Free ideas FOR Power Trac?

[BAGTIC]

I personally see lots of little flaws in my PT-425. I would like to make some suggestions to PT for improvements. They are free to use any of my ideas.

1. My pintle hitch cracked loose recently. The top weld to part of the rear grillwork broke the grill are tore out at the corner. I do not haul anything heavier that 300 pounds of firewood or a 5500 Watt generator in my trailer. Who in their right mind uses a grill to attach a trailer hitch?

2. The auger attachments are poorly planned.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/power-trac/119484-auger-bits.html

3. The engine access for my PT425 is terrible. Changing filters? Rerunning wiring, etc. I can scarcely get my hands anywhere near where I need to get.

My local repair shop has given up. When I take it in they automatically unbolt the engine and use a hoist to lift it up and out of the way. I change filters and hydraulic fluid regularly but after 260+ hours I have had to have three kits put in the wheel motors.


No REAL tractor would be laid out so inaccessibly to frustrate efforts at
proper maintenance. I am planning to cut much of the bottom plate out of the engine compartment and install a bolt on cover over the hole.

4. Rotor tiller repeatedly clogs with rocks because the tine tip clearance is greater at the input side that the exit side. I don't care how many tricks there are to clearing the tiller, it should not be jamming in the first place. I used walk behind tillers most of my life and NEVER had them jam on a stone.

Anyone else have any suggestions for PT. These are not things that wopuld cost a lost of money to remedy during manufacture . PT seems to come up with lots of new implements to sell. How about devoting a LITTLE attention to correcting obvious defects of existing otherwise good products. Is it merely a case being that "The devil is in the details".

 

[Gravy]

What year is your 425? Maybe they've already fixed some of the problems. My 2004 model is approaching 450 hours of hard use. I've rebuilt one wheel motor, but I'm not surprised, given the loads I put on them. Using a small tractor to move a bunch of big rocks over other big rocks is hard on the load-bearing parts. I've also had to replace two tires due to sidewall damage. Rocks are unforgiving. Mine has the White CE series motors.

The filters on mine are reasonably accessible. I replace the engine oil filter and hydraulic filter at 50 hour intervals. It's not exactly fun, but it's no harder than many cars. As far as I can tell, the only reason to pull the engine would be to work on the bottom end of the engine or maybe for pump repairs.

I sure wouldn't be upset if the main tub had been made an inch or two wider so I could reach the wiring without having to use hemostats. OTOH, that would make the wheel track wider, and I'd be rubbing the bark off of more trees.

I don't pull a trailer with mine - I find it a lot easier to use the bucket, but that is likely due to the terrain on my property. Sounds like reinforcements are in order.

I built my PhD to work with TSC augers, so I don't have experience with the PT version. However, I've noticed that PT uses plumbing pipe sizes for a lot of parts. It probably wouldn't be very hard to make up some adapters or bushings to make it all work together. As a side note, the PT division grew out of a mining industry background. Tooling standards in mining may not match up with those in agriculture. It's hard to tell whether PT is working to mining standards or trying to force buyers to use PT augers. Given that PT positively encourages owners to modify the machines, I'd guess the former rather than the latter.

The tiller design does seem to have room for improvement. Maybe change the geometry? Doesn't seem like it would be that hard to make the housing concentric with the tines. I wouldn't be surprised if that happens someday. For the existing design, I wonder if retrofitting a lip at the rear edge of the housing might knock the rocks loose before they get jammed inside.

When I get frustrated, I try to remind myself that PT is really a small individualistic company building pretty unusual machines. They do things their own way. Their way isn't exactly my way, but it's a lot closer than any other manufacturer has gotten. They make a machine that is safe to operate on slopes, doesn't tear up the lawn, saves a lot of time and backaches changing implements, and costs less than my first house. I'll forgive a lot of flaws for those virtues.

Gravy

 

[MuncyBob]

Cutting out an area of the tub for access to the oil filter is a GREAT idea!

 

[BobRip]

Cutting out an area of the tub for access to the oil filter is a GREAT idea!

I would be careful about this. IMHO the metal is like the frame on most vehicles. If you cut into it, it will be weakened. Use lots of bolts to bolt the removed area back on should help. Somebody correct me if I am wrong on this.

