CK20 Losing power

[baggio95]

I recently bought a used '03 CK20 hydrostatic with about 140hrs on it. I took off the backhoe and put on the backblade for snow removal this winter. After running it for about and hour or so she started to lose power and the RPMs dropped as if she wanted to stall out. The only way I could keep it from stallings was depressing the clutch giving it a little throttle and letting the power build back up. This has happend a couple times so I've put her to rest until I can get to a dealer this spring. Before I ran it I changed the oil and filter, greased all the fittings and checked the hydro fluid? Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas? Thanks

 

[DK35vince]

Change your fuel filter, sounds like it may be bad.
Also check or change your air filter.

 

[greenmule]

My first thought would be hydro things,hydro lines,not hooked up right,pump working to hard,something dead headed,etc.

 

[jimb1724]

Congratd on the new addition - i have a 2004 ck20hst and have over 300 trouble free hours on it... it's a beast....

two thoughts - 1) when i take my BH off the hydro position lever (on right next to 3pt position control lever) needs to be in the middle / neutral position. my wife used it one time this winter to clear some snow while i was away and accidentally bumped the lever out of position..... she though she broke the machine because it wouldn't move.... thats the easy check.... there is also a small hydraulic flow valve by the FEL hoses on the right side (just in front of the brake pedals) that might need to be changed when you take the BH off... depends on your set up...

2) i agree with Vince, change your fuel and air filters..... could be gelled up to some extent.... never hurts to change them anyway....

good luck, let us know how you make out...
Jim

 

[baggio95]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the insight. It's my first tractor and I don't know a lot about hydraulics so I was nervous about messing it up. I was amazed at how well that little tractor moved the snow around. I only have turf tires as well and all I had to do was engage the 4wd and that little sucker worked wonders. I will check both of those when I get back in town. Other then getting the brace fix for the FEL from the dealer are there any other recommendations? I figure I'll do the fuel filter myself but have the dealer do the hydraulics and give a good once over. I am looking forward to this summer when I can do some "projects" with it. Thanks again.
kris

 

[JonKioti]

Congratulations on the new tractor. I have the 2007 model with the same turf tires; I haven't had any issue getting traction moving snow or dirt either.

My original setup had a backhoe with a male and female connection to the hydraulics. When the backhoe is removed, you need to plug one line into the other on the hoses that remain on the tractor. Otherwise, the hydraulic system is trying to pump against a closed end.

If you have two female connections mounted on a plate behind the seat, then you have the optional valve kit and a extra lever on your right next to the seat. In this case, what I have written above does not apply.

If one of these lines comes slightly disconnected the same thing happens as you describe.

Make sure the tractor is turned off before making any connections/disconnections, as hydralic fluid is under really high pressure and can shoot a stream into your skin, etc.

I understand where you are with being comfortable with hydraulics; it gets easier, I assure you.

Enjoy. These are great machines for keeping your fridge full of beer.

Cheers,

Jon

 

[baggio95]

Thanks Jon, off the top of my head I believe mine has the 2 female connections and the extra lever. I remember the lever because it wanted to stay in the middle position and I had to use the seat belt to hold it in the position so that I could try out the backhoe. As I said, I don't know much about hydraulics. Is there a benefit to having the optional valve kit, or any special considerations? I will have to check those lines and see if somehow they loosened up. Like I said I was really impressed by the little beast and look forward to some projects this spring/summer.
kris

 

[Gittyup]

I believe the rear remotes leaver should stay down if pushed down, and that down position is the one to use for the backhoe. It does spring back to neutral if pushed back/up and then released.

 

[darkviper]

actually he could have one of two setups here. I have had both on my ck20. Origianally Kioti shipped the tractors with the backhoe attaching to the pump itself. This was right behind the support block for the loader. Once you removed the backhoe you either had to do the hose thing that the other guy was talking about or you had to close the valve on top of the pump. NOW!!! if this is the set up it is absolutly imperitve that you do one of these to things as you can destroy that hydraulic pump if you run it any time with out either the hose or the valve shut off. There is no pressure relief valve that i am aware of at that point in the system as it is straight of the pump. The pump basicly overheats the oil and destroys itself as there is no relief

If you have it attached to the remotes in the back then the yellow leaver should be in the middle position when the BH is not is use. Now this does have a pressure realease on it however if you leave the valve open to long the oil is going by the PR valve then you could over heat the oil which also will cause dammage. But it will take a lot longer this wasy then if you are attached directly to that pump. Most tractors pre 2006 i think are on the pump unless the user installed the remotes as an option. Afterwards kioti only did the remotes is my understanding.

