Buying Advice Sears Craftsman PGT 9000 (Evaluation, Comparison & Experience)

motoman

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  • / Sears Craftsman PGT 9000 (Evaluation, Comparison & Experience)
Triple bagger + grade+ damp grass + 80 F = high oil temp. Watch out.
 

RickO

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  • / Sears Craftsman PGT 9000 (Evaluation, Comparison & Experience)
I take it you experienced something bad happening under these circumstances...?
 

motoman

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  • / Sears Craftsman PGT 9000 (Evaluation, Comparison & Experience)
I take it you experienced something bad happening under these circumstances...?

My tractor is a DYT 4000 48" deck, Intek 24. The motor came apart twice due to overheating. Unfortunately it only overheats when the bagger system is used as it is advertised mowing grass. I installed an oil temp gauge and have repeatedly observed the oil temp climb ONLY when using the bagger system. Lets hope somehow your engine has a vastly improved fan and shrouding system.

If you want the details look within this forum. There is plenty of text and also pictures of the damaged components. Good luck. :smile:
 
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motoman

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  • / Sears Craftsman PGT 9000 (Evaluation, Comparison & Experience)
I was thinking about trying to cut out a section, say about 5.5 by 8.5 in the first chute on the top - big enough to get my hand in there and pull out a grass clog. Put a stainless steel piano hinge on it and some lock down piece. My old tractor was a snap to remove the chute and reach in to clear a clog. The PGT9000 bagger chutes are a royal pain in the rear end to take a part to clear a clog. (...and of course, all clogs are cleared with the motor off.)

Have any of you guys ever thought of making an easy access door to clear clogs? Ideas?

RickO
Every time I reach down into the chute to dislodge wet grass I note how the designer has stopped your reach at armpit so you cannot put your hand into the (somehow) running blade. If it can happen ( somehow), it will. :eek:
 

motoman

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  • / Sears Craftsman PGT 9000 (Evaluation, Comparison & Experience)
Today I saw a model comparable to yours on the showroom floor. Looks like there is just room to drill a 2" hole and install an oil temp gauge next to the clutch knob. Please have someone (?you?) do it.
 

RickO

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  • / Sears Craftsman PGT 9000 (Evaluation, Comparison & Experience)
Oil Temp. No, I haven't.

Different question to you guys.

To remove the deck, one of the steps is to pull the bowtie cotter pin connecting the deck sway rod. Why? I did not do this step as I didn't see any physical connection to the deck. Frankly, I don't get it.

What am I missing here?

RickO
 

motoman

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  • / Sears Craftsman PGT 9000 (Evaluation, Comparison & Experience)
Oil Temp. No, I haven't.

Different question to you guys.

To remove the deck, one of the steps is to pull the bowtie cotter pin connecting the deck sway rod. Why? I did not do this step as I didn't see any physical connection to the deck. Frankly, I don't get it.

What am I missing here?

RickO

On my DYT 4000 there are 4 pull pins which connect the deck. In each case they do hold the deck to the tractor. There is also a tensioner rod which relaxes or tensions the deck pulley belt . This is shown fairly clearly in my owner's manual (surprise).
 

RickO

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  • / Sears Craftsman PGT 9000 (Evaluation, Comparison & Experience)
Last week I bounced my deck loose. The back hanger came off the spring loaded pin. I knew something was wrong because the rpms on the blades dropped dramatically. Left the field, back in to the garage and that's when I saw the deck wasn't hanging right. Fixed it. No big deal but to the point... I now have it in my brain that if the blades slow down for no reason, it might be the deck. Meaning the pulleys were way out of alingment from the engine PTO pulley. Right or wrong, that's what and how I remember it.

Tonight I'm cutting a rough area. The blade rpms drop big time. Okay, it's rough, I know what happened the last time. Easy fix, shut the machine down, jump off to re-seat the deck - ummmm, it's fine. Crud. Now what the hecks wrong. Back to the garage. Can't find anything wrong. The pulleys are all clear. The deck is in its proper place but the electric PTO for the cutting deck seems to slip. Back to the field to try cutting again. I stopped with the deck engaged and the rpms came right up. Went in to some grass, (normal stuff, not high at all) and the power to the blades (not the engine power) but the pto power seemed to, well, give up. Not sure how to describe it because it wasn't slipping, it wasn't over-loaded.

Anyone ever had a problem with the deck on your machine?

Thanks in advance guys.

RickO
 

KennyV

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  • / Sears Craftsman PGT 9000 (Evaluation, Comparison & Experience)
and the power to the blades (not the engine power) but the pto power seemed to, well, give up. Not sure how to describe it because it wasn't slipping, it wasn't over-loaded.



RickO

RickO if the belts are not slipping the PTO clutch is... check the pulleys to see if they are getting Hot, also check if the clutch is getting Hot... anything slipping Will generate a Lot of heat... :smile:KennyV
 

RickO

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  • / Sears Craftsman PGT 9000 (Evaluation, Comparison & Experience)
KennyV. Thanks much. I did look at the belt and at one point grabbed it. It was warm but not hot. Next time I'll "carefully" touch the PTO to see if it's overly hot. Do you have any experience with doing a PTO repair? I'm not to happy about the thought.
 
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