GT 1554 PTO

[Mussel]

Just yesterday, I purchased a 2005 GT1554 from a CC dealer, it has 26 hours on it and was a great deal. He sold it new with warranty. He admitted the tractor HAD some problems. Firstly, do I really have a warranty?

Second, I found a service tag on the tractor. Called the service company and they said this tractor is now on it's 3rd PTO. (Said if came apart twice when mowing.) He warned me that MTD has many problems with this electric clutch and I should stay away from it.

Did I buy a lemon? Also, it has a rattle near the bottom of the engine. (When PTO is off or on.) I can't isolate the rattle, outside or inside engine.

Thoughts apprecited, Mussel

 

[JTKub]

Electro-magnetic PTO's are pretty much the same across the board. Outdoor power equipment manufacturers buy the PTO assemblies from the same sources. A common failure area on thes clutches is not the clutch itself, but burnt or broken wiring to the clutch. On a vertical shaft engine like yours, this wiring can hang underneath into harms way. On horizontal shaft engines like the the CC 2000 series, this wiring is very close to the exhaust. As far as your rattle noise goes, check for belt or pulley movement. You may need someone to run it as you look from a safe distance.
G/luck
Joel

 

[Mussel]

Thx, Joel. The tractor seems fine and I'm happy with it. I'll try to check for the rattle - you're right - safety is the key here.

Only thing about the electric clutch, must be running at full throttle and COMPLETELY warmed up, or it kills the tractor. I checked for free-wheeling of blades and they compare to others, so it looks like normal thing to throw in a clutch and get blades going from 0 to ??? RPM instantly.

JR

 

[cubman]

The rattle or ticking noise you hear is more than likely coming from the tension idler bracket on the drive belt. Cub has a fix for this. The flat washer between the tension idler and the frame needs to be replaced with one that is smaller. Ask your dealer about service advisory 497.

 

[JTKub]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( ...Only thing about the electric clutch, must be running at full throttle and COMPLETELY warmed up, or it kills the tractor... )</font>

54" is a BIG deck to get up to speed. I've got to warm up my 2544 to get the little 44" spinning or the engine will cough, sputter and die. Once she's warmed I can engage the PTO at idle with no problem.

G/luck
Joel

 

[MrWiggles2]

My 2180 with a 42" deck needs to be fully warmed. I'll let it run for a good 5 minutes before I pull the pto. Its never stalled but its sure come close. Once its warmed up, it starts the deck perfectly, but it just shows you how long it takes an engine to get to operating temperature.