Brand New CK4020 Excessive Oil Consumption, No Smoke, No Leaks

[ncridgerunner1]

Something happened to my new CK4020 at around 8 hours. The oil was checked before beginning work and it was full. The tractor was used for about 1.5 hours and the oil light blinked on. Upon checking the dipstick no oil was showing on the stick. There was no oil smoke from the tractor so I was sure there must be a leak but when crawling underneath everything was dry. I re-filled the tractor with oil and it took over a gallon to get it full.

I called the dealer and they said they had never heard of this happening but had me check the HST fluid level which was about 1/2 inch above the full line. They said to bring it in and they would check on it.

The next morning the level was fine so I decided to remove my bucket and backhoe before transport to the dealer. It took about around 20 minutes to get this done and I saw the oil light blink on again. Immediately stopped and checked the oil. Again no oil showing on the dip stick and again it took over a gallon to refill. Still no smoke or leaks.

After refilling with oil the tractor would not start. I called the dealer again and arranged for them to pick it up the next day even though I would be charged mileage.

On the pickup day the oil level was still good so I decided to try to start and move the tractor out of the shed. It started right up but would not move in low range. I selected mid range and it moved enough to get it out of the shed for pickup.

The dealer has now had the tractor for a week but they have not looked at it yet. Needless to say the frustration level is high. I have never paid as much for a car as I did for this tractor and I expected it to be the last tractor I would purchase.

Again the dealer says they have never seen these symptoms before which is not encouraging. Online searches for these symptoms refer to worn out machines. Anyone had any experience with this?

 

[Midniteoyl]

Deep breath, things happen. Under warranty and really new but hopefully if the dealer can't find whats wrong, or if it's catastrophic, they just might replace the whole thing. But we know nothing yet..

Surprised with that much oil loss, you didn't see any oil or find any in your hydraulic. Last time this happened to me the oil filter gasket blew due to a loose oil filter., so oil was blown out while driving. This was on a new truck though.. And didn't pop the light until 6.5 quarts out of 9 was lost, but engine was fine.

 

[D&D]

Something happened to my new CK4020 at around 8 hours. The oil was checked before beginning work and it was full. The tractor was used for about 1.5 hours and the oil light blinked on. Upon checking the dipstick no oil was showing on the stick. There was no oil smoke from the tractor so I was sure there must be a leak but when crawling underneath everything was dry. I re-filled the tractor with oil and it took over a gallon to get it full.

I called the dealer and they said they had never heard of this happening but had me check the HST fluid level which was about 1/2 inch above the full line. They said to bring it in and they would check on it.

The next morning the level was fine so I decided to remove my bucket and backhoe before transport to the dealer. It took about around 20 minutes to get this done and I saw the oil light blink on again. Immediately stopped and checked the oil. Again no oil showing on the dip stick and again it took over a gallon to refill. Still no smoke or leaks.

After refilling with oil the tractor would not start. I called the dealer again and arranged for them to pick it up the next day even though I would be charged mileage.

On the pickup day the oil level was still good so I decided to try to start and move the tractor out of the shed. It started right up but would not move in low range. I selected mid range and it moved enough to get it out of the shed for pickup.

The dealer has now had the tractor for a week but they have not looked at it yet. Needless to say the frustration level is high. I have never paid as much for a car as I did for this tractor and I expected it to be the last tractor I would purchase.

Again the dealer says they have never seen these symptoms before which is not encouraging. Online searches for these symptoms refer to worn out machines. Anyone had any experience with this?

It only holds 6 qts. So 2 gallons had to go somewhere? Did you check the radiator? Did you recheck the hyd/trans level?
Still, all we can do for now is patiently wait on the dealership to see what they figure out.

 

[ptsg]

Keep in mind that if the engine is burning the oil, you won't see much smoke, if anything at all, since it all gets caught by the DPF which will then get clogged much faster and ask for frequent regens.

If it's saturated with oil, it may even need to get replaced or taken apart for a deep cleaning.

 

[deezler]

If there are zero oil leaks, and you don't see evidence of rising HST level or oil in the coolant - then you are burning it in cylinder. There is no other explanation unless you haven't fully investigated everything. The HST being over-full is interesting, as that rarely occurs from dealer-prep - HST oil is expensive after all.

Like ptsg said, the DPF in the exhaust will catch any partially burnt or unburnt oil. I would still expect it to be noticeable in the exhaust smell, but you might not have experience to catch that. If you really put over a gallon of oil into the DPF, I would be very concerned about it's future reliability. Good luck.

 

[Deertamer]

Something happened to my new CK4020 at around 8 hours. The oil was checked before beginning work and it was full. The tractor was used for about 1.5 hours and the oil light blinked on. Upon checking the dipstick no oil was showing on the stick. There was no oil smoke from the tractor so I was sure there must be a leak but when crawling underneath everything was dry. I re-filled the tractor with oil and it took over a gallon to get it full.

