2003 John Deere 260 series 2 23000 hrs I'm not sure but I think I have an issue with my parking brake. If the brake is engaged and the control levers are pushed or even touched it will make an awful noise and kill the engine. I'm unable to get them back to "neutral" to stop the brake from killing the engine. Is there some type of adjustment I need to make or maybe something needs a little greasing? Thanks.
I just finished working on a 280B that had blown piston seals in the brakes. It has just over 2000 HRS. A case drain check will tell if you have lost one of the seals. Of course you should check that there is oil coming out of park brake solenoid with a Tee-Tap to make sure oil is going into the brake pistons. In case you didnt know, some parts may no longer be available from the dealers on a machine this old. That is what happened to the machine I was working on. Simon C
Were you able to fix it or was it a lost cause?
Worth more than the machine was worth in Parts. Probably selling it as a parts machine. The park brake solenoid alone costed him $800 Can. Then I came to check with gauges and oil leaking straight past piston seals of brakes. Pumps and everything has to come out to fix. Complete assemblies were available for $ 37000 Can. Machine only worth $10000. If it is just the wiring or solenoid, maybe you can fix. Don't let anyone work on it that doesnt have tee-Taps and gauges. Guessing wont fix it. Simon C
I had mine at a John Deere dealer and they said everything was fine. I don't understand that, but I did figure out that if I make sure my drive was just slightly drifting forward or reverse and then just tap the lift or dump for the bucket, the drift would stop and I could engage the brake without causing the bad noise and killing the engine.
When the parking brake is applied on our John Deere 270 (1999 series 1, 7300h) and the control levers are touched or bumped slightly we have the same problem you are describing. It has done this since purchased 7 years ago. I prevent this from occurring by shutting down the engine whenever the parking brake is set and I am exiting the machine.
You might try bumping the bucket controls slightly. I think it actually releases the pressure on the drive hydraulics so that once the brake is applied it won't try to fall into gear and shut itself down. I may be wrong.
I can confirm the 200 series were like this brand new. Bumping the travel levers with the parking brake applied will cause a godawful racket and kill the engine in short order. However, the control levers should recenter pretty quickly. There are several joints in the steering linkages that may be at least partially seized.
Thanks, great info!
A little more on this problem. I have had John Deere check it twice and they tell me they don't see a problem and that's "just the way those old 260s are." That doesn't seem right. I have found that as I use it more I notice that the left drive stays very slightly in "gear". Either forward or reverse. A true neutral is hard to find, but you can eventually get there if you are real careful and barely move the drive handle to find the neutral position. If I find the TRUE neutral, not the slightly drifting neutral that the machine can default to, then engage the brake and shut the skid steer off, there is no grinding noise and everything is fine. Also, I have found that as I use it and want to just ease forward or reverse, it wants to jump into gear and can start bucking as you try to make some delicate moves. This makes me think that I have a very narrow window for neutral with he left drive handle. Is there a way to expand this "window" by adjustment? Is this a symptom of a failing drive mechanism? Seems like the John Deere techs would recognize this instead of just blowing smoke my way. I would like to fix this if I can.
Not normal. Some adjustments or parts replacement will be needed. Check your messages.