PT abuse?

[pairodime]

I've been in the crux of the "tractor decision" for some time now, and would like to get some balanced perspective:

I am definitely leaning towards a PT purchase, but every time I think I've got my mind made up, there seems to be another post from someone about a problem. Recent discussions of pivot pins, oil leaks, bent forks, broken implement wheels, and engine problems lead me to wonder about the quality of the machines.

Could it be that they are so versatile that owners take them past their operating limits and have failures? Would you consider this abuse or poorly made?

I don't consider myself the greatest mechanic, so I'm not too excited about having to deal with problems if I put the machine through its paces. It just seems that every long time poster here has had to deal with some unexpected failure.

Appreciate your thoughts.

 

[MossRoad]

Welcome to the Power Trac forum! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Speaking for myself, the bent forks was complete owner abuse by me. I was punishing it in a way that it was not designed for. No design flaw at all. I had them burried in the dirt almost vertically all the way to the quick attach point and the I was driving the tractor against them back and forth while prying up and down with the dump/curl function of the joystick. I think if it was under warranty, I would have voided it right there and then! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The wheel that broke on my mower deck wasn't the wheel, it was the bolt that serves as the axle. I slammed the mower deck sideways against the side of my driveway with the full force of the hydraulics. Several things could have happened...
1. The driveway could have broken.
2. The tractor could have moved sideways(traction prevented that).
3. The wheel could have cracked in half.
4. The mower deck could have bent or cracked.
5. The axle/bolt could have broken. It did.

I replaced the bolt today. It was $1.87 at Lowe's. I bought a spare and put it in my box(probably never to be seen again).

Haven't heard of any engine problems, lately.

Please ask as many questions as you like. We will be glad to give you honest answers.

 

[pajoube]

As you have probably seen my threads under "pajoube" you know that I put the 425 to its limits in almost all my projects. You are correct in assuming we take for granted that this powerful little machine can do anything. You look at the 1/4 steel platiing from top to bottom and you feel like your driving a tank. I learned from watching Kristi's husband put the 425 through its paces at a trade show. Most people would never do what he did but I find myself getting very close. I have broke the weld on the pivit lift point which was my fault and will probably do it again /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif. It cost $50 to have it welded (welder coming to my home). I have not had any other problems and have 180 hours on it already (8 months).
I am like you in regards to not being a machanic. It has become easy to do all the servicing by myself. But then I have TBN and all the PowerTrac family to ask questions if needed. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
PJ

 

[Clarke]

I am fairly new to this forum and a new PT425 owner. I learned of the PT units from this board. I went through the same buying decisions you are going through. I'm very happy I made the decision to purchase the PT. I don't think the CUT I was considering to be as versatile as the PT. So far the machine has performed well except for one problem with the treadle which I fixed in conference with Terry at PT. These machines are heavy built and good quality. The PT to date has about 28 hrs.. I have moved and distributed 54000 lb. of 2a modified, 60 cubic yards of top soil of various grades to build a large landscape mound (will post pictures), started a trenching project which will begin again because of rain filling and undermining the trench and mowing acres of grass. If you are at all handy and need a good machine consider the PT. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

sg

 

[blackwell]

Anything made by man will break sometimes. That said, PTs do not break any more than any other machines I have owned, but to me the real question is, how easy and quickly can the repair be made.

As stated by other posters, these machines are built heavy and are very powerful for their size. I think you might have insight into some of the problems of some PT owners, these machines are so powerful for their size it becomes easy to do some jobs that are over their capacity and we get into trouble or over stress some components. I don't mean to say that PTs are perfect, they are not, but they are the handiest piece of equipment we have ever owned. We now have six with a total of thousands of hours on them, and I can say without a question, we have made more money with PTs than any other machine we have owned with a smaller investment. Isn't that what it is all about?

Our only problems, other than general maintaince, have been a seal or hose here and their, a worn pin, worn bucket teeth and edges, nothing major. I have always taken my Dad's advice, "always use a tool big enough for the job, or plan on the job taking too long and making a lot of repairs on the tool".

Good luck in your decision.
EB

 

[davesisk]

Just as an FYI...the old PT1418 I own has been running for 14 years now. It's had a new engine (around the 10 year mark), and I've replaced about 10 hoses, 1 wheel motor, and the ignition switch multiple times since I've had it (3 years). I've used it just about every weekend for the past 3-4 weekends this Spring, and so far I haven't had a single problem.

The engine replacement sounds like a major thing, but considering that the B&S 18HP v-twin is about $1K, if the engine needs to be replaced once every 10 years that's probably about equivalent to a deisel rebuild every 10 years or so (right?). I think a lot of folks get closer to 15 years out of the Kohler engines....don't know about the Robin engine's, but many people sure swear by their reliability (comparing to Honda).

HTH,
Dave

 

[toolz_not_toyz]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Recent discussions of pivot pins, oil leaks, bent forks, broken implement wheels, and engine problems lead me to wonder about the quality of the machines. )</font>

You've got to keep in mind that the work being undertaken by the people in this forum is type of stuff you can't readily do with any other machine at a comparable price point. People that buy PT's don't just put them in the garage and take them out to mow the lawn. Two of my neighbors bought CUTs over the past year (one a Kubota and one a JD). One of them mows the lawn and tries to did the occasional hole, the other's plans are more mysterious as he didn't get a mower for his JD but actually uses has TWO tiny lawn tractors that he uses for that purpose.

Except with the recent thread on mowing here, you won't see much talk about it. Folks seem to be more concerned with lifting, digging, drilling, cutting, etc., etc. Mowing is something the PT just happens to do as well.

So when you're not talking about mowing you're generally talking about tasks that are much more stressful on the equipment. That means things are much more likely to break. However, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's much better that MR's fork bent versus blowing up his hydraulic pump or flipping his PT or something else. It's much better that a bolt breaks or that a pivot pin warps than destroying the lifting arm assembly. It's better for both safety and equipment longevity.

 

[Tak]

I started "bent pivot pin" thread.

The intended purpose was not so much to complain about PT as to prevent other PT owners from experiencing the same problem that I experienced. Sorry to have mislead others with that thread.

I agree with all the other posts in this thread. The PT is a fantastic machine and I don't believe that you can compare many if any other machines to it.

Agreeing w/EB, No machine is perfect. It is built like a tank and will out do many if not all machines out their in it's class.

The key to my specific problem was that it is a machine needed to be easily repairable and it definitely is. So no problem.

Same as others, I would highly recommend it for the purposes discussed on this forum.

lt

 

[Cliff_Johns]

In general I think you'll find that a lot of posts are problem posts in all the forums. This is not because there are all that many problems, but rather because it's not all that interesting or useful to post every day to say that everything went fine and that you don't need any help or comiseration.

Cliff

 

[FOURTEEN]

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FYI: No new problems or concerns today!! (It was raining!)



PS: Now isn't this post just fascinating!!!!



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