4035 HST gutless!!

[IronHorsePilot]

I have been using a '52 8N for the past 6 years pulling a 6' finish mower to mow my 10 acres of slightly hilly property. After borrowing a friends Massey shuttle 3015 I decided I wanted a new tractor with a FEL so out shopping I went. I bet I shopped every brand of tractor there is to be made over a 6 month period annoying every dealer in my state driving the tractors around the parking lot etc. I decided on a Mahindra 4035 HST with FEL. I went with the HST because I am gone sometimes and the otherhalf said she would like to be able to mow if I am gone and I felt the HST would be easier for her.

I bring the tractor home and now that I have my 6' finish mower hooked up to it and start actually using it on my property going up and down my small hills this thing is the most gutless powerless thing I have ever driven. Im doing all this mowing in medium and I literally have to baby the pedal by crawling up the hills or I can literally bog the tractor down till it dies. My 8N will go up and down the hills in 2nd gear better and faster than this brand new tractor will. I was hoping to cut my 7 hours a week in mowing time down but right now its taking me longer to mow with a new tractor than my old 8N.

Is anyone else having a power issue like this? I have a whopping 32 hours on the tractor. I have called the dealer and they are scheduled to come replace a leaking fuel line (happened at 13 hours, had 10 when I bought it) that they bandaided with some rubber hose and a few hose clamps till the new line came in. They said the technician will drive it and see if he thinks there is an issue. I just cant believe there isint. I also mow about 3 acres of an elderly couples property down the road from me and when I get on the road I put it in high and there is the smallest crest in the hill and the tractor can not make it down the road past the crest in high gear unless I again baby it.

I love the size and power of the FEL but the actual tractor driving itsself around is so disappointing.

Sorry for the rant but I just cant believe that this 40 horse tractor is so sluggish.

Any suggestions??

 

[maxmah3621]

I have been using a '52 8N for the past 6 years pulling a 6' finish mower to mow my 10 acres of slightly hilly property. After borrowing a friends Massey shuttle 3015 I decided I wanted a new tractor with a FEL so out shopping I went. I bet I shopped every brand of tractor there is to be made over a 6 month period annoying every dealer in my state driving the tractors around the parking lot etc. I decided on a Mahindra 4035 HST with FEL. I went with the HST because I am gone sometimes and the otherhalf said she would like to be able to mow if I am gone and I felt the HST would be easier for her.

I bring the tractor home and now that I have my 6' finish mower hooked up to it and start actually using it on my property going up and down my small hills this thing is the most gutless powerless thing I have ever driven. Im doing all this mowing in medium and I literally have to baby the pedal by crawling up the hills or I can literally bog the tractor down till it dies. My 8N will go up and down the hills in 2nd gear better and faster than this brand new tractor will. I was hoping to cut my 7 hours a week in mowing time down but right now its taking me longer to mow with a new tractor than my old 8N.

Is anyone else having a power issue like this? I have a whopping 32 hours on the tractor. I have called the dealer and they are scheduled to come replace a leaking fuel line (happened at 13 hours, had 10 when I bought it) that they bandaided with some rubber hose and a few hose clamps till the new line came in. They said the technician will drive it and see if he thinks there is an issue. I just cant believe there isint. I also mow about 3 acres of an elderly couples property down the road from me and when I get on the road I put it in high and there is the smallest crest in the hill and the tractor can not make it down the road past the crest in high gear unless I again baby it.

I love the size and power of the FEL but the actual tractor driving itsself around is so disappointing.

Sorry for the rant but I just cant believe that this 40 horse tractor is so sluggish.

Any suggestions??

have you tried to use the cruise control on the tractor? by using that and setting your rpms you should have better luck, im sure your use to the gear drive and setting your rpms and goins so your speed doesnt change on your your 8N im not critisizing just askin?
let me know if you have any luck i will do some more research on it as well for ya. hydrostatics are great, for alot of loader work, but long passes i prefer a gear or shuttle, with that said by using the cruise control, you may have an easier time keep us posted hope that helps!!
max

 

[IronHorsePilot]

Ive tried the cruise. Works great for long passes but if I go to the hill it will bogg down until it dies. I have to crawl up the hills.

