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New Sovereign


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9-18-99

Got my new Sovereign today!

Some initial comments are:
1. The power steering is slow. On fast, sharp turns I
can feel a momentary lack of boost.
2. I will have to go through the tractor to lube and
adjust various small things (like the seat/fender pivots
squeal when it is raised).
3. It's going to take a while to get used to the hydro
transmission. I do like the ability to keep mower speed
up and control ground speed independently.
4. Its bigger than my B-1 (taller & longer). This will
take some getting used to and tree/bush trimming.
5. I like the power.

Some questions:
1. The dealer's mechanic says to run premium fuel or the muffler
will clog up. The Owner's Manual says to use 87 octane.
Is there any valid reason to use premium?
2. The steering wheel spokes are crooked. How can this
be corrected?
Remove the steering wheel and center it?
Adjust the power steering cylinder rod at the helm join
on the kingpin end?
3. There is a hole inside the air cleaner that appears
to let unfiltered air enter something. What is this
hole for?
4. The engine smokes when started. The dealer mechanic
said it would use some oil due to the valve guides. Is
this correct??

All for now,
Roy
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Roy,
Congradulations. Re: Sovereign, The 87 gas should be OK. One misconception people have about gasoline is the higher octane gives more power. Once you have fuel with adequate octane to burn without detonating more octane does nothing for you. It will allow you to put in higher compression pistons etc and get more power. But only because these things require higher octane.
Steering wheel, With the steering system you have the wheel will change as you use the tractor. There is really no reference point. This change is normal because there is no mechanical linkage to the steering wheel.
Air cleaner, there was a Service bulletin from Kohler regarding the inner cover that could be turned 180 degrees and allow dirt to enter through a holee. They are supposed to be revised now so one bolt is 1/4 and the other is 5/16 so you can't get it on backwards. Monday I'll look at a new one to remember what it was about.
Re: P. Steering lag, Are you running the engine wide open. Air cooled engines are designed to run at governed speed to avoid overheating. When you double the speed you get 4 times the cooling air. At half speed the engine heat generated to do a job is much higher than at full throttle, and you only have half the cooling air. This and grass in the fins are the two things that cause exhaust valve seats to come out of Briggs engines. Also keeps the hydro pump at proper operating speeed.
Kohler rep tells us that the new cylinder walls in the new engines are so hard for long life that it is possible to have some oil consumption and occasional somke up to the first 75 hrs. as the wall and ring seating take much longer than the old engines, but the life should be more than double. A puff of blue smoke on start up with the engine cold is probably pretty normal, and shouldn't hurt anything. We have several of the twin cam engines out and they have been superb.
Note if you get a situation where when you push the hydro forward, and whe tractor goes slow for a little bit and then "takes off", lube up the cam roller on the hydre linkage and where the shaft pivots on the sides. Enjoy this baby they are one helluva tractor. Good luck, AL
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Al,

Thanks for the response. I'll have a problem with the
"floating" steering wheel position. In my mind the
spokes should be horizontal when I'm going straight.
But if that's the way it is I will eventually get
accustomed to it.

Running at full throttle seems like insanity when full
power and speed are not required but, again, I will have
to become adjusted to it.

Please remember to check on the hole in the air cleaner
since I do not want to get dirt in the engine. We have
not had rain for a long time and the dust cloud when
mowing or crunching leaves is terrible.

Thanks again,
Roy
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Roy,
If you take the plastic cover off of the air cleaner, you will see a hole with a rubber grommet in it. If you look down through the hole you will see the idle stop screw. When the top metal cover is tightened down on the air cleaner the grommet seals against the bottom plate. No problem. If you put the top cover on and turn it 180 degrees both holes will be open and will suck dirt in. The hole should be on the right side of the tractor as you are settting on it. Always check the grommet when you put it together. There were some TOC [twin overhead cam] Kohlers ruined in some Grasshoppers this way. NOT WARRANTY. The word in service school was that one of the bolts that holes the top cover on would be changed to 5/16 making it impossible to turn the cover around. It has not been done in the tractor I have set up, and the other is in the crate so I didn't look at it. Should be showing up soon in new TOCs. Isn't that a sweet engine? I personally think in 5 years the Commands will be history if these continue to behave. They are cheaper to build, have no gaskets to speak of [or leak]and are quiet. The rumors I hear is bigger ones are coming. Hard to believe they can cast the crankcase, cylinders, intake manifold and heads in one piece with no bolts. And do it using styrofoam for the molds. We are living in a neat time. Have fun with this girl. Good luck, AL
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Hi Roy&congrats on your new tractor. I totally agree with what everyone has said-but about keeping the engine running at 3/4 or full speed ahead isn't just about cooling the engine. The engine is rated at 18hp at 3600rpm so running it less then full speed lets just say 2500rpm it might only put out 14hp so your not getting the full use of your engines rated horsepower thus even the mower blades in tall grass will put one heck of a load on it and possibly not even turn there proper rpm for your best cut. And lets not forget about the hydro trans. If you don't keep the engine rpm's up the trans which generates alot of heat itself cann't be cooled properly as the fan won't be able to spin fast enough to keep it cool and thus shorter life can result on both the trans and engine. Not even a nickle's worth-Thanks and have fun with it.->jackl-happyjack<-
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I was just about to ask my dealer about the puff of smoke that appears when I start my new Sovereign, Al explained it well. What a great engines these OHC's are.

As for the Hydrostatic steering, this is way different than the power assist in your car. Most full size tractors work this way too. A few hours in the seat of a big tractor with full Hydro Steering and your car will seem hard to steer. Since the steering wheel doen't have a direct connection to the steering arm there is no need for a center position.
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