Two year / 70 hour reflection on Max 26

[linuxman51]

Well, almost 2 years, it was picked up in july '15 after my max 28 was stolen from the dealership.

I have to say, I miss my 28. I was a relatively early adoptee, picking the 28 up in 2012, I understand there were some running changes that bring the differences between the 28 and the 26 to virtually nothing by 2014-15, but it just seems... weaker, and more problem prone (now, to be fair, some of the problems I encountered with the 26 would have likely also been encountered with the 28, clearing brush tends to knock things loose and has the potential to occasionally punch a hole/knock a hose loose in the relatively soft underbelly region), but also having some nice touches to go along with it. cup holder, nice. mounts for the 3pt hitch stuff on the backhoe, also nice.

loader.. seems more 'meh'. backhoe seems to be a bit more lacking as well (or, maybe I've just gotten used to it). Still hate the **** out of that stupid seat, at this point it's falling apart.. the ball locks don't stay put. Not sure how I'm going to address that yet. Discovered this weekend that I'd somehow managed to bend the left (looking at the rear) outer "ear" for the lower link on the 3pt.. I haven't had anything on the 3pt with any kind of load in months and the last thing I did use was the phd.. wasn't bent then, no clue what happened there but it must have been pretty impressive.

the subframe for the backhoe routinely snags the lower links depending on what's attached at the back (the box and the tiller...esp the tiller), thats.. awesome.

But it's not all bad, beats the heck out of doing work with a shovel, in spite of the aforementioned misgivings, it is still a workhorse that starts every time, nothing major mechanical has failed (Although, looking around at some other posts, apparently I need to take a closer look at things). Reckon it's one of those things.. the first one is always the best one :laughing:

I still wouldn't trade it thought, it's a fantastic tool to have available.. adding the toothbar to the fel bucket along with a piece of angle to reinforce the top edge, and fabbing a skid plate with side pods to protect the underside has cut way down on the number of field-stoppages resultant from occasional brush clearing (as well as a reduction in hydraulic fluid usage). All in all, growing pains that didn't happen with the 28 (it saved it's problems for one big shot at the 3 year mark), and what feels like a little more lacklustre performance, but still a great machine. If you can get past that **** seat.

oh and if anyone is curious, you can get some interesting dyno readings from a tractor:

 

[RNeumann]

Thx for the report!

10hp and over 400ft/lbs of torque? Sounds like it was in low range!

Have you checked your hydraulic PSI? Have you seen the the curl cylinder upgrade folks are doing? It seems folks have routinely found the PSI a bit low- which would affect the loader and BH "strength"

 

[linuxman51]

Thx for the report!

10hp and over 400ft/lbs of torque? Sounds like it was in low range!

Have you checked your hydraulic PSI? Have you seen the the curl cylinder upgrade folks are doing? It seems folks have routinely found the PSI a bit low- which would affect the loader and BH "strength"

I haven't checked the pressure yet, that was one of the things I was reading about a little while ago.

It wasn't in low range, we did the test a couple ways (and now that I know how to set the dyno up properly, I could do it again and probably get a more accurate number)

we did it two ways:
the 10hp/440ftlb test was with the engine already at WOT, hitting the hydrostat from zero
the 5hp/226ftlb test was with the engine at idle, hydrostat already floored, and throttling up (a more "traditional" dyno pull).

neither run was with a pickup for rpm, the dyno software has an operational 'mode' where it determines rpm from drum speed and a known value at a given mph. It's not exactly accurate (Although, it did indicate a max ground speed of around 10mph, so that part is right). It was mostly due to getting the dyno wired up and being bored, we hadn't anchored anything down yet but badly wanted to play with it lol. figured the 10mph top speed of the tractor would probably be the safest bet :cool2:

 

[mike69440]

Get a pressure Gage on the port of the loader.

A 0.030" thick stainless washer will get you to the correct pressure, maybe 5-10% over.

You can always do my Loader cylinder trick. Plenty of loader now on mine.

Do a forum search.

That 2 Speed HST is useless., so glad I have a shuttle.

 

[linuxman51]

meh. I like the hst, there are a variety of things about the tractor that I don't like much further up the list. I've seen your posts regarding the cylinders and the pressure, they're on the eventual list (other more pressing things like rebuilding the fast volvo's engine, walling off the dyno in the workshop, and too many honey-do's to even start to list), but additional breakout would be nice with material handling.

 

[mike69440]

meh. I like the hst, there are a variety of things about the tractor that I don't like much further up the list. I've seen your posts regarding the cylinders and the pressure, they're on the eventual list (other more pressing things like rebuilding the fast volvo's engine, walling off the dyno in the workshop, and too many honey-do's to even start to list), but additional breakout would be nice with material handling.

My list was pretty long also, I took care of most of what really bugged me, See Photos.

Adding spring suspension and raising the seat an inch really helps!

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...hour-mahindra-max28xl-shuttle.html?highlight=
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...740-100-hrs-service-look-over.html?highlight=

Overall I'm happy with the Max28XL Shuttle.

About 195 hours since since I it brought it home 12/28/2014

 

[mcfarmall]

I presume that was a wheel dyno not a PTO dyno.

