yanmar slowdown?

Anonymous Poster · Mar 25, 2003

Hello guys,
Still new to the game of tractors with about only 8 hours on my 1610. Yesterday, I mowed for about 2 1/2 hours and after about 1 1/2 of those hours, It seemed that the tractor's ground speed slowed down. RPMs did not drop, temp was only about halfway in the range, so nothing I saw looked unusual. Is this possible/ or am I imagining things here. Speed did not drop dramatically but did seem to slow down.

Also, after stopping the tractor for the day, I decided to adjust the little red lever under the seat to slow down the drop of the 3 point hitch. I touched the valves around the little lever and they were hot to the touch. hot enough that I could not comfortably keep my knuckles on the area. Is this normal. Just how hot is the fluid running though here supposed to get when working steady for a couple hours? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

I was pulling a 5' finishing mower.

Thanks
 Gary

normde2001 · Mar 25, 2003

Sounds like your hy/tran screen may need cleaning. I believe you got your tractor around the first of the year and if you haven't cleaned it or know for sure that your dealer cleaned it, it would be a good suspect. I would guess your 3pt lift would be working erratically as well. I'm not familiar with powershift, but I think it depends on fluid flow to operate properly.

Soundguy · Mar 25, 2003

If it is a hydrostat machine.. i would have to agree.. Check the filter screen... seems like the fluid is heating up a bit and getting thinner.

Might also check to see if it is the correct looking fluid.. or if it has water in it.. if it is water, it will look milky ( emulsified ).

Soundguy

blackd · Mar 25, 2003

Also check to see that it is full. Low fluid will also overheat. They do get warm to the touch, so some heat is normal.

EFC · Mar 25, 2003

It is not a hydrostat it is a synchronous shuttle. The fluid needs to be changed anyway.

Sounds like the clutch is slipping. What PTO gear were you in and what drive gear?

Anonymous Poster · Mar 25, 2003

I was in 2nd range and 3rd gear with pto at 540. Performance did not seem affected, It just seemed that ground speed slowed somewhat. Maybe I was just sniffing diesel fumes?? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

I was just mowing grass that had been mowed last in November. Not overgrown or anything. I also thought the engine was making more noise than when I started?? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Anyway, I changed the transmission fluid and cleaned the screen. My apologies to my dealer cause the fluid was somewhat dark but relatively clean and the screen was obviously new . It did have some particles on it that looked like dirt but was really pretty clean. Here I was thinking negative thoughts!! /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

One thing for newbies, I had a really difficult time removing the screen. It moved around in the round slot but would not come out. No way to find a way or place to pry it out. It had a clip like a large ballpoint pen pocket clip on the end. The first time I trid to pry using that clip but almost broke it off with the screen not budging. I finally wiggled it back and forth with my fingers and it came loose and then out. The clip had sharp edges that cut my fingers. I removed the brake linkage to have better access and that helped.

I will use the tractor some more tomorrow to see if anything changes but I only have about 3/4 acre left to mow so it might take another week to give it a workout and see if my efforts did more than just give me more experience with the yanmar.

In any case, thanks guys for the advise. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 Gary

EFC · Mar 25, 2003

what PTO gear were you in? What RPM were you running?

Anonymous Poster · Mar 25, 2003

PTO 1st gear (540rpm) Engine rpm 2500. I went ahead and mowed the remaining part of my property this afternoon but that only took about 45 minutes. No problems but probably not enough time.

 Gary

EFC · Mar 27, 2003

When you cleaned the screen did you replace the tranny fluid? You said the oil was dark but not dirty. JD303 should be fairly clear in color. Makes me think it had gear or engine oil in it.... Just speculating. But that would defiantly heat up if it did. I have seen that many times in the past. You were in the right gears and RPM so that is good news.

Anonymous Poster · Mar 28, 2003

I had previously bought the replacement fluid (303) with the intention of changing it even though my dealer had said he had done it just before I bought the tractor. So I had it ready to go.

Thanks Buck, (and eyeryone else ) for the advice and I will run it next week and see if it makes a difference.
/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 Gary