Ventrac 4500 stalling moving out of neutral

   / Ventrac 4500 stalling moving out of neutral
  • Thread Starter
#11  
Thanks everyone for your help.

I called the dealer again today and spoke to a technician. He told me to try a few things too including to check if the parking brake is disengaging correctly.

I checked all the TCM status lights using a Mirror in the seat (thanks MountainBuck) and they all seem normal. However, when I turn off the ignition and fully disengage the parking brake I cannot roll the tractor back or forward even on a slope so the parking brake is still engaged. It does roll on the slope however with the engine running and in neutral with the parking brake fully disengaged.

Thankfully my 4500P is still under warranty for two more months so the dealer is going to do a warranty visit in the next couple of days. Without the warranty it would be $185 per hour and the technician traveling cost alone would be around $800... Even worse is I think they would require me to bring the tractor to them which would mean I'd need to get a hitch installed on my car and rent a trailer probably twice which will run me about $800 too.

I'll let you know how it goes. Does anyone know if we can purchase extended warranties for Ventrac tractors from anywhere? I'm getting nervous with only two months of warranty left...

Thanks, Nick
 
   / Ventrac 4500 stalling moving out of neutral #12  
The parking brake on mine, when released and it has about 3" of free play before the light comes on..... So what my guess is that parking brake is adjusted too tight...... jim
 
   / Ventrac 4500 stalling moving out of neutral #13  
However, when I turn off the ignition and fully disengage the parking brake I cannot roll the tractor back or forward even on a slope so the parking brake is still engaged. It does roll on the slope however with the engine running and in neutral with the parking brake fully disengaged.
You must place the transaxles in neutral before you can move the tractor with the engine off. Do do this "shifting the high/low range shift handle to the middle of the shift stroke. With the transaxles in neutral and the parking brake dis-engaged, the power unit can freewheel." page 22 of the manual.
 
   / Ventrac 4500 stalling moving out of neutral
  • Thread Starter
#14  
You must place the transaxles in neutral before you can move the tractor with the engine off. Do do this "shifting the high/low range shift handle to the middle of the shift stroke. With the transaxles in neutral and the parking brake dis-engaged, the power unit can freewheel." page 22 of the manual.
Thanks for the tip! I just took the dealer's guy at his word and didn't realize that you had to put the range shift into neutral. I still need them to come out and fix it as I have no idea what the problem is. Just waiting to hear when they will come.
 
   / Ventrac 4500 stalling moving out of neutral #15  
Thanks for the tip! I just took the dealer's guy at his word and didn't realize that you had to put the range shift into neutral. I still need them to come out and fix it as I have no idea what the problem is. Just waiting to hear when they will come.

Maybe after the warranty runs out.... 185 @ hr. and travel, sounds outrageous to me. They only get 75 to a 100.00 to pick mine up and take it to be fixed.... jim
 
   / Ventrac 4500 stalling moving out of neutral #16  
Maybe after the warranty runs out.... 185 @ hr. and travel, sounds outrageous to me. They only get 75 to a 100.00 to pick mine up and take it to be fixed.... jim
I agree that sounds outrageous. I don't know when you last had service, but we have just received inflation causing stimulus checks and Ventrac has been acquired by Toro.

After Toro a acquired Ventrac, my service rep said they no longer carried Ventrac, When I found another dealer, they said they just started carrying Ventrac and they had to build websites. I figure that all takes money and I'll be paying for it.
 
   / Ventrac 4500 stalling moving out of neutral #17  
I agree that sounds outrageous. I don't know when you last had service, but we have just received inflation causing stimulus checks and Ventrac has been acquired by Toro.

After Toro a acquired Ventrac, my service rep said they no longer carried Ventrac, When I found another dealer, they said they just started carrying Ventrac and they had to build websites. I figure that all takes money and I'll be paying for it.

That doesn't sound good at all..... My closest dealer is a bandit and with Ventrac being taken over by Toro it will get worse. He is a Toro dealer to start with, They can get parts but I have to pay top dollar.... jim
 
   / Ventrac 4500 stalling moving out of neutral
  • Thread Starter
#18  
Just to finish off the story on this saga… I rented a pickup truck and trailer from UHaul and took my 4500P to the dealer - 2 hours away. They found it was the parking brake microswitch and replaced it under warranty. I‘ve now put a hitch on our SUV and will rent the trailer from UHaul and pick it up on Tuesday. The 4500P fits perfectly in a 5x9 UHaul trailer with a ramp and is a little under the maximum ramp and trailer weight load - a great deal for only $35 for the day.

I was in no rush and had to wait to them to get the part in so my 4500P was at the dealer for a month but I’m now anxious to get it back. They said they did a quick check over to see if anything else needed attending to as the warranty is about to expire.

Thanks again for everyone’s help!

Nick
 
 
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