8cr03868. I am a very new to owning my own machines grew up on farm tractors so I am no "heavy machine" mechanic but I do my own care due to rates these days of mechanics. Anyways past to the loader is it was well maintained through Michigan cat for most of its operating years . Once newer machines came into the company that I purchased from it started its neglected years. The world of caterpillar information is damn near impossible to even find a simple hydraulic diagram. as many of you know. but when I purchased it all fluids where changed early then there interval just so I could start fresh. there was a leak from the transmission line that went up to a steering box type deal that also had hydraulic lines on it ? that's how little I knew about the machine it was a surprise. My "sister" company asked to borrow the machine for moving pump down the road through out the day I agreed unfortunetly. Got to job next day and started it up not checking fluid usualy will after warm up I checked before I left previous day. when down the road 1 through 4 and about 1 mile and noticed trans was warmer then usual and noticed my fuel was down to quarter .( they used it to load about 12 trains with bad soils) . stopped no fluid on glass. put 5 gallons of all purpose hydraulic to get it to a safe spot to park and do oil change it continued to over heat and actually poured out of breather on top I assume it was the breather. I bough a cat repair kit for it and resealed it no leak . filled with cat todo seemed to feel great then would creep up and get hot . Had to use the machine like that for few months . got little extra money to get to it and noticed a leak from a allen head plug on the shift module pulled plug cleaned spring and new o ring. cleaned out radiator repeatedly. and pulled strainer and magnet which where surprisingly very clean. changed filter and filled up again . now it seems as if it will stay at about half for few hours then goes up and wont go back under half and gets hot fast and easy. example being I went from start of day used 1st mainly and cleared a whole staging area moved 100 yards of dirt and 60 yards of stone and 150 yards of stone in loose sandy ground. never needing to exede half to 3?4 throttle and stayed just a hair under half way. then later in day loader commute from site to staging is about 2.5 miles staying in 3rd for most of drive time it would start to go up and then never get back down travel would go up to just under red and sit there creep a little into red then back down to just below. if I let machine sit and idle it will cool down but never under the hair above half if shut down it will cool way down but still heat up after short period...... so that's the story. what I have done is checked all fluids, strainers, filters, and fixed noticeable leaks machines always dry underneath now . checked both axles front was about 1 gallon low filled rear good . put new breather on. cleaned radiator with air. ..... other things to use in diagnosing would be I physically touched inlet trans cooler line and was warm but could hold metal line for min of 6 seconds. exit transline is very cool to touch. when machine does get warm it feels like it is under load like I'm pulling something doesn't change in neutral if it would idk? fluid in site glass is crystal clear but right when stop after hot trip turns kind of light brownish then clear up. checked that the brake (clutch) was not sticking and override switch worked. I do not have the money to buy a shop manual to even figure out a damn schematic to check sensors or hose routing. I also noticed couple teeth broke from water pump belt so replaced with 34 inch belt not cat seems to still be loose to me but the tensioner is maxed to the bolt . I think best improvement I think was the new belt seemd to keep it cooler longer but idk its been a repeat headache and I'm at a loss. if anyone has the time and patience to go throught this and wouldn't mind teaching a new dog some tricks I would be grateful thanks again
It sounds to me as though an investment in an Operation & Maintenance (O&M) Manual might be a good idea. You can download them from the internet for $45 - nothing's free these days. If you want a copy I can guide you through the process. Power train oil Cat TDTO SAE30..? Are you aware that transmission oil level should be checked with oil warm and engine idling in neutral..? It should be in the middle of the sight glass. (A rough guide for safe starting is that the oil level should be at or out of the top end of the sight glass with the engine stopped and the oil cold.) If the water pump belt tensioner is at full extension and a new non-Cat belt is still not tight it would appear that the belt you installed is too long. Cat P/N is 061-8384 which is a 1/2" belt x 33.5" long. Have you checked the pulleys for wear.? Is the belt sitting at the correct height in the pulley and not touching the bottom of the grooves..? Here's the SysOp for the Power Train, but for some reason I can't get the photos to print. I'll work on that. It does have a PT hydraulic schematic though.