I just got off the phone with the dealer and they are finially sending someone down on monday to fix the fuel line mwiththe factory part instead of their bandaid fix. He thinks that will solve my power problems. I dont see how but well see.

 

[Soundguy]

well.. if you are using the hst correctly.. and just applying a lil pressure, and it really is a load issue killing her.

wow... i'd be upset too. that N is about 27hp.. NEW less old like you have it.

a 40hp new tractor should play with a 6' mower....

 

[KubotaToy]

Sounds like you may have tractor problem. I rented a used 4035 when I was shopping for a new tractor a few years ago, it had all the power that a 40hp tractor should have as I ran a 6' brush hog with no problems on my goat hills. Unless your grass is 4' tall, it should pull a 6' finish mower like it was not there.

 

[JerryK]

I think that part of it is being used to a gear tranny and going to a HST. First the 4035 tractor itself is pretty heavy, lot of iron to move uphill. Try lifting up on the go pedal a little when going up the hill to keep the RPM's up. Most folks instictively push down on the go pedal trying to give it more power... especially if they are used to a gear tractor with a throttle pedal on the floorboard like my JD2240 Reverser.. but the HST go pedal works backwards from that. Your tractor might need a few more hours on it to loosen it up some, too. Just my .02 ....

 

[Jim Dodgins]

It could be a fuel starvation problem. I would make a finale judgment after the fuel line is replaced. I have a 3316 and it has no problem with a 6' mower.

 

[joshuabardwell]

I think that part of it is being used to a gear tranny and going to a HST. First the 4035 tractor itself is pretty heavy, lot of iron to move uphill. Try lifting up on the go pedal a little when going up the hill to keep the RPM's up. Most folks instictively push down on the go pedal trying to give it more power... especially if they are used to a gear tractor with a throttle pedal on the floorboard like my JD2240 Reverser.. but the HST go pedal works backwards from that. Your tractor might need a few more hours on it to loosen it up some, too. Just my .02 ....

I agree with this advice. HST pedal is very unintuitive at first. If the RPMs drop, back off on the pedal. Once the system goes into relief, pushing down more on the pedaI only makes it worse. It's not like a gas pedal in a car. Also, always run at PTO RPM. HST loves RPMs.

 

[Ted Summey]

I am suspect of the leaking fuel line. It may be sucking air or collapsing the rubber hose bandaid repair. It is possible it is either getting air in the line or starving for fuel.

40 hp should handle a mower up hill and down unless the grass is unusually tall and or thick.

 

[IronHorsePilot]

I think that part of it is being used to a gear tranny and going to a HST. First the 4035 tractor itself is pretty heavy, lot of iron to move uphill. Try lifting up on the go pedal a little when going up the hill to keep the RPM's up. Most folks instictively push down on the go pedal trying to give it more power... especially if they are used to a gear tractor with a throttle pedal on the floorboard like my JD2240 Reverser.. but the HST go pedal works backwards from that. Your tractor might need a few more hours on it to loosen it up some, too. Just my .02 ....

That is the problem. I have to back off the pedal so far that I am basically crawling up the hill at a snails pace to keep the tractor RPS's up. I am barely pushing the pedal and if I do the RPMs go so low I can actually kill the engine. For a 40 horse tractor I expected alot more.

Well see monday after this fuel line is fixed correctly.

 

[Soundguy]

deffinately post back.

 

[seaneastok]

Ironhorse
Not real familliar with your model or have any experience with hst other than a few mowers over the year's.. If the fuel line is the same one as the one I just replaced on my 4530(under warranty.The dealer told me they have had numerous problems with this hose.The replacement was a heavy walled ,steel braided instead of the plastic braided one),It should be the pressure bypass hose off of the injector pump that flow's back to the tank.In my experience it will leak fuel while the machine is running (or depending on the level in the tank)but is not a supply line to the pump so it should not make any adverse affect's on running conditions.(at least mine did'nt)Also I have never owned a finish mower but I will tell you that my 4530 shuttle will pull my 7 foot brushhog all day long in medium to thick grass/saplings and I dont even know it is there.I borrowed my neighbor's 10 foot three point brushhog awhile back just to see what it would do...second gear low range and it did just fine in light to med brush..granted I had to compensate a bit in some area's but all in all I was quite happy,Hopefully your dealer can make it right..

