Anonymous Poster
New member
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2005
- Messages
- 0
What a week, and it's not over yet.
Two problems cropped up on my 3520 in the past few days, one minor and one major.
First the minor bit. I've had the orange top pop off of the range selector knob a couple of times. Each time it happened, I simply snapped it back on. Sunday it popped off while I was mowing with the brush hog. I haven't seen it since. The dealer is going to order me a new knob.
Now the major problem. Yesterday evening I was cutting the pasture--up high of course--when the high pressure line from the power steering pump blew out. Instantly I had no steering. None, nada, naught. That is the trouble with hydrostatic steering, when it goes, it really goes.
Fortunately, I had the good sense to shut it down before the steering pump destroyed itself from lack of fluid, but I was left facing backward on the hillside with no way to get the tractor back to the shop. Since it was late, I hiked down and called it a night.
This morning I drove to the dealer, Fort Loudon Tractor, who immediately offered to pick it up with his big truck. When I told him it was steep, rough, and would require four wheel drive to get to it, he said he would send a mechanic out to fix it, and that's what he did.
We "borrowed" a hose from a 3510 sitting on his lot, and the mechanic drove out to my place and replaced my blown out hose up there on the hillside. I'm happy to report that this is the only hose they have had blow out on a Branson, but I'm not happy to have to report that it is a bear to replace.
The mechanic had some unkind words for the engineers a Kukje. The hose routing is extremely tight. This would not be so bad, but the the steering column end of the hoses do not have swivel fittings, and there is no way to disconnect any hose without first snaking the whole thing out into the open. Naturally, wrench room to unscrew the blown line's fitting was blocked by another line which had to be removed first. It was quite difficult, and it was made worse by the factory gorilla who over tightened the couplings.
I should add that the mechanic had virtually nothing bad to say about Bransons, other than these particular hydraulic fittings, which he hadn't dealt with before, and the side panel latches, which he doesn't care for.
Once we were ready to reinstall the return line, which had to be removed to gain access to the high pressure line, the mechanic said he didn't like the look of the end fitting on it, so he replaced that one too.
Anyway, everything seems to be working fine now. I do have to do a bit of cleaning up in the engine compartment, but then I should be ready to go again.
As for the rest of the week, that's a post for a different forum.
SnowRidge
Two problems cropped up on my 3520 in the past few days, one minor and one major.
First the minor bit. I've had the orange top pop off of the range selector knob a couple of times. Each time it happened, I simply snapped it back on. Sunday it popped off while I was mowing with the brush hog. I haven't seen it since. The dealer is going to order me a new knob.
Now the major problem. Yesterday evening I was cutting the pasture--up high of course--when the high pressure line from the power steering pump blew out. Instantly I had no steering. None, nada, naught. That is the trouble with hydrostatic steering, when it goes, it really goes.
Fortunately, I had the good sense to shut it down before the steering pump destroyed itself from lack of fluid, but I was left facing backward on the hillside with no way to get the tractor back to the shop. Since it was late, I hiked down and called it a night.
This morning I drove to the dealer, Fort Loudon Tractor, who immediately offered to pick it up with his big truck. When I told him it was steep, rough, and would require four wheel drive to get to it, he said he would send a mechanic out to fix it, and that's what he did.
We "borrowed" a hose from a 3510 sitting on his lot, and the mechanic drove out to my place and replaced my blown out hose up there on the hillside. I'm happy to report that this is the only hose they have had blow out on a Branson, but I'm not happy to have to report that it is a bear to replace.
The mechanic had some unkind words for the engineers a Kukje. The hose routing is extremely tight. This would not be so bad, but the the steering column end of the hoses do not have swivel fittings, and there is no way to disconnect any hose without first snaking the whole thing out into the open. Naturally, wrench room to unscrew the blown line's fitting was blocked by another line which had to be removed first. It was quite difficult, and it was made worse by the factory gorilla who over tightened the couplings.
I should add that the mechanic had virtually nothing bad to say about Bransons, other than these particular hydraulic fittings, which he hadn't dealt with before, and the side panel latches, which he doesn't care for.
Once we were ready to reinstall the return line, which had to be removed to gain access to the high pressure line, the mechanic said he didn't like the look of the end fitting on it, so he replaced that one too.
Anyway, everything seems to be working fine now. I do have to do a bit of cleaning up in the engine compartment, but then I should be ready to go again.
As for the rest of the week, that's a post for a different forum.
SnowRidge
