I just recently completed a shuttle rebuild on my john deere 310c and I thought I would post some information that I learned during this process.This post is for people like me who have no mechanical experience with this type of project but possess some basic tools and some mechanical aptitude and I know that I would have appreciated reading a post like this when I started to research the possibility of doing the work myself. First of all you should have a service manual that shows disassembly/reassembly,torque and tolerance values. A shop manual for your specific model is highly recommended but if you don't want to buy one you can find a free pdf you can down load if you google Borgwarner shuttle transmission.You can also find a detailed exploded diagram with part #s on John Deere's web site under parts search.The Borgwarner pdf contains most of the information required to complete the rebuild but you would have to make sure that the torque and tolerance values match the shuttle in your hoe. Next you should have a caliper for measuring clearance and tolerances and a clip lock pliers for removing the type of clips that don't have any holes drilled in them for a standard type of clip remover.Both items are available on e-bay for under $30.00 ea. You will also need some type of press (I used my bench vise and a C clamp) to install the forward clutch cylinder/piston in the ring gear and drivers to set the bearings,any local machine shop can make drivers for a reasonable price or you can get creative and figure out an alternative.If you replace the needle bearing in the planetary housing you will need a pilot bearing puller with a slide hammer(for removal)which you can usually rent from a local auto parts store. You will also need a torque wrench. I had a cement floor to work on and I also have a rolling floor jack so I made a bracket that mounted on my jack and bolted to the shuttle(there are two bolt holes on the rear of the shuttle for that purpose) to aid in the removal and reinstall.I also removed the fill tube and clutch disconnect solenoid before I removed the shuttle to make it easier to drop. If you're going to do a complete rebuild you will be replacing all the bearings and the front brass bushing.Make sure you measure and take notes on the depth to which they are mounted in their housing and which end(they are different) is up before you remove them.Also take note of where the seam of the brass bushing is located in relation to the front cover when you remove it.The brass bushing will have to be bored out to no more than .002" larger than the shaft.Bring the front cover,the shaft and the bushing to a local machine shop and make certain they bore it perpendicular to the front cover with the seam in the correct place.I brought mine to a local auto parts store that had a machine shop in the back and they honed the bushing but(unknown to me at the time) it was not done perpendicular to the cover.When I tried to reassemble the case the shaft would bind up.I thought it was something I had assembled incorrectly so I tore everything back down and spent several hours trying to figure out what I had done wrong.After many hours of stressful head scratching I figured it had to be the bushing.So I ordered a new bushing and brought it to a different shop that bored it properly and the cover slid together like a dang. The trickiest part for me was inserting/aligning the shaft with the forward clutch hub into the ring gear with the forward clutch plates.I found that if you put the ring gear in a vise(I used a wood vise to prevent damage to the ring gear) up to the raised part on the ring gear and then wiggle and turn the shaft while putting slight downward pressure on the shaft it would drop slowly one ring at a time until it was seated.Do this before you install the bearing in the forward clutch cylinder to give you more wiggle room for the shaft.The rest of the reassembly is pretty straight forward. When reinstalling the shuttle you have to have the splines and drive tangs line up properly with the torque converter.To make this easier, before I had completely reassembled the shuttle I temporarily mounted the new charge pump to the front cover of the shuttle and then inserted that into the torque converter and spun the shuttle cover with attached pump so the bolt holes lined up then carefully removed it.I took care not to spin the pump during the final reassembly When I reinstalled the shuttle it slid on the converter nicely. With all the help and information you can get from forums like HEF this is a project that is definitely doable by the average guy and with a price of$2,500-$3,000 to have it done professionally it makes sense to at least try.
Great write up! Thank you.
Thanks JL.We all like to give a little back.I hope it helps someone avoid the problems I encountered.
Geminijo, I just moved my 310D int the shop and hope to pull the reverser sometime in the next week. The shop manual calls for removing the torque converter with the reverser. It sounds like you left the torque converter attached to the engine. Is this correct? Is there anything you would do differently? Thanks, John
I don't know the difference between my 310c and your 310d.With mine I did leave the TC attached to the motor ,and I had plenty of room to drop the reverser.I did remove the dip stick tube and the clutch disconnect solenoid to make removal easier.
Thanks. I think the C and D are pretty much the same when it comes to the Reverser. I'm headed out to get a transmission jack right now.
