TD5030 Differentiall Lock Stuck On

kf4uda · Oct 31, 2018

I have a 2010 NH TD5030 4WD with the 12x12 mech shuttle shift transmission. The differential lock seems to be stuck on. It is harder to turn and leaves aggressive tracks. The pedal is not springing back up. Any ideas on what I should try?

DwayneB · Oct 31, 2018

Crawl under it and put a bar or a long screwdriver under the mechanism that comes out of the transmission. It should be easy to pop up. Spray with wd40 and lossen it back up then apply oil.

showcattle · Oct 31, 2018

Drive straight and as you're moving, hit one of the brakes for either the left or right wheel.

Texasmark · Oct 31, 2018

And/or back up and stomp the pedal a few times as you do. The 4wd on one of my tractors won't disengage unless I'm backing up, taking the pressure off the sliding sleve.

You need to get it to disengage as for a 3 wheeler ATV you can tilt to go around a corner.....I doubt you want to be doing that (if you could safely) with your tractor.

kf4uda · Nov 1, 2018

Thanks for your suggestions guys. I will give them a try.

RickB · Nov 2, 2018

DwayneB said:
Crawl under it and put a bar or a long screwdriver under the mechanism that comes out of the transmission. It should be easy to pop up. Spray with wd40 and lossen it back up then apply oil.

This ^^^ should work IF...it is in 2WD and you jack one rear wheel off the ground to relieve all pressure on the mechanism.

DwayneB · Nov 2, 2018

My TD80D sticks sometimes. It's how I get it unlocked. You'd think with that big spring inside it would disengage by itself.
I really like my tractor but, if I farmed full time I'd be looking for another one. It's always something little going wrong. Like now I've got a seal on the lift arms leaking.
I think I just need to pull the arms off and push the shaft to one side to get to the seal. Is this correct? I'm assuming I need to drain all the hydraulic fluid also.
As usual thanks for your expertise RickB.

RickB said:
This ^^^ should work IF...it is in 2WD and you jack one rear wheel off the ground to relieve all pressure on the mechanism.

kf4uda · Dec 23, 2018

I tried all of the easy suggestions first without success. I finally got time to work on the tractor and did get get the lock disengaged by using a combination of DwaneB and RickB's methods. I rarely use the differential lock since the tractor is 4wd. Looks like I need to use it more often to keep it from freezing up. Thanks for all of your replies.

DwayneB · Dec 24, 2018

kf4uda said:
I tried all of the easy suggestions first without success. I finally got time to work on the tractor and did get get the lock disengaged by using a combination of DwaneB and RickB's methods. I rarely use the differential lock since the tractor is 4wd. Looks like I need to use it more often to keep it from freezing up. Thanks for all of your replies.

I got a good deal on my TD80 and, it's a decent tractor but, I've had a lot of small issues with it. Water in the loader cables, fuel cable, e brake cable, pto cable, starter, fuel solenoid, fuel pump, sticky differential lock, and now the rear lift arm seals are leaking quite a bit. Some of it is cheap design but, mostly I think it's because the previous owner left it sitting outside. Hopefully it will do OK for me for the long haul.

ruffdog · Dec 24, 2018

I see many shafts that enter the trans cases freeze up or turn hard from rust. They like to design these things with the oil seal on the inside vs the outside which allows rust to form between the shaft and bore. Get some good penetrating fluid and lube where the pivoting shafts go through any bushings or into the cases.