An Introduction and Thank You!

[woodlandfarms]

Welcome to the group. One of my very dear friends lives in Novato, just on the edge of the Indian Valley Preserve. Beautiful area. Lucky you.

 

[Red Zebra]

That's a purty machine! Like you, the friendly/helpful Power-Trac forum was a significant factor in my decision to buy a 425 in 2007. Welcome to the addiction!

 

[Incline]

Thanks for the welcomes.

Woodland Farms, I love that part of Novato that your friends live in. I'm in a similarly flavored area but on the other side of town by the bay.

So this may be a breach of thread etiquette but I had a chance to put the machine to work for about 14 hours this weekend. It performed really well. One interesting observation and I'm not sure whether this is normal or not but I was going down my 15-18 deg sloped driveway with a loaded bucket. The driveway had become littered with loose rock from spill-out over the course of the day. When I would slow down (release pressure on both treadle pedals) the left rear tire would stop spinning and just drag. The other three were working fine. I noticed a low rumbling sound as well - almost like the sound of rocks grinding under the bucket (but it wasn't, I had the bucket high enough to clear). Once I returned to level ground and powered up, all was fine - no noise and all wheels powering. Is this normal?

Other than that little observation, the PT performed fantastic and all the pride of ownership expressed on this forum is well deserved.

 

[MossRoad]

First off, are you running at full throttle?

Second, was it the parking brake semi-enngaging?

The sound of gravel grinding in hydraulics can be cavitation in a wheel motor. That's why I asked if you have it at full throttle.

The way the wheel motors are set up, the right front and left rear are connected in series. The left front and right rear are connected in series.

So back to your situation.... you're traveling downhill with weight in the bucket. When you slow down, weight will shift towards the front of the machine, lightening the rear. So it presses weight down on your front tires, taking weight off the rear tires. The hydraulic pressure in your front wheel motors will prevent the rear wheel motors from turning faster than the fronts. Since there's little traction on the rears as your machine tips forward, it wouldn't surprise me of a rear wheel would slide on loose material..... slow down.

As for the gravel noises, if it's coming from the wheel motor, or pump, its cavitation most likely. It's a pressure differential that can suck air out of the fluid. Again, always run at full throttle, and go slower downhill with loads if you already aren't.

 

[Incline]

Yes - full throttle
No - the parking brake wasn't semi-engaging

Your cavitation explanation makes sense and fits with the noise I heard too. I was going really slow as in crawling, and the left rear was locked up and skidding. Not turning slower or faster but just dragging. The weight definitely would have been heaviest on the right front and off the left rear so that fits your comment thanks!

 

[dcdtn]

Congrats to a new fellow PT425 owner! I’ve really enjoyed mine and the support from the factory has been top notch. I’ve had mine almost 2 years and going on 90 hours now.

 

[bol4fun]

Oh yeah, goes without saying, but once you shut off the PTO, the brush cutter will spin for a good 30-60 seconds, so don't get off the seat until you can see the motor has stop spinning.

I haven't used my brush cutter in several years since I bent the blades and bought new ones. When I bolt them back on, do you tighten bolts all the way on the blades or leave them loose a little.

 

[ponytug]

I bolt mine tight, but not so tight the blade is locked in place.

All the best,

Peter

 

[MossRoad]

There's a bushing inside of the blade that is just a tad thicker than the blade. The blade spins on the bushing, not the bolt. So I tighten it all the way down. Lube the heck out of it every 4 hours or more if in sandy conditions.

 

[MossRoad]

Oh, I also ended up buying a piece of DOM tubing of the correct size and started cutting my own bushings. I'm running low, so may have to order one again.