John,Make sure you have your backhoe lifted high enough so you can roll the reverser, attached to the jack, out from underneath the hoe.
Got it out ok. Of course the one bolt behind the solenoids was the one that took 90% of the time. I'm going out this morning to open it up and see what it look inside before I order parts. For anyone else with a 310D, I had to take the dipstick tube and solenoids off. There are different versions of the reverser with different solenoids so you may not have to take them off to get the bolt out.
I just opened up the reverser. The reverse clutch looked great, which worried me a bit since I lost reverse. However, when I pulled out the shaft from the forward gears about six pieces of the belville washer came out. Everything else look great. There was very little in the pan or filter. The belville washer has numerous cracks on the remaining unbroken section. I think I will just replace the washer as everything else looks good. The hoe only has about 400 hours on it an I only use it around home. I'm not looking forward to reinstalling it but I am glad that it appears to be a simple fix. I'll try to post some pictures later on. I need to track down a belville washer. JD only list a rebuilt reverser in their online parts catalog.
John, you may want to post your findings in another thread where there is more knowledgeable people that me.I'm not sure the belville spring is engaged when you are in reverse.You will find many posts where people have had broken belville springs but their reverse worked fine.Make sure you check the seals on the piston that engages the reverse disks/plates.
The washer is included with the seal kit, PN A502002. I just ordered one from reliable aftermarket parts. I found the washer itself on the case parts list, PN D50047, but I need some of the seals and gaskets. Below is a picture of the washer.
Thanks. I plan on replacing many of the seals since I have it apart. Regarding failure modes, according to a tech who used to work on these "the forward clutch bellville washer was the biggest offender and when it failed you could lose fwd or it could lock in fwd and bind up when you try to reverse. 90 percent I'll bet are dropped for that reason." In my case it locked in forward and would bind if I selected reverse. With the shifter in neutral it was still in forward. John
Sound like you might get this thing repaired without bleeding too badly When it comes to reinstalling the shuttle it works well to fit the shuttle's front cover, with charge pump attached,to the TC and line up holes then be careful not to move the pump splines during the rest of the shuttle reassembly.That worked very well for me.
Thanks. I think the reinstall may be the hardest part. I will be trying your method.
I am just finishing up putting the reverser back together. I purchased a seal kit, A502002, which included the bellville washer as well as several snap rings, in addition to numerous seals. I highly recommend that you get a copy of the service manual before rebuilding or repairing this transmission. There are several clearances that are specified in the manual that you would have no idea about without it. I needed some of the different thickness snap rings from the kit to obtain the correct tolerances. I still want to replace all the hydraulic radiator hoses before I reinstall the reverser. I also have to reinstall the repaired hydraulic reservoir for which I have a new suction line and O-ring seal coming tomorrow. I welded the leak around the return fitting and repainted the tank. Here is a photo of the forward clutch plates with the new bellville washer installed. Manual names and numbers: John Deere 300D 310D 315D Backhoe Loader Technical Manual PDF TM1496 John Deere 300D 310D 315D Backhoe Loaders Repair Technical Manual TM1497 I purchased these manuals from epcatalogs.com . They are PDF files. They cost me $40 each earlier this year and have been well worth the money. I also found the Case online part site helpful. Case also sells some piece parts the Deere does not. https://partstore.casece.com/us/parts-search.html#epc::mr54945ar338501
Today I replaced all six hydraulic radiator hoses, 4 are 1/2" and two are 5/8". Getting the hydraulic tank back in was a lot easier than getting it out. I rounded the edges of the tank near the top ans the frame at the top radiused part. I think doing this help significantly. The adapter I made for the jack to hold the reverser (see photo) worked very well and made installation fairly easy. The few minutes it took to make the bracket out of some scrap was well worth it. I added fluid and found no leaks. I took the backhoe out and drove it around in forward and reverse and everything seems to be working as it should with no leaks.. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed. When I first took the reverser out I had not removed the boot cowl just in from of the steering wheel/firewall. I had this off for reassembly and it made getting the reverser in much easier. I would recommend taking it off before removing the reverser.
