2320 Questions/Help

[bendwa]

Long time lurker. I used what I learned here to buy my 2320 a while back, and just crossed the 85 hour mark. I really appreciate the knowledge folks have shared.

I have a few general questions I'm hoping someone can help with...

Question #1: We had 25 inches of wet snow to clear this winter, and a few times I got into a situation where the tractor loader was stuck in a icy bank of snow, and I lifted the tractor onto a single front wheel using the loader. It was just a few inches, but it occurred to me that meant about 2X the tractor weight was on a single front axle. Could that break the axle? Is that common?

Question #2: I have about an 18 degree hill that I mow up and down. There's nothing scary at the bottom, and it's about 30 feet long. But once I forgot to engage front wheel drive and I was shocked that the tractor slid down the hill with the back wheels locked. I eased off the pedal to let them rotate and steered to safety. But I can't believe the manual isn't clearer that hill stopping ability is ENORMOUSLY improved when front wheel drive is engaged. Is 4 wheel breaking standard on other tractors?

Question #3: Because of the hills on my property, I drive everywhere (except asphalt) with front-wheel drive engaged. Is that going to seriously degrade the life of something? Would you expect something to break before 1000 hours?

Question #4: At the 50 hour service, the JD dealer filled the gearbox so full that I can't see a bubble at the top of the sight glass. He said it was no problem, but the manual requested a bubble. Next change is 200 hours, which is 115 hours away. Should I drain some?

Thanks!

 

[JiminGa]

Bendwa, first....welcome to TBN!
lots of knowledgable folks here for sure.

1. it's probably ok, but don't make a habit of it, it'll bend or break something if you continually do this.

2/3. I've had that happen on my 2305 as well, it's a really scarey feeling, don't forget to engage mfwd. as long as your on grass or dirt it shouldn't be an issue.

4. are you checking the level with the fel on? hydraulic pressure relieved? make sure the engine is off, it'll give a false reading ( low I think though) if the engine is running. try unhooking and reattaching the fel, then checking the level again. if it's still high, drain to proper level. better safe than sorry, as too much fluid can cause high pressure.

 

[kennyd]

Welcome to TBN

1. How much rear ballast do you have? It is NOT common for the front axle to fail-but the possibility does exist.

2/3. You only have brakes on the rear wheels-all tractors are like this. As you found out...effective engine/hydro braking is better accomplished after you engage the MFWD is slippery conditions.
I personally would NOT have the MFWD engaged unless I needed it...It's better to get in the habit of engaging it when needed rather than dis-engaging it when not needing it and forgetting about it.

4. Make sure the engine is off for about ten minutes or so, and the 3PH and FEL is down when checking oil. A little overfull is OK, but the problem is you don't know how over full it is...You could possibly suck some out of the fill hole to adjust the level.

 

[AKfish]

Question #1: I lifted the tractor onto a single front wheel using the loader. It was just a few inches, but it occurred to me that meant about 2X the tractor weight was on a single front axle.

Question #2: But I can't believe the manual isn't clearer that hill stopping ability is ENORMOUSLY improved when front wheel drive is engaged. Is 4 wheel breaking standard on other tractors?

Question #3: Because of the hills on my property, I drive everywhere (except asphalt) with front-wheel drive engaged. Is that going to seriously degrade the life of something? Would you expect something to break before 1000 hours?

Question #4: At the 50 hour service, the JD dealer filled the gearbox so full that I can't see a bubble at the top of the sight glass. He said it was no problem, but the manual requested a bubble. Next change is 200 hours, which is 115 hours away. Should I drain some?

Thanks!

Welcome to TBN.

1.) If I understand your question correctly; and you're using your FEL to pick the front end of the tractor up - most of the weight is being carried by the loader. The amount of weight being transferred to the one wheel remaining on the ground would not be equal to the weight that is normally exerted on the front end. However, routinely picking the front end up with the loader can result in "tweaking" the loader arms or causing you problems with your FEL cylinders - bending the cylinder rods, etc.

2.) I believe your manual says that to improve stopping in poor traction conditions to use 4x4. My manual does. The technical writers of owner's manuals aren't known for using EXCLAMATORY language... I don't believe that I have ever seen a tractor with brakes on all 4 wheels.

3.) Under normal use, engaging your 4x4 (and leaving it engaged); you shouldn't BREAK anything... but, you'll definitely wear out your front tires faster! Of course, using any feature on a tractor (pto, FEL, brakes) after many hours - wear - occurs. So, whenever you're in areas that will cause the front tires to grab and crab while steering, etc. you can expect increase stress on the front drive shaft, the tie rods and the axles, bearings, etc. to occur and things will wear out. Whether it's within a 1,000 hours or 1,500 hours that depends...

4.) Need to be sure to check properly - as others noted. If really overfilled - I'd either pull some out via fill hole or drain. Draining can be problematic... once it starts flowing and your hand gets real slippery.. sometimes the plug ends up in the drain pan!!

AKfish

 

[bendwa]

Guys, thanks very much for this help. I think I'm a bit full, so I'll try to get some out from the top.

Kennyd, the only rear ballast I have is a box blade. Unfortunately, I woke up one morning to the kids screaming with delight at piles of snow, and I could barely get the tractor out of the garage. And in fact I plowed some with the mower deck on and broke the two cast bronzish-looking adjustable bolts that hold the deck on. Stupid. But I learn. Next time the deck comes off when the snow starts.

One last question...I need to place a few yards of concrete from a truck about 40 feet beyond what the truck can reach. All flat. What do you guys think about using the FEL? Will this result in permanent concrete stains all over the paint, grit scratching the hydraulics, etc? In other words, would I look at my tractor with 85 hours that lives in a garage and go "holy crap was that a mistake" after I'm done?

