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question and comment


Tom Deutsch

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First the question: I do not normally mow with my 7117. Mows too low for my taste. But my regular mower fritzed a few weeks ago and I put the Deutz into service. I have 1.5 acres and the grass was pretty thick. Had the series II KT17 on full throttle of course. Near the end of the job, I noticed smoke and the power had seemed to drop a bit. wah When I investigated, it looked like it was from grass behind the shroud on the dipstick side of the engine. :J I got a needle-nosed and pulled out some smoking grass. The fins looked relatively clear. I checked the oil and there was enough; still I added a little just for good measure. The smoking diminished for the last 10 minutes of the job, although, as I said, the power still seemed down a bit and the engine was awfully hot, I could tell. Since then it hasn't leaked any more than usual (always a couple drops on the concrete) and seems to run fine. Is this a case where I shouldn't worry about if I damaged it until something actually breaks, or should I check something out? Now for the comment: Cutting grass aside, this machine continually amazes me. I recently had to cut down a good sized-maple (about 24" diameter at the base). As it fell, it caught on another tree. I wrapped a rope about 1/3 of the way up the tree and looped it around the ball hitch. Then, with 10' of slack in the line, I jammed the hydro forward. It took about 15 runs to make the tree pop loose and fall the rest of the way. Meanwhile, my family looked on as I bounced myself and my tractor off the end of this 1/2" nylon rope repeatedly, lifting the back wheels off the ground each time. Boing! Boing! Boing! ... I completely abused the tractor. I should be ashamed, except the 7117 completely shrugged it off. No frame bending, no parts fell off. Hitch and assembly didn't even know what it had been through. (Actually, I'm pretty proud of that skinny rope too!) Then, after the tree fell. I loaded up a 5' by 10' trailer with all the logs and branches and towed it easily to my neighbor's wood pile. No big hills, but this trailer was loaded, bowed, and nearly bottomed out on its suspension. I have no idea what a 40' maple weighs, but it wasn't light. Very impressive hydro transmission, I have to say, for something most of my neighbors think is just a weird-looking old lawn tractor. And the moral of the story ... don't be afraid to abuse your simple tractor! Everyone, have a great summer!
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Tom, Can't the deck be adjusted a little bit higher? Does it have rollers on it? If so, you can use the roller adjustment to move it up higher. Either that, or shorten the lift chain/cable.
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The deck is as high as it will go. I could use the lift, but the deck is designed to ride on the ground, not be suspended from the lift cable on the bottom of the tractor, right? I was really asking about the smoke and loss of power, if I overheated and if I need to do anything about it, since it seems to be running fine for now?
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