A PT-1445?

MossRoad · Apr 25, 2009

Regarding overheating and mowing... even conventional tractors overheat due to the radiators getting plugged with chaf. When I had my International 2500b and was brush hogging, the hydraulic cooler would get plugged very easily, especially if the weeds were as high as the grill. The nice thing was all you had to do was open the grill, brush off the front of the hydraulic cooler, remove a wing nut, swing the hinged hydraulic cooler out of the way and brush off the engine radiator. PT should have done a better design on the cooling on the bigger units.

RegL · Apr 26, 2009

I find carrying a good hand held leaf blower, while mowing in hot weather, to be handy for blowing out the coolers and blowing off the whole tractor. Even when away from the truck or house it's not to hard to find a place to strap it on to the tractor.

MossRoad · Apr 26, 2009

Our PT425 gets tons of debris stuck in the left front wheel motor as well as the engine compartment when mowing or brush hogging in heavy growth. I also use a leaf blower to clean it out. I clean it out after every use and sometimes hourly when out in the brush. I think I posted some pictures here of the accumulation once. I'll look for them.

MossRoad · Apr 26, 2009

Here they are.

woodlandfarms · Apr 26, 2009

One mod I keep thinking of is putting a metal plate across the front. I have had a number of occassions where stick will come in and jam things up. Something bolted on, maybe 3/8 thick, that would shield that sensitive area on the PT...

BobRip · Apr 26, 2009

All other things being equal, having the mower on the front and then driving through the dust and debris has got to be worse than having the mower behind and driving away from the debris.

woodlandfarms · Apr 26, 2009

On this whole junk in the front conversation, anyone ever have a stick come through the cuttouts in front and jam the treddle in forward or reverse?

I did. THat was the craziest experience ever. It is amazing how fast you can back up, and how long it really takes to hit the engine kill... Must have looked totally comedic if you had been watching from a distance...

MossRoad · Apr 26, 2009

woodlandfarms said:
On this whole junk in the front conversation, anyone ever have a stick come through the cuttouts in front and jam the treddle in forward or reverse?

...

Can't say that has ever happened, but I have pushed my forks into a brush pile so far that a branch has pushed the joystick backwards, lifting the load, which pushed the joystick further back, which lifted the load even higher, etc... until I realized I had to reverse the heck out of there or be speared by brush.

SnowRidge · Apr 26, 2009

MossRoad said:
Can't say that has ever happened, but I have pushed my forks into a brush pile so far that a branch has pushed the joystick backwards, lifting the load, which pushed the joystick further back, which lifted the load even higher, etc... until I realized I had to reverse the heck out of there or be speared by brush.

Forced reverse? Self rising loads? What are you guys cooking (with)?

woodlandfarms · Apr 26, 2009

I cook with the good stuff, and I have had the magic lifting FEL as well. You just stare at it, going what the heck is now wrong with my PT??? You feel like there is a ghost in the machine...