PTO and clutch problem

[RonMar]

Sounds like 2 different issues. Tractors are like a Chinook Helicopter. If they stop leaking hydraulic fluid, it is because they are out of fluid

It didn't look like you spilled very much anyway. How is the fluid level now? Was it cold or hot when you topped up the fluid last? If cold, and you got a little overfull, the fluid would have expanded as it was heated in use and could have gotten up close enough to reach the vent opening in the filler plug. This is particulary easy to do if working up hill as the vent is all the way at the back and that is where the fluid will flow when the nose is high. I made my filler pug into a hydraulic return(added elbow and male QC fitting). To allow this, I relocated my vent to the front of the "hump", on the back of the flat area between the rear seat mounts. This is nearer the middle of the resovoir so the angle of the tractor would have to be pretty extreme to cause it to burp fluid.

As for the gear noises, I would do as John suggested and get the blower load off of it and listen for unusual noises as you put it thru it's paces. It could be that with use, your clutch adjustments have changed and what used to disengage just the drive clutch is also slipping or chattering the PTO clutch.

 

[leslie428]

Hi JohnS, thanks for the encouraging words! Wheee! Yes I will check for an air leak and have a look at the oil in the reservoir. I use non foaming AW32 hydraulic oil. I may have left something loose when I cleaned the screen last week. The clutch does not make a grinding noise like when it was new and I had not ajusted the clutch. It is more like metal to metal noise and only when the PTO is engaged. And only when I am approaching the second stage which engages the tractor to move. Is this still an adjustment. Yes I will check the tranny for oil, but I had checked it when I cleared the screen on the HD side. Will keep you advised. Thanks so much for your input and help.

 

[leslie428]

Sounds like a two fold problem, first is you may need a adjustment on your clutch ,second is Hydraulics too full, air leak,ect.

Tommy
Affordable Tractor Sales

Hi Tommy, good to hear from you. Thanks for the advice. I still have not installed that HD pump with the backhoe, I ended up with galloping rheumatism, however with treatment here it is 8 months later and I am like new. I will need to get back to you some connectors. -31 right now so not a good time to play with it.

 

[leslie428]

Leslie,
It is not uncommon for hydraulic oil to come out of the vent. This happens to me when I lower the fel very quickly. There might be more fluid in your reservoir than you really need?
As far as the transmission noise, it has nothing to do with your hydraulics. Like Tommy says, check your clutch adjustment and also check the fluid level in the tranny. Did you already change out the Chinese fluid in there? Once I did that, the tranny shifted much better and was a lot more quite.

Yes all fluids were replaced when I received the tractor in July 2005. You are right I was actually using the front loader to move some 6 foot drifts so I could get at the snow. I was doing this with the front loader while my snowblower was I beleive active. I will check tomorrow. Thanks a bunch.

 

[leslie428]

Yeah,basicly just the grinding is the only problem you got,if you got one at all. After 70 hours of pto use,you should be familar with how clutch works,,did it always grind the gears when shifting or did it just start?,,that two stage clutch is tricky,if you don't push the first stage in far enough gears will grind,,,,,wouldn't think what fluid you got in it would cause grinding,,as long as you got fluid in it,,,
I got 560 hours on my 254 same as yours,I grind every now and than,,,,but if it grinds even when you got clutch pushed all the way,,guess your clutch might need adjusting,,,but an occasional grind ain't nothing to worry about,,and it ain't got nothing to do with hydro overflow out breather.[don't think],,,thingy

Thanks thingy, the grinding is actually like two metal plates rubbing. It happens when I am already in gear (reverse) and I have pressed the clutch in half way so as to stop the tractor but not the PTO so the snowblower shute can be cleared before I take off to do another run. Glad to hear you have 560 hours, gives me hope that I can deal with this and enjoy many more hours of good times.

 

[leslie428]

I believe the answer may be related to this statement. Same thing happens to guys that don't take their foot off the clutch pedal when doing extended FEL work.

//greg//

Hi Greg, can you explain a bit more. As per my comments to the other fellows, I am in reverse and now I go to stop the tractor and give the shute time to empty. It is when I depress the clutch half way to stop the tractor but let the PTO continue to turn that I hear this awful grinding sound like to plates messing. Thanks for you help.

 

[leslie428]

Just a thought but if you lowered the loader without the engine running it will overfill the reservoir. as you are not pumping oil from the tank to the opposite sides of the loader rams. I found this out after working on my 284 with the arms raised,and lowering them after I shut off the engine.(and so has many others.)= oil on floor

Thanks Mark, you have solved a mystery for me, not related to the present problem. Sometime I would check the tractor the day after I finished with it and there would be a small pool of HD fluid on the floor. Yes, I would turn the tractor off and then I would allow the front loader to settle to the ground and then I would do the same with whatever attachment I had on the 3Point system. Good point, thanks.

 

[leslie428]

Sounds like 2 different issues. Tractors are like a Chinook Helicopter. If they stop leaking hydraulic fluid, it is because they are out of fluid

Hi Ron, thanks for the good advice. Actually I was at quite an angle as I tried to reduce the 6 foot drift with the front loader. Here is a picture of the snow I am dealing with. Again thanks for the help.

 

[thingy]

Well maybe by your discription,,you ought to invistigate a little futher,,,you can adjust both clutches while they are in tractor,,there is specs for this,[how much /many turns on bolts in clutches],,you got your first stage and second stage,,,,maybe yourfirst stage needs adjusting?,,,don't know much about doing it cause I never have,,but there is info on web sites,,,maybe even pictures,,,chinese tractor owners ***.,,,pa. tractor owners,,,new york chinese tractor owners ***,,chinese tractor owners ***.,,,,its not that big a deal I don't think,,there is a tolerance,,keep track of turns on nut you make etc,,,inspection plates on both sides are what you need to take off,,under stand loader bolts up there,[mine don't have loader],,so a little bigger job for you,,but,,sounds like you need to look about this,,,,grinding of clutch is not good,,gears not really bad,,but clutch,,not good,,somebody else can more better direct you,,,but know I've seen pictures,,,,,thingy

 

[greg_g]

Hi Greg, can you explain a bit more. As per my comments to the other fellows, I am in reverse and now I go to stop the tractor and give the shute time to empty. It is when I depress the clutch half way to stop the tractor but let the PTO continue to turn that I hear this awful grinding sound like to plates messing. Thanks for you help.

Well, I may not explain this too well - so bear with me. Loader work is a lot like blower work, It's all the foot clutching that's done, constantly shifting from forward to reverse gears. And too many operators fail to completely take his/her foot off the clutch between shifts. This results in uneven wear between the two clutch elements; drive and PTO.

Complicating the issue is your need to hold the clutch halfway in while waiting for the chute to empty. It's hard to find the sweek spot in there, where the drive clutch will completely disengage but still keep the PTO turning. On your tractor I think I'd use the transmission shift lever myself - putting the tranny into neutral and leaving my foot off the clutch completely while the blower is cleaning. On my KAMAs, I'd only have to put the shuttle lever in neutral (and take my foot off the clutch) while the blower cleared.

So if uneven clutch disc wear is your problem, I don't believe it can be adjusted out on the tractor. Pretty sure it's a bench job. Might even discover you need a new disc, spring, whatever. This is still premature though, if you haven't yet checked the clutch fingers through the inspection plates. With no more than 1" pedal play (adjust as necessary), there should be no more than 1 to 2 centimeters gap between all three clutch fingers and the throwout bearing. Adjust those as necessary as well.

Hope that wasn't too confusing.

//greg//