mmranch
Gold Member
It's the middle of snow season and a number of days ago, I started detecting a bad bang sound while snow plowing. Bang may be the wrong word to describe the sound. It has been very hard to detect. What with tons of snow and chains on the vehicle the ride is already rough.
But as I'm plowing along with the engine roaring and rock-n-roll blasting in my headphones, I feel an intermittent bang which resonates through the tractor up into my body. More of a feel than a sound. I wonder if I really felt something bad or was it just the rough ride. I get out of the tractor and check the chains and find some links loose. I go back to the shop and tie them down again and keep plowing. The bang is intermittent and very hard to diagnose. I know it has nothing to do with the FEL or backhoe that is attached as it happens when the FEL is lifted while driving. Seems to make the bangs in 4WD and 2WD. This goes on for days.
Yesterday, I plowed the road and the banging seemed like it was getting slightly worse. The engine is running fine and this sound would seem to be coming from either the front axle or the transmission. I checked the front axle oil and found it to be VERY low. I filled it up and finished the driveway but the banging continued. Trans oil was fine.
Then I called the snow plowing contractor to take over the plowing and parked the tractor in the shop. I am currently in the middle of another MAJOR project so I may not be able to focus on the tractor problem for several months. I'm trying to pre-think how I diagnose this problem.
Ideally, I need to dismount the FEL and backhoe and remove the chains to be able to drive the tractor with as little other stuff involved as possible. Then I can more easily detect the bangs with a smoother ride, etc. Since the front axle was low on oil, I'm thinking (hoping) it would be that rather than the transmission. I was thinking I would jack up the tractor and spin the front wheels by hand to see if there is binding, etc. I will also drain the front axle oil to see if there is more metal in the oil than normal and there might be metal chunks if damage has been done.
Just wondering if others have ideas for diagnosing a problem like this?
(Just so you know, I'm on the top of a remote mountain and taking the tractor to a repair shop would not be possible for months and cost many $$$.)
Thanks for any ideas!
But as I'm plowing along with the engine roaring and rock-n-roll blasting in my headphones, I feel an intermittent bang which resonates through the tractor up into my body. More of a feel than a sound. I wonder if I really felt something bad or was it just the rough ride. I get out of the tractor and check the chains and find some links loose. I go back to the shop and tie them down again and keep plowing. The bang is intermittent and very hard to diagnose. I know it has nothing to do with the FEL or backhoe that is attached as it happens when the FEL is lifted while driving. Seems to make the bangs in 4WD and 2WD. This goes on for days.
Yesterday, I plowed the road and the banging seemed like it was getting slightly worse. The engine is running fine and this sound would seem to be coming from either the front axle or the transmission. I checked the front axle oil and found it to be VERY low. I filled it up and finished the driveway but the banging continued. Trans oil was fine.
Then I called the snow plowing contractor to take over the plowing and parked the tractor in the shop. I am currently in the middle of another MAJOR project so I may not be able to focus on the tractor problem for several months. I'm trying to pre-think how I diagnose this problem.
Ideally, I need to dismount the FEL and backhoe and remove the chains to be able to drive the tractor with as little other stuff involved as possible. Then I can more easily detect the bangs with a smoother ride, etc. Since the front axle was low on oil, I'm thinking (hoping) it would be that rather than the transmission. I was thinking I would jack up the tractor and spin the front wheels by hand to see if there is binding, etc. I will also drain the front axle oil to see if there is more metal in the oil than normal and there might be metal chunks if damage has been done.
Just wondering if others have ideas for diagnosing a problem like this?
(Just so you know, I'm on the top of a remote mountain and taking the tractor to a repair shop would not be possible for months and cost many $$$.)
Thanks for any ideas!