Hey guys, I've got a quick question. I have a 1984 943 track loader, S/N 31Y01360. I've owned it for right at 2 years now, and I've put maybe 300 hours on it. I've changed the hydrostat filter and fluid twice in that time period. It pushes strong, turns good, and is very responsive, except recently when you first fire it up, let it warm up, and then go to move the hydrostat lever forward or reverse, you have to cycle it two or three times before the machine will move. After you get her rolling, there's no stopping her! I'm just wondering if this is a symptom of a serious looming problem, or is it a simple fix? Thanks for looking and I hope somebody tells me some good news!
Throttle it down a bit and then try. Later Bob
I have a 84 943 that we had to put a transmission in, not a bad job but sure not cheap. anyway i have had hydro cats do what yours is doing for years, on alot of different machines and they have ran for thousands of hours without ever having any problems. it genrally seems to happen if one has set for longer than just over night, and i don't know exactly what it is, but i don't think it is a sign of a nearby major problem.
My 943 parts manual puts me onto a fire retardant hydraulic filter that is prone to collecting water from the system (which is good), but it slows the initial movement of the transmission. The solution was a non fire retardant filter, AND, a full oil change. My 963B had the same issue. Change the oil and use a different filter.
The optional fire retardant filter is supposed to be only used when the system is filled with fire-retardant (glycol-based) hydraulic fluid, typically this would be a machine working underground. I've never heard of that same filter being used in systems using mineral oil. You did the right thing to switch filters.
Thanks, guys. I don't know about the filter... I just bought what it called for at the Cat house.