I will say that mine in now on the remotes and i would have it no other way. Easier on and off and quicker response. Hopes this helps

 

[darkviper]

if not from the backhoe check both you fuel filter and air filter. Either or both can cause significant loss in power.

 

[baggio95]

Darkviper, thanks for the info. I will have to check it out and see exactly what setup I have and make sure I'm not messing it up.

Gittyup, now that I think about it you are correct. I had to use the seatbelt to hold it in the down position for the BH.

thanks guys.

 

[Gittyup]

That doesn't sound right to have to hold it down. Holding it up, you'd need something like your belt.

 

[baggio95]

Yeah, I'm gonna check what you guys told me but still plan on getting it into a dealer this spring to have them go over it. Just out of curiousity, what would the up position be used for?
kris

 

[Steve_Miller]

Darkviper, thanks for the info. I will have to check it out and see exactly what setup I have and make sure I'm not messing it up.

Gittyup, now that I think about it you are correct. I had to use the seatbelt to hold it in the down position for the BH.

thanks guys.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe there are two different remote kits that are available, one is not detented (flips back to neutral when let go of the lever) and the other has a detent in both directions to hold it at either position (which I assume is the option if a backhoe is attached). Maybe a dealer can chime in and clear this tidbit up.


Steve

 

[Gittyup]

On my CK25, I have one set of remotes installed by the dealer for use with a backhoe. It stays in the down position when pushed there, but springs back to neutral from the up position when released. I use the down position for my backhoe. It stays down as long as I'm operating the backhoe. I always return to neutral when otherwise.

The up position simply reverses the flow. You can use the up/down controls for a hydraulic toplink, hydraulic lift, or any other implement that requires reversing the flow. In such uses where eventually the hydraulics reach a dead head, I think the lever should never be left down, but rather always returned to neutral to prevent overheating of the pump. You'll hear the pump whine when it reaches dead head.

 

[rcrcomputing]

I recently bought a used '03 CK20 hydrostatic with about 140hrs on it. I took off the backhoe and put on the backblade for snow removal this winter. After running it for about and hour or so she started to lose power and the RPMs dropped as if she wanted to stall out. The only way I could keep it from stallings was depressing the clutch giving it a little throttle and letting the power build back up. This has happend a couple times so I've put her to rest until I can get to a dealer this spring. Before I ran it I changed the oil and filter, greased all the fittings and checked the hydro fluid? Does anyone have any suggestions or ideas? Thanks

I realize it's "off the wall", but since it was baffling to me, I'll mention it. I pulled the kill switch one day just to see if it worked. It did. However, later one I had the exact symtoms you mentioned. I finally discovered the kill switch linkage was causing it..

 

[northofTO]

Diggin' up an old one here but, the same thing happened to me today. Working my ck20 fairly hard , moving and backblading top soil. After about an hour she lost revs under load and the only way I regained it was to depress the clutch 'til it came back up. I was pretty P/O'd so I took a lunch break, tracked down this thread and went back out to check the kill switch and the hyd fluid level. All seemed OK so I went back at it, this time paying more attention to smooth Hy Stat pedal ops and keeping the revs at 2500. So far so good. 3 hours straight of pretty hard work for a small rig and no more slow down. I'll be keeping my eye on this.

 

[Gittyup]

Could also be injector pump getting ready to go. Mine behaved this way just before completely crapping out.

 

[darkviper]

I posted to this one back in March. However i had another issue that came up that is more similar to this and was completly random. In my case it was the fuel cap. I noted that when it stalled hard i could pull the cap and get air rushing in the tank meaning there was a vaccume. as long as i wated say about 30 minutes either idling or the machine off i was fine for say bout an hour depending on how hard i worked it. If you worked it hard then it was quicker. I put the new fuel cap on it and no problems since. Also as a side note you may want to run some Mercron ATF in the fuel a few tiems and clean the injectors. About 1/3 a quart to 5 gallons of fuel works good. Do it on about 3 fill ups and you will see a difference.

 

[northofTO]

I bought some fuel conditioner. Is the trans fluid thing still necessary? Just curious as I don't have a lot of diesel experience. Thanks. BTW, mine has a new fuel cap on it as the previous owner lost the original.