Ah. See the problem here is just managing your expectations. Your GT235 is not geared lower for power rather than speed. The high gear on the 1025R is geared for speed, not torque. And that will be amplified even more with the mower deck running which is using a bunch of engine power that is now not available for drive. So you're running at maximum pressure using maximum power to accomplish not very much outcome. You aren't hurting it, but you aren't helping anything either. Low gear is geared for torque, not speed. The same amount of engine power is converted to a lot more torque. It requires less hydraulic pressure and less engine power for the same outcome. This is what you should be doing in these circumstances rather than torturing it in high gear. Your GT235 was a single gear somewhere in between.

As others have said, you would have to be doing this for an extended amount of time to heat the fluid up hot enough. So you could eventually damage it but it doesn't sound like that's the circumstance you're in.

crazydane said:

Yes, I mow at 3200 rpm. Not that big a deal switching between H and L I just wasn't expecting having to do that. Only got 4 hours on it so far and don't want to be too hard on it. I used to mow this section with a GT235 and it never had any issues with the steep parts. You just don't push the forward pedal that hard going up the steep hills and it sort of "gears down" automatically, if you will. Of course it only has one range to begin with.

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