position 1, then two, then three as the belt stretches. I have over 120 hours on the current belt, and used to replace them about every 50 to 60 hours. Having them flap around under-tensioned wears them out quicker, causes them to fly off, and vibrates the dickens out of the mower. Also, be sure the end of the spring that attaches to the tension swing arm is in the correct hole. The spring has a tendency to come off when a belt does, and it may have been put back in the wrong hole.

Might not be in the IDLER PULLEYS at all! It could be a "locked up" bearing in one of the blade spindles, or something otherwise preventing one of the blades from rotating. You will need to check each blade spindle to make sure they turn easily (and without any "rough" feel or noise when they turn). You will have to remove the belt that runs from spindle to spindle so you can "isolate" each spindle to find the bad one (if there is a bad one). If you don't have a "belt routing diagram" on the deck, take some pictures with a digital camera BEFORE you remove any belts. Also, look under the deck where the blades live to make sure something isn't blocking" a blade. I doubt it being "an idler pulley" as idlers don't have enough "stopping power" to halt the main belt. The v-groove pulleys that drive the blade spindles do have the strength to "stop a belt" (and kill the engine). Idler pulleys usually result in a lot of noise and often, some smoke, or will "throw" the belt off.