rtv900 looses power on steep hills????

S

shakerscoop

New member
2010 rtv 900 Diesel w/15 hours on it. It looses power just going up by drive way(it is steep but my car drives up it) If I let off the gas and re apply, it will go some more. I have to do this about 5-6 times just to make it up. I have changed the fuel and air filter. any advice will be thankful.
 
First of all, WELCOME ABOARD............

That said, this is a common, very common problem, or tendency of the 900 RTV. No, it isn't underpowered or even usually a powertrain problem. It's just the way the machine functions........Not a tech here but the transmission is essentially a big pump. The setting of the pump for high pressure, a load, is critical and sensitive. When going up a hill, one puts a HEAVY load on the pump. It actually does not work best at full throttle; but backed off just a bit.

For me, I live on a mountain/hill here in NW Georgia and my road has a slope of 15 to 20 degrees for a fair distance. When I go up this with just me, depending on the day, way I smile, or whatever, I can full throttle it; but it goes no faster than at 90% throttle........When with a load, 2 folks or some feed to go to the barn, if I full throttle it, the machine will tend to bog down a bit; but when I back off from full throttle just a bit, I can actually hear the PUMP/ENGINE pick up speed, GRUNT HARDER, and pick back up speed. Though it isn't full throttle on the flat speed, it is faster than full throttle up the slope speed............

The same condition pretty much applies when starting out in HIGH on a hill........with a load it WILL NOT DO IT, depending upon the slope of the hill, but with just me, it will.............

Anyway, what's the problem..........it always gets me there and will never be some "speed wagon"..............Just part of the way the machine works.........God bless.......Dennis
 
you discribed it to the T-- wish I could fix it. If someone tha tdoesn't drive it hop in and goes to the bottom pasture--I have to worry untill they get back. thanks for the responce.
shakerscoop
 
Hi Shakerscoop. Also have you done away with the spark arrestor yet?
The newly designed 2011 transmission is a different animal but I know what you are talking about because I had it with my '05. A steep pond bank was only done in M or super steep in L. There are a few posts about the check valve being shimmed to improve it's performance. I think it was concerning backing up a hill but it might help you. The post was by an Englishman. I will try and find it. bordercollie
edit: here's the link. be sure to read #33 http://www.nettractortalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14420
 
Glad you made it over here shakerscoop. This is the premier site for RTV's.

As Dennis (D&D) said, when going up that hill and it bogs down, back off the pedal until you hear the RPM's come back up. It's kicking in an aux pump to give you more power but at the cost of speed.

shakerscoop said:
have not messed with the spark arrestor. Will this make it loud? are you talking clean, remove or replace it??
thanks
Click to expand...
The spark arrestor could be a HUGE cause of the problem you're having. They clog up fast and if you're not getting the exhaust out, your not getting air into the engine which will cause lack of power.
 
I had similar problems, gees, I guess about 8 years ago. Wow, can't believe it was that long ago, but mine was an early '04 model. Not only did I notice what you describe, but mine got stuck in M so badly that I literally had to shut the engine off to get it out of gear. As previously mentioned, less throttle (more or less like if you were on a hydro tractor and you were stalling the engine with too much throttle, so you let off to push more).

I can tell you for certain that 1) you will pick up considerably more power after you get more time on yours 2) the harder I ran mine the better it responded and faster it picked up power 3) I wouldn't do it under warranty, but there is certainly ways to adjust the transmission. By the time I traded my '04 900 for a RTV1100, my RTV900 would leave two small black marks on the concrete taking off and would hold about 27 mph on most reasonably level surfaces.

Now, on my RTV1100, I didn't want to wait that long. As soon as it was out of warranty, I added a turbo to it, high air intake, lift kit, larger wheels and tires, put in a coast valve and made several changes to the adjustments on the transmission and fuel pump to accomodate the added power. I think my RTV1100 is the first model year that came out. It's had a turbo and the other changes ever since it was a year old with zero issues. I can leave two black marks for about 5' taking off in L and now I literally do NOT run out of power before I run out of traction.

With both my RTV900 and non-turbo RTV1100, I could literally start up a hill on my property and have the machine completely run out of power and not spin any of it's tires going up a steep hill. No amount of feathering the throttle in L would spin the aftermarket, more aggressive tires, when trying to climb the steeper hills. There are certainly hills that are simply off limits for this type of machine since they require a huge amount of power for a run up and hard tire spin to dig down to gain more solid purchase but, for a diesel work machine, I'm well pleased with it's performance now.
 
