My baby is whining

[marty]

I have a TC33D with 58 hours on it and within 6 hours of the 50 hour service it has started to whine or squeal when activiating the HST pedal. Basically, the tractor has the same power as before but has developed a little rattle in the center to front area at about 55 hours. This rattle is initiated when I step on the HST peddle and the whine comes as the pedal is pushed to the max or when under strain. When the front wheel assist is activated, the whining starts sooner. The whining is not real noticable in low gear or in mid-range going in reverse.

I know Paccorti has decribed a similar noise in the past, however there was no mention of the squealing noise. I will probably have my dealer look at this issue, however any one with knowledge of the potential problem is urged to reply.

 

[DVerbarg]

Marty,

I had a sound that seems to be similar to your description. My sound was coming from the hydraulic pump and was related to low fluid level (which was due to a leaky FEL fitting). Once the hydraulic fluid level was topped off, the sound went away.

DaveV

 

[Mike H]

Make sure the front axle drive boot is fully greased. Pump grease into the fitting until you know it's full because you feel some resistance. My front axle started squealing around 140 hrs and this did the trick.

 

[marty]

Dave,
The fluid level is fine, however I am wondering if the new filters I installed have something to do with it. I can not imagine that I got the wrong ones or they are bad.

When your tractor made this noise, did you lose power? I remember in a Kabota I used that when the fluid level got low it made a similar sound and lost forward power as it slipped. My HST is not slipping or loosing forward motion. I am still wondering about the rattle noise as I step on the pedal??**?

 

[marty]

Mike,
I greased this at 50 hours and I was wondering what was the right amount to but in there. I believe I put more that normal grease point - like 5-6 pumps. Did our tractor start squealing as it was put in motion or just when the front wheel assist was engaged? Did it have a rattle as it was engaged?

 

[Mike H]

My squeal occurred whenever the tractor was in motion. Didn't matter whether it was in front wheel drive or not. The problem went away by filling the boot w/grease. I had just greased it the previous weekend, probably put half a dozen squirts in (most greased joints you can see grease coming out somewhere but not this one!) When the serviceman fixed mine a few days after I had greased it myself, he said he put in 15-20 squirts. He said fill it until you feel resistance.

No, I don't recall any particular rattle but there are all sorts of noises at different speeds and hydraulic flows.

 

[paccorti]

Hi Marty,

These sounds can be pretty annoying! Mine went away when I removed and re-attached my drive shaft cover. My sound sounded like a bearing going bad (but it wasn't). One trick that helped me a little was to make my own condenser microphone and attach it to my cam corder. Parts from a Radio Shack will probably cost you 4 bucks. With some long wire you can tape it to various spots on the machine and get a real good listen while the tractor is moving. Do you have a loader? Perhaps you could get the front wheels off the ground and (with the tractor off) spin the front wheels by hand. Remember this will also spin the driveshaft (since 4 wd is engaged in the rear). This might make it easier to home in on the sound. I would be very suspicious of some part needing better greasing. Please be careful if you lift the front wheels. Block it with jack stands or something. Good luck tell us what you learn.

Peter

 

[marty]

The dealer had a strong feeling what it was after lifting up the rear end and engaging the HST. They believe the front main bearing - race is slipping. They had this happen a couple of times before and they claim that they just have to make some inperfections onto the outside of the bearing and it resolves the issue. I was glad to hear that it was not a HST problem.

 

[paccorti]

Marty,

Do you mean front main bearing as in engine bearing or some bearing in the drivetrain?

Peter

 

[Blu21]

If it is the race spinning I would be concerned with whatever it(race)is housed in.If it was my tractor I would like to see it when/if the dealer disassembles it,maybe just for peace of mind but also to make sure the bore is not too oversize!Just a thought.Tom