New Jinma 304

Momboy007 · Jan 19, 2006

Hello All,
I am new to the Chinese forums and just yesterday bought a Jinma 304.

I am having some issues and hope you all mmight be of some help

1. The FEL, which is a Japanese unit, I think the letters EC3 are on the side of the loader, anyway, it is very sluggish and slow, is this normal?

2. The brakes are wicked grabby, they are either locked up or free wheeling, does not seem to be any in between, is this normal?

3. Then lastly, today when I was out riding around, no load or anything, the tractor would turn fine left, but when I went to turn right, it was if the thing had no power steering, the RPM's were up, I can't figure this out, then I let it sit while I filled the tires and when I started it back up, the steering worked great in all directions??????
It does not seem to turn very sharp, is this normal as well?

Thank you all in advance,
Rick

crazymike · Jan 19, 2006

I can only offer advice for tractors in general.

But... did you change the fluid in the system before assembly? The chinese are not known for good fluids. It's very possible your filter or fluids are clogged with debris.

If the brakes grab really easily it is usually one of two things. One, it could be rust from shipping. After a bit of use it will dissapear. More likely, your brakes simply need to be adjusted.

As for the power steering, again sounds like it might be debris in the hydraulic system. I suggest flushing the entire system if it hasn't already been done.

ejtaylor822 · Jan 19, 2006

Hey Rick,
Welcome! Will throw a couple of things out here - pretty new at this myself but there are a LOT of smart experienced folks here that can help.

1. Sluggish FEL. First I would check the fluid levels. Make sure you have enough fluid in the reservoir/sump. Check your connections to make sure they all look tight, look for leaking fluid. Do you hear any noises, high pitched sounds, etc. coming from the pump? Have you excercised the FEL pretty good? I blew my pump earlier this year. When I replaced it, took several iterations of raising and lowering and moving the bucket to get the air out of the lines. May want to try excercising it some more.

2. Grabby brakes. Do you have a lot of play in the brakes, or, do you press them and the brakes immediately grab? It might be normal and just take some getting use to. If it does need some adjustment there are two linkages (one on the left, one on the right) back near the rear axle where the play can be adjusted. Just follow the connecting rod from the brake pedals back to the axle and you will see them. Make small changes and test thoroughly.

3. Is the steering alright now? May have had some air in the lines if it's been sitting a while. Not sure on the 304 if the power steering and utility hydraulics are all on the same system and sump. If they are, could explain the sluggish FEL and steering if the fluids are low, air in the system, etc. Once again, would check the hydraulic fluid levels. Don't know what you mean by "turning sharp". It's not going to cut and corner like a Porsche, but, you should be able to manuever your tractor relatively easy.

CrazyMike is right on target with flushing the fluids - if this is the original fluid from China, would flush it out. Same with the engine, tranny and axle oil. My dealer swapped out all the fluids for mine, but, I still changed after 10 hours. Couldn't believe how bad the engine and crankcase oil looked after just 10 hours. Makes me glad I didn't see the original stuff that was in there.

Take care,
Eddie

RonMar · Jan 19, 2006

Welcome to the forum.

As mentioned, change out the chinese fluids if you have not already done so. there are several good postings here in the chinese forum as to what fluids to use in the Jinma. My personal preference is Rotell T 15W40 in the engine(especially in warmer climates

, 80W90(yellow metal safe) gear oil in the gearbox and front axel and AW32 Hydraulic oil in the hydraulic system.

Another thing to do is to go over every nut, bolt and fitting on the tractor to make sure it is tight so nothing falls off and all the hydraulic suction lines are tight and not sucking in any air. An air leak in the suction side of the system could explain the erratic FEL operation and could possibly explain the steering problem you experienced. Mine was delivered with a loose fitting right where the hydraulic suction line attaches to the top of the resovoir. It only weeped a little fluid when setting but when running introduced quite a bit of air to the system.

The brakes just sound new. Mine were kinda jerky when my 284 was new but they broke in pretty quickly, especially when I forgot and left the parking brake set one day /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif.

Momboy007 · Jan 20, 2006

Hello All,
Thanks all for the great advice. How tough is it to change all the fluids? The motor oil is no sweat to me, but the hydraulics, well this is all new to me and the flushing is also new. Can you walk me through it?
When I say the tractor does not turn sharply, I guess what I mean is the turning radius is really long (Bad in my opinion)

Thanks all again
Rick

Affordable · Jan 20, 2006

The hydraulics on the 300 series Jinmas have 2- hydraulic pumps, 1-is for the steering, 1-rear 3-point. The steering pump has a fluid res. tank under the hood in front of the radiator. If you did not drain out ALL of the chinese fluids and replace,that is alot of your problems.In the rear hydraulics use AW32 wt. oil oil it will speed up the operations alot.The front steering problem was air or debris so you need to get the old fluids out before you have more problems.Do you have a externial hydraulic filter ?? by the starter?? If you don't you have a internal one that should be cleaned or replaced. There is a 3-bolt flange under your left leg sitting on the tractor with a hydraulic line attached. Remove that flange and the filter is behind it.On the brakes they are rusty and prob,have some water or condensation in them, Ronald at Ranch Hand has some good pic's of what they look like

Tommy
Affordable Tractor Sales