Have a cat telehandler and it has no drive in forward or reverse . Happened once and I left it for a couple of hours and then it worked , but the inching brake took longer than usual to re-engage the trans . Now it has nothing . The manuals are the worst joke I've ever seen . I am presuming there is something stuck in a valve - allowing the oil circuit from the inching brake or the clutch actuator solenoids to bypass the oil . Anyone with similar experience or recommendations ?? HELP !!
Well , I went out today and fired up my telehandler . Slipped it into gear and away it went . I tried it 3 or 4 times the last few weeks and it had nothing . Drove it to my shop and will check it out better now .
Might the inching brake linkage mechanism benefit from a bit of lubrication..?
I did check to make sure it was retracting all the way and it was . It is quite accessable under the dash . I moved snow for 2 hours yesterday and it worked flawlessly. It does control oil flow so the inside should be lubed . The only variable I see is the temp - it was -20c and colder when I tried it before and new its plus temps celcius .
What oil viscosity is in it right now..? Maybe the oil is a bit heavy viscosity-wise for really cold temperatures.
I did not change it when I bought it , last year , so I don't know . I ordered a trans filter and am going to change it on Saturday . The guy I bought it from had it 15 years and used it in winter all the time . He said he changed it when he bought it , but does not remember what he put in . It has only occasional use - he is in construction . I am using it on my farm , and built one shop last fall and am planning on a large metal building this summer .
Was the previous owner reasonably local to your current location or did the machine come to you from a more temperate climate..? Found the manual in the Cat system. For your climate the correct transmission oil would be an SAE10W meeting Cat TO-4 Specification. That would be good down to -20DegC ambient on startup. You might find the need to warm up the transmission oil system in order to get good response when the ambient temps are really low. The other downside is that once ambient temps go above zero you need an SAE30 TO-4 oil. The words rock & hard place come to mind - a 50/50 mixture of SAE10W & SAE30 (which would equate to an SAE20) might be a good compromise. Theoretically that would give you an ambient temp range from -15 to +30 DegC.
I am changing it this morning . I am using a tdto-4 ( transmission and drive train oil ) 10-w30 semi synthetic blend . Cat uses a high zinc oil , and this tdto-4 meets that requirement . Am also changing the filter and the manual says there is a screen or strainer as well . we'll see what comes out .
A 10W-30 should give you the benefits at both ends of the ambient temperature range. Anything interesting that comes out of the screen, make sure to take photos.
So , I changed the oil today . Checking the dipstick the oil looked perfect . Pulled the drain plug and WOW !! Milkshake . Obvioulsy water in my oil . Checked the rad and the coolant was clean and pure . pulled the strainer and there was almost no metal , also the 2 magnetic drain plugs were almost clean . cut open the oil filter and there was no particles in the pleating . Tdto is honey colored just like most engine oils . Installed new filter and oil and away we go . Checked the breather and it was good . Only thing I can figure is when i bought it last year I washed the crap out of it to get off the years of oil residue and stuck on dirt . The dipstick/fill pipe drops out of the trans and curved forward and then swoops back up. The dipstick is short -only about a foot long. So its like a big "u" . Funny the oil did not mix in the tube and the trans . So , I'm pretty sure my oil solenoids were actually frozen . I have pics , but no skill to post them . If I could email them to you , you could post them for me . Thanks
To post photos, just click on the "Upload a File" button below the box where you write the text for a post. Tell your computer where to look, and Bob's your father's brother ......
Lost a month of emails that had my pics in . Will get new pics the weekend