I do have operators maintenance manual I have looked over it for answers and did do the check list it says to do . Yes the fluid is straight from cat for machine by serial not sure it that is 30 w but It is the tdto . The fluid does sit at top.of glass cold and half way when warm and is still clean (clear) after 2 weeks of operation . I called cat to get size of belt and part guy told me 34 by 1/2 assuming he rounded up because he is just a part guy . So I will be making a trip to cat today to get correct belt and see where we are from there . Belt sits flush on pulley not does not go all the way into groove . I will keep updated after new belt thank you for your time
Regarding the belt there were two Part Numbers listed for your Serial Number depending on which resource I looked at. One was 34”, the other 33.5”. You had a 34” belt already and the tensioner was fully adjusted so I gave you the Part Number for the 33.5”.
alright I argued with Michigan cat sales guy and got the 33.5 he said was not the size (not very smart) got to the loader the tensioner pulley seemed loose found both bolts stripped . tapped the holes out bought brand new bolts from cat with washers reassembled everything good and tight. started the machine drove for about 5 miles at about 22 mph trans temp didn't go above first mark. next day put the machine to work again. loaded 5 15 yard trucks with sand and operated in second gear also using 1st kickdown button and temp never reached 1/2 on gauge. there is a noticeable difference in operating power and response during over 10 mph road travel also feels smoother. 100 degrees high humiditiy road clearing sand/gravel/leveling machine got a hair over half no higher. about about 7 hrs of runtime starts to want to get up in the heat again 3/4 holding. 20 mph feels like dragging and rear fan seemed loud? maybe because it was constantly cycling on higher speed cause of heat issue? fluid level is perfect belt still Is tight. previous day added about a qt of coolant to get it to top of sight glass while trans was hot I looked at sight glass should I be able to see the fluid cycling throught that glass cause it was not . operators manual says to replace thermostat?
So it was fine for 7 hours in 100 Deg weather before it started showing signs of getting hot.? I don’t think that has anything to do with the thermostat. You will not see oil moving in the transmission tank sight glass. In fact if you could see movement it might be a sign of problems. My next step would be to carry out a thorough pressure wash of the radiator. How high does the engine coolant temperature get when the transmission temperature starts to get high.?
Did a cleaning of radiator. Brake fluid light flashes for second when applying brake also. Coolant stays low hydraulic stays low turns goes up . Is there a sensor that would go on when trans gets hot that would reduce power or cause "drag" feeling from machine
Brake fluid light..? Are you sure you don't mean brake pressure warning light (#3)..? If the answer is yes then it sounds as though you have a brake problem, which could contribute to the transmission heating up. The first likely possibility is that the brake accumulator charge could be on the low side. I thought you said you had an operator manual. The function of all the warning lights are clearly explained in it.
Yes I do have the operators manual. It will flash when pushing g the brake. This does need fixed so guess I will start there replace parts or repair for the accumulator charge?
To check the accumulator precharge pressure will require special tools (nitrogen charging kit) and a cylinder of nitrogen. Not a job for the DIY enthusiast. But it really needs the brakes sorting before moving forward regarding the transmission Do you have anyone you can turn to that could do the job for you.? The procedure is attached.
If this machine is similar to most of the Cat front end loaders low accumulator pressure will cause the brake light to come on when applying the brakes. Did you read the owners manual? Seems most give a simple "no tools" way to check the accumulator. It's is usually a simple matter of running at high idle for a period of time the shut off the engine and with key on count how many applications you get before "Low Pressure" light comes on. It won't tell you the actual charge pressure but if light come on too soon you know its low. Believe on most it's something like five or six applications.
While not a real test of the accumulator charge pressure here is on test that gives you the ballpark assuming the charge valve and pressure switch are working. They are doing this with a gauge installed but if you go to step "5" you will see that a fully charged accumulator should give you at least six applications before the warning indicator come on. Start the engine. Allow the accumulators to fully charge to the cut-out pressure. The pressure gauge should read 14134 ± 1034 kPa (2050 ± 150 psi) for the following serial numbers: (6XR1826-UP7SR1200-UP8CR2047-UP9AR600-UP). The pressure gauge should read 15000 ± 700 kPa (2175 ± 100 psi) for the following serial numbers: (6XR1-18257SR1-11998CR1-20469AR1-599). When the accumulators are fully charged and the hydraulic oil pressure has reached the cut-out pressure, stop the engine. 2. Record the cut-out pressure. If the cut-out pressure for the accumulator was not within specifications, then replace the accumulator charging valve. 3. Turn the engine start switch to the RUN position but do not start the engine. 4. Depress the service brake pedal. Pause briefly before you depress the brake pedal again. The pressure should drop. Continue to depress the brake pedal. Document the depressions to the brake pedal. The pressure should continue to slowly drop with each depression of the pedal. 5. When the hydraulic oil pressure is below the cut-in pressure, the low brake pressure indicator on the dash should activate. You should have depressed the brake pedal at least six times. This will indicate if the switch for low brake pressure is operational. While doing this with out the proper gauge set up will not let you pin-point the exact cause it can at least confirm that there is a problem that needs addressing. Whether it be low nitrogen in accumulator, low pump cut-out pressure or even just a bad sensor giving a false indication. From my experience over the years on everything from 988 87A's up to 980K front end loaders my first guess would be low accumulator charge. That could be something as simple as a leaking little valve that looks like the tire valve on your car or a major seal failure inside the accumulator.
Had a little trouble with the formating of that last post hope it still make sense! Some extra "1." s got in there!