And a not so perfect day

[jfh28]

Happy Birthday MR, glad you had nice celebration.

I on the other hand woke up early and found heavy snow falling. Weather people said it would be ending at noon so I waited to plow. Of course these were the same weather people who said 2" - 4" maximum when I went to bed. Found 12"+.

Now normally this is of no concern as the PT can easily handle this so I spent the morning in the office waiting for it to taper off.

What I didn't know was that it was made up of 3" snow, 4"-5" of solid ice and snow hardpack, and another 4" snow on top. I quickly discovered that the plow would not crack the hardpack and would ride up above it. The wheels then would crunch thru and bog down with all the slipery stuff ending forward progress.

Switched to the LMB and proceeded to plow/scoop a path five feet at a time. This was as far as I could get the PT to go before bogging down and stalling out. Our drive is 1/4 mile long, took me 6 hours to clear. Nasty stuff.

Hope others faired better with this storm.

Jack

 

[Thomas]

Now that doesn't sound like much fun Jack...kinda like double the work.

Got 17" fine snow,rough clean up w/blower last night 3 1/2 hours,today around noonish try for a good clean up but the winds are whipping...second half of the storm arrive difting.

 

[MossRoad]

Sounds really nasty.

If you have forks, you might try popping under the ice layer and work it from undrneath. A few passes in each direction might chunk it up enough for the LMB to do its job of carting the stuff off. At least the quick attach would work in your favor swapping back and forth... as long as you don't set an implement down and then bury it in the snow.

 

[MuncyBob]

Jack....our drive is just over 1/4 mile long and I can't imagine clearing this last storm with the PT!! The wind was brutal! My wife works 2nd shift and I fired up The Beast(86 F250, beefed up suspension, bored out, etc.) to give the lane another pass around 10pm and glad I did....there were drifts well over 2 ft high! Some parts of the road looked untouched even though I had plowed it only a few hours earlier!

Yesterday was the first time I could not get the PT started without some "help".....put the charger on the battery since it sounded about beat after several attempts to start and an hour later shot some starter fluid into the carb and thankfully she started up! I was dreading having to shovel all that snow around the house & barn!

 

[Barryh]

Happy Birthday MR, glad you had nice celebration.

I on the other hand woke up early and found heavy snow falling. Weather people said it would be ending at noon so I waited to plow. Of course these were the same weather people who said 2" - 4" maximum when I went to bed. Found 12"+.

Now normally this is of no concern as the PT can easily handle this so I spent the morning in the office waiting for it to taper off.

What I didn't know was that it was made up of 3" snow, 4"-5" of solid ice and snow hardpack, and another 4" snow on top. I quickly discovered that the plow would not crack the hardpack and would ride up above it. The wheels then would crunch thru and bog down with all the slipery stuff ending forward progress.

Switched to the LMB and proceeded to plow/scoop a path five feet at a time. This was as far as I could get the PT to go before bogging down and stalling out. Our drive is 1/4 mile long, took me 6 hours to clear. Nasty stuff.

Hope others faired better with this storm.

Jack

Yes, we were suppose to get around 4 inches here in Harper’s Ferry , it turned out to be somewhere around 8 inches in my driveway of the fine sleet snow hard packed ice over night. We had wind chill of 17 below last week where everything froze up.

Using the small rock bucket which has worked great for anything I have wanted to do. The PT had to work at it, but once I broke through the top layers of ice, I could get up under the real hard stuff and clear a small spot out to start working.

I have about a 150 Ft asphalt driveway it has a slight down hill wind. So I just start up high working my way downward and this makes the whole process easier on the PT, using gravity in tow. Not that it doesn’t have plenty of power with out it the bottom is level so it still has to work hard.

After a around 3 hours of working my not do good day started, with smelling and finding oil splattered all over the engine compartment. This is when I went to put her away. It had splashed all over the gas guard, and as high up as on the inside top of the cover I am asumming this is from the fan blowing it through the compartment.

