Hi i have a 1970 Michigan 125a wheel loader rear wheel steer. machine started moving sluggish so I changed and checked the trans fluid, didn't seem to do much. then one day i went to move the machine and would not move. The drive shaft between the torque converter and transmission would spin in neutral when revved up a bit then when put in low range forward or reverse machine would try to move a tiny bit drive shaft would slow down and stop instantly. when in high gear machine wont even budge. With machine in neutral running i can step on the drive shaft between converter and trans and stop it from spinning. I did remove a fill plug on top of the converter housing and fill it with fluid did nothing. Wondering if converter went out or converter transfer pump went out. i know the 175a loaders have an external converter transfer pump on the front of the converter housing but my 125a does not. king of stumped at this point not sure if i can find parts if i do need. help appreciated.
The Convertor charge pump is inside the convertor. Did you check the clutch pressure? This convertor also has a one way clutch in the reaction member that locks the stator when the machine is under load but can free wheel under little or no load., if it is worn out and slipping you will have no power, it will be like a fluid drive with no torque multiplication. There is a clutch pressure regulating valve on the convertor, if it is not working or the charge pump is not working you will have low or no clutch pressure. If the drive shaft spins with the transmission in gear and machine not moving, Clutch pressure probably is the problem if the drive shaft locks up with the transmission in gear, the problem is probably the one way clutch in the convertor stator which is located in the middle of the large convertor members (Impeller and turbine).
Yes i did check the clutch pressure 6 months ago was perfect transmission also worked flawlessly. But the last time i moved the machine i had to rev the **** out of it just to get it to crawl. Seemed to me it was the converter because say, low range forward I can rev it as much as i want and the shaft between the converter and trans will nudge a bit but not fully spin.
Do the hydraulics work? if not it could be the drive gear bolted to the flywheel has stripped out. Just because the transmission pressure was good 6 months ago doesn't mean that is OK today. I would recheck it just to be sure. If you have good hydraulics I would suspect the one way clutch in the stator, it is made like a bearing but instead of rollers it has a series of small cams that lock up under load, if the cams wear out they may slip and the convertor loses it's torque multiplication which should be between 2.75 to 3.0 to one.
Yes hydraulics work great the fiber gear is in great shape.
Also any ideas wear i can get parts?
minnpar.com has a lot of Clark parts. Other wise just check the salvage yards.
Kingmechanic- I also have a Michigan with, what seems to be, the same problem. Did you ever fix your machine?
I have a Michigan 75a & same problem as the above machine. Firstly I would like to check the trans fluid level but don't know how to remove the cap on the bell housing. Machine hasn't been started for 2 years. & was working fine when parked up. Help would be appreciated.