Rear wheels not pulling

   / Rear wheels not pulling
  • Thread Starter
#11  
Thanks to everyone for your input. Now I have several things to try/test tomorrow. I will let you know what I find.
 
   / Rear wheels not pulling
  • Thread Starter
#12  
OK, more data. I jacked the vehicle up and supported it with 4 jack stands on level concrete. When I rotated by hand one of the front tires, the other one rotated in the opposite direction. This is what I expected for an open differential. I performed this same test on one of the rear tires and got the same results. Both times the tires rotated freely without any unusual sounds. I then started the vehicle with the arm rest lowered and put it in forward. I had someone watching and all 4 tires rotated in the forward direction. I then had them hold one of the front tires and he was able to stop it from rotating relatively easily and the other tire rotated forward. Once again this is what I expected as all of the torque was being transmitted to the wheel with the least resistance. This was also performed on the rear axle and we got the same results. I then had him try to hold one of the rear wheels while I engaged the differential lock. He was not able to prevent it from rotating which to me says the differential lock is working. I then lowered the rear axle to the ground with the front axle still supported in the air on a floor jack. I then tried to drive the vehicle forward. The vehicle made a very slight movement in the forward direction with the front axle turning in the air in the forward direction. I then put the vehicle in reverse and it did the same thing. A very slight movement was noticed in the reverse direction and the front axle spun as it should in the reverse direction.

It seems as though everything mechanically is fine but for some reason the rear axle is not supplying any appreciable amount of torque. If anyone has any thoughts or other tests I should perform, I would be very grateful.

Thanks...
Rick
 
   / Rear wheels not pulling #13  
Looking at G series manual again:

No drive on one axle= 1..check for drive codes 2..a hydrostatic drive motor has damage 3..the brake is not releasing 4..a hydrostatic pump has damage (belt driven off engine, has test port for pressure) 5..a replenishing valve not seating (four of them on pump)
 
   / Rear wheels not pulling
  • Thread Starter
#14  
Ruffdog,

Thanks, I just found that same list for my B-series in the service manual although it also includes speed sensor not working. There are not any error codes. I assume there isn't any issue with the brake not releasing since I was able to rotate each wheel by hand. As far as the hydrostatic pump having damage, I assume it is OK since the front axle is capable of moving the vehicle around unless there are two hydrostatic pumps, one for each axle. I thought there is only one hydrostatic pump but I could be wrong.

As for the replenishing valve, I do see there are four of them. The service manual mentions that if you do not have drive on one axle it might be one of the replenishing valves is not seating. I see the 4 valves in the manual on the pump but it just shows an overall picture of the pump but it isn't in the vehicle. I am not certain where the hydrostatic pump is located relative to the vehicle. Has anyone ever checked the replenishing valves? Just looking for some general information in regards to what to expect. Can I remove them without draining all of the hydraulic fluid?
 
   / Rear wheels not pulling #15  
There is one pump, belt driven, on engine. I'm at the limit of helping as I have not tore into them myself. I wish you luck.
 
   / Rear wheels not pulling #17  
Early model TCs had issues with drive motors failing. Your symptoms don't really match. There is a lot of splined shafts in that axel. Possibly one is wiped off. Maybe drain the axel lube and take a good look. :confused3:
 
   / Rear wheels not pulling #18  
If you were experiencing a drive motor failure you would see a code for a plugged hydraulic filter and a gradual loss of power. Some years back I had a similar issue with the rear axle not engaging and the unit was actually dragging the rear along. Turns out it was a major rear axle failure that was the result the unit being stuck and the driver slamming the unit back and forth trying to extricate himself until he spun the rear axle.
 
   / Rear wheels not pulling
  • Thread Starter
#19  
Thanks for the thoughts and ideas. It will be this weekend before I have a chance to dig deeper but I will let you know what I find.
 
   / Rear wheels not pulling
  • Thread Starter
#20  
One possible cause of one axle not supplying torque as per the manual is a replenishing valve is not seating properly. Well it turns out there are 4 replenishing valves. Two of them are relatively easy to access. Simply drop the oil pan skid plate and they are easy to access. I removed both of them and checked the springs, shims and seat. Everything was clean and in good order. According to the manual, to access the other two you need to remove the engine. Not something I want to tackle especially as I'm not certain this is the cause of the problem. After checking the two that I could access from the bottom I put everything back together, jacked up the front end and with a floor jack to see if the rear wheels would drive the vehicle either forward or backward. It did the exact same thing which is the vehicle makes a very slight movement but only the front wheels which are in the air turn. When I am doing this the engine was just idling as I didn't want the vehicle to lurch off of the floor jack. I started thinking maybe I needed a little more RPM to develop the necessary hydraulic pressure. So I revved the engine to about half throttle and now the vehicle will move both forward and backwards. Bottom line I think I simply made a rookie mistake and didn't have the RPM of the engine high enough. When I previously got it stuck I was simply trying to connect a bucket on the front and also didn't have the RPM very high. Just thought I would document this so someone doesn't make the same mistake.
 

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