 

[grsthegreat]

I have a 45HP HST and a 6' mower. Have to use mid range, but have all the power in the world for mowing up hills. Does yours have 3 ranges like the Kioti?

I knoiw if im in high range...no way can i mow uphill.

 

[Ram4x4]

I have a 5035HST and pull a 7' HD cutter. I mow in mid range. When you start up the hill, bump up the throttle a little, or drop it into low and go full on the pedal. As mentioned, driving an HST is not the same as a gear tractor. Pushing the pedal increases the flow of the HST to go faster, which is like going to a higher gear on a gear tractor. The problem here is that pushing the pedal is NOT like pushing on the gas pedal (you're not adding more fuel to the engine to increase engine output).

Use your cruise control, set your speed and then when you get to a hill, instead of mashing on the pedal, use the throttle lever as needed.

Took a little getting used to at first because it really is not intuitive in that sense. It's just a matter of time and getting used to it as your hand is now the "gas pedal" and your foot is the "gears".

I mow in mid range, up some decent inclines at near full speed for the range without any issues.

Now that I think about it, I kind of almost wish there was a third pedal for throttle, that way I could set level ground throttle RPM on the hand lever, set range and HST cruise speed, then use the throttle pedal on the hills as needed...heck, I might even be able to rig that up.

 

[kiotiken]

Didn't read all the responses, so ignore if it's already been suggested. Make sure you're not dead heading the hydraulics, remote(s) may have been knocked on by accident. Sounds stupid, but check to make sure the parking brake is off, you wouldn't be the first member to leave it on.

I'll also point out that the hp for the 8N was measured at the PTO and the 40(?) hp for your new tractor is likely engine hp, so it may not be a huge step up in hp. Still, I can drag a 74" snowblower through 12" of snow without slowing down in mid range. You shouldn't have any issues with power.

 

[Ram4x4]

Lol, yeah, I've managed to leave the brakes on a couple of times already. Easy to do on the HST...

 

[JerryK]

I have a 5035HST and
Now that I think about it, I kind of almost wish there was a third pedal for throttle, that way I could set level ground throttle RPM on the hand lever, set range and HST cruise speed, then use the throttle pedal on the hills as needed...heck, I might even be able to rig that up.

Me too, even looked at the parts setup for the PST floor pedal with not much luck... when you get it done... let us know with pics/details... [ or the kits..!!!!! ]

 

[Ram4x4]

I need to look at the throttle linkage set up first. Only way it will really work is if the throttle linkage is spring loaded (so the hand throttle can be set and stay at that setting even if you advance the throttle at the linkage via the pedal). The idea is similar to the cruise control in your car..set it at 65MPH, then you can still mash the gas pedal to go faster to pass, then just let off and it'll still be set for 65MPH. Of course, in this case the idea is to maintain engine RPM instead of speeding up ground speed.

 

[JerryK]

I had an '46 JD B that I fixed up and finally sold. The fellow that bought it called and said that it didn't have any power, and I knew it would try to flip over backwards if it got 'nuf traction. It turned out that he had only opened the fuel shut off a little on the small gas tank when he started it... So, hopefully your fuel line rework will help you. I know my 5035 struggles to climb hills at low RPM's in second with the hoe on.. have to rev it up and she climbs like it's almost on the level... probably pushing 8500 pounds of tractor counting the loader and hoe. Good luck, Jerry..

 

[ranwin33]

I have around 200 hours on my 4035. While I would not say it is gutless, I would agree it could use more power in some situations. But then what couldn't. There have been two times when it has really struggled, one when I was pulling a 18 foot 2200 pound trailer loaded with people and haybales around the farm over Thanksgiving, and another time when I was using the 6 foot rototiller and tilling some fairly wet ground going up a hillside. But other than those two times, I find that backing off the accelerator a little and keeping the RPMs up work well.