I am not a mechanic by no means--I am just disapointed that when I had my gas 4x4 mule-- it would climb anything and gain speed up all the hills. The only reason I traded up was my wife would not lrt it worm up and would start it---then slam in in gear (grinding the tranny) so she could go and I could not take it , so I figured a diesel was the way to go.
 
A couple other things to elaborate on what Dargo said.

At 15 hours, everything is tight. As mentioned, it'll loosen up and get stronger.

Even with only 15 hours, your tranny filters are probably starting to clog. Debris and metal shavings from the manufacturing process are being collected (which is good) but your filter is probably clogging.

After you change your tranny fluids and filters (normally at 50 hours but we recommend doing the process early for those exhibiting your symptoms), you should see an improvement.

IMPORTANT: Stick with Kubota filters and UDT or Super UDT for your tranny. Do not use any other brand. People have tried and found significant degradation in performance.
 
If you live in a dusty environment at all, your air filter could be plugged already.......Most folks go ahead and mount the filter or the input at least higer.......

DO A BIT OF RESEARCH HERE .......lots of posts about this.............It could already be dirty and not letting the engine breathe......

No.......removing the baffle/soot cleaner in the muffler does not make it run loud or wierd...it just lets the engine breathe as it really does plug up fast.........God bless......Dennis
 
I did forget about changing my hydraulic filters at around 20 hours and again at 50 hours. I think I went with the SUDT at 50 hours and noticed an immediate difference in it being quieter. Spark arrestor? Never heard of one...:whistling:
 
shakerscoop said:
The only reason I traded up was my wife would not lrt it worm up and would start it---then slam in in gear (grinding the tranny) so she could go and I could not take it , so I figured a diesel was the way to go.
Click to expand...

Watch out with the slammin it in and out of gear, 2wd/4wd...........not made to do this.......lots of linkage to bend and get out of alignment......TROUBLE..........God bless........Dennis
 
shakerscoop said:
I am not a mechanic by no means--I am just disapointed that when I had my gas 4x4 mule-- it would climb anything and gain speed up all the hills. The only reason I traded up was my wife would not lrt it worm up and would start it---then slam in in gear (grinding the tranny) so she could go and I could not take it , so I figured a diesel was the way to go.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't say "climb anything". I've made dozens embarrassed by taking them up on that challenge. I used to race motocross and run in semi-pro hill climbs. Trust me, no Mule ever made, or ever will be made, can climb the hills I have and practiced on. The idea, with a modified 100+ hp bike with a 7' extension on the rear wheel was to see how far up the hills I could get; never to see if I could climb them.

My idea of a "steep hill" is considerably different than most. LOL, thirty years later I'm still paying for the fact that for some strange reason on hill climbs, it seemed no matter what, the motorcycle would find the rider (or most recent rider) and hit them as many times as possible on the way back down the hill. After next week's shoulder surgery, that will be 3 joint surgeries I've had in the last year.

I never could get any RTV to climb the hills I climbed on my Yamaha Rhino (modified, of course), but I could get them to easily climb the same hills and go through the same snow and mud that any Mule or Gator could; maybe just not as fast if they were running a gas powered unit, but I'd still get there. With the full cab on the RTV1100, I get there with no bugs on me, still clean and either plenty warm in the winter or plenty cool in the summer. :tiphat: You just need to get a few more hours on yours and then start with changing your hydraulic filter and possibly misplace the spark arrestor. As a footnote, I never ride on land that I don't own. I have a few hundred acres on which to ride. If you plan to ride on state owned trails, just clean the spark arrestor frequently.
 
The spark arrestor is on the end of the muffler's tail pipe on the early models and is part of the tail pipe on the newer models . If you see 2 bolts on the tail pipe mount, then you have a spark arrestor internally and you can either clean it a whole lot or use a hack saw on it. They seem to clog up real fast with soot and knock down engine performance. I just got my new muffler today to replace the fatigued tail pipe mount and will take a picture and post a picture of the arrestor. bordercollie
 
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Spark Arrestor

This is the tail pipe/ spark arrestor off of an 2011 RTV900. If you have this type , you will see the two bolt holes where it mounts to the muffler. The screen is very fine and clogs quickly. :bordercollie :doggy:
 

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Looks like Govt regulators forcing Kubota to come up with something thats not easy to remove by users w/0 warranty issues.
 
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