Bought a second 425

[Carpenter]

I bought my second 425 a while back and I guess it was good timing; my faithful 1999 425 just died. It goes into the shop on Monday to diagnose the problem. It has been burning oil and now won't run. The new 425's are sure different. I don't care for the steering wheel angle, but the aluminum gas tank and higher lift are positives. I haven't managed to burn my leg on the exposed exhaust .... yet. I wish I hadn't upgraded to the bar tread tires; I thought they would be the same Carlisle Tru Power's but these are more rounded and don't work as well in mud or snow. I just ordered a set of Tru Power replacements.

BTW Where is the tow valve on the 1999? I've looked at the manual and it doesn't make much sense. Maybe some more cleaning will reveal what I'm missing. I can always pick it up and load it on the trailer with the L39; that's how i unloaded my and my neighbor's new ones when they were delivered. I don't know what they were thinking when they loaded that trailer.

 

[m5040]

Throw 2 new spark plugs in and try it ( you could make sure it has spark before you do).
You can never have enough Power Trac tractors!

I have what I think are the same bar tread tires on my PT180. One good thing is they are more mild on the lawn.

 

[BigDaddyEureka]

Congrats on the new one! How many hours did the first one go before "going over the waterfall?"

 

[MossRoad]

...
BTW Where is the tow valve on the 1999?...

Maybe this thread will help you. It has pictures of my 2001 model year PT425, tow port location, jumper hose connections, etc...

Congrats on your new machine.

Dead battery, broken exhaust stud, tow ports, gas tanks, welding, carbs.... YIKES!

My 2001 model year PT425 battery died. The metal battery hold down strap wore through the case and that was that. As many of you know, on this iteration of PT425 layout, the muffler has to be removed to get the battery out. Four nuts on four studs.... three came off... one stud snapped very...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[MossRoad]

... my faithful 1999 425 just died. It goes into the shop on Monday to diagnose the problem. It has been burning oil and now won't run. ...

What are the symptoms of the dead 425, and what do you mean by it won't run?

 

[Carpenter]

What are the symptoms of the dead 425, and what do you mean by it won't run?

It started right up and then died. Every time I try to start it, it fires briefly sending out a cloud of smoke, then dies.

Maybe this thread will help you. It has pictures of my 2001 model year PT425, tow port location, jumper hose connections, etc...

Congrats on your new machine.

Dead battery, broken exhaust stud, tow ports, gas tanks, welding, carbs.... YIKES!

My 2001 model year PT425 battery died. The metal battery hold down strap wore through the case and that was that. As many of you know, on this iteration of PT425 layout, the muffler has to be removed to get the battery out. Four nuts on four studs.... three came off... one stud snapped very...

www.tractorbynet.com

Thanks! I'll have to clean out the filthy beast so I can see. My hose is like yours; only one fitting. I'll have to check and see if the new one is any different.

 

[MossRoad]

It started right up and then died. Every time I try to start it, it fires briefly sending out a cloud of smoke, then dies.

Thanks! I'll have to clean out the filthy beast so I can see. My hose is like yours; only one fitting. I'll have to check and see if the new one is any different.

Glad I could help on the bypass hose. I've used it twice now. I keep it in a gallon zip lock bag in a safe place.

As for your engine, I'd check to see if your valve rockers and push rods are OK. You can do it on one side without removing the valve cover. Take the oil filler cap off and look in there with a flashlight to see if the push rods are still engaged under the valve rockers. You'd have to pull the valve cover on the other side to look under that. However, CAUTION! When I went to pull my valve covers, one of the bolts snapped in the head on both sides. I have temporarily worked around it with just 3 of the 4 valve cover bolts, however, it leaks after several hours of operation and could cause an oil fire. Kohler changed the valve cover design and no longer sells the old gaskets, so I'd have to get new valve covers if I want new valve cover gaskets. I really need to take the heads off and see if I can extract the broken bolts, but nothing has worked so far, so I'm probably looking at new heads. They are not cheap.

Anyhow, my machine was running fine. I shut it off. Went to start it and it sounded horrible then died. I was worried I'd run it out of oil, so I opened the oil filler cap and that's when I saw the valve rocker arm at an angle and the top of the push rod just sitting there, no longer under the rocker arm. I was able to put it back in place and got new bolts an tightened them down to the new torque spec, which, as I recall, is almost double that of the old torque spec. I guess it's a known problem.

There is no valve adjustment on my model of Kohler Command CH25 engine, as it's hydraulic lifters.

It's worth a look inside that oil filler cap to see of you can see anything on that side. Another thing to try would be a compression check.