Howdy everyone, I suppose I'm about as green as they come. New to the forum, new to heavy equipment and a beginner mechanic..... So please be patient and sorry if I ask stupid questions. My family and I live 2 miles back on an old logging road that has never been maintained. We've just recently purchased some equipment to eventually fix up the old road as well as make some improvements to the property. Got a 99 Cat 307 SSR and an 89 JD 550B. Bought both machines from friends and as far as I can tell they are both in excellent working order. However as I was checking fluids on the 550, I noticed the transmission fluid was way high. Basically I'm wondering if this is really a problem of not for this particular machine? I've read in this forum advice on other machines that an overfilled transmission can be really bad news. I would assume it's the same for the 550, except the manual does not say anything about about not overfilling the transmission fluid. The manual does explicitly say "do not overfill" for many other fluids, but not the transmission fluid. Under the "check transmission fluid" part, it says "add fluid as necessary", but it doesn't mention anything about what to do if it's overfilled.... And of course I would just remove some fluid IF there was an easy way to do so.... but according to the manual, the only way I can see to do this other than pumping some out of the filler hole is by removing a whole plate held on by 10 cap screws in an awkward spot under the machine..... And there's supposed to be 13.5 gallons of fluid in there..... I'm imagining my inexperienced self totally bumbling this and spilling 14 gallons of fluid all over. Anyhow, I'm kinda leaning towards just buying some kind of decent small manual fluid pump of some sort and just pumping some out.... any suggestions? Also, is this even something for me to really worry about? If so, in the mean time, can I get away with using the machine for a few hours here and there to plow some snow in cold weather without damaging the transmission or anything? Thanks in advance for any advice!
Hey roach here is what I know about problems in general fix it right as soon as possible lol. These transmissions are worth more than the machine from what I've herd being over full can indicate a issue. Was it running when checked ? If it has a good transmission I'd service it asap because when the transmission is gone it's a parts machine from what I've been told. You have some nice equipment I'd do everything possible to maintain it. Best of luck.
The SUCK BUCKET HeavyEquipmentForums If you have a clean bucket, there's no reason you can't reuse the oil. Don't leave it in there, there's two lines on the dipstick for a reason. And it's not a pregnancy test
Yep, it was running when I checked it.... I think that suck bucket is just what I need! And I got everything to make it on hand here so I don't gotta order a pump or run to town either (running to town is quite an ordeal with our road in it's current state). Thanks to all who replied, I'll be throwing together a suck bucket tomorrow!
STILL WAY too much fluid! SO…. Of course I got way too busy to actually get anything done before the holidays. We just got home from our holiday rounds of visiting family and (not surprisingly) we've got an extra 2 feet of snow since we were gone that I need to clear out with the dozer asap…. I made a suck bucket and tried to suck out the fluid with a shop vac… I had to use quarter inch tubing because I couldn't seem to fit the half inch tubing all the way in there to the fluid. Took about 3 hours of sucking to get about a gallon out of there… The transmission fluid is still reading really high…. Like it's only gone down almost half way to the full mark from where it was…. :Banghead I called the guy who owned the dozer before me to ask if he'd put much fluid into the transmission, he said no. I'm wondering if there could be fluid leaking from somewhere else? I don't really understand anything about the inner workings of this transmission etc, so please excuse my ignorance, but it just seems odd that there would be over 2 gallons of extra fluid in there? I mean how could that have possibly happened? Should I be worried about something else that's leaking into there being dry? When I bought the dozer, the guy I bought it from told me about and pointed out a small leak in the “final drive”. He said he would just add a little oil every now and then…. After looking at it and the manuals, I'm pretty darn sure it's actually a leak in the steering clutch housing. SO I'm kind of now imagining there is some kind of oil exchange between the steering clutch housing and the transmission fluid (once again pardon my ignorance) can anyone explain this to me? Is it possible that he slowly added too much oil into the transmission through the steering clutch housing oil filler hole? In the owners manual, it says to change the steering clutch housing oil and the transmission oil at the same time… but it says to drain them from three different points. Too make things more annoying and difficult for a novice like me, the owners manual says absolutely nothing about how to check the level of the steering clutch housing oil… all it says is “Add 3.5 gallons, DO NOT overfill” Anyone know how to check that level? Is there any way (other than the dozer not running or out of level) that the transmission dipstick could be reading wrong? Why is there room for that much extra oil inside the transmission anyhow? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just really trying to wrap my head around this and NOT do damage to my equipment….. But I do need to plow us out asap! One final question…. How exactly does too much oil damage a transmission, is it from the heated oil expanding and breaking seals? I have a transmission fluid temperature gauge on the machine, would it be safe to run for a few hours pushing snow but just keep a close eye on the oil temp? Guess that was too last questions! Thanks again for any advice, explanations etc, it is much appreciated.
A question. Look at the dipstick. Does one side say "Cold idle" and the other side say "Hot idle"? Usually, there is a mile of difference between the two. Maybe your accidentally reading the "cold side" after the oil is warmed up? Or maybe the person added the oil up to the "hot side", when the machine was cold. I usually add oil to the middle of the "cold side" when the machine is at a cold idle. After working the machine hard for a little while, I check it again and top it off to the middle of the hot side, if needed. Make sure the oil is dripping off the stick, not just wet. Sometimes splashing oil will give a false reading. Fooled me a few times. I'd say your OK here though.
