PT425 50 Hour Maintenance Page

I finally hit 50 hours on my PT425 and changed the hydraulic filter tonight. I guess I was worried for nothing. It was a piece of cake.

First I called Power Trac and told them what I wanted to do. They hooked me up with Don. I followed his instructions and it was easy. Here's what he had me do:

• Disconnected both spark plugs so that the engine couldn't fire up if cranked with the key.
• First clean the area around the filter very thoroughly.
• Then clean the area around the bleeder port on the front pump. It is located under a cap on the right side of the pump right under the 'hydro back', which is the cylindrical device that connects the cable from the pump to the directional pedals.
• Then clean the area around the hydraulic reservoir and its cap.
• Then I cleaned all three areas again, just to be sure.
• Then I layed some absorbant paper towels in the engine compartment under the filter.
• I grabbed the filter with both hands and unloosened it. About 1/4 cup of oil spilled out, but landed on the paper towels.
• Removed the filter to an oil drain pan.
• Took a new filter and filled it with 10W40 oil(lets not start a "what weight oil" debate ) per Don's instructions. Let it sit for a few minutes as it soaked up oil and topped it off again. Tapped it a few times to get as much air out as possible and topped it off again, right up to the rim of the gasket.
• Rubbed a little oil around the gasket and spun the new filter on hand tight, just like a car oil filter.
• Removed the cap from the bleeder port with a small crescent wrench.
• Attached the bleeder hose assembly that came with the Power Trac.
• Opened the hydraulic reservoir and stuck the other end of the bleeder hose into the reservior and into the fluid.
• Turned the key for 15 seconds at a time and watched air bubble out of the bleeder hose. Don said to wait between cranks and only crank it for 15 seconds at a time to avoid heating up the starter. I felt it several times and it never got warm.
• Waited 60 seconds and cranked it for another 15 seconds. Repeated the wait and crank about 6 times. I didn't see any more air after the 2nd time, but I wanted to be sure to get all of the air out.
• Pulled the bleeder hose from the reservoir and closed it up.
• Took the bleeder hose off the port and put the cap back on tight with a wrench.
• Pulled out the paper towels.
• Put the spark plug wires back on and fired it up.
• Mowed my lawn and checked the filter for tightness when I was done. Looks good.

Total time was about 10-15 minutes. Not too bad at all.