Hello, i have just recently purchased a 1987 Cat D5H. And after a little over an hour of running the machine the powershift transmission oil fault light comes on. There is also a trans. oil temp guage and when the needle gets a little above 1/2 way the trans. oil light starts flashing. The oil temp guage is still in the green and hasn't gotten into the red yet, but i am not sure what is causing this problem. I can stop the machine and put it into neutral and slow down the rpms and run it for a little while and the light will go off and the gauge will drop to about 1/2 way. But then i start working again and shortly the oil temp light will come back on. I am not very familar with this dozer and any help would be greatly apprecitated.. Does anyone know what could be causing this problem. thanks Mike
Clean your trans cooler very well. Make sure not to bend the fins when you do this. Also, change the hydraulic filters. The machine does have the proper level of fluid, correct?
Trans oil temp rising Hi, i had 1 d6h dozer with a similar problem. After checking the transmission pressures, it was found that the torque convertor inlet pressure was practically zero. This was due to a cracked metallic tube in the transmission case which supplies oil to torq conv inlet. This rise in temp is also accompanied with oil fumes at transmission breather. Find out if any such observations are found on your dozer. Since the torque convertor supplies engine power to the transmission by hydraulic means, it gets hot quickly, and is always pressurised through positive pressure at its inlet. Its outlet is connected to the transmission cooler. If you find that there is no flow/ restricted flow from torq convertor outlet to the transmission oil cooler then you surely ought to check the transmission pressures. Please check these and get back to me, wether it solved the problem.
Same Problem on D4H I have had this same problem on a D4H. Changing the Transmission Filter solved it. This is where I would start. It will be under the floor pan where you place your feet. When you take the Floor Pan up you will see a round plate with about 8 bolts on top of a long tube. Remove them and the filter is inside. Since this Dozer is over 20 Years Old you might want to go ahead and drain the fluid and replace it. Cat makes a cleanout filter also. You put it in place of the filter and it helps clean the fluid. WARNING: lol THE CLEANOUT FILTER IS NOT TO RUN ALL THE TIME. Sorry for the all caps but that is very important. After running the cleanout filter the recommended time you pull it out and replace it with a regular filter. BTW the reason for a cleanout filter is to clean the fluild that is left in the lines etc when draining the transmission. Hope that helps. If not, keep us posted.
Ok i will check everything that you all have told me. The Powershift trans also doesn't seem to shift out of forward into reverse very well. I have to work the lever back and forth from foward to reverse to get it to shift into reverse and i have been pushing in foward. It seems if i shift out of forward and all the way into 3rd reverse gear and then back to 1st reverse gear it helps it to shift into reverse. It does it even when the machine is first started and cold oil. What could be causing this problem also. thanks for all the info guys i really appreciate your help. Mike
yes flashpuppy i filled up the trans oil with cat 30weight oil. but i didn't check the trans filter. mike
Hey does anyone know of a less expensive trans oil that i could buy rather than the Cat 30weight that Cat sold me for $81 for a 5 gallon? Or is it better to use the Cat oil? thanks Mike
Mobil and Chevron make good oil. Be sure it meets the same standards that are on that bucket of Cat oil you bought. Just for your information, when I worked at CAT, Mobil supplied Cats oil, I suppose it is still that way. Change the filter and see if it helps.If the cooler is clean and it is still running hot, it is time for checking some pressures and finding where the loss of fluid is. I also would change the oil in the transmission, but would wait until you find the problem so you dont end up possibly draining it again. Have fun.
would a dirty trans. oil filter be causing the powershift transmission to be not shifting right as i stated in post #5? The Powershift trans also doesn't seem to shift out of forward into reverse very well. I have to work the lever back and forth from foward to reverse to get it to shift into reverse and i have been pushing in foward. It seems if i shift out of forward and all the way into 3rd reverse gear and then back to 1st reverse gear it helps it to shift into reverse. It does it even when the machine is first started and cold oil. What could be causing this problem also. thanks for all the info guys i really appreciate your help. Mike
You might want to check the shift linkage. On older machines the bellcranks and all that stuff gets worn. The console where the shift lever is will usually be well rubbed into and the lever will have a groove from rubbing the console if it has been going on very long. The transmission valve can also be full of contaminants that cause the spools to not move freely, which will cause headaches when trying to make a shift.
ok i will check everything you all have told me.. If you guys get anymore ideas.. just pass them my way .. thanks mike
With most D4H / D5H & D6H machine I have to deal with the following may be of use. Trans temp light comes on at 130 deg C (264 deg F), the temp gage needle would be right over to the right of the gage. Does the action alarm sound or just the EMS light & action light? If the alarm sounds you should also get trans filter bypass light coming on. With the temp light coming on & trans temp only reading just over half way I would suggest gage is reading low or trans temp light switch reading high. As far as sluggish shifts what I have found in the past as something to look at first is too old oil that has thickened & takes too long to work its way through control valve. If you know how old oil is disregard this. G’Day from Australia.
hello Fred, the trans oil temp light in the upper right hand corner of the ems board comes on and flashes and the big 1" diameter red fault light flashes but no alarm horn is heard. thanks Mike
Re: CAT trans oil Caterpillar fluids ARE worth the money-try CAT TMS in the transmission-long drain intervals and multi-season viscosity.