This was a great write-up. I just went and ordered the full service manual,which is probably the only one I did not have. Late last year, I lost forward (though reverse was fine) and the fluid was half green and slimy. There were some clutch pieces as well. I replaced the filter and it was OK for a while. I just ended up dropping the reverser pan again, as it all seemed to happen again. This time,the screen was rather-clogged, but far more pieces of clutch plate this time. The oil looked like crap, though there were not a lot of hours on it since changing, and looked like there was still green crap in there. I am guessing that the reverser needs a rebuild now. I see complete kits that either have or not have a replacement charge pump. Do I likely need to buy the kit with the replacement pump? It is like $300+ more. And money is tighter. The only "tool" I do not have is a press (noted in OP). Can I get away with a HF press (they are on sale) for this? I am assuming this is for the bearings. This will be uncharted territory for me, but many of the ideas/pointers here ought to be quite helpful. What's the worst thing that can happen (LOL)?
Congrats on completing the whole rebuild on your own! I wasn't so adventurous and bought a rebuilt shuttle and TC for my 310C. All went together pretty well, but I do not get any rotation out of the reverser now. I know the unit did not take anywhere near the full 8.5quarts of fluid it is supposed to, only about 3 and it reads full on the dipstick. I'm 90% sure that the fluid is not getting pumped into the torque converter. Any ideas on why that would be blocked / airlocked or is there some "trick" not mentioned in the service manual. It only notes that the level will drop quick at startup and keep adding until it's at the full level. I tried overfilling a bit, drained a bunch out but still nothing. Any ideas on how to fill the TC? Thanks!
Welcome to HEF Bryan ! Does the oil level drop at all when you start it? If not, then I wonder if someone left the oil pickup screen off or, left the O-ring off the screen, when assembled. If the level drops, then unplug the solenoid on the reverser and see if it will move then.
Thanks for the tips! Does not drop at all. I did't look at pickup (since it was a fresh rebuild) but I'll make that check. I'm familiar with those parts from trying to get the old reverser to work on the cheap! I tried taking the solenoid off and pushing on the stub coming out in case the solenoid was bad (they switched types on me and sent me a used solenoid). The solenoid operates, but doesn't seem to have the spring strength to operate the shuttle (push in the button) but I could operate it manually and no effect, so the clutch cut out is not the immediate problem. Am I correct that the pump in the reverser is driven directly by the engine through the torque converter (straight mechanical connection whereas the center shaft is driven through the hydraulic coupling action of the converter) and should be operating the pump even if the TC is "empty"?
Correct. At this point a gauge needs to be installed and check system pressure. If this is a fresh rebuild, whoever rebuilt it should offer a warranty and possibly send someone out to check it (if they are close by)?
Yeah. You have basic mechanical aptitude. Like Michelangelo had basic artistic skills. Or Henry Kissinger had basic negotiating skills. And Pavarotti had basic singing skills. You sell yourself way too short.
Well - took it apart after I spoke with the dealer who sold me the shuttle and reverser. The tangs on the reverser were not fully seated into the pump drive on the reverser. The tangs are worn / melted down so a new converter is my price to pay for the "education"! I can't really see beyond the seal on the reverser pump but I'm hoping that there's no damage to where the tangs on the TC were rubbing on the pump drive gear. Here's the rub - I don't know how this happened or how to prevent it from happening again. I did install the TC onto the flywheel, then installed the bell housing and then inserted the reverser input shaft(s) into the TC. We made sure that the tangs on the TC were "offset" 90 degrees from the pump drive gear and everything went together (with only a little rotation on the input shaft to line up the splines). Vendor says I need to push the TC onto the reverser until it "snaps in" and can turn the pump. Then install the reverser/bell/TC assembly onto the engine block and then use the drain access hole in the bell housing to bolt the TC to the flywheel. I can do this with everything "on the bench" but it will be a struggle to get the whole assembly into the unit instead of doing it in three pieces. In the end, there's no "play" in the connections between the TC and flywheel, between the bell housing and engine block and between the reverser body and bell housing - SO - how can the tangs of the TC not be engaged far enough into the pump drive gear? Anyone run into this issue? Thanks so much for the help thus far!
Your vendor gave you good advice. Bolt it all together before installing it. That way you cannot destroy the tangs again. Beg, borrow or steal a transmission jack to reinstall it. I have never bolted a convertor to a flywheel or flex plate without the reverser or shuttle on it. .
I did purchase a transmission jack. Worth EVERY PENNY!! Thanks for your advice!
