Last Friday, the shuttle-shift transmission on my TLB started slipping slightly in forward gear and developed a noticeable delay when shifting from reverse to forward. I was backfilling heavy clay around a new swimming pool for a relative and put more than seven hours on the machine in 90°F weather. The transmission temperature ran higher than normal, but it never got more than slightly above the halfway mark on the gauge. When I got home, I noticed a heavy transmission fluid leak on the barn floor. The fluid level on the dipstick was below the low mark, so I added 2.5 quarts of Hy-Tran. Yesterday afternoon, I had a small job to do and started the machine. Before moving it, I noticed a drip about every five seconds coming from inside the yoke area of the front driveshaft. I ran the machine for approximately 30 minutes, and the transmission performed perfectly with no slipping or shift delays. After parking it back in the barn, there was no visible leak and the transmission fluid level was full. I'm hoping the issue was simply the result of working the machine hard for seven continuous hours on a hot day. However, with 8,100 hours on the meter, I'm realistic enough to know that a transmission rebuild or replacement could be in my future. I bought this TLB as a trade-in from my local Case dealer. They originally sold the machine new and serviced it throughout its life. Their records indicate that it still has the original transmission and torque converter. Friday was probably the longest continuous period I've ever used the machine primarily as a loader during my seven years and roughly 1,800 hours of ownership. I use the backhoe about 80% of the time, so the transmission rarely sees sustained heavy loading. I changed the transmission fluid and filter last year. Interestingly, after adding only 14 quarts of Hy-Tran, the fluid level showed high on the dipstick, even though the stated refill capacity is 15.2 quarts. I verified that the dipstick was the correct length and consulted the Case service manager. He told me this was fairly common and advised me to use the dipstick reading as the guide, so I removed a little over a quart of fluid. Does anyone have advice on what I should check before assuming the transmission is failing? My busy season runs from September through early December, so if a transmission replacement is in my future, I'd rather address it now than have a failure during my peak workload.
I worked it for an hour yesterday with no transmission leak, but it was all backhoe. I have a job in a couple weeks that will require several hours of loader work. I'll keep a close eye on the temp.
You are checking oil level with engine idling? That's alot of oil to add - without an obvious leak?? Oil cooler / radiator clear? You can't really tell without seperating the cores. Grass gets in between them.
Thanks alrman. Yes, checking the oil with the engine idling. The oil was really coming out after I unloaded it Friday and put it in the barn, but I didn't crawl under it and identify the source. After the small job Monday, I did identify the drip as coming from inside the yoke area of the front driveshaft. I know the shaft is hollow and there's an o-ring and washer. My plan was to drop the drive shaft for the front differential and replace the o-ring but the leak stopped. I'll check the trans cooler for debris but I think the cooler is in front of the radiator on the 580M. I had the radiator off a couple years ago for a leak repair and didn't have any debris then but checking the cooler is an obvious box to check. I've only had the concrete floor in my barn for a couple weeks, so the leak is noticeable now where it wasn't before. It could have been leaking unnoticed on the dirt. What are your thoughts on shuttle transmission life for these machines? Mine has 8100 hours but I believe in repairing and keeping otherwise good machines. I've had my eye out for a series 1 super M with extend-a-hoe with lower hours. I really wanted a 590SM or SN but decided that renting an excavator occasionally along with the 850D dozer I just bought will take some of the land clearing load off the TLB.