B2920 Sound

[mhart]

Hey guys
I posted on this a few weeks ago. I have continued to have an odd noise coming from the front of my tractor lately while plowing snow. It seems to be only when tractor is moving, never when idle. Happens in forward and reverse. Tractor has been in 4wd.

The sound immediately stops when I stop moving. The sound resembles the slurpy sound that you hear when drinking a beverage with a straw and you get to the bottom of the cup and you are sucking up drink/air. Sorry but that's the best way I can describe it, Ha!

Any ideas?

 

[C4Ranch]

Loose lug nuts, branch stuck and rubbing something, no oil in front axle?

 

[mhart]

Loose lug nuts, branch stuck and rubbing something, no oil in front axle?

Thanks I will check those. I don't know that much about tractors, just learning as I go. I have only about 120 hours on this tractor. Any reason why the front axle oil would be low? I have not checked that.

 

[C4Ranch]

Is it a new tractor? Dealer didn't fill it? Used tractor, leaking axle seals.

Maybe low coolant or air trapped in the cooling system?

 

[mhart]

Is it a new tractor? Dealer didn't fill it? Used tractor, leaking axle seals. Maybe low coolant or air trapped in the cooling system?

It was purchased new in 2010.

Coolant level seems ok, if air is trapped in coolant system, the sound wouldn't stop as soon as I stop moving would it?

 

[C4Ranch]

If you throttle down when you stop, possibly.

Honestly, I'm just throwing out ideas to check, hard to tell from what you describe

Trying to think of easy, cheap things before the gearing things that are expensive.

Could also be drive shaft... Does your 4ws work?

 

[mhart]

Thanks I appreciate it very much!

4wd works fine. Tractor is performing fine otherwise.

 

[BeezFun]

I'd have someone walk next to the tractor at varying distances to see if they can identify where the noise is coming from. Or you could try putting on ear protection and then taking it off. Sometimes the difference makes it easier to identify a sound. It's most likely a vibration of some sort. I had the weirdest noise on mine, finally discovered it was hood vibrating against frame. I think the best solution is to buy radio ear protectors and turn the volume up so you can't hear anything.

 

[AStanton]

It probably isn't related to motion, but check your belt(s) on the engine. There could be some slack in it now, with the age and hours you have put on the tractor. Especially a new belt.
Good luck.

 

[s219]

Figure out if the noise scales with ground speed at a fixed RPM. That will tell you if it's related to rotation of something in the driveline. If it gets more rapid when you go faster, that's a good indication it's related to rotation of the driveline. If the noise stays the same, it's either related to the engine rotation or a vibration that's keyed into the engine vibration.

My 2920 had a noise coming from the front loader attach pins that only happened when moving and the front loader shook a little. I shot some WD-40 around the pins and the noise went away.

 

[mhart]

Thanks Guys!

I would say that the sound does not appear right away, only after about 10 minutes of plowing snow, and then it is quite evident. It will disappear for a minute or so and then re-appear randomly. It does not seem to be related to increased ground speed at a fixed RPM. when I hear the sound, it will immediatly stop as soon as I take my foot off of the forward pedal.

I know this is very vague, I just want to be sure I am not causing any damage with continued use--the winter around here shows no signs of letting up!!

 

[C4Ranch]

Is your HST fluid full?

 

[C4Ranch]

Is it coming from your HST? When was last time it was serviced? Both hydraulic and HST filters changed? Also, if it's like my old b7500 it might have a metal screen that needs to be cleaned.

Need to try and better pinpoint the origin of the noise. Like someone else mentioned, maybe someone else can walk next to you while it's going on to help.

 

[mhart]

HST level is fine. I had the 50HR service done by the dealer, the fluid and filters were changed at that time. Tractor now has about 120HRS on it.

I will try to have someone over to walk next to it and get some better information to you guys. Thanks once again for all the help!

 

[mhart]

This is one dumb question after another from me on this thread!

I went to check everything again today. Fluid levels appear fine. However, how in the world do you get the dip stick out to check the front axle. Is it threaded, it just turns. Of course it helps trying to do this in bitter cold temps!

 

[CHDinCT]

This is one dumb question after another from me on this thread!

I went to check everything again today. Fluid levels appear fine. However, how in the world do you get the dip stick out to check the front axle. Is it threaded, it just turns. Of course it helps trying to do this in bitter cold temps!

If it's like the BX series, it should come out with pressure only - that is by pulling up on it. Use a tool/screwdriver to pry it up if you need to. The fact it's hard to remove may indicate you have a vacuum in your front axle due to a plugged vent. Plus, I'd bet the oil is low since most Kubota's will show low oil in the front axle after 10 or 20 hours of use. This may be where your noise is coming from. Let us know what you find.

 

[mhart]

If it is indeed low, then I can top off with SUDT? I have read conflicting things here.

 

[bandaidmd]

Maybe what your describing is more of the growl you get when straining the HST in too high a gear for what your doing. Try using lowrange and a higher rpm and see if it goes away.

 

[CHDinCT]

If it is indeed low, then I can top off with SUDT? I have read conflicting things here.

The factory puts in SUDT/SUDT2, so you can top it off with that if you have some. I forget what the recommended change interval is, but it might be a good opportunity to drain and refill the front axle. I did mine at 100 hours and switched to fully synthetic gear oil. You can use either.

 

[BeezFun]

However, how in the world do you get the dip stick out to check the front axle. Is it threaded, it just turns. Of course it helps trying to do this in bitter cold temps!

It seals with an Oring and it can be a knuckle buster to get out. I use a large pair of channel locks and wiggle it as I lever up the jaw of the channel locks with a large screwdriver. If it's like mine you'll find the area immediately above the Oring is somewhat rusty because it's exposed to whatever water happens to find it's way in there. I smear that good with oil before I put the stick back in to avoid damaging the oring. Your next question will likely be how in the heck do you see where the fluid is on the stick. If you hold it at the right angle in the light you can see it.