 

[Gravy]

BobRip - I don't think you're wrong. I'm pretty sure the "tub" is equivalent to a monocoque (sp?) chassis. Small holes are probably mostly OK, if they are not in high stress areas. Big holes could be a big problem if they are not reinforced a bunch. Then again, it's a tractor, not a race car. If it breaks, it probably won't be going 200mph 12 feet from the spectators...

Gravy

 

[BobRip]

BobRip - I don't think you're wrong. I'm pretty sure the "tub" is equivalent to a monocoque (sp?) chassis. Small holes are probably mostly OK, if they are not in high stress areas. Big holes could be a big problem if they are not reinforced a bunch. Then again, it's a tractor, not a race car. If it breaks, it probably won't be going 200mph 12 feet from the spectators...

Gravy

Thanks Gravy.

I would also not cut near a fold. Leave an inch or so of metal back from the corner fold.

 

[ponytug]

(Not owning a green machine, I haven't a clue on where one would want to cut.) Could a different, better(?) tool help?

I would hesitate to permanently reduce the strength of the tub for maintanaince, but if it is too hard... I remember a Renault that the "easy" way to do the oil filter change was to lift the engine a couple of inches...

Gravy is right, it is a monocoque frame, so you can't cut without making an impact in frame strength and rigidity. I'm not a mechanical engineer, but leaving an inch near a corner isn't a lot of strength. Using lots of bolts will help regain the strength, and reinforcing the rim of the hold with another layer of steel would add back in strength, especially if it is coupled to a close tolerance plate.

All the best,

Peter

 

[Marks481]

Cut a round hole right underneath the filter that is a large enough diameter to pull your hand through while holding the filter (avoid that "monkey trap" feeling you get when your hand gets stuck in those openings on the back of the engine compartment).

The round hole will not concentrate stress at the corner like a square hole. I do not believe a hole that size would significantly change the strength of the structure; they built these things out of metal that is much thicker then is required to support its weight/loading. Keep the hole at least 3" away from any welded seams.

If you were really worried about affecting the strength, you could reinforce the hole by welding a 1" section of pipe the same diameter as the hole you cut. The downside of this is now the oil you spill won't run out the bottom of the engine tank.

I wouldn't bother to bolt a plate over it unless you just want to keep mud out of the bottom of the engine compartment.

While you are cutting holes, you could cut another hole under the right-hand engine pan drain plug (at least onthe PT-422 with the Robin engine). The robin manual says to remove both drain plugs when changing the oil...after you drain the engine out of the left hand side, you still get 1/2 cup of oil out of the right side, even if you tilt the PT over by 15 degrees first.
On the PT422, PT cut a 1" limber hole next to where the steering ram attaches. It is within 1" of a welded seam, and allows stress to concentrate on one narrow ligament of metal, which has resulted in 1-2 people here ripping that chunk of metal out of their machine. Welding a plate over that hole is on my to-do list (after my welding improves a little bit).

 

[ponytug]

Raise one side of the PT... DUH!

Thanks for the tip!

All the best,

Peter

Cut a round hole right underneath the filter that is a large enough diameter to pull your hand through while holding the filter (avoid that "monkey trap" feeling you get when your hand gets stuck in those openings on the back of the engine compartment).

The round hole will not concentrate stress at the corner like a square hole. I do not believe a hole that size would significantly change the strength of the structure; they built these things out of metal that is much thicker then is required to support its weight/loading. Keep the hole at least 3" away from any welded seams.

If you were really worried about affecting the strength, you could reinforce the hole by welding a 1" section of pipe the same diameter as the hole you cut. The downside of this is now the oil you spill won't run out the bottom of the engine tank.

I wouldn't bother to bolt a plate over it unless you just want to keep mud out of the bottom of the engine compartment.

While you are cutting holes, you could cut another hole under the right-hand engine pan drain plug (at least onthe PT-422 with the Robin engine). The robin manual says to remove both drain plugs when changing the oil...after you drain the engine out of the left hand side, you still get 1/2 cup of oil out of the right side, even if you tilt the PT over by 15 degrees first.
On the PT422, PT cut a 1" limber hole next to where the steering ram attaches. It is within 1" of a welded seam, and allows stress to concentrate on one narrow ligament of metal, which has resulted in 1-2 people here ripping that chunk of metal out of their machine. Welding a plate over that hole is on my to-do list (after my welding improves a little bit).