Problem with 3045 CVT

[Sumpter]

I was reading the manual (yea I know) and it says if the hydraulic fluid is cold it will limit the speed of the tractor. I went out and warmed it up and then went down the driveway. It is about a 25 degree angle and about 200 yards long. When I came back up I set the hand throttle at 2250 RPM and in 2nd. With me feathering the throttle the tractor did climb the driveway. What I realized is that I have not allowed it to warm up completely. I still feel it was not completely warmed up since it is 28 degrees here now. Tomorrow I will run it a lot longer and see if that helps. After all it is heating 10 gallons of hydraulic fluid. I will keep you posted

 

[farmall40]

I never would have thought of the warming up thing, because my tractor is in a heated garage. I do remember reading it, but never thought of it in your case. I hope that's all it is.

Todd

 

[Sumpter]

I warmed the 3040 up yesterday and put the dozer blade on the front. Then I went to the bottom of the driveway to the connecting gravel road. There I played with the blade for about 15 minutes. When I came back up the driveway I set the RPM's at about 2200 and in second gear the 3040 came right up. I did find that you need to feather the throttle and I was able to maintain about 5-6 MPH. I still don't believe I should have to use the hand throttle but it worked in this case.

 

[farmall40]

I warmed the 3040 up yesterday and put the dozer blade on the front. Then I went to the bottom of the driveway to the connecting gravel road. There I played with the blade for about 15 minutes. When I came back up the driveway I set the RPM's at about 2200 and in second gear the 3040 came right up. I did find that you need to feather the throttle and I was able to maintain about 5-6 MPH. I still don't believe I should have to use the hand throttle but it worked in this case.

Any new updates on the performance?

 

[Sumpter]

After 12" of snow Monday night we took the 3040 out first with the front blade and then later with the blower. We did all the plowing in second gear except for the steepest uphill with the blade. With the hand throttle up around 2200 and feathering the throttle it did just fine. This tractor will never let you mash the pedal to the floor like a geared or hydro. It will just dog out, but I found it will do great at 1/4 throttle.
I was able to plow with blade on the flat at 10 MPH in 2nd.

It definitely takes some getting used to but I think it is a good machine. I doubt I will ever use 3rd gear unless I am going downhill and in a hurry.

 

[Sumpter]

How about yours farmall40?

 

[farmall40]

I've never had any problems with power. When I bought my CVT Farmall, it was explained to me that when I was "working" the tractor I need to set the throttle at about 2000 rpm+-. When I was just going out to putt around or drive on the road, I could just use the foot pedal. The only time I ever use high range is on the road, otherwise 3rd is useless. 95% of the work I do is in 2nd gear, reactivity on low and this thing has a TON of power. I'm very pleased with my purchase. The one thing I can't stand is when I start it from cold, it's not as "crisp" when it starts. It kinda flutters and smokes for about 2 seconds then clears up. My TC40D always started clean.

 

[Sumpter]

Update: Tractor does smoke when starting but clears up after a couple minutes. It will also smoke a bit when under a good load. Overall I am happy with the tractor. You have to learn how to run it and you do need to use the hand throttle. As farmall40 says, 3rd is pretty much useless and 2nd is the gear I use the most. The only issue I am having is with the front mount blower which has nothing to do with the tractor. I have broken the chain twice instead of the shear bolts.

 

[Ford850]

When you say it smokes at start up and when under a good load, do you mean more than a typical Diesel engine? Black smoke during those two situations seems normal to me.

 

[Sumpter]

When you say it smokes at start up and when under a good load, do you mean more than a typical Diesel engine? Black smoke during those two situations seems normal to me.

To me it is not excessive, but it is visible. I was just following up on the comment of farmall40 and how his other tractor burned cleaner.