PT-422 Pushing Power

BobRip · Jan 12, 2006

Just as a quick check, try driving it up a 20 degree slope with no attachments running. If it cannot do this then something is wrong. Mine can barely make it up a 25 degree slope if I steer left and right as I go up.

Bob Rip

MossRoad · Jan 13, 2006

May have been mentioned before but I'll mention it again...

Are you running it at full throttle and only use a little pressure on the treadle, or are you mashing the treadle to the ground? You know about how the unit develops maximum pushing power and torque at the slowest forward speed, right? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

johara1 · Jan 13, 2006

Norm, i'm very close to you also.i'm 35 min. east of Monroeville,on rt.22 and south 1/2 mile on rt. 982.i have a 422 you could try out.... /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

NormPT422 · Jan 13, 2006

Hey guys, thanks for all the input. I'll check out a few of these things you all mentioned. This machine was from a rental company and it only had 575 hours on it. The attachments hardly showed any wear and tear at all.
I got:
forks,48" brush hog,stump grinder,tiller,post hole digger,24"auger,lifting boom,light material bucket,and stone bucket. all for $5900.00 plus tax. good deal?????
I made a hitch reciever so I can move my trailers around.. Works nice. Thanks again!

NY_Yankees_Fan · Jan 13, 2006

Norm was this your PT??

web page

BobRip · Jan 14, 2006

Norm, I thought of one other thing that I don't believe has been mentioned here. Are you aware that to get maximum force you must let up on the pedal. The pedal is essentially a "gear" shift. The further you push it down the higher the gear that you are in. I have found maximum torque to be at around 1/2 way down or even less. Also what oil is in the transmission? Mine came with 5w30 per the label near the cap. After switching to Mobil 1 15W50 it has a lot more pushing power, especially when hot.

Bob Rip

KentT · Jan 14, 2006

Norm,

I think you got a good deal at that price -- even with replacing the engine. If you decide to get rid of some of these attachments, let me know. I'd be interested in your stump grinder, tiller, or post hole digger.

RegL · Jan 14, 2006

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( May have been mentioned before but I'll mention it again...

Are you running it at full throttle and only use a little pressure on the treadle, or are you mashing the treadle to the ground? You know about how the unit develops maximum pushing power and torque at the slowest forward speed, right? /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif )</font>

I know we say this alot here and I'm not saying it's wrong, but I think it's a little more complicated than mechanically
driven wheels on other type vehicles. I think your theory is correct except for one thing, at least in my experience. The wheel motors will stall or by pass fluid , or what ever they do, sooner at low fluid flow. to explain what I'm getting at, when mowing on steep hills one or more of the wheel motors will stall and that's when the loss of traction begins.By mashing on the pedal I can usually get the stalled wheel motors turning but because, like you say your now at a higher gear like, the engine wants to stall or bog down. I know I have not made it very clear but the gist of it is, If your wheel motors have stalled and the engine is not bogging down, letting off on the treadle will probably not get you going.

MossRoad · Jan 16, 2006

I find that when pushing our PT425 into a pile of material, the slower I go, the easier it is to push into the stuff. By feathering the treadle up and down lightly I get a feel for the pile and how much treadle it takes to get into the material. It also helps to turn the steering wheel left and right a bit and curl the bucket in small increments as I move forward.

Here's a link to a video of the Pt425 taking a bite of soil to clear a space in the yard for a parking place.

Here's a link to a second video showing the Pt425 and the slow speed it took to cut through some frozen sod. I just kept applying small amounts of pressure to the treadle. As the unit bogs, I let up and as the unit proceeds, I step down a bit.

It takes some practice but seems to work well for me on anything except dry, hard packed clay. But then again, our larger tractor had trouble with that stuff as well.

Could be weak hydraulics. If he is sure on his technique, then I'd try changine the hydraulic filter and then the hydraulic oil before spending money on getting the pump checked out. Also make sure the engine is developing proper RPM.