Here is the deal on my John Deere 230C LC. One track operates fine. The other track operates at about 50% of the other's power. When you lift the weaker side up in the air, it spins but slower than the other. When you are on the ground and try to spin the weak side, you can here what sounds to be grinding coming from the final drive. The track looks too tight. What do you guys think? I am worried worst case I need a new final. Thanks in advance.
Remove the oil drain plug on the planetary hub and see what the oil looks like.
Have you been working in sticky clay ? It can get into the chains and get packed in by the sprockets . It will make the track extremely tight and produce some very bad noises from the links while they are grinding over the sprocket teeth . It will also make the track hard to turn .
slight improvement I added some slack back into the track, it was way too tight. The sharp grinding sound is gone, but one track definately tracks quicker than the other. The weak side in rabbit looks the stronger side in turtle.
checking the fluid pressure I was going to pull the case drain and see if there is a difference between the weak and strong side. Then I guess we check the pressure coming from the pump on both sides and compare the PSI to rule out a pump issue. Any suggestions on how to rig up a meter to test pressure coming from the pump ?
To repeat what ATCO said, you can very quickly check the final drives by pulling the drain plug on the gearbox case (not the hydraulic case drain). Let a little oil drain out over your finger tips and replace the plug. Metal bits will be very obvious if present when you rub your fingers together.
I'd be careful not to run it much more than necessary before you make the diagnosis, BIGJOE. If there's a planetary gear out, it's gonna be ugly inside. If you catch it early, you shouldn't be in bad shape. Check the oil for metal shavings first as said earlier, and if need be, pop the cover and look over the situation. It's not bad as long as nothing's busted up yet. I've seen guys force them once they jam up, and explode the entire final drive case...then it's crying time.:crying
No metal shavings in the oil. Could this be a hydraulic flow problem? Is that typical? Machine has 3,100 hours on it.
You said your track looked tight , did you check for clay/dirt packed into the chain ?
I already loosen up up the tracks a bit. Track is clear of dirt right now. It is not making the screeching it was when they were real tight. But the problem of one track going faster than the other still exists. Any ideas?
had a similar problem with the 315 cat i run at work, one side pulls alot slower than the other, thought maybe tram motor was going out, but that has been over a year and 2000 hrs ago...still going...so i dunno
If you change modes does it ever travel straight? Have any of your other functions slowed down? If you change modes and find a mode your machine travels straight you need to determine why one side is not changing. If you notice the speed of another function is slow you have a flow problem either from poor pump performance or control valve problems.
does it on both rabbit and turtle
No metal in the oil's a good sign. Next thing I'd look at is flow rate to the slower drive motor.
When I put the machine on rabbit, the slower track speeds up but still half the speed of the other track which is operating fine. I think I should check the flow rate. How would I meter the flow rate? Any quick setups or am I going to have to build my own rig?
Have you tested the case drain on the weak motor? That's the first thing I'd do.
Case Drain looks very similar.
Are you saying you took the case drain loose from both motors and the flow from the fitting on the motors look the same?
exactly
Well, that is generally an indication the motor is good. Does the machine use a double pump? If so, are there any other boom functions that are slow? And I always check the drive lever controls. I've seen dirt accumulate under them that restricts how far the pilot valve actuates which affects the speed of the drive motor. Just a couple of thoughts.
This may be hard to do , can you mark the hoses on the distributor block and swap them around ? IE. can you undo the 6 hoses and swap 3 from one motor to the other side and vise versa . If they have a little slack you should be able to do this . If the motor is still weak , it must be the motor at fault . Be carefull if you do this as the levers will be reversed .
Are your motor cals close?
Do a simple pump pressure sensor swap or you can even swap the connectors from PD4 to PD5. Try this and then track the machine straight. If your right track slows down then you know you have a bad P sensors if not then there maybe other problems. This simple check does a couple of things, it checks your harness, controller and your sensor. Try this first before you do anything else and report back here with your findings.
I have some new information. When you pull the lever to move the weaker side track, the weaker side track makes this tick, tick tick, noise from inside the final drive area and the sprocket will hesitate as if it does not have the power to move. When it is making this sound, you can see the sprocket trying to turn but does not have the power to turn. This only happens when you have some resistance on the direction of travel like an incline. On flat ground it walks with the other track but like I was saying before, at 50% the speed of the other side. What do you guys think ?
Sounds like valve plate lift off. Could be a relief, but the noise is concerning. You are going to need to verify pressure first. Is this in both directions?
Yes, it happens in both directions. How do I swap the sensors? Where are they located?
Check your cycle times
Sensors are located on the bottom of the pumps on this machine. I am not sure you have a pump issue though. Cycle times will verify pump performance. Pull the hydraulic tank filter and look for metal, most likely brass if you have a pump/motor is failing. I know you said you pulled the case drain lines, but I am concerned with the motor.
Never hurts to rule the pump out though.
Swapping sensor connectors will tell us a lot about the pumps.
I always say follow the oil. After reading what you've done already I'd recommend checking the flows and pressures from the pump to the main valve. If that checks within spec, then check from main valve to rotary joint. If that checks within spec, then check down at the travel motors. A grinding noise usually means bearings in the gearbox. If you eliminate the strain on the final it usually goes away. Once resistance is introduced again, it usually comes back. Is the gear oil topped off in the final drive? Was there a silverish hue to the gear oil? Are there any signs of leaks around where the sprocket mounts?
We had a 345CL acting up similar to this. We ended up pulling the internal filters from the tank and found a ton of brass. Turned out the slipers in the travel motor came apart.
A couple other things-I have seen propel brake pistons seized causing the motor to drag on brakes, have also seen propel hi-lo shift spool galled & hanging up not allowing proper swashplate angle for operating conditions.
where are the sensors located? I cant seem to find them.
Could this be a valve problem? In addition to that aweful sound coming from one of the tracks when you put a good load against it, the swing motor is making that same noise. When you swing into a large pile with the side of the bucket, instead of the typical noise, we get that loud grinding noise. The two have to be related !!
Maybe then , it's a cavitation noise coming from one pump or relief valve .
all other digging functions are normall, plenty of power, no unusal sounds. Just the swing and right side track.
One pump runs half of the machine , the other pump runs the other half . It was only a thought .
I kinda agree with ya Iron Horse, this is beginning to sound like a pump related problem. I might be a PITA to do, I have done it on some machines, but it would be nice if you could switch the pump hoses that feed the control valve body and see if that changes the swing and right drive noise.