JD X475 hydraulic issues and sometimes has a miss

[travisH3]

Hey everyone, new to the forum and looking for a little help.

I have a John Deere X475, 28HP kawasaki motor with 890 hours. purchased new in 2004.

I was using the tractor to push the snow we got yesterday and after using it a few hours doing everyones driveways, the 54inch quick hitch snow blade started to angle left and right very slowly and the hydraulics seemed noisy. well then the power steering started feeling weak so i took it straight home. let it cool off and then washed it good to make sure i dont leave salt on it. after letting it dry in the driveway i went to park it back in the garage and the power steering wasnt working at all and the plow angled very slowly. anyone know what i should look for? tractor seemed fine in forward and reverse and also from what i remember the plow didnt have any issues up and down.

Hydraulic fluid was just changed in the fall along with new filter. the hydraulic oil level was right in the center of the markings on the dip stick, and im running the john deere low viscosity HY-gard hydraulic fluid. Ive used this tractor for the last 10 years plowing and never had this issue. yes the hydraulics are always slow when you first start it but usually after warming up a few minutes its operating at full speed.

Not sure if this pertains to the hydraulics issue but recently when i start it, the tractor studders for a few seconds then goes back to normal idle. this started this summer and even when the engine was warm and you throttled it up to engage the PTO for the mower deck, its would studder and then rev up to where you moved the throttle to.

I do all the maintenance my self, it gets spark plugs yearly, oil changed frequently sometimes twice a summer depending on how much it gets used. run 10w-30 for summer and switch to 5w-30 for winter time. coolant was just flushed and replaced in the fall when i changed hydraulic fluid. tractor is still on the ORIGINAL battery from 2004 somehow but in these past cold starts its been showing its weak but starts everytime. thanks for y'alls help, sorry if this seems long winded but just trying to give you as much info as possible to exactly whats going on.

thanks again fellas!

 

[RG1]

Have you checked the diverter valve near the hydraulic ports to make sure it hasn't vibrated into a more neutral position?

BTW- an X475 should have a 23 HP Kawi in it. Maybe a typo, or did you re-power it?

 

[Dutch445]

one thing you can do is unplug your angling hydraulic hoses and see if
anything changes with the steering. odd that it would only affect the angle
circuit and not lift/lower. unplug them all for that matter, that would rule
anything out having to do with a faulty coupler.
also, any chance something froze that didn't thaw out? we haven't been above
freezing in forever it seems like

 

[travisH3]

Have you checked the diverter valve near the hydraulic ports to make sure it hasn't vibrated into a more neutral position?

BTW- an X475 should have a 23 HP Kawi in it. Maybe a typo, or did you re-power it?

going to check that out now, and yes sorry my typo, 23hp kawasaki. I wish it was 28hp hahaha

one thing you can do is unplug your angling hydraulic hoses and see if
anything changes with the steering. odd that it would only affect the angle
circuit and not lift/lower. unplug them all for that matter, that would rule
anything out having to do with a faulty coupler.
also, any chance something froze that didn't thaw out? we haven't been above
freezing in forever it seems like

going to do try that also. I will report back within the hour. thanks guys!

 

[travisH3]

No dice fellas. let her warm up and undid all hydraulics, still weak power steering. checked fluid level again just for giggles and its smack dab in the center of the markings. checked for diverter valve vibrating loose and its where its supposed to be. it has been cold so tomorrow i may put the kerosene heater on it for a little while then start it and see what goes. what doesnt make sense is why it worked fine for prolly 2 hours, then i noticed if i tried to turn the wheel real fast, power steering wouldnt keep up and then prolly 30 minutes later no power steering and plow angles really slow. im stumped

 

[RG1]

Maybe your hydro filter iced up on you. Try warming it up real good before using the machine again.

 

[travisH3]

Maybe your hydro filter iced up on you. Try warming it up real good before using the machine again.

it hasnt been that cold, 20-30 during the day and teens or so at night. will hydro freeze? should i just go get a new filter and hydro fluid and change it and see what happens? but like i said tomorrow i will put the heater on it and see what goes

 

[RG1]

it hasnt been that cold, 20-30 during the day and teens or so at night. will hydro freeze? should i just go get a new filter and hydro fluid and change it and see what happens? but like i said tomorrow i will put the heater on it and see what goes

Low vis Hy-Gard won't freeze, especially at those temps, but if water from melted snow were to get in around the gasket on the filter, or into your hydraulic couplers, you get have a blockage somewhere.

The fluid gets heated up as you use the machine, and snow that accumulates around those areas gets melted, but once you park it and temps dip, the fluid can get sucked in around the seals etc. The metal on the filter and the trans are different materials, so they cool at different rates, which can leave a small gap for water to pass if the filter wasn't tight enough. just something to check.

 

[Dutch445]

did you try hooking up any of the hoses? did the lift circuit work?
it sounds like there may be more going on here, it isn't all that cold.
it would be worth dropping some oil out of the tranny and take a look
and see if you see evidence of water (milky color) or metal shavings (do
NOT want to see that). but again, until it thaws out good i wouldn't get
too nervous yet.

 

[travisH3]

Got it fixed!!!!

this morning i started it up and drove it to the other garage to work on it, still same symptons, very slow angling and power steering not working fluid level still perfect. fired up the kerosene heater and pointed it from the back of the mower to send heat all the way under the mower and heat everything up. 15 minutes or so later everything was good and warm, fired it up and power steering worked and so did angling so i went to JD and grabbed new HYDRO filter and fluid. drained the fluid before i left while everything was good and warmed up. as i was eating lunch i started thinking, the fluid in the cylinders of the plow and power steering is prolly the same fluid thats basically just getting pushed back and forth because i dont think its totally returning back to the transaxle and circulating, so i decided to pull both front hydraulic cylinders off the plow and also the powersteering cylinder off. i disconnected the hydro lines off the cylinders and compressed the cylinders to remove ALL fluid inside. Also with the lines disconnected i angled the plow each way, put the plow up and down, and turned steering wheel a few times just enough so i could make sure i pushed fresh fluids through the lines (i did this one cyclinder at a time and checked fluid after each cylinder i drained and topped it off to make sure i didnt run the tractor low on Hydro fluid). doing this I now know I have 100% fresh fluid throughout the HYDRO system. The only cylinder i didnt do was the one above the transaxle that lifts the mower deck up and down. The plow and power steering now work faster and smoother than EVER!

My next concern is metal shavings in the hydraulic fluid. I did this out in the driveway because the sun was out and the fluid looked metallic colored. then when draining my pan into containers there were definitely sparkly stuff at the bottom of the pan. so how much trouble am I in? I have receipts for every hydraulic fluid and filter change ive ever done and used all JD fluids and filter. unit has 884 hours on it and if i counted all my receipts i have changed the Hydro atleast 5-6 times. I use the diff lock ALOT. during the summer this tractor gets used for pulling a john deere cart filled with logs and stuff and can get pretty heavy at times and lots of mowing. I dont remember having this sparkly shavings.