OK I think I figured it out...... The dipstick says something like "check with engine running at high idle", which I did. I don't think there's anything on the other side, since I've checked it over a dozen times. I think I found out how it go too much fluid in it though.....:tong As I mentioned the guy I bought it from told me about a leak in the final drive (which I determined to actually most likely be a leak in the steering clutch housing). He was adding oil (probably 80-90) to the steering clutch housing to compensate for the leak.... I still don't really understand the inner workings of it all, but I know there must be some kind of exchange between the steering clutch housing and the transmission because in the maintenance section of the owners manual it says " Check Transmission-Steering Clutch Oil Level" and "Change Transmission-Steering Clutch Housing Oil". Although the manual was throwing me off a bit because when changing, you need to empty and fill all three reservoirs separately....... Also an equally annoying lack of detail in the owners manual is they make no mention of how to check the level of the steering clutch housing oil levels.... So he just probably kept pouring it in and it kept disappearing into the transmission and he thought it was leaking out, so he kept adding more...... this is my best hypothesis of what happened anyhow. Figuring out what probably happened makes me feel better about taking all that oil out. Now I just gotta get out there in the 25 below windchill and keep sucking that oil outta there. I just feel like a fool for not checking it back in October when I first bought it. Guess I gotta learn everything the hard way. I also just hope that neither him nor I did any permanent damage to the transmission. I've barely run the machine since owning it and I don't think he used it a lot either. I also do plan on changing the oil next spring when it gets warmer (since it has at least some of the wrong oil in it). If anyone reading this at any point knows more about the transmission and steering clutch housing of this particular machine (or just has knowledge about this machine in general), I would greatly appreciate any other advice, info, insights or tips. Thanks again for all replies!
OK so it’s winter again and I’m back with more questions about this dang dozer…. Apparently according to JD it is a 1987 550B Crawler Dozer (I was told 89 when I bought it)…. So I finally got around to changing the transmission/clutch steering fluid. I let it drain overnight to make sure all the old stuff was out and I spent the extra bucks on the JD HY-Gard oil and I followed the directions carefully and I even underfilled it… only used about 12.5 gallons (instead of 13.5 like the manual said) and figured I would get it warmed up then top it off. Well the damn fluid is still nearly 3 inches high! What the hell is up with that? A gallon short but 3 inches high? I’m wondering if there is something strange about the dipstick or what…. I also measured the dipstick and (roughly) measured the filler tube and tank and drew a little diagram of where the oil “should be” according to the dipstick in relation to the top and bottom of the tank…. I’m also including scans of the manual and pictures of the dipstick etc. Does this look right? Anyone else have this machine or a similar JD machine? Is that what the dipstick is supposed to look like with that welded washer part way up? Is that washer thing original and if so what’s if for? Is there a chance I’m supposed to be checking the level with it sitting on the washer rather than the cap? Is it possible that the tank should be so big and he tranny fluid so low? Any other insights? Thanks all in advance.
It's currently reading about at the M on WARM when idling and warm
That drawing is really rough and could be + or - an inch or so for the tank....
Looks like someone ground in a mark right by the word trans on the stick the book fill amount may be a for a dry trans you would never get all the old oil out
Does this machine have a convertor and does it share the transmission oil? Usually the converters do not drain during an oil change and could account for the excess oil. John
I believe on my straight 550 dozer that the dipstick does have that welded washer on it. I'll get a measurement off of it tomorrow for you. I would second the dry fill capacity number being given would put to much oil back in the machine.
The washer welded on the stick is a baffle to stop splashing oil from the transmission slouching up the filler tube and causing a leak around the dipstick plug. John
On My 450C the manual states to measure the fluid level with the cap resting on the top of the fill tube, not threaded in. Could that account for your unusually high oil level? Rick
Hey all, thanks as always for repiles! Rick, I did follow the manual and check it with it resting on top of the fill tube. John thanks for explaining the washer, also yes the machine does have a torque converter and that is exactly what the mechanic at the John Deere dealership told me. He figured the torque converter would hold at least a gallon or two of oil...... Anyhow I felt a lot better about taking oil out of it after talking to him and hearing what folks here had to say, so I sucked out about 5 gallons of oil! Holly crap that was a lot of extra oil in there! I was able to catch most of it in a clean bucket so I will be able to reuse it (Im using the John Deere Hy-gard, kinda expensive stuff). Anyhow I think I got it just about to the right level now and just in time....... We've got a winter storm warning tonight for 4-9 inches of snow, last time we had a warning of 4-6 inches we got over a foot! So I'll likely be pushing some snow tomorrow and I will be sure to check the oil frequently just to see if the level changes at all when it gets warm from doing work. Anyone have any idea why the manual would only say the dry fill capacity when the instructions are for changing the freaking oil? That is just stupid and annoying. I suppose if I knew my stuff I woulda known better but jeez 5 gallons? Give me some kinda warning JD! Thanks again all for replies.... I'll check back here every now and then just in case someone has any more insights about maintaining this machine......