Cracking hoods on 2500 series

[NEFirewood]

MY 2005 2554 has the steel hood.
>>>>>>>>>>

I also have a 2005 with a steel hood on it as well. It says GT2542 on it, unless the stickers got changed. I am near 300 hours on it now and my only complaint is the PTO belts breaking. I already broke my first one this a few weeks ago.

 

[LBrown59]

I also have a 2005 with a steel hood on it as well. It says GT2542 on it, unless the stickers got changed. I am near 300 hours on it now and my only complaint is the PTO belts breaking. I already broke my first one this a few weeks ago.

I bought mine new in 2005.
Have less than 85 hours on it.
Have a new front blade and a new rear tiller
for it that have never been on it.
Great outfit no complaints on it but I switched over to a BX1500 with tiller and front blade so the CC is up for grabs.

 

[Fordlords]

It's a story of irony. Let's see, there were no problems with the metal hoods, but they can't leave well enough alone. All of a sudden they switch to plastic to try to save money and it's problem city, and all the retrofits to correct the problems surely add up. Not to mention the cost of the oil used to make thermoformed plastic has skyrocketed, making the plastic hood no longer that much cheaper to produce than steel. I call it working backwards.

Funniest irony?? The cheapest of cheap on sale $800 Craftsman LT has a steel hood.

-Fordlords-

 

[CCinCT]

There must have been a formulation change or something between 2007 and 2008. I've had two hoods and neither had any structural problems. The first was replaced by my dealer (Dec '06) even though there wasn't any melting or anything. He just did it as a preemptive act because the failing latch issue was becoming common then. The second hood has taken a 3 or 4 inch log through the grill with no cracks or anything, though the heat shield took a dent. That was over a year ago and it's still intact with no signs of failure. And my fastening points look just like the ones pictured, so I don't think there's been a design change. Of course without taking any measurements we can't really be sure.

It's possible that the formula changed to deal with the rising cost of petroleum, as Ford suggested.

 

[LBrown59]

It's a story of irony. Let's see, there were no problems with the metal hoods, but they can't leave well enough alone. All of a sudden they switch to plastic to try to save money and it's problem city, and all the retrofits to correct the problems surely add up. Not to mention the cost of the oil used to make thermoformed plastic has skyrocketed, making the plastic hood no longer that much cheaper to produce than steel. I call it working backwards.

Funniest irony?? The cheapest of cheap on sale $800 Craftsman LT has a steel hood.
*they can't leave well enough alone.
-Fordlords-

*It's like I tell my wife they can't make anything decent or what I need and if they ever do they will find a way to screw it up or take it off the market.

 

[JSharp]

It's a story of irony. Let's see, there were no problems with the metal hoods, but they can't leave well enough alone. All of a sudden they switch to plastic to try to save money and it's problem city, and all the retrofits to correct the problems surely add up. Not to mention the cost of the oil used to make thermoformed plastic has skyrocketed, making the plastic hood no longer that much cheaper to produce than steel. I call it working backwards.

Funniest irony?? The cheapest of cheap on sale $800 Craftsman LT has a steel hood.

-Fordlords-

The last version of metal hood wasn't perfect either. Before I bought my '06 I saw a number of them, some still on the showroom floor, with messed up side panel latches and side panels falling off. A guy at work even commented on how cheap the setup was on his Cub and how much he disliked it. So that arrangement is pretty cheesy too.

I'm not opposed to using either steel or plastic. I'm just opposed to using either badly.

I hear your comment about the Craftsman. My '94 White L-12 had a simple metal hood and grill. The hood hinged in the front and was held by limiting cables. It had a simple latch in the back. It was clearly *very* inexpensive to fabricate but it worked fine. I'd be happy if my 2554 had a setup like that.

 

[JSharp]

There must have been a formulation change or something between 2007 and 2008. I've had two hoods and neither had any structural problems. The first was replaced by my dealer (Dec '06) even though there wasn't any melting or anything. He just did it as a preemptive act because the failing latch issue was becoming common then. The second hood has taken a 3 or 4 inch log through the grill with no cracks or anything, though the heat shield took a dent. That was over a year ago and it's still intact with no signs of failure. And my fastening points look just like the ones pictured, so I don't think there's been a design change. Of course without taking any measurements we can't really be sure.

It's possible that the formula changed to deal with the rising cost of petroleum, as Ford suggested.

I think it's the luck of the draw. Who the molding press operator was, who installed the inserts, who installed the hood, etc.

I've had the melted hood but no hinge problems. I'm just hoping they installed everything properly when they replaced the hood. Time will tell...

 

[JTKub]

The last version of metal hood wasn't perfect either. Before I bought my '06 I saw a number of them, some still on the showroom floor, with messed up side panel latches and side panels falling off..

That's very true. The 3pc stamped steel job on my 2544 never fit together very well. the edges rub together right down to shiny metal & I lost one wing nut, cone and tension spring assy for a side panel mount due to vibes last year. No dealers stock the lousy spring, nor can I find an AM replacement. CC did add stick on 'rub pads' on the tight spots, but of course those were falling off the day it was delivered. Mine stays garaged, so the 'paintless' areas are a non-issue. Sad, but the ~7yr old Craftsman GT 3000 (family loaner) sitting in the garage has a WAY better hood than my 2544. I'm actually fairly impressed with that machine.

Joel

 

[micman32]

I have had no problem at all with the metal hood on my 2518.