Thanks Steve. Although the problem occurs mostly when using the rotary cutter it also happens with the box blade when transporting in high range. If there is anything I could change to eliminate the problem believe me I would do it. By the way, the last time my dealer saw my place was on delivery day, and he has not offered to come to my place to find the problem.
When I mow the tail wheel definitely has some weight on it and goes in a straight line until I turn, although it will come off the ground and twist around on ueven ground.
If you're saying that what I feel is the tailwheel binding on uneven ground then I can tell you that's not what it is. If I'm doing something that is starving the hydraulics I can buy that, if I could only figure out what it is. To my knowledge the dealer has not readjusted anything on the cutter when the are "testing" it.
I set the cutter up per Rhino specs - that is, the tail wheel is on the ground but is not holding up the entire weight of the cutter - there is about 2" of up/down play in the front to allow for uneven ground. The front of the cutter is about 3/4 inch lower than the rear. So, yes, the tractor is holding the cutter up off the ground somewhat, but the wheel is always on the ground on smoot terrain (most of what I mow is relatively smooth). While mowing sometimes I notice the leading left and right edges of the cutter start digging into the ground. I raise and lower the cutter and its stops digging in for a while. I think the 3PH is leaking down slightly so I have to raise it up every now and then. It has always done this and has not concerned me, and raising it so that it doesn't dig in does not fix the steering issue.
The other thing is that the steering works perfectly until the tractor gets hot - that is about 1/2 the way up the heat guage, so the way the cutter is set I don't believe is giving a mechanical effect to the way the steering feels, but could only be contributing to a hydraulic problem.
The dealer replaced the steering assembly and showed me the old one - it has screw like thing in it. Of course I don't know if they lubricated it interally or not.
Yesterday I used the cutter an hour, then took a couple hours off, then mowed another hour. No power steering problems whatsoever. It usually takes 2 hours before it shows up, and sometimes longer.
I have often wondered if the frequency of turning on my place causes it to fail at my place but not at the dealers. The field the dealer uses to mow is very flat, very large and rectangular with no trees. Not much turning at all. My field is odd shaped, has some holes, several trees to dodge, etc.
Alan L., TX
When I mow the tail wheel definitely has some weight on it and goes in a straight line until I turn, although it will come off the ground and twist around on ueven ground.
If you're saying that what I feel is the tailwheel binding on uneven ground then I can tell you that's not what it is. If I'm doing something that is starving the hydraulics I can buy that, if I could only figure out what it is. To my knowledge the dealer has not readjusted anything on the cutter when the are "testing" it.
I set the cutter up per Rhino specs - that is, the tail wheel is on the ground but is not holding up the entire weight of the cutter - there is about 2" of up/down play in the front to allow for uneven ground. The front of the cutter is about 3/4 inch lower than the rear. So, yes, the tractor is holding the cutter up off the ground somewhat, but the wheel is always on the ground on smoot terrain (most of what I mow is relatively smooth). While mowing sometimes I notice the leading left and right edges of the cutter start digging into the ground. I raise and lower the cutter and its stops digging in for a while. I think the 3PH is leaking down slightly so I have to raise it up every now and then. It has always done this and has not concerned me, and raising it so that it doesn't dig in does not fix the steering issue.
The other thing is that the steering works perfectly until the tractor gets hot - that is about 1/2 the way up the heat guage, so the way the cutter is set I don't believe is giving a mechanical effect to the way the steering feels, but could only be contributing to a hydraulic problem.
The dealer replaced the steering assembly and showed me the old one - it has screw like thing in it. Of course I don't know if they lubricated it interally or not.
Yesterday I used the cutter an hour, then took a couple hours off, then mowed another hour. No power steering problems whatsoever. It usually takes 2 hours before it shows up, and sometimes longer.
I have often wondered if the frequency of turning on my place causes it to fail at my place but not at the dealers. The field the dealer uses to mow is very flat, very large and rectangular with no trees. Not much turning at all. My field is odd shaped, has some holes, several trees to dodge, etc.
Alan L., TX
