Videos of New PT425 Arriving/Unloading

[MossRoad]

Thanks, that is good to know! So with the Tractor off, parking brake set, an attachment locked on the QA plate, and the attachment lowered to the ground preventing the FEL from lowering further, I should be safe to straddle the FEL when I have to. Maybe better phrasing would be safer but avoid moving the joystick in any case.

Sounds good. I do that all the time in my garage when climbing over the tractor to get to the other side. My garage is short and the PT with plow is up against the doors, so my only two routes to the other side of the shed are over or through the PT! :laughing:

 

[woodlandfarms]

On this thread, I had a **** of a scare when I first got my PT. The block under the PT Arms had a small leak. I lifted the machine, with my mower attached, and reached in to tighten. But instead I loosened. While I had plenty of time to get out (maybe a 6 seconds to completely drop and I was out in 2) it sure changed my perspective on the force coming down. And the oil spraying out was pretty strong (not 3KPSI Strong, but still).

I still climb under now and then to bang free a stuck blade but I never get all the way under...

 

[toy]

One of the members on here a long time ago mentioned that he was going to do something to the front of his pt with the loader arms raised and he put a stick under the arms to support it while he worked. The stick that he used he never tried out first to see if it would support the weight. When the weight of the loader arms and whatever he had attached to it settled down on the stick the stick broke. Lesson if you are going to prop the lift arms up for some reason to work on your machine make sure your blocking material will for sure hold the weight of the loader arms and that it can't slip out from under the arms while working on it.

 

[BobRip]

One of the members on here a long time ago mentioned that he was going to do something to the front of his pt with the loader arms raised and he put a stick under the arms to support it while he worked. The stick that he used he never tried out first to see if it would support the weight. When the weight of the loader arms and whatever he had attached to it settled down on the stick the stick broke. Lesson if you are going to prop the lift arms up for some reason to work on your machine make sure your blocking material will for sure hold the weight of the loader arms and that it can't slip out from under the arms while working on it.

Attached are pictures of my "sticks".

 

[toy]

Bob I remember seeing your system of blocking and I thought it was a good idea. The member that I am talking about never posted pictures I don't believe, instead his post was meant to be a warning to save one of us from making a similar mistake. Anyway I appreciate anyone that posts a warning of something that they have encountered that may cause harm to someone, even if I already knew proper blocking techniques it never hurts to bring something back to our attention before the need arises to do a project. Glade you got the winch figured out.

 

[MossRoad]

Attached are pictures of my "sticks".

Must be from an ironwood tree! :laughing:

 

[Marks481]

Patrick- how did the snow thrower work for you?

I put snow chains on my PT422 for the first time, and discovered that I had to reverse the wheels to avoid carving out chunks of the engine tub. Sure wish that PT had moved the motor mounts out about half an inch when they built these things.

 

[Clumber]

Patrick- how did the snow thrower work for you?

I put snow chains on my PT422 for the first time, and discovered that I had to reverse the wheels to avoid carving out chunks of the engine tub. Sure wish that PT had moved the motor mounts out about half an inch when they built these things.

The thrower worked very well, but was somewhat overkill for only 10 inches of snow. Its much better suited for 20" +. Initially, on the dog runs I was trying to leave only an inch on the ground -- it kept digging-in due to the unevenness of the ground. I really had to raise it up leaving 2-3 inches on the ground. Tilting back did not seem to help much. The casters seem to be mostly useless. Perhaps with casters on front and back it could kinda float over the ground at the set height. My neighbor suggested welding skid shoes on the bottom. But, I think the skid would also catch on the uneven ground. The situation was essentially the same on the crusher stone driveway. Today I made a pass with the power sweeper to get down to leaving 1/2" to 1" on the ground. The sweeper also would periodically dig-in, the height having to be continually adjusted. This experience was very different from the videos where throwers and sweepers are working smoothly on paved driveways and sidewalks.

I decided to test the PT-425 without chains. The machine had no problem with the 10 inches of heavy wet snow. It pushed the 350 lb thrower up a short (15 ft )15 degree slope easily. The engine worked harder going up but there was no slippage. Note that I raised the thrower a foot so there was no contact on the way up.

 

[Clumber]

Folks, after a couple of hours blowing snow yesterday I decided to unattached the thrower and attach the sweeper. The 1/4 quick connectors came off easily. But I could not re-connect the QA coupler -- it just would not connect. My neighbor dropped by and he could not connect it either. We tried all the techniques discussed in the thread to no avail. To be brief, the next day we were finally able to connect it only by one person holding down the Aux handle while the other pushed the connector on. That is a new technique that I could never do by myself. Frustrating! I did try the tap tap method to relieve the pressure in the hoses. Cycling the Aux level did not seem to work.

Below are some photos of the couplers.

 

[SpringHollow]

Hi Patrick,

I posted earlier about using a rubber hook strap or bungee cord to hold the lever up or down. That is what I have to do on mine every so often. I just store it wrapped around the ROPS. I also find that it works best for me to attach the "return" first then the supply. So looking at the PT from the front, I attach the right hand one first.