 

[linuxman51]

yeah, it's a regular automotive chassis dyno.

 

[Navasot]

You wouldn't have seen much difference going with the shuttle.. the hst though is lacking a bit compared to the old 28... the new loader design also has the skid steer option with dropped lift capacity a bit... even though it was a pain to change equipment the old 205 I believe that was on the 28 was a beast for its size

 

[mike69440]

You wouldn't have seen much difference going with the shuttle.. the hst though is lacking a bit compared to the old 28... the new loader design also has the skid steer option with dropped lift capacity a bit... even though it was a pain to change equipment the old 205 I believe that was on the 28 was a beast for its size

Totally agree, The ML205, especially with the curl cylinders I replaced from the L1526 loader, push/lift huge piles of wet cow poop. Wow the tractor stinks! Phew! 198 hours on my meter.

 

[linuxman51]

5 hours later, opinion is trending down... (could be the weather, could be work, could be everything else contributing).
pulled it out of the shop last night, retrieved a box from the storage shed (transmission, ~120lbs give or take) and brought it back to the shop, no problems. spent some time cleaning things, go to bring the tractor (And the trans) into the shop, buzzing from the dash, dim lights, what the ****. It showed no signs of having a weak battery a mere hour prior, nothing was accidentally left on. I should mention, I de-funked the terminals in mid-feb when we were attempting to pull a buddy's truck out of the mud along side the driveway(its real, and it's deep) and needed something to power a winch. At the time I do not recall the terminals being any kind of super fuzzy or deep green. Since then, it's lived a life of luxury for the most part, in the shop out of the elements and only occasionally disturbed.

Last night, by flashlight, I checked the terminals again, and my positive end is just about trashed. the negative terminal isn't a whole lot better, but at least a 10mm still fits on it. the battery retention bar is also showing some.. extreme.. signs of exposure.

I tapped on the terminals enough to get it to light off and put it back in the shop.
22 months (well, 22 months in about 6 days). 75 hours.

That's pretty **** sorry. The OE battery that I just replaced in my volvo is 13 years old and still works (though, it's showing it's age). the dang autozone battery I put on my ztr is going on 4 years and doesn't even have that much rust on the bolts. That whole deal is hosed, and really the whole positive lead will probably need to be replaced given the sudden influx of GFS. I've never had it on a battery tender, and it's never been run down low and had to be charged/jumped off or anything else like that. bah. Ambivalence is starting to give way to dislike these days. I'm hessitant to contact my dealer, not because they've never been anything short of awesome (or at least straight forward), but rather I don't want it to sit over there and run the risk of another one walking off... although... I doubt I would be nearly as upset about this one disappearing. It would be replaced with something of another color though more than likely.

 

[dickfoster]

I hate standard car batteries and as soon as one gives me any fits at all out it comes. I replace it with a good AGM. They cost more but you get what you pay for. Zero maintenance and no corrosion. I prefer Odyssey AGMs.
That said you can clean up your terminals then get some of those corrosion prevention felt washers and protective grease at the local autoparts store and it will restore things until you get around to replacing it for good with an AGM. BTW seldom or infrequently used batteries are especially prone to an early demise. Especially if you don't run the engine long enough to fully recharge the battery after you start it.

 

[mike69440]

Time to regrease my terminals!

 

[dickfoster]

On second thought it occurred to me that the battery could be overcharging from a bad regulator in the alternator. I'd stick a voltmeter on it and check the voltage with the engine running. Out gassing from over charging could be causing the corrosion. It's easy enough to check and you should see no more than 14.something volts with the engine running.

 

[linuxman51]

I might check that a little later (assuming it starts again), you're not the first to mention that. Still not a good look IMO, but at least it would explain things a little better.

 

[dickfoster]

I might check that a little later (assuming it starts again), you're not the first to mention that. Still not a good look IMO, but at least it would explain things a little better.

Well there has to be a reason for all of that corrosion. Either overcharging or the battery was submerged allowing battery acid to spill out all over the place, the battery was tipped or rolled over and spilled acid or something.

 

[oldpilgrim]

Those batteries are a problem in many of the Mahindras. The gases leak out between the battery posts and the battery case. It's a battery problem. Take the cables off, clean them, and put a slab of grease on and around the posts to seal that area and put a felt washer over the post before reinstalling the cable. This works well for me.

 

[linuxman51]

Well there has to be a reason for all of that corrosion. Either overcharging or the battery was submerged allowing battery acid to spill out all over the place, the battery was tipped or rolled over and spilled acid or something.

it's not been tipped over, rolled over, or underwater. so the only possible thing would be an issue with the charging system on the tractor (which is what I was referring to when I said it's not a good look either way)

i'll put the dvom on it in a little bit when I kick it out of the shop to let it think about what it's done.

 

[oldpilgrim]

It's not the charging system, it's the leaky post/case as I mentioned above. It's a well known/documented problem.

 

[arrow]

It's not the charging system, it's the leaky post/case as I mentioned above. It's a well known/documented problem.

Pilgrim is correct on the problem and how to fix it. Mahindra had a slew (Exide I believe) of very poorly constructed batteries they put in their tractors. I got a free battery (Interstate) on warranty as they are aware of the problem.