thanks phil. mike
G’Day Michael, yep the upper right EMS light is for trans temp. Here is a copy & paste from the OMM “Torque Converter Oil Temperature (2) - Indicates the temperature of the torque converter oil. The maximum operating temperature is 130°C (265°F). If the engine coolant or torque converter oil temperatures exceed maximum operating temperature, the respective indicator comes on and the fault light blinks.” So with this in mind your gauge should be right over when light goes off. There may be something else wrong with system but first up you need to make sure your indicators are electrically working correctly, if you lift floor plate & look into what we call the hell hole, you will see 2 electrical connections on the RH front, one will be going to the EMS trans temp switch (2 screw on wires) & the other will be trans temp gauge sender (one wire with a little nut on it). A quick check to see if temp gage is reading correctly is to swap 8N3844 trans temp sender (single wire) with hyd temp sender, same part number & see if at same temp on gage EMS light still comes on. The hyd temp sender is under cover on the front of the tank. A quick & easy lesson when dealing with non vented hyd tanks, loosen lid, what for pressure hissing to stop, tighten cab & remove sender quickly put in sender from trans. Doing it this way there will be a slight vacuum in tank & less mess. One step at a time & you should sort issue. Start with easiest, cheapest option first.
Caterpillar fluids ARE Mobil fluids. My dad works at ExxonMobil, he's been there for forty years. Mobil has been bottling Cat's fluids for years. Call up some of the bulk oil suppliers in the area. You would be surprised what type of prices you can find. I think we pay around $8 a gallon for trans fluid.....
thanks guys for all the info. I have changed the trans. filter and cleaned the screen and also changed all of the trans fluid. This didn't fix my problem. I found the problem on the trans. not wanting to shift into reverse, it was the linkage. I got that fixed. So any new ideas on the trans. oil temp light coming on. So to refresh my problem. The Trans. oil temp light on the EMS board will flash and the big red 1" fault light will also start to flash, but the horn doesn't sound. The trans. temp guage will read just above half way when the lights start to flash. The guage never has gotten over to the red but if i keep running the machine with the lights flashing, the needle on the guage will get fairly close to the red. any info is very appreciated. thanks.
I have a D4H and I am having the same problem. What is your water temp? Mine is running about 210 after running for a couple of hours.
Hello Kendall.. My water temp runs just below or right at 200 degrees on these hot days.. But i have found out the trans temp light will come on if i run the motor at a higher rpm. The water temp can be at 170 degrees like early in the morning when its cool but if i run the throttle at like 3/4 the trans oil light will come on and the guage will rise even if the water temp is at 170 degrees. But if i run the trottle just above idle the trans oil light wont come on and the trans temp guage needle is way below half way. When the trans oil light does come on, I can stop the machine and set at idle in neutral and wait for a little while and the guage will drop below half way and the light will go out. If i keep working the machine the light will stay on and the guage will rise to about an 1/8 of an inch away from the red line. It never has gotten into the red but i am new to this machine and i don't want to mess anything up. I really would like to get this problem solved so i can pull the throttle back and really work the machine without the oil temp light coming on. If anyone has got any suggestions it would really help out. Thanks guys
Just another quick question. is there another trans screen that i missed besides the one that i cleaned out or anything else that i might have missed besides the trans filter and the metal screen that i cleaned. Also on this d5h the trans oil doesn't flow through the radiator. there is a cooler that sits on the left side of the motor. the trans lines hooks to it along with the radiator coolant lines.
Another quick question... I have been running the dozer most of the day and the water temp is staying around 170 degrees... The trans temp light has been on and the gauge is reading up close to the red line... Shouldn't the water temp be higher than 170 degrees since the trans. oil runs through the cooler along with the antifreeze.. Wouldn't the hot oil that is running through the cooler be also heating up the antifreeze also? thanks guys
G’Day Michael, with what you have said there about T-Con gage being near the red & light on, this tells me that light & gage seems to be working fairly correctly. If you are working in 1st gear when this is happening & T-Con isn’t in stall conditions I would suggest you do the following. • Get T-Con outlet relief valve pressure checked, spring can become weak & allow lower pressure which can cause overheat. • While getting this checked double check your gage against a master gage just to make sure. • There is a screen in the bottom of the T-Con on the suction line that goes to the trans pump, check this. • Before checking screen above, do a T-Con stall in 3rd gear with foot on brake till temp comes up, let idle for 30 seconds or so, shut of engine, remove hose & drain T-Con into a bucket. There shouldn’t be a lot of oil, rule of thumb 2 litres max. if more T-Con seals are leaking causing it to flood & generate heat.
Hello, fred... when you say before checking t-con screen i need to do a stall in 3rd gear with foot on brake until temp comes up.. How much should i let the temp come up? Hey Fred do you have an instant messenger where i can just IM you and talk without having to go through these threads? thanks
d5h with similar problem i have d5h with similar problem this is what i found out.... the engine was lugging really bad and torque heat problem and when torque got hot left steer clutch would start to chatter started checking pressures tc inlet pressure was good outlet relief was way low took it apart and found that there was no spool in the valve??? got new spool and set pressure fixed lugging problem still had heat problem kept digging and today i found that the steel line in clutch case that goes to tc is broken so out comes left final drive tommorrow also drained tc case while hot got pretty close to gallon out of there but friend mine at cat said that was bout normal for older tractor
also cut trans filter open it was clean could the torque conv been damaged from operating it like this the spool gone in the outlet relief had been that way a long times the bolt holding it on were covered by dirt had dig them out to take them and i dont know how long the privious owner operated the tractor like this not to mention the broken steel line for the inlet
need some info on swaging the line back in