We purchased the gator with 75 hours on the meter. When attempting to put in forward or reverse from neutral the gears grind. The dealership said it is not uncommon. Sometimes it is worse then others, especially when warm and the idol is steady. Has anyone experienced this issue and were u able to stop this from happening? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
2005 hpx gear grind
- Thread starter Plater
- Start date
- Views: 3071
RedHawkRidge
Silver Member
get used to it. I had a HPX, and now have a 850D. Both had a shifting resistance, where I'd have to muscle the shifter into gear, and with lots of loud grinding if everything wasn't perfect (low RPM, fully stopped, etc). The service people at the JD dealer told me to just get used to it, and to use strong effort to fully engage the shifter. They said the gear box is an old design, very rugged, and will withstand the grinding. I was (and still am) uncomfortable with the balkiness of the gear box, especially since I test drove a Yamaha Rhino -- it's shifter is light, positive, and very short throw. Frankly, the JD engineers have some work to do, to make the Gator more up to date, and keep up with a very competitive market.
Jim
Jim
Jim, thanks for the response. I was hoping for better news but it is what it is.May I ask what year your gators are? I am considering getting a new unit and we really like the hydraulic lift on the JD steel bed. My wife uses it for horse manure management. I've not seen other brands with this option. I recently drove a Polaris 800 and a Honda big red. The big red is quite a nice unit but bed will not hydraulically tilt and is too heavy for the wife. I am curious if JD is correcting this issue or has corrected this issue on new units.
bigtiller
Super Member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2006
- Messages
- 6,518
- Location
- central Iowa
- Tractor
- John Deere 2720 John Deere 3039R John Deere Z545R
I have a 2005 also. If it is really bad, try lowering the idle RPM. I just wait for a few seconds while in neutral before trying for a gear.
RedHawkRidge
Silver Member
My HPX was a 2006. I traded it in for the XUV 850D, which was a 2010. I heard something about improving the shift mechanism, but haven't seen any confirmation. Of the things I found to be unsatisfactory on the 850D (but not enough to dislike it -- it's a really good machine, not great, but really good), the shifting is #1, the steering is #2 (needs power), the flimsy bed and tailgate (since upgraded on new models) is #3, the rough idle of the yanmar diesel is #4, and the instrumentation (lack of) is #5. I like JD's entry to the world of accessories, such as rear bumpers and aggressive tires, although the prices are scary.
Jim
Plater, if considering a new UTV with a true hydraulic dump bed, look at the Kubota RTV 900 xt. The Kubota is a hydrostic transmission model with no gear grinding unless trying to shift while moving. The hydraulic lift is by a pump attached to the top of the transmission. The engine is a Kubota 3-cylinder 21.6 hp power plant. The RTV comes standard with power steering. Cons are rougher ride and only 25 mph maximum speed. The RTV will pull so well that I'm afraid it might destroy itself. I've pulled the front end of a 14,500 lb tractor sideways.