2520 popping out of 4WD

[Gobblin Tom]

I put a call in to JD myself today to make sure they were aware of the issue. They said they weren't showing anything but they did document it and I am supposed to receive a call back sometime this week from them.... I really don't want to have my tractor ripped apart to be looked at and then ripped apart again to be fixed later do to a recall etc.....

 

[ZR7400]

I talked to the service manager again to see if they found out anything more. He said that they need to split the tranmission and look at the four wheel drive shafts. They think that there maybe a shimming issue, locking ring or a bad gear that is causing the four wheel drive gears to not be meshed together fully. This could also be causing the grinding noise that i'm hearing. I don't know. He also said that the four wheel drive gearing in the transmission is fairly simple and they should be able to tell what is wrong once they get it apart. I guess they are coming to pick it up this week sometime. He sounded fairly confident about it so I guess Im going to let them take it and keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Gobblin Tom]

I talked to the service manager again to see if they found out anything more. He said that they need to split the tranmission and look at the four wheel drive shafts. They think that there maybe a shimming issue, locking ring or a bad gear that is causing the four wheel drive gears to not be meshed together fully. This could also be causing the grinding noise that i'm hearing. I don't know. He also said that the four wheel drive gearing in the transmission is fairly simple and they should be able to tell what is wrong once they get it apart. I guess they are coming to pick it up this week sometime. He sounded fairly confident about it so I guess Im going to let them take it and keep my fingers crossed.

Well I hope they figure it out for all us that are having this issue! I can only imagine how many people that are out there that don't go down any steep hills and how many are out there that don't know of the forum that are having the same issue! The bottom line is this is a huge safety concern that needs to be addressed...... Please keep us all in the loop on the progress.....

 

[Gobblin Tom]

Well I just got off the phone with a John Deere supervisor and basically the same thing, send it in to get ripped apart.... My point with them was that this is a huge safety issue and it needs to be addressed... They said my comments would be documented and that was about it... So I have them coming next week to pick up my tractor to be ripped apart to try and see why the 4wd is kicking out. I really hope they find something when they do, I don't want to get it back and say we couldn't find anything...... Oh yeah they are still saying they have e not heard of this issue and it need to be ripped apart and documented with tech at JD.... I don't know maybe I should have bought an Orange or Red tractor....

 

[Gobblin Tom]

I talked to the service manager again to see if they found out anything more. He said that they need to split the tranmission and look at the four wheel drive shafts. They think that there maybe a shimming issue, locking ring or a bad gear that is causing the four wheel drive gears to not be meshed together fully. This could also be causing the grinding noise that i'm hearing. I don't know. He also said that the four wheel drive gearing in the transmission is fairly simple and they should be able to tell what is wrong once they get it apart. I guess they are coming to pick it up this week sometime. He sounded fairly confident about it so I guess Im going to let them take it and keep my fingers crossed.

Any updates on your tractor? I've decided to wait until October when I start hunting because I won't be using the tractor then.... Also waiting to hear what they found in yours??

 

[ZR7400]

The dealer is scheduled to pick up my tractor tomorrow. Apparently they've been busy. They said they should only have it a few days. I should know what they find in the next couple of days and I will post an update.

 

[Gobblin Tom]

The dealer is scheduled to pick up my tractor tomorrow. Apparently they've been busy. They said they should only have it a few days. I should know what they find in the next couple of days and I will post an update.

Man mine said they would have it several weeks.... I just can't figure this out!!

 

[Gobblin Tom]

The dealer is scheduled to pick up my tractor tomorrow. Apparently they've been busy. They said they should only have it a few days. I should know what they find in the next couple of days and I will post an update.

Any word yet?

 

[ZR7400]

Well its now been a week since they started working on my tractor. They could not find anything wrong internally and they took pictures of the internals of the transmission and sent to JD. I feared that this would be the case. Now John Deere is telling the dealer that they believe it is not internal and it is a ballast issue. They think more rear weight is needed to disribute the weight more off the front axle. That sounds like complete crap to me. I think it is a design issue and they dont' have a fix for it. I say that because I previously had a JD 4110 which has basically the same drive train and it was set up just like my 2520 and I never had a problem with that tractor popping out of 4x4.

That being said, John Deere recommended adding a ballast box for additional weight with my loaded tires. They also recommended putting max pressure in the front tires (I think 35) and reducing the rear tires to 10psi. I guess the thought on that is to change the gear ratio slightly between the front and back. The mechanic told me to try the recommended actions from JD and if that doesen't work he can reopen the warranty claim. I'm not holding my breath, but I will give these things a shot. Hopefully I will get my tractor back by tomorrow because my lawn is looking like a hay field.

 

[sunnyside360]

John Deere specifies the use of a ballast box for many tractor models when using the front end loader --- don't recall whether in the tractor manual or front end loader manual. In fact on some tractors they specify using both ballast box and weighted tires (check your manuals).
Correct tire pressures are also very important when using loader in MFWD mode to prevent extreme stresses on the drive train. I'd try what Deere recommends and see what happens.

edit/add: I was surprised once when I had a power steering issue on a 4320 with weighted tires and with FEL. Turned out that the power steering relief valve was popping when the fel bucket was full of wet heavy gravel and I couldn't turn the front wheels. Ballast box was the answer and the manual did state using both weighted tires and ballast box when using fel. Sometimes we find out things the hard way (or at least I do).