ingersoll 4018 ground speed ?

[trialsguy]

Has anyone adjusted the forward speed of one of these mowers? I have borrowed one from my father in law and it seems that the forward speed could be a little faster. There is a lot of wasted motion (slack) in the forward/reverse lever I push the lever forward to the stop and it seems like it could go a little faster and with the slack in the lever basically from neutral the lever will move about 2" on the outside of the lever before it starts to move the mower. I have looked under the mower at the valve assembly and it looks like there is a long threaded type nut maybe for adjustment but it is very difficult to get to and before I started messing with it I wanted to be sure that I wont fowl anything up.

Thanks

 

[hydriv]

Remove the mower deck. With no key in the ignition (safety first), get someone to sit on the tractor while you slide your head under it. Observe the movement of the spool in the travel/lift valve as your helper moves the travel lever from full reverse to full forward.

Does the spool go all the way into the valve body or can you push it in further or pull it out further? That's the question. Over time, these tractors develop free play from wear and tear in the travel linkage. There is no adjustment for that wear. You must replace the little ball joint that connects the rod to the spool valve and you must repair or replace the rod that goes into the arm at the bottom of the travel lever. You must also put a bushing in the hole that rod goes into if it is ovalled out. Also, check the travel rod where it entires the cast iron bracket that supports the steering gear for free play and the plastic bushing in the dashboard.

Removing all the free-play is the only way to restore full control over the tractor's ground speed. The other problem with poor speed, comes from using the wrong oil in the hydraulic system. You MUST use motor oil and nothing else but motor oil. 20W40 is the recommended grade but it's very hard to find. You can use 20W50 instead or single grade 30W or even 15W40.