Ok - update! I installed the replacement Torque Converter this past weekend. I did see that there were spacers (thicker than washers) that should have been between the TC and the flywheel mounting plate. That "moves" the TC further into the reverser pump connection. We measured out 2 gallons of new hydraulic fluid per capacity spec. Cold reverser with empty TC doesn't take all of this right away. Upon startup, my buddy was watching fluid level and added balance as level went down (good sign that the pump was now working!). The reverser was a little overfilled, but I had torque in FWD like I never had before. For about 25 seconds... Worked in FWD and REV great for just a short time and then we set about adjusting fluid level correct on dipstick. Had to drain a quart or two. So - I took one shortcut: I did not flush the cooler. I think this may have bit me? Now the unit barely works again! does not move FWD and has only the smallest amount of torque in REV, won't go up any sort of slight incline. Question (asking your opinion...). Did I fry the reverser with some sort of old fluid from the cooler or maybe is the cooler just blocked and restricting flow back to the sump? Maybe did I clog up a channel on the spool valve? I dropped the sump and checked the pickup screen. Clean, new and the O-Ring is present. I checked and verified mechanical linkage adjustment already. took shifter off and manually moved the shifter on the reverser. In Neutral, the output shaft just barely spins clockwise. When in REV, it comes to a stop and takes off at a much higher RPM. Shift to FWD and the output shaft stops spinning counterclockwise and goes clockwise but very slow. Any ideas on what to try next? Some have suggested putting a gauge on some sort of port on the reverser to measure PSI and I think they said it should be "about 200 PSI". Anyone have a diagram on where this port is? I have the service manual, but I don't see a pressure check port called out anywhere. Thanks in Advance - your help is very valuable!
I sent you a PM
MarcNH - Thank you for the alternative manuals. I didn't rebuild the one I installed, but these are certainly more informative than the JD 310 service manual! Will certainly keep for future reference.
I do have a relevant question regarding the Front Clutch Piston and the retainer housing. When I disassembled mine, it was more than a bear getting these pieces apart. At first (before looking at the full parts diagrams and the studying the assembly procedure from the shop manual) I thought this was one piece. It took significant force to separate these pieces, though the seal on the piston did not look to be in great shape. The piston was resting at the fully retracted position in the housing. I am not even sure if this had been fully activating. Is this supposed to be a very-tight fit? It just seemed way-way to tight. The Borg Warner manual that I found does a better job at showing this. And I believe it has pressure specs, and shows you where you can measure. I actually broke down and got a set of gauges to measure everything when it gets re-installed.
There is what I believe to be a filter of sorts that appears to be on the hydraulic return line from the cooler, something that appears to look like a John Deere LVA12726 inline filter. I do not seem to see this mentioned much with respect to posts, but it appears that mine is completely mucked-up. Not sure what the heck is in this (just a screen?) but I am not able to get any flow through this whatsoever. It looks to be an $80 part. Looks like it is used in many applications. This is inline from the oil cooler return to a solid T connector on the reverser. Not the easiest to access filter on an assembled machine, but me thinks this is a rather critical element of the entire reverser system. I was unaware of this when I have gone through the main pickup screen filter on the lower part of the reverser. None of my warning lights are working yet, so I am adding an oil temperature sensor/gauge to mine. I have a feeling that this has led to failure of the reverser (clutch plates in particular) and denaturing the oil. This is all relatively low pressure, so I am not too worried about the plumbing. I do check everything before starting her up every time, but this is clearly not enough. Better start working on the indicator panel system.
It looks like a hydraulic oil check valve to me. If it is some times they can be taken apart for cleaning and inspection.
You Are Correct! (I bet you get that a lot); A beautiful new (used) manual (PC2068) was just delivered. Why FedEx is working on Sunday, I don't know. Quite nice to have a real book. I have engine books, but not this one. This is a check valve P/N AT101369. Air won't go through it (in the arrow direction) and I can't imagine much hydraulic fluid was going through it. The assembly lists for over $500 so I guess I will see the spring/ball/o-ring, and seat when I pull it apart.
If you had enough pressure on the converter drive lugs to wear them blue and destroyed, your pump was receiving all that end pressure and is surely wiped out, I hope not for your sake but do not see how the pumps internal gear and casting where it runs could have survived.