mounted retail rems sentinel plate on 2010 GC2400 today

[Dmacleo]

bought this back in Feb 2023 just now getting to it.
kit (they ask if you have this) uses the factory u-guard if you have it.
pull that down (2 bolts lh side 1 bolt rh side) place adapter plate onto that frame and drill 3 3/8" holes.
use 2 bolts to attach rear side of adapter to factory guard then toss u-guard back in.
this was hardest part of job really, diff lock spring attached there on lh side and since I left tires on could not grab with anything. I cheated. I removed all 3 bolts lowered frame then removed spring, to attach hooked spring up then slid frame into place and bolted it up.
so now I am at u-guard in place/secure and adapter plate attached.



next up loosely attach the front guard plate. heres where I hit first issue. kit reqs 5 bolts. only 4 sent. no biggie.
so front plate attached then time for pto protection guard.



another issue (keep in mind only 2 issues and total 5 minutes fixing) the angle and bend (orientation) of the pto protector that hooks to fan shroud was WAY off. put it in vise spent literally under 1 minute getting it close, loosely attached it, tightened up front guard then tightened up pto guard and it all self formed into place. really if I was not disabled this would be a 30 minute install




tomorrow, since retailer told me MAY be possible issue with mower deck engaged at FULL lift, I will hook mower up and do interference checks. if needed can touch with grinder although since buying tractor in 10-2020 I have never run mower fully raised.

I went the retailrems (LINK) route over broteck (LINK) due to the cooling holes. no sense protecting your transaxle if gonna over heat the thing and burn it out anyway. local dealer has had to deal with warranty rejects due to guards blocking airflow. right or wrong...not my call.
I tested it, I pull 3 bolts (easiest was the 3 oem bracket to frame bolts) everything down for filter/fluid change. since I pull that bracket everytime anyway no change on my end mtx wise.

edit: got bored. mounted MF2326 60" MMM
pto shaft has a butt load of clearance.
and installation of guard in no way affected the hookup of the pto shaft.
when fully up rear fold of deck is between 5/16 and 7/16 clearance of everything. calling it good. a 331lb item (before grass buildup) ain't gonna bounce that much while mowing.

 

[Dmacleo]

so I went mowing. I usually run the MMM with eng rpm at 1900-2000 rpm. means mid pto shaft not running 2K rpm, whatever.
today I was feeling frisky.
I put throttle to governor went full bore high range in area 9-12 inches tall. mowing at max speed 9.6 mph. little bouncy.
love the sound.
eng varied, even in SHARP turn, 100 rpm.
800x190 ft area of hay and clover as well as around spruce trees done in 15 minutes.
shield DID vibrate causing a noise but...no interference. 50 cents of 3/8 x 6 inches fuel hose slit will fix the noise.

 

[loulblades]

I am taking my old GC2300 to a different property where it will be used under more rugged conditions (brushhogging, moving downed trees etc.) and have been looking at this cover but geesh...6 months for delivery...and modifications.

Mine has the OEM version u-guard which was added by my dealer but I don't have a lot of faith in it since after moving some logs from downed trees, my oil filter is dented.

I also looked at this due to the ventilation holes but haven't contacted them yet.

Lou

 

[GeneV]

bought this back in Feb 2023 just now getting to it.
kit (they ask if you have this) uses the factory u-guard if you have it.
pull that down (2 bolts lh side 1 bolt rh side) place adapter plate onto that frame and drill 3 3/8" holes.
use 2 bolts to attach rear side of adapter to factory guard then toss u-guard back in.
this was hardest part of job really, diff lock spring attached there on lh side and since I left tires on could not grab with anything. I cheated. I removed all 3 bolts lowered frame then removed spring, to attach hooked spring up then slid frame into place and bolted it up.
so now I am at u-guard in place/secure and adapter plate attached.

View attachment 819383

next up loosely attach the front guard plate. heres where I hit first issue. kit reqs 5 bolts. only 4 sent. no biggie.
so front plate attached then time for pto protection guard.

View attachment 819384

another issue (keep in mind only 2 issues and total 5 minutes fixing) the angle and bend (orientation) of the pto protector that hooks to fan shroud was WAY off. put it in vise spent literally under 1 minute getting it close, loosely attached it, tightened up front guard then tightened up pto guard and it all self formed into place. really if I was not disabled this would be a 30 minute install

View attachment 819385


tomorrow, since retailer told me MAY be possible issue with mower deck engaged at FULL lift, I will hook mower up and do interference checks. if needed can touch with grinder although since buying tractor in 10-2020 I have never run mower fully raised.

I went the retailrems (LINK) route over broteck (LINK) due to the cooling holes. no sense protecting your transaxle if gonna over heat the thing and burn it out anyway. local dealer has had to deal with warranty rejects due to guards blocking airflow. right or wrong...not my call.
I tested it, I pull 3 bolts (easiest was the 3 oem bracket to frame bolts) everything down for filter/fluid change. since I pull that bracket everytime anyway no change on my end mtx wise.

edit: got bored. mounted MF2326 60" MMM
pto shaft has a butt load of clearance.
and installation of guard in no way affected the hookup of the pto shaft.
when fully up rear fold of deck is between 5/16 and 7/16 clearance of everything. calling it good. a 331lb item (before grass buildup) ain't gonna bounce that much while mowing.

That was also my concern with bro-tek's design.

 

[Dmacleo]

I am taking my old GC2300 to a different property where it will be used under more rugged conditions (brushhogging, moving downed trees etc.) and have been looking at this cover but geesh...6 months for delivery...and modifications.

Mine has the OEM version u-guard which was added by my dealer but I don't have a lot of faith in it since after moving some logs from downed trees, my oil filter is dented.

I also looked at this due to the ventilation holes but haven't contacted them yet.

Lou

Just to clarify, I ordered in February and within 36 hours had email double checking year and model number of tractor.
I responded to email and within 3 hours was given instructions on mounting.
Just took months before I was able to mount it.
If my original post led you to believe there was a 6 month lead time I apologize. Not the case, communication and shipping were very fast.
Last time I looked under a gc2300 was in year 2006 but if you got factory guard I expect your installation matches mine.

edit: just to clarify, the only actual mod I did was bending one angle differently in a vise. 90 seconds from yanking out of tractor to putting back into tractor. serous you cannot go wrong with this item.

 

[Dmacleo]

That was also my concern with bro-tek's design.

Yeah it's easy to stop crap from happening but not so easy to stop that and at same time provide cooling.
Ran nothing attached, ran tiller, ran mower long time.
Only issue is with mower there is a sound caused by harmonics.
I always use hearing protection due to my sunroof amplifying noise so not big deal. I'll use stethoscope in a bit and put a 5\16 bolt in one of the cooling holes to interrupt the harmonic frequency.

 

[loulblades]

Ok, now that I am understanding, that doesn't sound so bad.

Lou

 

[Dmacleo]

did hit small issue, when fully raised mid mount mower gearbox, trailing edges,driveshaft clears everything. however drive across a bumpy field at full speed with deck up gearbox of deck CAN (depending on how lift links adjusted) bump leading edge of shield and warp it towards 4wd driveshaft. since that rotates whenever front tires move its noticeable noise.
trimmed a little off leading edge and adjusted, think should be good to go. will know next time I put deck on.
no protection was lost by this.

 

[Dmacleo]

3 hours of mowing yesterday zero interference.
damn. 3 hours of mowing yesterday.

 

[GeneV]

3 hours of mowing yesterday zero interference.
damn. 3 hours of mowing yesterday.

Well shoot, that's me once a week!