Cub Cadet/Yanmar SX3100 slipping out of 4WD unexpectantly

gaheadrick · Mar 6, 2014

Has anyone else experienced this machine SX3100 slipping out of 4WD? My dealer has taken the tractor apart and replaced the old style spring to provide greater retention pressure on the detent mechanism and it helped somewhat but it has not solved the problem. I operate on a steep slope of 20 to 27 degrees and use 4wd when running a loaded FEF to provide safety and resistance downhill. When doing so the 4WD slips out of gear unexpectedly creating a significant safety problem. I just have to kick the lever down to re-engage 4wd quickly to avoid losing control. If anyone has knowledge of or experience with fixing this significant problem I would very much appreciate hearing about it. Meanwhile, the Yanmar service team will be visiting soon to see the problem for themselves. Hopefully, they will be able to propose a solution but to this point they say they are not aware of this issue and have had no other suggestions.

BuilderML · Mar 6, 2014

I have not had any issues with the 4wd slipping out. My property is pretty flat. I do use 4wd to mow a small section of the yard that is about a 25* slope but have had no issues. I hope Yanmar gets it figured out for you. That is with about 80 hours of use now.

JMER817 · Mar 6, 2014

Tell them if they can't fix the problem then you want a new tractor. In your circumstances it sounds like a huge safety concern and future lawsuit.

gaheadrick · Mar 6, 2014

Thanks for your recommendation and this is exactly what will occur if they cannot resolve this significant safety liability very soon. My dealer is 100% onboard and is doing his best to get this solved. My dealer had actually taken my tractor apart twice to fix this problem. The first time they just replaced all of the 4WD shifting/detent parts but used the original type spring...the result was actually an increase in frequency of my tractor coming out of 4wd gear. Meanwhile, the dealer brought out a new machine just to compare in order to determine if the brand new machine had any issues on my paved slopes...and it did not come out of gear. Online communication from a John Deere owner revealed that a fix had been created using a new type of spring. So the second time they replaced the original type spring with the newer "spring within a spring" design, using the two springs to increase pressure in the detent mechanism. As indicated, that helped but did not solve the issue. I have almost 114 hours on my tractor and a few close calls so its high time to get this resolved before someone gets injured or worse.

gaheadrick · Mar 6, 2014

Pleased that you have not had any problem on you slopes and it appears that you are mowing grass but not carrying significant load. My problem usually occurs primarily with a FEL load, downhill, on a paved surface...although, it did come out when I was moving snow, with dual link chains, going downhill...that was a ride as I started to slide sideways! I stepped on the 4wd lever as quickly as possible and recovered but it was dicey there for a moment!!!

Bob_Bainbridge · Mar 7, 2014

I'm unable to find it but some time ago there was a post about a tractor either jumping out of 4-wheel drive or jumping out of gear when driven on an incline. I believe Cub finally found a fix for it. Perhaps you'll have better luck searching or someone else will remember the post.

Bob B.

gaheadrick · Mar 7, 2014

I appreciate everyone's input on this issue. As an update I had a very dangerous ride down my driveway yesterday with a loaded FEL when this tractor went out of 4wd gear again. While attempting to re-engage 4wd by stepping on the lever it did NOT work and I had to drop the bucket to avoid serious potential consequences. Major, major problem here...so have insisted through my dealer that this machine be replaced immediately. It is parked...dead in the water to avoid any further safety liability issues. I will keep you all posted as to Yanmar's response to this serious problem. I don't know if it is just my tractor or if it is a design flaw but I'm leaning to the fact that it is just my particular tractor. Stay tuned.

Gods Country · Mar 7, 2014

Bob_Bainbridge said:
I'm unable to find it but some time ago there was a post about a tractor either jumping out of 4-wheel drive or jumping out of gear when driven on an incline. I believe Cub finally found a fix for it. Perhaps you'll have better luck searching or someone else will remember the post.

Bob B.

Same member.

I don't know why he started a new thread
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/cub-cadet-yanmar-cuts/284353-sx3100-coming-out-4-wd.html

Bob_Bainbridge · Mar 8, 2014

Gods Country said:
Same member.

I don't know why he started a new thread
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/cub-cadet-yanmar-cuts/284353-sx3100-coming-out-4-wd.html

Yes, you're right. So Gaheadrick are you saying they recreated the failure last summer and fixed it and now it's doing it again? Is Yanmar involved again since it's definitely a safety issue?

Bob B.

gaheadrick · Mar 8, 2014

Apologizing for the confusion with a new thread. To answer your questions? Yes, the problem continued after first replacing all the original 4wd drive parts with all new original parts and the problem became even more frequent, even coming out of gear without any added load. This experience necessitated splitting the tractor a second time whereupon the new style spring was used to replace the original style spring and for a time I had believed that it may have fixed the problem. However, shortly thereafter the problem was recreated albeit with a lesser frequency, but still serious, and through my dealer Yanmar was contacted again. They were scheduled for an onsite visit this month to observe the problem first hand, and on my driveway and hopefully determine a final solution. Meanwhile, this problem got much worse this week when the tractor slipped out of 4wd again as described earlier and I was, and have since been, unable to re-engage the 4wd mechanism at all. The linkage on the outside of the transmission appears to be in order with the problem most likely inside the transmission. Yes, Yanmar has been contacted again through my dealer and have been advised of the details and the serious safety liabilities of this issue. Given the machine has been taken apart twice, including the new spring fix, and since the problem has just worsened, my confidence in my particular machine is at an all time low. As such we have requested that my machine be replaced. We are now awaiting a response from Yanmar.