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4040 Powermax---- again


Tarheel

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As some of you might have seen, I had a post in TT about a 4040 Powermax. The owner had a large number of complaints such as the tractor was leaking fuel into the crankcase, The charging system didn't work and the unit wouldn't start. (Onan CCKA-MS) I got started only to find a great deal of DIY goofs. Tracks all over the wiring etc but the carburetor was the worst. The low speed jet was broken off flush with the carb body, The 3 screws holding the cover plate to the bowl had been over tightened to the point that both the cover and the bowl were warped and didn't come close to sealing. I removed the intake and sanded/filed until the high spots were gone on the carb. I set the valve lash and had to cut gaskets for the covers. While all this is going on, I have the battery on charge and I'm tracing the wiring and cleaning each connection as I go starting under the dash/steering. After going as far as I could go without pulling the engine and getting nothing, I relocated the ground strap. Not the tractor turns and starts. BTW, the carb was soaked for 24 hours in "Hydroseal" before being put together. Owner about had a fit when he heard the price of a replacement. (Inlet needle and seat were listed as $35 and change on the Napa web site) I had to repair a long list of small things such as the throttle cable that was slipping at both ends, Governor required a large amount of adjustment to stop the RPM "hunting". There was only one bolt holding the dash cap in place etc etc. But once all this was done, the thing started and ran great. He doesn't have the mower deck for it but had a Woods finish mower for the rear that stayed with him and so I couldn't put it under much of a load but I drove it maybe 15 minutes to make sure everything was ok. I had the brakes where they would slide the tires BTW. You had to stand on them but they worked. Now I called the owner and he came out to check it out. First words out of his mouth upon starting it was "It has never ran this good from the time I owned it. So, all of his requests seemed to have been met and the next evening I loaded it up and returned it. Owner was pleased as punch. Until a few days later when, After mowing for a while he stopped to put air in a tire. When he tried to restart he got nothing. He said " I reached under the dash and wiggled wires and nothing happened" He then said he raised the hood and the fuel filter was full of bubbles. OK, the bubbles I can put down to heat. Have any of you had trouble with alcohol in fuel on these CCK engines ? As to him getting nothing when he turned the key ? It was here for all that time, 6 or 7 days and never killed the battery. THe charging system showed output on the positive side while the engine was running and climbed as the RPMs went up. The only thing I can imagine that he was doing and I wasn't was running the PTO. Have any of you ever heard of a rear PTO pulling enough energy to kill an automotive sized battery in a hour or two ? He says he might be ready to sell it. It has the woods finish mower and what looked to be a hydraulic 5 foot push blade for the front and a very large middle buster plow. Said he was going to ask $2500. I hope to get it right before he sells but I have no idea about his price being high or low as I've had little contact with these machines. If any of you has any ideas please let me know.
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If the charging circuit is weak is weak then after several starts and running the clutch for awhile this could kill a battery. Since the battery condition is unknown and the charging circuits on the ccka's are only 15 amp to stat with there isn't much room for error. As for the tractor as a whole, the 4040's were the first model and if it's not been updated with a few features like dual spool hydraulic lift valve, carb & intake off a 20HP engine, and so forth then at best your likely looking at a 1000.00 tractor running.
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If you can run that pto circuit and put a Clamp-on DC Amp meter around the hot lead & see how many amps its using. I would think if its drawing enough to kill the battery it would pop the fuse. Maybe a bad battery, advance auto parts does amp draw tests on batteries here free... Good luck sm01
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Thank you Greg and Dave for your input. I talked to the owner a while ago and he says he ran the tractor 15 or 20 minutes at most before he shut it down and got no restart. He boosted it and it started right away. So he is taking the battery to have it tested. Thanks again for your help.
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