Pöttinger CAT 230 plus service schedule

Mowers · 1990s (the conditioner version changes at model year 1998)

Covers the Pöttinger CAT 230 plus (drum mower, type PTM 331).

Every maker's service job for the Pöttinger CAT 230 plus, counted in hours, with the oils, filters and parts each one needs. Add your implement to Farmyard Workshop and it works out what's due from your hours and dates, and keeps the service history.

Track your CAT 230 plus for free

Versions: CAT 230 plus; CAT 230 plus Conditioner

Service intervals

Job	When
Drive shaft lubrication and guard check	every 8 hours
Blades and knife holders check	every 100 hours
Yearly lubrication: gearbox oil	every year
Putting away for winter	every year

Service jobs and parts

Drive shaft lubrication and guard check

PTO shaft · every 8 hours

Pöttinger's drive shaft supplement: grease before starting work and every 8 hours. Worn guards must be replaced at once.

Part	Qty	Notes	Part number
Grease	1	Brand-name grease	check your handbook

Step-by-step

Disengage the PTO, stop the tractor engine and take the key out. Wait until the drums have stopped.
Grease the drive shaft joints and tubes.
Check the guards are complete and the retaining chain stops the guard turning without stopping the shaft swinging.
Check the locks are fully engaged at both ends.
In frosty weather, grease the guard tubes so they don't freeze together.
If the cam clutch cuts out, stop the PTO briefly. It re-engages below 200 rpm.

Tools: Grease gun, Rags

Blades and knife holders check

Blades and skids · every 100 hours

Pöttinger: check the flexible knife holders normally every 100 hours, straight after hitting a solid obstacle, and more often on stony ground. Blades on one drum must wear evenly, or the drum goes out of balance.

Part	Qty	Notes	Part number
Blades	1	Set per drum if wear is uneven. Genuine Pöttinger: check your handbook	check your handbook
Knife holder	1	If the pin is worn to 8 mm or the holder is bent. Check your handbook	check your handbook

Step-by-step

Lower the mower to the ground, disengage the PTO, stop the tractor engine, take the key out and apply the parking brake.
Wait until the drums have stopped completely: they run on after the PTO is off.
Never work under the mower unless it is securely supported.
Wear gloves. Check every blade. Each blade has two edges: a blunt one can be turned over and fitted to the other drum.
If the blades on one drum have worn unevenly, replace them as a set.
To change a blade: rest the lever (29) on the lower edge of the drum, press the holder (30) down, lift the blade off its bolt (31), clean out crop round the bolt, fit the new blade, take the lever away and check the bolt has sprung back and the blade swings freely.
Replace the knife holder if it is bent or its pin is worn to 8 mm.
If a mowing disc is worn through near the knives, take off the support plate, move each knife mounting one hole (60°) round, and tighten the bolts to 120 Nm. Recheck them after a few hours.
After hitting an obstacle, check the blades and holders before mowing on.

Tools: Pöttinger blade lever (29), Torque wrench (to 120 Nm), Gloves, Vernier caliper

Yearly lubrication: gearbox oil

Gearbox · every year

The CAT 230 lubrication chart has once-a-year oil items with 0.5 L and 7 L quantities, but the scan doesn't show which point each belongs to or the oil grade. Use the chart in your handbook. There is no filter.

Part	Qty	Notes	Part number
Gear oil	1	Grade and quantity: check your handbook's lubrication chart and lubricants page	check your handbook

Step-by-step

Lower the mower, disengage the PTO, stop the tractor engine and take the key out. Wait until the drums have stopped.
Change or top up each oil point on the lubrication chart, to the quantity the chart gives.
If the gearbox overheats in work, Pöttinger says refill or replace its oil.
Grease the points marked on the chart.

Tools: Drain tray, Spanners, Funnel

Putting away for winter

Storage · every year

Pöttinger's winter steps, including taking the skids off to clean under the discs.

Step-by-step

Lower the mower, disengage the PTO, stop the tractor engine and take the key out. Wait until the drums have stopped.
Take off the skids (pads) under the mowing discs, clean and preserve the underside of the discs, and refit the skids.
If the drums vibrate badly in work, clear the crop packed between the disc and skid.
Grease and oil the mower as the lubrication chart says.
Clean the ram rod and other bare metal and coat it with grease.
Store it with the frame (H) raised so the ram rod is protected: unhitch it from the lift arms, connect the hydraulic coupling to the swivel ram, pull the rope to free hook 16 and raise the frame slowly.
Make sure nobody is near the frame while it moves.

Tools: Spanners, Grease gun, Brush, Rust preventer

Oils, fluids and capacities

System	Oil or spec	Capacity
Gearbox and drums	Gear oil (grade on the lubricants page: check your handbook)	7 L in the drive housing over the drums plus 0.5 L in the input gearbox at the headstock; both changed once a year
Grease points and drive shaft	Grease (brand-name)

Specifications


Working width	2.25 m
Output	Up to 2.5 ha/h
Tractor PTO power	Max 44 kW (60 hp); with conditioner 59 kW (80 hp)
PTO speed	540 rpm maximum
Cutting height	30–65 mm
Knife mounting bolts	120 Nm
Knife holder wear limit	Pin worn to 8 mm diameter: replace
Drive shaft	Cam-type overload clutch on the implement end; re-engages below 200 rpm. Wide-angle joint 70° max; standard joint 35° working

Known problems

Uneven blade wear

Uneven wear on one drum makes it vibrate and wears the bearings. Replace the drum's blades as a set.

Crop under the skids

Strong vibration is often crop packed between the disc and skid. Stop, take the key out, wait for the drums to stop and clear it.

Drums run on

Pöttinger warns the mower may keep moving after the PTO is off. Don't go near it until everything has stopped.

Repair guides

Blades, knife holders and drum vibration (Moderate, 1–2 hours): Drum vibrating, uneven blade wear on one drum, poor cut, blades wearing fast, mowing disc worn through near the knives.
Anti-hindrance breakback tripping too easily (Easy, 30 minutes): Cutterbar swings back on small obstacles or in heavy crop; cutterbar will not return to work position.
Drive shaft cam clutch and conditioner shear bolt (Easy, 20–60 minutes): Cam clutch ratcheting, conditioner rotor stopped, torque limiter in the conditioner shaft slipping, gearbox running hot.
PTO shaft repair: universal joint cross and bearing, and guard replacement (Moderate, 1–3 hours): Play or clicking in a universal joint, rust coming out of the bearing cups, vibration, split or worn guard cones, guard not turning freely, missing chain.

The full step-by-step guides are in Farmyard Workshop once you add your implement.

Parts list with genuine part numbers

Wear parts per Partao (Pöttinger genuine listing), CAT 230

Wear parts

Part	Part number	Qty	Notes
Blade holder	434160	per blade position	Wear part. Genuine per Partao; fitment names CAT 230. Page identifies the holder by 434160 and 434171 (second number is probably the other hand/variant, check book)

Sources

Open Farmyard Workshop