Hello from the South Island of New Zealand. I have a question regarding the clutch system on our 1985 Champion 720R Grader. We recently bought the grader to replace our old Cat 112 when it threw a leg out of bed. I use it to grade the tracks on our farm and hunting block, which involves a lot of hill work (some steep grades) and hard material. I have done about 50 hours on the new machine and have noticed some alarming traits - mainly around when the engine stalls in tough going on a hill. What happens is this: The engine starts to stall if under load / too high a gear / I hit a big rock I go to dip the clutch to downshift and as the engine is slowing, I can't depress the clutch The grader stalls, still can't press the clutch The grader starts to roll, brakes are ineffective as there is no engine power Can't get brakes to work as I can't start the grader as engine has stalled and can't shift to neutral Can't lower blade as no hydraulics Grader still rolling... I am now reliant on the handbrake to stop 15 tons of metal taking off down the hill. It seems inherently unsafe and I fear that if this happens in the wrong place, or with an inexperienced operator then we could have a really nasty accident. Is this normal? Any advice / tips? Or am I just best advised to sell it and get something safer in the event of a stall on the hill? Thank you for allowing me to post on your forum - any advice very much appreciated. Simon
No replies yet.