JonMark
New member
Not trying to stir waves about Branson, because I love mine, however I have run into a situation that I need some advice from other owners on. I purchased the 4520 on 9-10-03 and have put a total of 34 hours on the tractor.
The problem is that I loaned my tractor to my friend to use over a weekend that I was out of town. He used the tractor for a total of 6 hours roughly. When I picked the tractor up from him I noticed that the clutch was very weak, and upon trying to drag my box blade found that the clutch was all but gone. I immediatley loaded the tractor up and returned to the dealer to inspect. Upon dropping off my tractor at the dealer we performed an inspection of the tractor and found that the left front wheel was bowed out. We found that the bolts that went to the left front gear case had worked their way out, causing the axel to bind. We inspected the right side and found that the bolts were also loose, but not in as bad of shape. The dealer immediatley called the manufacturer who advised him of a service bulletin about this issue, "Bolts not torqued to spec from factory on a group of Bransons."
Since I was using the tractor with the 4x4 engaged, would the axel binding cause extreeme stress on the clutch?
The reason I ask is that the friend I loaned my tractor to has experience with driving them and upon questioning him, he ensured that he knew how to work the clutch.
Right now the dealer is concentrating on fixing the axel and housing on the tractor before they look at the clutch. They said that the clutch would probably not be covered under warranty and that it would be very costly!
Any thoughts? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Jon Mark
TX
The problem is that I loaned my tractor to my friend to use over a weekend that I was out of town. He used the tractor for a total of 6 hours roughly. When I picked the tractor up from him I noticed that the clutch was very weak, and upon trying to drag my box blade found that the clutch was all but gone. I immediatley loaded the tractor up and returned to the dealer to inspect. Upon dropping off my tractor at the dealer we performed an inspection of the tractor and found that the left front wheel was bowed out. We found that the bolts that went to the left front gear case had worked their way out, causing the axel to bind. We inspected the right side and found that the bolts were also loose, but not in as bad of shape. The dealer immediatley called the manufacturer who advised him of a service bulletin about this issue, "Bolts not torqued to spec from factory on a group of Bransons."
Since I was using the tractor with the 4x4 engaged, would the axel binding cause extreeme stress on the clutch?
The reason I ask is that the friend I loaned my tractor to has experience with driving them and upon questioning him, he ensured that he knew how to work the clutch.
Right now the dealer is concentrating on fixing the axel and housing on the tractor before they look at the clutch. They said that the clutch would probably not be covered under warranty and that it would be very costly!
Any thoughts? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
Jon Mark
TX