What's ailing my 4610?

[SmokyMtnMan]

Re: What\'s ailing my 4610?

That could be the problem now, but........I wasn't touching the shifter. I was just pulling a Kawasaki mule uphill and it was pulling it just fine and then I think maybe the Mule might have slowed it up some by hitting a pile of brush or small stump...then the Tractor just stopped moving forward. I wasn't doing anything but stepping on the hydro pedal.

 

[Rick Jay]

Re: What\'s ailing my 4610?

SmokyMtnMan,

I hope you soon find the solution to your problem, and I hope it's something simple like a linkage problem.

I was just browsing some of my Kubota literature, and noticed that the new L series has what is called a "Feather-Step HST". Does your tractor have that?

Apparently, the hydro pedal operates a servo piston which in turn operates the variable swash plate in the HST pump. (I'm taking all this lingo out of the Kubota brochure...I'm not an expert on this stuff at all. Sounded good though, didn't it? /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif). It looks like there is a connecting rod of some type between the servo piston and the swash plate. If that broke or somehow came disconnected, I think it would behave similar to what you're experiencing. Unfortunately, that link looks like it's internal to the pump housing.

If that's the case, I would think it should definitely be a dealer and warranty repair. I think I would recommend that you have the mechanic from your dealer take a look at it where it is.

Anybody else know more about the "feather-step HST" used on the new L series?

I hope I'm wrong and I always advocate cheching the simple stuff first, so hopefully it's just a missing or loose link underneath the tractor. If not, I think the dealer should look at it.

Good Luck. We're all pulling for you.

~Rick

 

[SmokyMtnMan]

Re: What\'s ailing my 4610?

Rick, yes I have HST...hyrdo pedal. Toe on one end goes forward, heel on back of pedal is reverse. Works good for loader work and getting in and out of tight places. only problem is that there is a slight loss of power when going uphill. you have to let off pedal and let engine catch up, then give it some more.
my dealer is 5 hours away from me. I have very poor local dealers here that aren't very helpful and haven't been very responsive to customers. the two that are closest to me seem to always act like they're going out of business.
If i could just get it on level ground to where i could get a better view of things . right now i can't hardly get my head under it to see anything. kind of scary the way it's sitting too

 

[hwp]

Re: What\'s ailing my 4610?

I think I remember you saying that you had a neighbour with a big MF but he comes home from work late. Any chance you can talk to him on the weekend and see if he will pull you out? I doubt you are going to get anywhere with the tractor where it is. Once you are on level ground, I think you will have a much better chance of finding out what the problem is. This may sound goofy but my thoughts since your first post have been something similar to a shear pin. Something gave when you were pulling the mule up the hill. Given all that you have tried, my guess is that the HST is working but that it isn't driving anything. I also think you should call Carver and see what they suggest. He might be able to persuade one of your local dealers to be more cooperative or know someone else in your area to call.

Good luck.

 

[SmokyMtnMan]

Re: What\'s ailing my 4610?

great idea......will do
have sent Carver an email but it went to company and not him..will probably get something Monday

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: What\'s ailing my 4610?

Don: Since you are having a problem getting to/seeing things, just out of curiosity might I ask why you don't simply winch it up (from the picture, looks like you have lots of trees to tie onto) to level ground? Doesn't look like it should take more than a few hours. With 100' of cable and a heavy duty geared winch (geared, not hydro-sorry, I couldn't resist that) shouldn't take too long. Good luck. JEH

 

[Rick Jay]

Re: What\'s ailing my 4610?

SmokyMtnMan,

Apparently the new L series has a "new" HST called the "Feather-Step HST". It uses a small hydraulic servo to actuate the larger swashplate. The key advantage is that for the operator, the required hydro pedal activation force is much reduced and is independent of the load or range position.

On my B2910, and I assume all previous hydro models, there is a direct connection between the hydro pedal and the swash plate actuator. The force needed to operate the hydro pedal is greater when in the H range than in the L range. This new series has the hydraulic assist which, according to the brochure, is supposed to eliminate that and pedal pressure should be near constant for all ranges and loads.

I'm bringing this point up only since it appears to be a new feature, and sometimes new features have a greater than normal failure rate, until they work all the bugs out.

Hopefully, it's something simpler.

Good Luck.

~Rick

 

[SmokyMtnMan]

Re: What\'s ailing my 4610?

only reason I can think of grimreaper...is that I don't have one!
plenty of trees, yes...could attach to one, pull up to it...re-attach to another, pull up...eventually getting to top of hill on a ridge...
that pic doesn't show slope accurately and if you look up at top of pic...it appears to end the slope and level off...but you've still got another 150 feet or so of 40-45 grade.
i just walked over there and it still appears that the only route that any vehicle could get over there.....is still very soggy and soft right now. I haven't come up with a bulldozer guy to ask yet. Seems that might be cheaper than a winch that could pull 5500 pounds or so..don't know.

 

[SmokyMtnMan]

Re: What\'s ailing my 4610?

Just an update
posted couple of pics over at General/owner-operating thread

I thought I would update you once more. A neighbor brought over his M-F tractor this morning. It's bigger than my 4610 and also 4wd like mine. We managed to get over while ground was still frozen real early and at least got the Mule unhooked from the 4610. After both of us giving it a good going-over underneath with one of us using pedals, etc and the other looking underneath and following the linkage and checking for obstructions underneath, he backed his down as far as he could safely, got log chain hooked to chain hooks on my bucket, I let off handbrake, put in neutral and 2wd and let him pull.
My kubota didn't move one inch!
It was just like the tires were frozen stuck (which they weren't because it rolled back when I moved kawasaki mule). I'm not sure what size his was but i think it was a 5400 series M-F or maybe 5500, etc
He just dug him some holes for his wheels, /we just couldn't pull it out.
I'm going to ask around but there's not anyone i know of with small dozer. Only ones i know of has those real big Cat's and they're all busy working on new road construction.
But, i'll get 'er out someway next week i guess.
oh, here's a couple pics i took to kind of help show the predicament here. Still doesn't seem to show the real slope in a pic for some reason.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Re: What\'s ailing my 4610?

Smoky, I personally think it's "time to bite the bullet" and call a local excavating company to get a dozer in there to pull you out to flat land. You've gotta a mightly expensive machine sitting out in the wilderness where it's practically impossible to work on it...safely. If it costs you a couple of hundred dollars to pull it out, at least you can get the tractor back to a dealer or local mechanic to diagnose and fix the problem.