Heads up

Henrykrinkle · Nov 26, 2014

jfh28 said:
Was just out in the garage getting the PT ready for the upcoming snow storm.......chains on the tires....lube......rubber mat on the plow......and I kept getting a whiff of something burning. I had the garage door open so I thought it was coming from outside somewhere......kept checking and couldn't track it down. Finally came time to check the air filter and oil levels so I swung the seat off the engine compartment and saw the compartment full of crispy leaves! I have no idea how or when they got in there but that was a disaster waiting to happen! So now that fall is over and snow is on the way go out and check your engines for stray combustibles......haha.......Jack

Mice possibly put them there?

Marks481 · Nov 26, 2014

Yikes. Heat + oil + leaves = bad things. I had a fire once all ready, so I am pretty cautious about keeping my engine compartment clean (pro tip: exhaust wrap on the exhaust manifold, when it gets oil on it burns quite well... and since it is only separated from a plastic gas tank by a thin sheet of metal... which is why I now have a fire extinguisher mounted on my PT)

duane said:
Do you run chains on all four tires. Do they rubon the frame.

Yes on all 4.

Yes rub on the frame. The rear tires are the worst. I usually run them reversed in the winter when I have chains on. I wish PT had made these things with a couple inches of clearance to the frame.

I keep meaning to make adaptor plates to act as spacers. I haven't found any commercial offerings that fit the wheel pattern of the PT. I have some 1" aluminum plate that I could turn down to the right size, but not enough for all 4 wheels.

They would benefit me on the front wheels year round, since brush hogging tends to get a huge mess of grass stuck between the left front wheel and the frame that I have to keep stopping to clear.

Snow on Saturday....

MossRoad · Nov 26, 2014

I never clear that mess in the left front wheel motor until I'm done mowing for the day. Once it packs up, nothing else goes in there.

Gravy · Nov 26, 2014

Gravy said:
Welcome to the Dark Side. If you get a Power Trac you could name her "Jenny".

Jeez. Am I the only geezer who remembers "Jenny, Jenny...867-5309?"

jfh28 · Nov 26, 2014

I thought about that since I have a constant battle with mice in the barn.....but the leaves weren't lumped together like mice do when making a nest...they were just scattered around in the tub.....only place the leaves could have gotten in is there's a gap at the rear of the 2425's engine compartment towards the bottom where the backhoe attaches

Henrykrinkle said:
Mice possibly put them there?

jfh28 · Nov 26, 2014

I have chains on the two rear tires.......never needed any more traction then they provide although it will crab if there's a deep heavy snow like today. If I get the chains on tight there's minimal clanking on the frame...but there's not a lot of extra space between the tires and the wheel cover.......I zip tie the loose links at the connecting hooks on the chain. First year I tried putting the chains on without removing the tires.......but after bloodying my knuckles I wised up and take the tires off now.