I checked the engine oil and it was down about a 3/4 of a quart. It still runs ok, but until I can get out there to trace where it if coming from, I have a wounded PT on my hands. I’m not real happy about the whole situation, but still love this little beast.

I just had a hernia operation last week, so now I have to wait until I am healed up right to bend over the little bugger. I did not see oil on top of the engine, but a puddle at the bottom and all over the top of the battery. Well enough crying for now.

I just hope we don’t have any major snow storms any time soon because without this little green machine I would be out there shoveling by hand for a couple of days.

I can just put the F-150 in 4x4 and drive over it no problem, but the wife would have a hard time. Still not sure why she bought the Jeep Commander with the 5.7 hemi. Guess maybe it just makes her feel more secure.

 

[jfh28]

Bummer about your oil leak Barry. I don't even want to think what I would have done without the PT. Probably would have had to pay someone to plow. I shudder at the thought!!!

Rest well from the surgery, there'll be plenty of oppurtunities to play with our toys again.

Jack

 

[Barryh]

Thanks Jack,

you can bet I’ll have it back in good running condition very soon. I'm already going through withdrawal just thinking about it setting there.

Hey, thanks for the get well wishes, I really appreciate it !
Another week I hope to be finished healing up, and good as new.

 

[toy]

Thanks Jack,

you can bet I’ll have it back in good running condition very soon. I'm already going through withdrawal just thinking about it setting there.

Hey, thanks for the get well wishes, I really appreciate it !
Another week I hope to be finished healing up, and good as new.

Hope you get to doing better soon so you can get out there and fix your pt. Hope the fix for your pt isn't too expensive to fix. A long time ago I was at harpers Ferry and they had the old town i guess replicated like it was when John Brown attacked it and had an old black smith shop with forge do they still have that. I enjoyed that and some time that I go to see my son in Reston Va I would like to come and visit it again I would like for my son to see it.

 

[Barryh]

Hope you get to doing better soon so you can get out there and fix your pt. Hope the fix for your pt isn't too expensive to fix. A long time ago I was at harpers Ferry and they had the old town i guess replicated like it was when John Brown attacked it and had an old black smith shop with forge do they still have that. I enjoyed that and some time that I go to see my son in Reston Va I would like to come and visit it again I would like for my son to see it.

Thanks for the get well sentiment Toy, they put a mesh plug in so when it heals they say I can work out, or lift heavy weights again without any problems, and I hope their right.

I have a few ideas I want to check on the PT, when I can finally get to it. If it turns out to be anything major. I’ll contact a Robin Service Center, there’s one about 10 miles from here. I can’t understand why I should have any problems with a brand new engine. I always take good care of my equipment too.

Yes the John Brown exhibits, and other small town attractions are still there, I think they have added a few things since I was there last, makes for a fun relaxing day out.

About ten minutes away from Harper’s Ferry we also have Charles Town Races, horse racing. In a separate building they have 5,000 slot machines along with your choice of at least 3 nice restaurants inside, very nice place if you into the night life thing.

Something else you and your son might be interested in. During the summer you can rent intertubes, and go tubing down the Shenandoah River, Buses haul you back up to the top. There is public access all along the river if you like to go canoeing or fishing. Also several places offer white water rafting. Plenty of fun things to do around here.

 

[Barryh]

Of course if you decide to visit Harper's Ferry when the weather breaks, just give us a little notice, you and your son are always welcome to stop by here afterwards. The wife, and I would be happy to toss a few steaks on the grill, and we can sit out on the deck. It's pretty laid back around here. And of course that would go for any other fellow PT'ers passing through the area.

 

[Barryh]

Just in case any of you are interested. I finally got around to checking out my engine leak. Cleaned everything out including the breather housing, and breather hose. I’m not sure if the screw in oil cap comes with a ring seal, but I put one on just in case I may have dropped the original while changing my oil. I also added one around the dip stick. I cleaned the engine compartment out squeaky clean. Carefully tightened any loose bolts making sure not to over torque.

