Machine Shuddered to a Stop, Now it Won't Move

[timthetoolcatman]

New to the forum, and grateful for its existence!

I just bought a 2004 Toolcat 5600 at auction. I got it home and played around a bit moving some railroad ties I've been meaning to move when it shuddered to a stop coming down a hill. The engine remained running, and it doesn't sound like the engine is being loaded, but when I try to move it, I get a slight "bump" in the desired direction and then it stops.

Prior to it shuddering to a stop, it seemed reluctant to start up a hill going forward, nor did it seem too happy moving the bucket while trying to drive at the same time. When I tried going up a hill, it almost felt like it had lost traction (the tires are crap), but none of the tires were spinning.

I have no codes showing, so I'm guessing it's something wrong in the hydraulics (pump or motor). After it stopped, I had to take it up to full throttle to get the bucket to move up or down, or to get the bed to lift (so I could stare unknowlingly at the engine bay...)

I was able to get it to move about 100 feet after leaving it be for an hour, but I had to play games with it to get it to move, and it was drove with a lot of a lot of "stutter" in the forward motion compared to earlier. It eventually pulled the same stunt it did the first time and just stopped again.

Any ideas? Thanks for any assistance.

 

[davesl708]

Hi. Welcome to TBN.

Lot of smart people here. My limited two cents are, is it manual or HST transmission? If manual maybe a bad clutch. If HST maybe dirty fluid or low fluid or clogged/bent or damaged line.

Others on here may be of more help.

 

[SSdoxie]

Just a wild guess here, I think you lost or have low Charge Pressure but that should be registering a code. Charge Pressure provides a positive/pressurized flow of fresh oil to the HST without it the HST gets sluggish. It also provides pressured oil to move the valve spools in loader valve - low charge pressure valve spools will not move or move very far. Brakes also utilize charge pressure and if I remember correctly there is spring applied oil pressure release brake in the axles.

Check the drive belt tension. One belt drives all of the pumps. If the belt is slipping it will get worse (belt stretching) as machine warms up could just eventually stop then start moving again when it cools down.

 

[aczlan]

The first thing I would do, is let it sit off for a while and then check the hydraulic oil level. If it is low it could be sucking air in which would make it stutter and if it's not getting enough hydraulic fluid that would make it not move it all.

Aaron Z

 

[timthetoolcatman]

Thanks for all the ideas!

davesl708: It has a HST transmission.
SSdoxie & aczlan: I will check the belts and fluids the next time I try to move it. I'm hoping to get it into a building. I can't tell if anything is leaking while it's sitting on grass.

FYI, since it stuttered to a halt near my outbuildings, I tried starting it up to see if I could get it under a roof so I could be less wet while I attempt to fix it. It will "occasionally" move, but always with the stutter. I have to play with back and forth, and the engine will begin to load, and I get a small hop in the direction. If the "hop" is severe, it won't try again and I have to turn the power off and on. I still have no codes displayed.

I've tried to pay attention to what the tires are doing, and I swear (but I could be wrong) that the front tires were trying to go a different direction than the back tires... I couldnt' tell you the direction I was trying to go at the time as I was trying to rock back and forth.

Thanks again!

 

[timthetoolcatman]

Just a heads up, had the machine towed to get it looked at.

Turns out the front hydraulic motor went bad and seized up the whole front axle. The rear wheels (when they'd get enough hydraulic pressure) would try to push the front axle, and the front wheels would essentially grab and then spin back to their original position, hence why I though the wheels were going opposite directions.

Had to replace the front hydraulic motor, which was an unpleasant repair bill, but the filter after the motor did its job and saved the rest of the hydraulic system. The machine is running good now.

 

[farmeratheart]

Sorry to hear about your repair bill, but thanks for posting the solution to your issue. It may help the next "cat" in a similar situation!

Frank