Dk45se weak hydro?

[tractorsam]

Hello,

This is my first post on TBN as I am having an issue with our new to us DK45se cab tractor. We previously had a CK35 which worked well but was too small and lacked AC. We also have several old Farmall tractors as well.

The DK has about 370 hours on it and is a 2010. We live on a steep hill and notice that in high range the tractor will stop moving forward and the engine rpm will only drop from 2500 to 2300 or so. Doing the same test in reverse the engine rpm will drop at least to 1600rpm. I'm thinking the forward relief valve may be weak. Where might I find this valve (if the tractor has one) and are there any pressure test ports? The tractor was recently serviced by a dealer and fluid appears to be full and clean. Any other thoughts on this issue are much appreciated.

Thanks, Sam

 

[sdef]

Can't help you with the HST issue. I test hydraulic pressure using the standard rear ports with this I made:

 

[Btown]

Hello,

This is my first post on TBN as I am having an issue with our new to us DK45se cab tractor. We previously had a CK35 which worked well but was too small and lacked AC. We also have several old Farmall tractors as well.

The DK has about 370 hours on it and is a 2010. We live on a steep hill and notice that in high range the tractor will stop moving forward and the engine rpm will only drop from 2500 to 2300 or so. Doing the same test in reverse the engine rpm will drop at least to 1600rpm. I'm thinking the forward relief valve may be weak. Where might I find this valve (if the tractor has one) and are there any pressure test ports? The tractor was recently serviced by a dealer and fluid appears to be full and clean. Any other thoughts on this issue are much appreciated.

Thanks, Sam

High gear is for driving long distances on relatively flat land. Hydro is not an automatic transmission. The more you push the pedal in the faster it will go., but it does not give it more fuel. When going up a hill if it starts to slow down you have to let off the HST pedal and or give it more throttle.

 

[Thomas]

As Btown wrote or lower range.

 

[tractorsam]

To the first poster - that looks like a great tester but I don't think the HST pressure can be read through the rear remotes.

I am familiar with hydrostatic drives as prior to the CK35 which was an HST we also had an IH hydro tractor (75hp hydrostatic drive) and I run into them a lot at work.

I understand that asking the tractor to climb the hill in high gear is probably too much for it although the CK35 would do it, as the engine started to bog down I'd start taking my foot off the pedal. My concern with this one is that it won't bog the engine down before the tractor stops moving.

If you try and start off on the hill at full throttle the engine will only slow a little bit and the tractor won't move. On the CK35 that would slow the engine way down or stall it.

 

[k0ua]

Hello,

This is my first post on TBN as I am having an issue with our new to us DK45se cab tractor. We previously had a CK35 which worked well but was too small and lacked AC. We also have several old Farmall tractors as well.

The DK has about 370 hours on it and is a 2010. We live on a steep hill and notice that in high range the tractor will stop moving forward and the engine rpm will only drop from 2500 to 2300 or so. Doing the same test in reverse the engine rpm will drop at least to 1600rpm. I'm thinking the forward relief valve may be weak. Where might I find this valve (if the tractor has one) and are there any pressure test ports? The tractor was recently serviced by a dealer and fluid appears to be full and clean. Any other thoughts on this issue are much appreciated.

Thanks, Sam

You may be correct about the relief valve, and yes there are test ports, and you will need a gauge that reads over 5000 PSI and you will need the service manual. BUT climbing any steep hill with your DK in HI gear is not advised. Especially with the extra weight of the cab. You are asking too much. Shift to MED and go up the hill. If your tractor engine is bogging in Reverse but not HI then perhaps the Relief is set low. But Really steep hills should bog down the tractor if in HI range.

 

[ksbrdmkr]

I road my DK45SEC for short distances and usually run about 2400 to 2500 rpm. When going up hills I wait to about 2000 rpm before clicking off the cruise to let the engine rev up. I am use to letting the torque rise of the lower rpm continue to pull without shifting. The torque rise of my NH TN55 keeps going up until below 1400 rpm, on the DK45 I think it is in the range of 1800rpm or so and the HST should allow you to pull the engine down to that range. When starting from a stop with a high load pushing the HST pedal down will bypass the HST or kill the engine.

 

[Btown]

There is a lot more weight in your DK than the Ck35. I'm not sure if your tires are loaded if they are it's even more weight. Try medium range. It should be plenty fast in medium. Hi is for long flat distances. If you still have a problem in medium then I would look into it. I do not know of any 75 hp HST tractors. I thought Kioti 60 hp was the largest HST tractor out there.

 

[k0ua]

Just for S's and G's, I tried My DK35se hydro today on my very steep hill.

I tried to start "mid hill" without getting a run at it. Here is what happened. In HI range going forward, I was not able to move, it just squalled and the hydro relief opened, the engine bogged some but the relief opened almost instantly. I pushed on the fwd pedal slowly.
Using the Reverse pedal and trying to go up the hill, it moved slowly whining like a 3 year old that you had just had his candy taken away, but when I tried to go a little faster and shoved the pedal down more the relief opened on the hydro also.