I called the dealer and they said they had never heard of this happening but had me check the HST fluid level which was about 1/2 inch above the full line. They said to bring it in and they would check on it.

The next morning the level was fine so I decided to remove my bucket and backhoe before transport to the dealer. It took about around 20 minutes to get this done and I saw the oil light blink on again. Immediately stopped and checked the oil. Again no oil showing on the dip stick and again it took over a gallon to refill. Still no smoke or leaks.

After refilling with oil the tractor would not start. I called the dealer again and arranged for them to pick it up the next day even though I would be charged mileage.

On the pickup day the oil level was still good so I decided to try to start and move the tractor out of the shed. It started right up but would not move in low range. I selected mid range and it moved enough to get it out of the shed for pickup.

The dealer has now had the tractor for a week but they have not looked at it yet. Needless to say the frustration level is high. I have never paid as much for a car as I did for this tractor and I expected it to be the last tractor I would purchase.

Again the dealer says they have never seen these symptoms before which is not encouraging. Online searches for these symptoms refer to worn out machines. Anyone had any experience with this?

If the engine is turbo charged it could be sucking oil around the oil seals but that usually results in an engine runaway pulling that much oil.

 

[anomad]

The dealer has now had the tractor for a week but they have not looked at it yet. Needless to say the frustration level is high. I have never paid as much for a car as I did for this tractor and I expected it to be the last tractor I would purchase.

If that isn't an understatement I don't know what is? Good luck!

 

[JimR]

Oh boy, keep us updated on this one.

 

[ncridgerunner1]

Sorry for the delay. Unfortunately I had and accident and ended up in the trauma center last week. I missed a step coming down a ladder from a height of 3 feet and fell on the edge of a concrete floor and broke every rib on my left side. I am recovering but slowly.

Dealer called while I was in the hospital and said they were bringing my tractor back. They said my hydraulic pump and the "oil" was replaced. I was not in a condition to ask many questions so I guess the "oil" was the hydraulic oil. I will have to call and find out exactly what was done.

The tractor is sitting at my shop but I am unable to check it out at this time so I'm not sure if everything is good or not.

 

[JimR]

Sorry for the delay. Unfortunately I had and accident and ended up in the trauma center last week. I missed a step coming down a ladder from a height of 3 feet and fell on the edge of a concrete floor and broke every rib on my left side. I am recovering but slowly.

Dealer called while I was in the hospital and said they were bringing my tractor back. They said my hydraulic pump and the "oil" was replaced. I was not in a condition to ask many questions so I guess the "oil" was the hydraulic oil. I will have to call and find out exactly what was done.

The tractor is sitting at my shop but I am unable to check it out at this time so I'm not sure if everything is good or not.

I pray for a speedy recovery for you.. Let us know when you get a chance after you heal up as to what happened.

 

[D&D]

Wow, sorry to hear that. Take your time, us and the tractor will be here.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

Has it ever been fixed and returned?

 

[ncridgerunner1]

Has it ever been fixed and returned?

It has been returned and supposedly fixed. For the next several weeks until I heal somewhat, and can work the tractor a few hours, I am physically unable to verify if replacing the hydraulic pump has corrected the problems.

I did call the dealer to have them mail me the information stating all the work and parts that were required. During the call they assured me the hydraulic oil was also replaced which was a concern of mine.

 

[Topzide]

Sorry to hear your "mis step". Take time to heal up and then you can enjoy your tractor!

 

[airbiscuit]

The reference to the oil light and dipstick referenced in the first post led me to believe the problem was engine oil.

 

[Wagtail]

Following.

 

[garry1p]

Talk about kicking a man when he's down!
At this point your health is a lot more important than a tractor so don't rush it.

Hoping you have a speedy recovery.

 

[TMGT]

If the engine is turbo charged it could be sucking oil around the oil seals but that usually results in an engine runaway pulling that much oil.

Unless its pushing it out the exhaust side.

Sent from my SM-S921U using TractorByNet mobile app

 

[ncridgerunner1]

The reference to the oil light and dipstick referenced in the first post led me to believe the problem was engine oil.

That is one of my concerns. Some experienced tractor mechanics on this forum may know the relationship between the hydraulic pump and the engine oil but it is not clear to me. One of the service people I talked to said there is a seal, if broken, that can allow the migration of engine oil into the hydraulic oil reservoir.

The more I think about it, as quickly as the engine oil was disappearing with no leaks it seems logical that engine oil was moving into the hydraulic system. If the tractor was burning engine oil I don't believe the engine would have burned over a gallon of oil in 20 minutes of running at low RPM.

 

[ncridgerunner1]

Unless its pushing it out the exhaust side.

Sent from my SM-S921U using TractorByNet mobile app

No turbo on my machine.