Thanks for the input guys. Sorry for being touchy. I'm spending way too much time trying to get this resolved, but I ain't giving up. I am frustrated about it, that's for sure. To me, it is a whole lot of money. Two years of education costs for my children’s college, a pretty nice boat, a new car, and a myriad other ways to look at it.
KLM / farmacist, I'm not sure about the range being wrong. The dealer indicates there is nothing wrong with the range I use. Does it say that I'm in the wrong range in the owner's manual? I've read it several times and maybe I missed it somewhere.
Here's more detail on my ground speed. I do operate the tractor in Hi/Rabbit when mowing the lawn and the grass is not overly high. I've kept the grass height low because I mow it so often trying to diagnose the noise, and it only makes the noise sporadically. The engine has never lugged, because I don't push the pedal all the way down. I imagine it would lug if I did. I mow in Hi/Rabbit because it takes 2-3 hours to mow the lawn as it is. If I mowed in Lo/Rabbit, or Hi/Turtle, my ground speed is considerably slower, and it would take probably 4-5 hours to mow the lawn. My previous Ford 650 would handle the job in 2-3 hours. I mistakenly posted I was mowing in 5th gear (road gear) with that tractor, and actually it was 4th. Sorry for the mistake.
Jim, the pedal stops are exactly where they were set upon receipt of the tractor. I'll look at its adjustment, but if there is a quick tip, I'll be happy to follow it. The owner's manual does not get into that adjustment.
As for grading, I grade in Hi/turtle, or Lo/rabbit, 4X4. The driveway is so hard, the blade will hardly gather any of the dirt, so it's not like I'm pulling a turn plow. After grading, I turn the blade around and scrape / drag the driveway in Hi/Rabbit, usually 4X4, but since there is little resistance, it could easily be done in 4X2, and I probably have. Dragging at a higher ground speed helps distribute the cast off material from the sides of the blade. I pull an old set of wire bed springs (fancy, huh?) behind the blade when I drag it. I have actually dragged it with a small JD lawn mower, so it's not a major load.
As for my experience level, no bragging, just pointing out that the tractors, vehicles, and equipment I've used have had many years of use, not mere hours, and they perform with no grating/roar that would embarass anyone. The befco mower is 20 years old, with only its second set of blades, that I do keep sharp, and original belt that has never even been adjusted. The mower has obviously not been overloaded, by speed or grass height, to the point where the belt has slipped, ANY. It has all the original wheels and spindles. If I was pulling it too fast, or abusing it in any way, there is no way it would last this long.
Page 2-7 of the owner's manual says to avoid lugging the engine. (Break-in procedures. I'm under 50 hrs, still.) I have never lugged the engine. I have never pulled anything heavy enough to cause the tractor to not respond to pedal push or engine throttle increase. It says to use the lower gear ratios when pulling heavy loads and avoid continuous operation at constant engine speeds. I've done that. It further says, "operating the tractor in low gear with a light load and high engine speed wastes fuel."
I have caused the wheels to spin when loading the FEL. I have stepped on the differential lock to increase traction when the wheels spun. I have pulled on a fairly large tree stump, and the wheels spun a little. I was not in Hi/rabbit for that. The FEL could easily roll this stump, although I did not try picking it up, but believe it would have. If this tractor can't handle me, it is not worthy of being used by any commercial operations. I know a guy that has two of them he uses in his landscaping/bushogging business. His employees do not baby them. They do not make this noise.
Now back to the noise. I put the mower back on the tractor yesterday. Before doing so, I rotated the MFD cover, which until visiting the dealer on Thursday, I did not realize would move. The tractor did not make the noise after using it for about an hour. I did not spray the ends of the cover with any lubricant, but will try that today. Is that cover designed to partially rotate? It only goes around so far before hitting stops, when the engine is not running. Of course I haven't watched it while operating, because I can't hang over the side when driving, although I tried. I'll get my daughter to drive it today to see if it rotates when operating. If there is something inside on the shaft that would contact this cover, it may be the source of the noise...but why it's intermittent I cannot understand. The noise is not normal. And, it does not explain the whole 3PH noise/sluggishness issue.
The NH rep is to visit on 12/21. Now, my wife has gotten a tape stuck in my video recorder, so the only VCR copy I have is at the dealer! What a cluster. I'll see if the dealer can give me that copy back, while trying to get the tape out of the recorder. (trouble shooting on that says to make sure it has power. It does. The tape door is stuck partially open, like the tape was put in upside down, etc.) GEEZ.
I tried and thought the above was posted earlier today, but it evidently didn't get there. I just got in from using the tractor to move a little dirt, and do some more unecessary mowing. It's December. I lubed the MFD shaft cover, and thought that was it, with the tininess of the material, I could imagine a noise resonating from it.
I had traveled about 1/2 mile to a dirt pile, in Hi/rabbit. I shifted to 4X4, Lo/turtle and lo/rabbit to load the FEL. I had about a half bucket of dirt in the bucket, and started toward home, in an open field. I was in Hi range now, and I shifted up to rabbit, in 4X4. The noise happened. For about 20 seconds, stopped, and then happened again, before I got to the yard. Doesn't exclude the MFD cover, but I don't understand how this can abruptly start and stop.
I have used HST in a International Combine. It was use of it that convinced me to get the DA.
Thanks for all the input. With this expertise, we'll get it straight, and I'll be forever grateful. Keep 'em coming. I really do appreciate it.