I had no problem going up the hill in Med range either forwards or in reverse. Which I commonly do when repairing this gravel road.

Here is how the tractor was equiped. It has the stock loader on it, and it had a lightweight rear scrape blade on the 3pt. I doubt it weighs more than 200 lbs. It is really too small for the tractor, and it was a left over from 2 tractors ago. The rear tires are loaded with Methanol mix. No cab.

Take aways. While my tractor is slightly smaller and has about 8 less HP and weighs a maybe a severl hundred pounds less in stock trim the tractors are near enough in size to test this. My key take away, is do not try to start on a steep hill in HI range. But I already knew that.

 

[tractorsam]

About the 75 hp hydro tractor. International Harvester built several models of large 75-100hp hydrostatic drive tractors back in the 60's and 70's.

 

[tractorsam]

Thanks for the replies so far. So the first thing I'm taking from everyone so far is that even though it has more power than the CK don't expect it to climb the hill in Hi - duly noted. Also I believe it has loaded rears and that isn't helping me here, and the KL401 loader.

To ksbrdmkr - this is where my concern comes from, you say going up a hill your engine will pull down from 2500 to 2000 or so. Mine will pull down from 2500 to only 2300 or so in forwards before it seems the transmission really starts to slip, reverse acts much more like you described.

I was using the tractor last night (for the first time - it's her tractor, not mine, she just showed me the issue in high) and noted a couple of things in medium. First - forwards seems to be slower than reverse by about 25%. Secondly (and yes, I know this isn't good for the tractor and I was only trying to test it) if I hold the brakes (not ridiculously hard) and try forward the tractor will not move, if I try reverse there's no stopping it.

Can the service manual be purchased through a dealer?

Thanks, Sam

 

[sdef]

Yes the service manuals are available through a dealer- or were anyways, a couple years ago when I purchased mine. These machines have changed very little until the tier 4s, I imagine. I seem to recall paying ~ $165 for service and parts manuals from my dealer that is 3+ hours away from me. Hopefully you have a fairly local dealer you can establish a relationship with. If not, call these folks: Michigan Iron and Equipment Morrice, MI. Doing a quick search on their web site I do not see a manual listed.

My DK45HSE weighs ~ 6500 - 7800 pounds depending upon attachments and acts similarly to K0ua's on post #9. Since my tractor never travels on a level surface, I never use hi range except to test operation.

 

[tractorsam]

Hmmm. I didn't think they'd be that heavy. I didn't haul it home so I never got a sense of the weight. Thank you.

 

[sdef]

I have loaded rear tires (+800 - 900), of course the loader and then attachments. ROBB weighs 710, grapple bucket 550 and a 3PH weight box @ 1200 and various lesser weight attachments. I continuously carry an assortment of chains and a good sized tool box that is full, plus other mods. It all adds up depending upon use. According to a 2011 Kioti brochure, base/stock tractor weigh is ~ 4000# plus loader/bucket, backhoe, etc.

 

[k0ua]

Hm... Fwd should be somewhat faster than reverse. Look at the label on the front side of the left fender about by your left knee when seated on the tractor. Yes paper manual available at the dealership. We all downloaded digital manuals when they were available offshore. They are EX series manuals, not DK manuals, so a foreign version of the manual as the tractor is setup in Australia, but they are close. I don't think that site is up now though. I could be wrong.

 

[tractorsam]

An update / hopefully a conclusion to this. The dealers tech was out today and agreed it's not right. He checked the forward and reverse pressures on the hydro and they were lower than spec but the same. Charge pressure was good. A little investigation into the slower in forwards issue revealed some loose hydro linkage that was preventing full travel in the forwards direction. Correcting this has put the travel speeds right and now I can lug the engine in forwards. So all seems to be well with the world. Thanks for all the suggestions. And I won't be driving it up the hill in high range any more

 

[Btown]

Congrats on the easy fix. Should give you many years of work.

 

[Coyote machine]

For most all tasks medium range is suitable, except for those when low range is needed, and usually that is obvious. High mostly gets it going when on road and flat and fairly constant speed. Can't shift between ranges when moving either, in case you were wondering.
FWIW, I suggest always putting it in a range and setting the parking brake, even on level ground, in addition to lowering the FEL's attached implement to grade before leaving the tractor.
Here's another way to see if the ranges are working and trans too. On a hill in forward, let off the forward pedal and it should come to a complete stop all on it's own. If not, the trans may need further attention.
IF you get any kind of loud squeal when in reverse there is a known fix for that particular issue - you can find it by doing a search of my posts from back in 2010. I'm NOT the author, but I did help find the fix.
It's nothing to worry about, doesn't cause any known damage, it's just damnn annoying if its present on a particular DK Series machine.

Enjoy that tractor - they're excellent workhorses.:thumbsup: