Gator 855D, Problems, Drive Train, Headgasket?

   / Gator 855D, Problems, Drive Train, Headgasket? #1  

Farmall B

New member
Joined
Dec 12, 2009
Messages
2
Location
Wisconsin
Tractor
John Deere 3720
Bought a 2011 855D XUV in April - love it, but two problems:

1 - Drive train "locks"

- Can barley steer, randomly. Severe "rumble from drive train" Occurs when first shifting into gear. Shifting to R and back to drive several times clears it. Very random and difficult to duplicate. May occur 1-2 times per run hour.

- Causes safety issue do to steering input required, less muscular people cannot turn wheel. If your put it into gear and drive while pointed at immovable object, collision can (and has) occured.

- Does not seem to be due to 4WD locking. When manually locked, no perceptible difference in steering effort. It's never been in mud or snow, so could not even say if 4WD works.

- Reported to dealer @ 6 hours. We agreed that due to randomness to wait to see if it got worse. It has. Going to shop tomorrow. 100 hours.

** Any history or guesses as to what is going on?? Has permanent damage to drive train been done?



2. Headgasket (or other problem)?

- Changed oil at 50 hrs. Oil level seemed high. Coolant recovery tank was empty so filled it.

- Now at 100 hrs. CR tank is empty and oil is high.

- Dealer (and I) are guessing headgasket problem

** What to do? Let them fix it and move on? Since there has likely been water in oil from day 1 - demand new engine?? Are headgasket changes this early in engines life an indicator of a problem engine for life? I keep my stuff in shape and are planning on many 1000's of hours on this one.

I like the dealer and have bought several pieces of equipment from them, however I have no service department warranty experience to know what to expect or demand from them.

Any advise would be sincerely appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Last edited:
   / Gator 855D, Problems, Drive Train, Headgasket? #2  
Farmall B,

I don't really have any good advice, sorry, :confused: but just a comment. If what you think is true with the headgasket, maybe you can ask the dealer to pull an oil sample. It would show if there is any abnormal wear in the engine. Might help either you or the dealer to convince JD a new engine is required. If they repair your machine, I would ask about some kind of extended warranty at no cost to you.

I'm hoping you report back to let us know what you find.

Best of luck!!
 

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