Need Help!!! JD 4310 transmission troubles

[CraigG]

I have a JD 4310 with the eHydro transmission. I bought the tractor new from K.C. Canary this past fall and it still only has 38 hours on it.

Problem #1
After about 15 hours I noticed hydraulic fluid on the garage floor under where the tractor was parked. After close inspection I could see that 2 of the larger bolts holding the main transmission housing together were backed out about half way. I don't know if I got it this way or they backed out during my limited use of the tractor. Anyway, I called K.C. Canary and they came and got the tractor. From what I understand since one side of the housing was tight and the other loose there was uneven pressure on the gasket causing it to fail. The tractor was split and the gasket replaced.

Problem #2
I got a call from K.C. Canary saying that my tractor was included in the recent transmission recall discussed on this board. My tractor was picked up and split for a second time. I was told it was a new transmission (not a remanufactured) and they used new hydraulic fluid instead of reusing the old like JD reccomended. I was happy about them using a new transmission and new fluid but unhappy that my tractor has now been split twice.

Problem #3
Got the tractor back and it behaves alot different. There is a lag from the time depress one of the diectional pedals to the time the tractor actually starts moving. The overall feel of the tractor is also different. New transmission replaced with a new trasmission should equal the same performance before and after the swap. However, this is not the case.

Problem #4
During a recent snow storm here in NY I was snowblowing. I got to the end of my driveway and went to turn around and I got no response from either of the directional pedals. This problem happens off and on and usually when I'm changing direction. Turning off load match does not make a difference. This problem is also independent of throttle speed.
I do get a flashed code but i always seem to miss the whole code by the time i understand what is going on. I called K.C. Canary to come pick up the tractor and the never did. This seems unusual for K.C. Canary.

I called my salesman (Mark Brucker) and told him I have had too many transmission problems for a tractor that does not even have 40 hours on it yet. If this was a car I would have a new one by now. Mark told me he would contact JD and talk to them about the situation. It's been a week and still no call back nor have they picked up the tractor to fix it.

I need advice. Is it too much to ask for a new tractor? Does the NYS lemmon law cover new tractor purchases? I bought the tractor to keep untill it died or I died. I feel that the tractors life span has been severley shortened due to the fact that its rear end has been completely taken apart now twice and possibly a third time if they ever do come and pick up the tractor. Even if I do get offered a new tractor I'm not so sure I would want it at this point. I would probally want a non ehydro transmission like on the 4110 or 4115, or even a Kubota at this point. K.C. Canary only sells JD.

Any help here would be apprectiated. Mark Brucker is a family friend and I do not want to offend him in the process.

Also, unrelated to the transmission problems but another problem I have is with the 7iron MMM. I planned on using my tractor for alot of mowing. The 4310 has turf tires and a FEL. The tractor was delivered with all attachments mounted but the wheels were set to the narrow position. This made the tractor pretty unstable on some of my small hills and the manual states to set the wheels to the widest position for any FEL or hill work. So I turned the wheels to the wide position which helped tremendously. The tractor was much more stable. However, when I put the MMM back on to mow the front tires now rub the MMM in the up and down position. I cannot steer at all. I checked all mounting positions of the MMM and nothing helps. K.C. Canary came to get the tractor to fix this problem too. They were unable to fix the situation either. Their solution was to set the rear wheels to the wide position and the front wheels to the narrow postion so they do not rub. This made the tractor more unstable on the hills then when I started. I even started to tip a very slight incline, I was able to push myself upright by pushing down with the FEL. This was too dangerous a situation so off came the MMM and the front wheels went to the wide position.

I now have a $25,000.00 lawn mower that I was only able to mow with once, has been back to the dealer 4 times and I still have problems with the trasmission and MMM. Not to metion there are only 38 hours on my tractor.

Craig /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[JerryG]

I will get blasted for this, but here goes. Taking apart your tractor and putting it back together will in no way effect how long your tractor will last. From everything that I hear about K.C. Canary, I would trust them and not worry about it.As far as the rear wheels being set out and the fronts being set in, the width of the front wheels has very little effect on stability. The only time that the front has a lot of effect on stability is when the axle hits its limit. I wouldn't think that you have ever hit the limits of the axle. #4 does need to be looked into.

 

[rockyridgefarm]

<font color="red"> DO NOT LISTEN TO JERRY - HE HAS A MASSEY. </font>

Just kidding, I agree with him totally. KC Canary is a great dealership. keep things friendly with them and I am sure they will make it right.

Tire ballast might help your stability, but may cause compaction. My Ag tires can go very wide, but they leave dragon footprints. Sure is stable though.

 

[JerryG]

<font color="red"> DO NOT LISTEN TO JERRY - HE HAS A MASSEY. </font>
Gee I knew that I would get it, but not that bad /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

 

[Woodbeef]

Well usually true,Jerry.....But I can see his point also. If it is not correctly reassembled then there could be trouble down the road. Brand new and untouched from the factory does not always mean it could not be assembled wrong either though.....So I guess it is a crap-shoot either way!!!!

 

[yellowsocks93]

Dang Deeres these days. Did I call it or what on this series being problem prone!

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Welcome aboard Craig, sorry that it has to be under these circumstances. Its good that you put so much info into your post. Many people only sign up to complain about something in their 1st or 2nd post and it can be hard to believe if they are for real or not starting some kind of "Brand" war disseminating bad info.
#1 &#2), Can't offer any advice except for whatever K. C. told you. Seems to be a very, very strange strange situation. Makes me wonder if they had already done the recall (before you took delivery) and somehow forgotten to tighten up all the bolts???

#3)Yes, there should be a very short lag time but not too long. It could be related to #4. Could it possibly be related to this cold weather??? Oil behaves differently when cold. I must confess, I haven't been on my tractor below 50 degrees this year yet, but if I do, I'll make a note to see if there is any delay.

#4) My tractor is a "pre-recall" purchased in Oct 2002. The only time I get any confusion out of the tranny is when I confuse it with my big ole boot hitting both pedals simultaneously or trying to reverse my direction before letting my machine come to a stop or nearly stopped.

Hopefully, your family friend Mark will do what it takes to make you happy. It seems by your writing that you are not going to be happy unless they give you another machine. To be fair, JD owes you whatever the warranty prescribes, but I think they should go a bit further given the circumstances. Maybe free extended warranty for an extra year or something???
This is the 1st I've read about an MMM conflicting with tires, has anyone else heard about this??? If you take off the FEL while mowing sides of slopes, you'll lower your center of gravity. Are your tires filled partially? This too can help. What angle are the slopes your attempting to mow?
Keep us posted...Kyle

 

[Heath]

I'm a little surprised to read the comment about the 4000ten series of cuts to be prone to any more problems than any other series of tractors....
I have a 4110 and have used it about 10 hours this winter in temperatures ranging from -15 to 20 degrees and have had NO problems. The 4110 does not have the e-hydro, but I still have not had a single problem in at least 3-4 hours of hard usage in a below zero environment in the last 10 days.
It definitely sounds like the tractor inquestion in this thread has a few issues, but I using this single tractor to make an example out of an entire series seemd a little ridiculous to me.
Are the concerns with this series performance related? Or are there a lot of unfounded concerns with the expanded use of non-steel and electronic components?
I know I'm ranting a little now, but I think it's kind of funny how ANY advancement in technology or engineering is almost always met with "I told you so...." whenever anything goes wrong with the new machine.
Did I mention I LOVE my 4110?
Heath

 

[Tractors4u]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I even started to tip a very slight incline, I was able to push myself upright by pushing down with the FEL. )</font>

I have to ask, What is your definition of a slight incline? It would take quite a bit of incline to tip the tractor to the point of hitting the front axle stop and needing the loader to right the tractor. How high was the loader when you tipped? The other poster was right, reversing the front wheels usually does not have much affect on stability. I have a 4310 with R4's that would give me about the same tread width you have and I have been on what I would consider some pretty steep angles without lifting a wheel yet. No loaded tires either.

 

[cef2lion]

I had an '02 4310 with the 60" MMM and turf tires. I tried to reverse the front wheels to get a wider stance. When I did this one tire rubbed the MMM where it's caster mounted to the MMM. I took the deck off and tried driving it. It seemed so much more stable on hills. I called my dealer and they checked with Deere and they said they wouldn't recommend moving the front turf tires out like that. They said it could put extra strain on the front axle. Since it rubbed I didn't have a choice anyway and I didn't want to effect the warranty. I was thinking you might be able to turn the wheels out if you had the 72" deck. I traded my 4310 for a 4410 and the 72" deck but never revisted this.

On the lag in direction change. I seem to recall having this issue with my 4310 and mentioned it to the dealer when they picked up my 4310 and dropped off my 4410. The lag for me could be noticed more in A range and also when load match was on. I didn't seem to notice this when I first got the tractor but appeared shortly after the 50 hour service. I have not noticed this at all with my '03 4410.

One thing that has happened with my 4410 recently. It has been very cold the past week or so. I store it in a unheated garage. A couple times out clearing snow I noticed that the 4WD was not engaged even though the switch and light were on. In a minute or so it started working. The other day I had a much longer delay and I got stuck in the process. I used the FEL to back me up a bit to free myself. This time it took much longer for it to engage. It has not happened since.

Craig