New Member / new GC1705 / Stiff forward pedal

huckone · Jul 13, 2018

Hi I am new member, however, I've have been lurking here for a while doing my reading and research to buy a new Subcompact. I was able to reduce down my tractor choice with the information I found at TBN. Really thankful to find a forum with great members and active discussions.

So, I got the GC1705. I have put 6 hours on it and I like the machine a lot, however one thing I am noticing with my machine is it has very stiff forward hst pedal, reverse is not stiff and feels good. During all my research I never saw this as a topic or concern, at least for this machine. Basically, I have trouble keeping speed while mowing, as the pedal is stiff and my leg relaxes some and i find my speed slowing down. I am constantly trying to get back to speed. My knee hurts after 10 minutes (i have healthy knees). The pedal feels even more stiff at higher RPM or under load, going up an incline etc. I have spent time doing searches for this complaint and found nothing. I checked the obvious things and I can confidently say the issue is not binding linkages or pivot or roller/cam, or return spring. Dealer stopped out and also agreed. Dealer asked Agco about it and they didn't have any answers. I am going to test drive other ones at the dealer to see what those machines are like.

Thought I'd ask the TBN community if anyone has noticed this with their machine, stiff fwd and smooth reverse?

MoMower · Jul 14, 2018

Clean the grease zerk out (remove) then install and grease while moving the pedal back and forth. On my 1710 there is also a somewhat hidden zerk on a round bar under the machine in between the Frame rails (under your floor boards).

I had stuff pedals in both direction and this helped. There is a thread somewhere.

huckone · Jul 14, 2018

Thanks, I did check the zerks and grease. What makes this unique is that the rear pedal is easy and the forward is stiff. The stiffness seems to be affected by hydro load, as it gets even harder under a load situation. Since both pedals use the same linkage it seems like a hydro issue to me.... or maybe (wishfull thinking) the fwd linkage design doesn't give as much mechanical advantage as the rear....

WranglerX · Jul 14, 2018

Use heel on pedal or cruise control?

Dale

DMW · Jul 14, 2018

Just a guess. There is a oil damper connected to the pedal linkage. It is to prevent sudden shock to the HST. If it's not working properly, you may be constantly trying to compress the damper. Best a dealer serviced item. #54 on the diagram.

charlton289 · Jul 15, 2018

I have a 2016 1705 and I have not had really any problems with it so far with 238 hrs. On it the only problem I had is when I did a service changing filter and checking the filter screen I didn't put enough fluid back in because I don't have a level place to check it in the site glass it turned out to be about 1/2 gallon low when I noticed that it wouldn't back up under a load in the fel. I went to my neighbors and got it on level and that's when I noticed the fluid level I top it off and have had no further problems. But I do stand by my Massey it is a good tractor and will do things that will amaze you.

cdaigle430 · Jul 20, 2018

huckone said:
Hi I am new member, however, I've have been lurking here for a while doing my reading and research to buy a new Subcompact. I was able to reduce down my tractor choice with the information I found at TBN. Really thankful to find a forum with great members and active discussions.

So, I got the GC1705. I have put 6 hours on it and I like the machine a lot, however one thing I am noticing with my machine is it has very stiff forward hst pedal, reverse is not stiff and feels good. During all my research I never saw this as a topic or concern, at least for this machine. Basically, I have trouble keeping speed while mowing, as the pedal is stiff and my leg relaxes some and i find my speed slowing down. I am constantly trying to get back to speed. My knee hurts after 10 minutes (i have healthy knees). The pedal feels even more stiff at higher RPM or under load, going up an incline etc. I have spent time doing searches for this complaint and found nothing. I checked the obvious things and I can confidently say the issue is not binding linkages or pivot or roller/cam, or return spring. Dealer stopped out and also agreed. Dealer asked Agco about it and they didn't have any answers. I am going to test drive other ones at the dealer to see what those machines are like.

Thought I'd ask the TBN community if anyone has noticed this with their machine, stiff fwd and smooth reverse?

On my GC2410 I had the same problem till about 180 hours on it...Im thinking either my knees strengthened or it got broken in

I tried greasing it but it didn't help.