I cleaned the fuel cut off solenoid valve, and fuel pump while I was at it. I then started it up and watched for a few minutes at low idle nothing, no leak. Then I turned it up to full throttle. After a min or so I noticed a small stream of oil coming from under the right head and rocker cover.

So I shut it down and took the cover off to find a chewed up gasket that was not following the lip or edge of the cover, was just enough to not make a tight seal. Whew!! What a relief, nothing serious will be an easy fix. Anyway, I think I’ll order two extra for each head just to have on hand. Just nice to know my baby is back.

 

[MossRoad]

Fantastic! Glad you found it.

 

[BobRip]

Good news. I am glad it was simple and easy to fix.

 

[Barryh]

Thanks guys, you can bet I am very relieved. I had visions of something major. I think the cooling fan was catching the oil, and blowing it up and over everything so it looked more serious than it was.

Hauling the motor out of that small compartment, and lining every thing back up doesn't look like it would have been too much fun.

 

[bjustice]

Barry,
Glad it turned out OK. Engine oil over everything is always of concern.
You are right--pulling the engine would be no fun. Shortly after I bought my 2422-25 (it has been re-engined with a Robin 25HP), I was out in the woods in back of my house, would not restart, click, nothing. After extensive testing it was the starter. No way to move the machine to my "tractor barn" so I changed the starter in the woods. Had to remove the base bolts and hoist the engine/pumps assembly up for clearance, but did not have to realign anything. Kind of scary for a brand new owner, but turned out OK also.
Bill

 

[Barryh]

Barry,
Glad it turned out OK. Engine oil over everything is always of concern.
You are right--pulling the engine would be no fun. Shortly after I bought my 2422-25 (it has been re-engined with a Robin 25HP), I was out in the woods in back of my house, would not restart, click, nothing. After extensive testing it was the starter. No way to move the machine to my "tractor barn" so I changed the starter in the woods. Had to remove the base bolts and hoist the engine/pumps assembly up for clearance, but did not have to realign anything. Kind of scary for a brand new owner, but turned out OK also.
Bill

Wow! pretty impressive, guess we do what we have to do sometimes. I'm glad I won't have to go through that anytime soon. I would much rather just put in some seat time.

 

[BobRip]

Barry,
Glad it turned out OK. Engine oil over everything is always of concern.
You are right--pulling the engine would be no fun. Shortly after I bought my 2422-25 (it has been re-engined with a Robin 25HP), I was out in the woods in back of my house, would not restart, click, nothing. After extensive testing it was the starter. No way to move the machine to my "tractor barn" so I changed the starter in the woods. Had to remove the base bolts and hoist the engine/pumps assembly up for clearance, but did not have to realign anything. Kind of scary for a brand new owner, but turned out OK also.
Bill

Barry, can you see a difference in the PT with the larger engine? I am assuming you had it with the smaller engine.

 

[bjustice]

Bob Rip,
I think you were addressing me? I did not own the 2422 when it had the 22HP Robin, so I can't evaluate any performance differences. The tram pump was replaced as well, at about the same time as the engine. Don't know if the pump is more displacement than the original or not. In any case the machine performs well, but I guess I do wish it had the later hi-torque wheel motors. To my knowledge, they are the originals, they seem to be able to spin individually, more than I would expect, I suppose because they are worn and bypassing more than when new. The machine shows almost 1500 hours on the meter.
Bill

 

[MuncyBob]

Barry, sounds like you are well on your way to your perfect day! Beautiful country down your way. I hope to pass through on the AT sometime once I get my knees fixed/replaced.

 

[Barryh]

Barry, sounds like you are well on your way to your perfect day! Beautiful country down your way. I hope to pass through on the AT sometime once I get my knees fixed/replaced.

Let us know when you do, your welcome to stop by and say hello. We like any excuse to sit out on the deck, and fire up the grill.