Hi All, Thanks to all that have been helping on a different thread regarding this same machine. It's a US 217 s3, SN 47xxxx, 1998, purchased at an auction. It seems to have relatively low hours, but also doesn't seem like it was serviced much. Anyway, an issue it has is the brakes groan substantially, more from the left than the right but still. Reading the service manual brake debugging section, it seems there could be a combination of low axle oil level, and also worn out friction disks (4 metal and three fiber). It does sound a little metal on metal at times, especially on the left, so the plates might be shot. Thus, I'm gearing up for a brake job. Has anyone out there done one and can offer any tips? I'm presuming I need to get the right number of plates for each side, and some seals. Anything else? I have an engine hoist I can use as a picker to pull off the hubs and axle housing. Any reason that wouldn't work? They recommend pulling the whole axle, but I'd rather not since I have to do it in the field. Also, can anyone explain the transmission controls/dump? Among other things, it seems that if I want to go backwards with a load, I need to keep my foot on the brake pedal just enough to engage some switch or it dumps out. Also, forward, when say pushing into a dirt pile, I lose RPMs and subsequently power (to push and lift), which I believe is related to a mal-adjusted turbo booster. I'm looking into that, but any ideas would be appreciated. There is also a transmission dump button on the side of the front end loader control stick, which seems to work just fine in dumping (at which point the load drops off, the RPM's come up, and the turbo boost no doubt kicks in). The problem is I can't get a full bucket since I can't push in far enough. Thanks in advance!
Before tearing into the brakes try changing the rear axle oil. JCB's take a special gear oil with a friction modifier in it. That oil should be changed every 500 hours or as brake noise is heard. As far as the trans i think you need to put a pressure gage and see what it it doing when it drops out. Hope this helps Jim.
I worked for a JCB dealer the the noise you here was a term called end grunt just as the machine was to stop the noise would be herd. The factory told us to drain axle oil which i guess is black in color based on it should be changed every 1000 hrs. Refill axle with 46 grade hyd oil to level get machine up on its jack legs and engage 2nd run the axle slowly applying the brakes on and off for at least 15 mins . Hydraulic oil is a detergent type of oil and if you think anywhere you have a leak in the hyd system its always nice and clean. drop the oil out and refill the axle with the correct grade if JCB it will be jcb special gear oil plus for wet brakes . Try that first and see if this helps it often did. the dirt builds between the plates causing the noise.
Update: I drained the diff, which was quite black and smelly. The magnetic drain plug had some bits of metal clinging to it, which were pretty ground up and irregular. Would it be useful to post a picture? I am presuming they came from the brake disks in some way. Anyway, I refilled it with NAPA's equivalent gear oil (same spec's as JCB manual recommends). It takes about 4+ gallons, was about $80 for a pail. I didn't bother with the flush. Anyway, brakes work fine and noise is gone. Thanks!
On the tranny and lack of "pushing" power, a few things: 1) We determined with certainty that the 4wd drops out if you don't keep the brake pedal slightly depressed. Obviously there is a switch, and it's disengaging something. Why is this? Is there an over-ride? 2) I'm going to hook up gauges to the tranny. Are they any particular measurement portals I should look at? I'm also going to put a boost gauge on it. 3) It occurred to me that the turbo waste gate may be cutting out too soon and thus is also affecting the pump boost. Any thoughts on that?