4035 HST gutless!!

[IronHorsePilot]

Well, the mechanic came and replaced the fuel line. Made no difference at all. He cut a cap off of what I believe to be the fuel pump and then made an adjustment to it. Said he was increasing the fuel pressure. Again, made no difference. Mechanic said they had a 4035 HST in the shop for a 50 hour service so said he would go back and drive it and see if it was the same. Im still waiting to hear back. He did agree it definitely does not seem right.

 

[sd455dan]

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.

this almost sounds like the fuel rail in the injection pump is not increasing the the fuel delivery under load


when mowing- the tractors engine is set close to the recommended PTO rpm correct?

If you open up the throttle quickly under load can you get any black smoke out of the exhaust, if not the rail may either be stuck or mis adjusted, there was a thread about this concerning a chinese tractor. IIRC it was a thread about a Kama or Foton 554 the symptoms were similar to yours- in that the tractor was gutless and could barely climb a hill, after adjustment the tractor had way more power and could climb the same hill in high gear with ease...

And as you stated this is a HST drive tractor, but I would think the injector pump would still have to respond to load like most diesel injector pumps do by increasing fuel delivery to keep rpms steady (injector pump govenor moves fuel rail proportionally to stabilize rpm) ...??? Maybe the dealer could also verify the injector pump timing, as it can also effect power output...

 

[DavesTractor]

As mentioned above, a hydraulic remote accidentally in a detent position and bypassing will suck a bunch of HP, and overheat the oil etc. But you would have noticed that by now. Hi range in a heavy HST tractor is never impressive, but it should mow like crazy with a 6' mower, even on some hills. RPM most all the way up, mid-range on flats and low on steeper hills and you ought to be impressed. We have a 4035HST with a 7' Flail we sold a company and it spins it like it isn't back there.

I'd see if the dealer can put it on their dyno and check engine output. It is hard for us to know how tall your grass is and how steep your hills are, but a dyno will tell us if the engine is making proper power. If it is, they can check to see if you have a brake dragging badly or something like that.

On the low pressure fuel hoses - if you get a leak, I prefer to just remove the factory crimp and put on a good piece of hose and a screw clamp. At that point, you no longer have a "special hose" if it should ever fail on a holiday weekend. You just grab a piece of hose and put it on. The factory hoses look cool all crimped up, but I think anytime we can use standard hardware we are better off. Just my opinion, keep it in mind if you get a failure when you are out of warranty.

 

[Soundguy]

anything yet?

 

[IronHorsePilot]

Ive been waiting on the mechanic to call me back about driving another 4035 they have in for the 50 hour service. He says they are waiting on parts. As soon as he drives it he will let me know. At this point I am just using it as much as I can. The bad thing is instead of setting the RPM at the 2500 range for the 540 pto I have to run the tractor almost wide open at the 32-3300 range or else it is just boggs down so bad. I can bet thats not good to run the engine wide open and Im using fuel like crazy!

A neighbor down the road brought his New Holland Boomer 25 over and that thing will run circles around my tractor that is 13 more horse and 11 more horse pto power. Something is definitely not right!

 

[IronHorsePilot]

Ive been waiting on the mechanic to call me back about driving another 4035 they have in for the 50 hour service. He says they are waiting on parts. As soon as he drives it he will let me know. At this point I am just using it as much as I can. The bad thing is instead of setting the RPM at the 2500 range for the 540 pto I have to run the tractor almost wide open at the 32-3300 range or else it is just boggs down so bad. I can bet thats not good to run the engine wide open and Im using fuel like crazy!

A neighbor down the road brought his New Holland Boomer 25 over and that thing will run circles around my tractor that is 13 more horse and 11 more horse pto power. Something is definitely not right!

 

[Soundguy]

i'd be asking them to dyno that thing....

 

[MahindraDon]

There is such a huge difference with the HST over that old Ford. I personally can't stand HST tractors for the exact reason you are mentioning, but I have learned that my bias is just that, biased. Without actually operating your machine it is hard to tell, but I wonder some things. 1. Is the remote position lever off or on? Depending on age of your 35 series, some of those levers were hard for even the most seasoned tractor operator to know. 2. Are your tires full of fluid making it super heavy and creating unnecessary strain? That tractor is plenty heavy without loading tires for normal use. I recommend loading tires for extra weight only for extreme loader work. 3. Is your hydraulic fluid burnt up or improper stuff added by someone trying to save money. The fluid in these HST's is the most crucial thing. Instead of those enormous gears locking together on that old Ford, this thing is relying on fluid to build pressure through orifices and tiny passageways to move this heavy beast. I try not to hate on HST's anymore, but this is their Achilles heel. If you use the yellow bucket of cheap hydraulic fluid your tractor will act weak in every way. With quality Mahindra (or comparable) fluid, this problem might just be resolved. Also, ever notice bulldozers or other heavy equipment revved way up when they are working? These machines almost always have HST's these days. They aren't weak by any means, it just takes lots of rpm's to move that fluid fast enough to get the job of moving everything done. You might just be in too low of RPM range for the load you are carrying. Sorry for the novel, hope it helps you understand some.

 

[wolftree]

IronHorsePilot,

This is just a wild idea, but check the muffler for being partially blocked. They can really rob the power if they are restricted. Strangely, I have encountered this on two tractors and two different trucks. Everything will check out as operating correctly, but no power until I removed the muffler. In each case, there was a partial blockage inside the muffler.

 

[DavesTractor]

IronHorsePilot,

This is just a wild idea, but check the muffler for being partially blocked. They can really rob the power if they are restricted. Strangely, I have encountered this on two tractors and two different trucks. Everything will check out as operating correctly, but no power until I removed the muffler. In each case, there was a partial blockage inside the muffler.

We worked on an older Ford 1000 that had the muffler completely stuffed full with acorns. It would hardly run over an idle and took us a little bit to figure out!

A dyno will be a quick way to see if the engine is making power. If it is, then look for other power-robbing issues like brakes being partially stuck, etc.