Differential Noise when Braking?

[ACMan]

While I was working in the mud today I was forced to unlock the brake pedals in order to help steering by pushing left or right brake. This is the first time I've done this with this tractor since I've owned it. When ever I would step on the right brake there was a gear grinding noise from the right final??? And sometimes on the left when stepping on the left.

My def. lock was not engaged and freely disengages if I use it. I had not used it prior to this braking noise.

Is this exceptable/normal for this tractor? It doesnt sound good.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[JimR]

You shouldn't be hearing any gear grinding. I would look to see if the diff lock pedal isn't partially engaged. Something is not right there.

 

[jinman]

The wet disc brakes on my tractor made noise until they were broke-in. If what you hear when you step on the brakes is a binding/rubbing, I'd say this is normal. My brakes make no noise at all now at 800 hours. I leave my pedals split and use differential braking all the time. Maybe others with our same model tractors will relate their experiences.

 

[ACMan]

Jim
That would be great news if it was just breaking in. I'm going try again today and see if I can identify the noise as actual gear chatter or binding. It never really sounded like hard gear grinding like when forcing a gear, but more like gears just touching each other intermintently. Never did it whent he brakes where pushed together.

 

[djradz]

Last winter I noticed something similar on my 40D. It almost was as if the differential lock was partially engaged such that gears were trying to mesh, but just couldn't align. I wondered at the time if the differential was hanging up or something. When I get out plowing snow again this year, I'll be listening closer and paying more attention. Not the kind of thing I think I should be doing on this almost 4 yr old machine. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[ACMan]

"It almost was as if the differential lock was partially engaged such that gears were trying to mesh, but just couldn't align. I wondered at the time if the differential was hanging up or something. "

Thats exactly what it sounds like. I'm calling the dealer today before something screws up.

 

[ACMan]

I spoke to the dealer today and he seems to think its the wet brakes not broke in yet...Like Jim mentioned. In any case since I'm done with my shed demolish and stack project I went ahead and had the Dealer pick her up for the 50 hour PM and have them check it for any other problems. I'll know something this week.

 

[djradz]

Can't imagine the breaks have anything to do with it. It's not that sort of sound to me, but maybe yours is different. Mine is more of that clackity-clack sound the gears make when the differential lock is on and the tires are slipping. Hope it's nothing serious.

 

[jinman]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Mine is more of that clackity-clack sound the gears make when the differential lock is on and the tires are slipping. )</font>

I am definitely not talking about a "clackity-clack" or any other gear grinding. If that's the sound ACMan is hearing, I think he's right to have his dealer check it out.

Now, I've heard my differential lock kinda "clunk" when it goes into gear, but never have I heard a grinding noise when my wheels are spinning. Could that be something related to Sensitrak and Supersteer? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[djradz]

Jim, I don't have supersteer or sensitrac, so that can't be it. Since I think I fixed the "woa tractor" problem through lubrication and spring tensioning and which seemed to be most noticeable in the winter, I'll be looking into this more this winter, assuming we get some significant snow soon to play in.

 

[ACMan]

Well, they picked up the tractor Monday and brought it back today. They adjusted the brakes. I tested it right off the truck with my FEL attached and no noise. However, later on when I put my six foot box blade on thats when it started with the noise again. So I've concluded that it happens with a load on the 3pt hitch. It sounds too much like grinding gears. I'll be calling them back.

 

[twichman]

This post is fairly old but I just recently ran into a very very similar issue with my 2018 4066M. The tractor would emit a loud grinding noise when I let off of the petal. It was especially prevalent when going down a slope. My first thought was that I had developed an issue with the rear differential. I surmised that over the course of the 800 hours on the tractor that something had worn down somewhere in the rear end. It sounded just like an old farm truck with excessive backlash in the rear diff. The issue was getting progressively worse, so I was about to load her up and take her to the dealer when I noticed that the brake control arm on the right side was bent upward. It wasn't really bad, but not straight. Because this was obviously 'user error' and wouldn't be covered by the warranty, I figured I had better bend it back and re-adjust the brakes before I dropped it off at the Deere dealer. As I was backing the tractor out of the barn I noticed that the sound had magically disappeared. Like completely gone. The e-Hydro on the 4066 is really good at holding the tractor when you back off the petals (even on a steep incline), so I hardly ever use the brakes and they couldn't have been more than ⅛ in out of adjustment, but apparently that was enough to cause an issue. As a side note, the "Power Match" system had always… sucked. It kind of worked but I ended up turning it off. On a hunch, I turned it back on, and it now works perfectly. My guess is that the brakes had always been slightly out of adjustment. Whatever I hit that bent the rod really set it out of adjustment, but I never once felt the tractor being pulled the the right when driving, towing, or using the loader. I guess the moral of the story is to check your brakes every once in awhile, even if you hardly ever use them.