Transmission running hot: John Deere 5310-help

[tampamiketaylor]

Hey guys,

Need your advice on this, my tractor's transmission runs hot with only 20-30 minutes running a bush hog. It has been doing this since I bought it used 2 years ago, I checked the screen, changed trans oil, and trans filter. As I only notice it after bush hogging I checked the PTO bearings today and they do not seem to be bad (not loose and spin freely). It will get so hot the trans will smoke. My hydraulic pump seem to have a very slow leak but not even enough to see it it drop.

Any idea on what to check is much appreciated!

* I did not use John deere Trans oil when I changed it, that have anything to do with it?

Thx,
Mike Taylor

 

[JD5210]

The hydraulic system of 5210 and 5310 is equipped with 12-cc and 20-cc external-gear, constant-displacement pumps. The 12-cc pump the back one provides fluid power to the power steering system and to lubricate the transmission. With that said how is the power steering? On my 5210 which has MWFD, I can tell you it steers easier then my car, should you need a reference.

Have you checked that the brakes are not having a problem? On flat level ground with the loader and 3-PT up I have no problems pushing the tractor back and forth.

You might want to get yourself a tech. manual. I suggest you look at selectmanuals.com

 

[tampamiketaylor]

Hey JD5210,

Thank you for the response! I bought a service manual but cannot find anything in it that hints to the root cause. I took the PTO cover off today and drained the oil again but did not see any of the bearings bad. The power steering seems fine in it and will need to test the brakes once I get additional fluid in it.

The manual did say something about relief valve left open could cause issues but did not say where it was and cannot find it.

thx,
Mike

 

[JD5210]

Should have asked this before. What kind of transmission do you have? Which relief valve are you referencing as there are a few relief valves on the tractor?

Have you checked the clutch adjustments? Any other issues with the transmission ie hard to shift in or out of gear? How many hours?

 

[tampamiketaylor]

Hey man,

I will read through the manual tonight and get back with you on those details. I have not had any issues shifting in and out of the gears. The manual did not say what relief valve it was or where it may be located.

Thx!

Mike

 

[tampamiketaylor]

My transmission is the CollarShift SyncShuttle and just to clarify the rear-end housing is the one getting extremely hot and smoking. Also, when it is hot and I open the transmission fill spout smoke comes out. I have the oil drained all out now from when I was review the PTO bearing and do not plan to use it till I find the issue.

Since the front hydraulic pumps is the one that essentially cools the transmission how would I test it is working? Or since the power steering is working I can assume it is fine?

I am wondering if the transmission oil would get that hot if a hydraulic lever is stuck open, like the SCV joystick lever. Any idea how I would test if the pump is open? I also notice that when I use the SCV joystick lever it seems to make a reaction in the actual motor, kinda bog down just a tad. When I say use I mean nothing hooked up that I would be controlled by it but move it to each direction. This could be normal so not sure if it is work noting. Not sure if there would be a way to disconnect it and test, etc.

Any other things to test or ways to test some likely root causes? Also, seems that I need to add the oil back to test but if there is anything I need to look at while I have it drained and back pto cover off let me know. It seems to only get hot when I bush hog but that is really the only thing I do with it at this point. That is why I looked at the PTO bearings but all of the bearings seem tight in the back.

Thx,
Mike

 

[Verticaltrx]

Here's something else to check, may be unrelated but worth a check.

On my fathers new 5045e (basically the same tractor as your 5310) it does a weird thing when you raise the 3pt hitch. Lets say the bush hog is on the ground and you lift it up to your desired height. When you do this the engine lugs very slightly as the 3pt raises (from the power needed to run the pump w/ load) which should be normal. What is unusual is that it continues to very slightly lug once the 3pt is at the desired height until you bump the 3pt lever down just a touch. Don't even have to move the lever enough to make the 3pt go down, but for some reason it isn't taking all the load off the hydraulics when it goes up and stops by itself. Not sure if that was a good explanation or not, but if it is doing this you should be able to play around with it and see what I mean.

With that said, in our case it doesn't seem to be enough to heat up the hydraulic fluid, but I suppose it could in a more severe case.

 

[tampamiketaylor]

Hey Verticaltrx,

Thanks for your response! I think I will put some oil back in it and then try to test the pumps, maybe disconnect the SCV joystick to see if that is keeping it open.

Thx
Mike

 

[raasd]

I have a 5220 and the rear end housing does the same thing. Gets extremely hot when we pull the box drag. We have had it in to the dealer and looked at and they never found anything. No real explanation, I'll be interested if you figure anything out. We have the Power Reverser transmission so it doesn't appear that the transmission matters.

 

[Verticaltrx]

One other thought,

Isn't uncommon for tractors to get the transmission/hydraulic system hot enough that you can't touch them when you really work the tractor hard. Are you sure that the 'smoke' coming out of the filler isn't actually steam? Sometimes if any water gets in there, either from rain or heavy condensation, when you really heat up the transmission/hydraulics you'll turn that water back into steam. Seen it quite a few times on old dozers and such that sit outside, same thing can be true for tractors.