Or, if I slip the concrete guy $50 and tell him I don't want to splash stuff all around and that we need to go a bit slow, can I rinse off at the end of the day and be none the worse for it?

Thanks

Also, I'm assuming front bucket can probably do about half (max) of concrete if I have a ballast box in the back. Is that about right?

Again, I really appreciate the guidance.

 

[kennyd]

Kennyd, the only rear ballast I have is a box blade.

I think you need more weight, either consider getting the rear tires filled, add rear wheel weights, or add weight to that blade somehow.

 

[Pif]

You could always get a sheet of plywood or lauan plywood and hold it on top of the bucket like a backstop to keep the concrete off of the rest of the tractor while the operator is filling the bucket. Plastic sheeting might work as well but may be a little more awkward to handle. Soak the front end of your tractor with water right before you start to help keep the splatter from sticking. Then scrub the bucket up as soon as you finish, before the cement starts to set.

 

[flyngti]

Keep a water hose nearby and hose down the bucket and any spatter each time you get a new load and you shouldn't have a problem with it sticking. As for ballast, you will *definitely* need more weight in the back if you plan on moving a few yards of concrete. When moving full buckets of gravel, I always felt a little light in the rear with just a box blade. I finally made a concrete ballast block and it completely changed how the machine handles. With proper ballasting, you should be able to carry more than half a bucketful of concrete. I routinely carry a heaped bucket of 5/8" minus with no problem. Of course, wet concrete is more dense than just gravel, but not by 50%.

 

[jenkinsph]

Depending on how many yards of concrete you have and how many people will be there to help you may find it easier to rent a concrete pump. This will aid in placing the concrete in place and reducing the labor. I rented a pump in November and think it was about $180.

I am seeing two things needing to be done at the same time if you use your tractor, cleaning it up afterwards and floating the concrete that you piled on the edge of the form.

In my opinion leave the tractor in the garage, and use a pump to distribute the concrete evenly in the form and then concentrate on getting a nice finish.



Steve

 

[burtco99]

Question #4: At the 50 hour service, the JD dealer filled the gearbox so full that I can't see a bubble at the top of the sight glass. He said it was no problem, but the manual requested a bubble. Next change is 200 hours, which is 115 hours away. Should I drain some?
Thanks!

I would say leave the oil level as is.

On my '06 2520, I found that the hydraulic fluid capacity is marginal if left so that the bubble is visible when machine is not running. My machine functions perfectly on level ground with the factory recommended oil level (oil level is visible in the sight glass), but does not like to climb steep hills. The hydro drive looses power and howls excessively on these slopes (yes I'm in low range). When I say a steep hill, I mean like climbing nose first up a dirt pile or up the side of a creek or large ditch, with an angle of atleast 30 degrees or more. Descending or backing up the same slope does not appear to affect the Hydrostat drive. I discussed this in depth with the JD dealer and they tell me that it is somewhat typical of any of the hydrostatic drive machines due to posibility of the oil pump pick-up sucking air if the machine is severely off level in the wrong direction. The dealer recommended trying a slightly over full reservoir to see if it helps, I followed the dealer recommendations and have not had any more problems.

I have monitored & played with the oil level over the 85 hours I've owned this 2520. The tractor has been subjected to all sorts of use & abuse and I have noticed several things worth noting regarding the Hydraulic oil level.

The following observations were noted with Hydraulic oil at operating temp and oil level adjusted so bubble was just visible in sight glass & with machine on level surface and engine not running.

1. The oil level will drop from the top of the sight glass to near the bottom when tractor is started.
2. If you have an 200CX FEL on your 2320 or 2520, the oil level drops below the bottom sight glass when you raise the FEL to the top and dump the bucket. (All 4 cylinders in fully extended position)
3. The 46 BH with stabilizer legs down, substantially lowers oil level as well. Extending the Hoe to full reach will raise the oil level somewhat.
4. Any Hydraulic operated accessories such as a TnT, Grapple, Front snow blade angling or Remote snow blower chute controls, will also lower oil level when any of those cylinders are at full extension. (I have TnT & remote blower controls so I know)
5. Running the hyd oil level at or below the bottom of the window will permit cavitation and may also result in excessively high oil temps.
6. Adjusting oil level so that the sight glass is half full with engine running and all 4 FEL cylinders at ½ travel results in approx 2-3 quarts of additional oil being added. The sight glass will show over full when engine is not running.
7. The transmission is the hydraulic oil reservoir and this reservoir is vented to atmosphere. It must be in order to accommodate the varying oil levels encountered during operation of the hydraulic components. Adding additional oil to the reservoir will not create any additional pressure within the reservoir, nor will the system operating pressure be affected. The worst thing that might happen is that excess oil might be vented overboard due to the reservoir being excessively overfilled.

My '06 2520 has a dipstick located on the LH side of the transmission. You can just see it through the fender well or down beside the seat. It is extremely hard to access, but the full mark corresponds to the top of the sight glass. I use the dipstick to permit me to accurately measure & over fill the system by about 2-3 quarts. This results in my machine showing an oil level such as described in #6 above.

In my opinion, the important oil level is the operating oil level (engine running). The Factory method will tell you exactly how much oil is in your machine, but it doesn't tell you where the level is when the machine is running. Yes the factory probably took this into account when designing the machine, but IMHO on the 2520, They didn't allow for any growth such as an owner who adds all those nifty additional hydraulics on their machine.

The above comments are my own and may not represent all the 2320s and 2520s out there. You need to experiment with your own machine to see what works for you. If in doubt, follow the factory specs unless you experience problems like I did.