Ken

 

[MossRoad]

Folks, after a couple of hours blowing snow yesterday I decided to unattached the thrower and attach the sweeper. The 1/4 quick connectors came off easily. But I could not re-connect the QA coupler -- it just would not connect. My neighbor dropped by and he could not connect it either. We tried all the techniques discussed in the thread to no avail. To be brief, the next day we were finally able to connect it only by one person holding down the Aux handle while the other pushed the connector on. That is a new technique that I could never do by myself. Frustrating! I did try the tap tap method to relieve the pressure in the hoses. Cycling the Aux level did not seem to work.

Below are some photos of the couplers.

Before I knew about the punch and tap method, I had the same problem once trying to reconnect the QA. I took an open end wrench and cracked the fitting at the QA cylinder until a couple drops of oil came out. Then it was easy to reconnect it. I posted my problem here on TBN and that's when someone, Bird, I believe, told me about the punch, rag and rap with a hammer. That method I've used maybe twice and it worked well both times.

 

[woodlandfarms]

On the snow blower. Skids might be a good solution to your deal. If they are bowed in the front and back (tips pointed up) sounds to me it would be a good solution to your digging in.

 

[Clumber]

Before I knew about the punch and tap method, I had the same problem once trying to reconnect the QA. I took an open end wrench and cracked the fitting at the QA cylinder until a couple drops of oil came out. Then it was easy to reconnect it. I posted my problem here on TBN and that's when someone, Bird, I believe, told me about the punch, rag and rap with a hammer. That method I've used maybe twice and it worked well both times.

I am wondering if a small pressure relief valve could be installed on the QA hoses????

On the snow blower. Skids might be a good solution to your deal. If they are bowed in the front and back (tips pointed up) sounds to me it would be a good solution to your digging in.

The suggestion is interesting. A simple approach would be to weld the skids on leaving a 1.5" to 2" clearance. Having the skids be adjustable would be more complicated without much enhancement to the result.

 

[American Bulldog]

Folks, after a couple of hours blowing snow yesterday I decided to unattached the thrower and attach the sweeper. The 1/4 quick connectors came off easily. But I could not re-connect the QA coupler -- it just would not connect. My neighbor dropped by and he could not connect it either. We tried all the techniques discussed in the thread to no avail. To be brief, the next day we were finally able to connect it only by one person holding down the Aux handle while the other pushed the connector on. That is a new technique that I could never do by myself. Frustrating! I did try the tap tap method to relieve the pressure in the hoses. Cycling the Aux level did not seem to work.

Below are some photos of the couplers.

Wow it's really too bad that you are having so many problems with the QA couplers. If it is really bad, just take the coupler off, only takes two wrenches and a couple of minutes. I know mine were pretty stiff, and they seemed to get much better after they got broken in. It honestly sounds like PT got a bad batch of QD couplers, and I would call them up and make them replace the couplers under warranty. How can they argue this problem? If it is not the connector, then the hose, or the valve block. Just keep going until it gets fixed. One word, "unacceptable."

I feel for you Clumber.

 

[J_J]

The problem of having trouble connecting QD's is caused primarily by the pressure build up on a hyd attachment due to expansion. The connectors need to be tight so there is no leaking when disconnected. If you connect the attachment QD's together, the problem is reduced. That only works if you have a male and female QD. You could also connect a matching QD with a short hose, and plug into the attachment QD's. The air space in the hose will absorb any hyd pressure.

 

[American Bulldog]

The problem of having trouble connecting QD's is caused primarily by the pressure build up on a hyd attachment due to expansion. The connectors need to be tight so there is no leaking when disconnected. If you connect the attachment QD's together, the problem is reduced. That only works if you have a male and female QD. You could also connect a matching QD with a short hose, and plug into the attachment QD's. The air space in the hose will absorb any hyd pressure.

How is expansion occurring when the PT is not running, and out in the snow?

 

[BobRip]

How is expansion occurring when the PT is not running, and out in the snow?

I have seen this happen when the unit is exposed to the sun. Was it sunny that day? Try the pin and hammer technique.

 

[Clumber]

How is expansion occurring when the PT is not running, and out in the snow?

Yes. the temp was about 30 degrees. However, the Quick Adapter's hoses, while not being connected, dangle in close proximity to the working hoses which probably get very hot after blowing snow for over two hours.

Anyway, I am thinking of making an adapter made from two male connectors threaded together via a male/male threaded bushing. In other words, two male connectors facing away from each other with a m/m bushing threaded to the female port of the male connectors. Would need one for each attachment with the two female 1/4" connectors plus one for the QA plate. Then the two female connectors could connected to prevent pressure when not in use. This would be easier than building or buying custom short hoses. But, would the air space in the bushing be sufficient to reduce the hyd pressure?

 

[Clumber]

I have seen this happen when the unit is exposed to the sun. Was it sunny that day? Try the pin and hammer technique.

IT was overcast and approx 30 degrees F. I tried the punch, rag, and tap several times. There was oil released.

 

[BobRip]

IT was overcast and approx 30 degrees F. I tried the punch, rag, and tap several times. There was oil released.

The other thing is to push the aux PTO handle up and down for a couple of seconds each way. I do this prior to every connect/disconnect time. That releases pressure at the PTO. Did you use the pin on the quick attach cylinder?