With my 1992 JD 310D, I often leave the house to come up to a hill that challenges 4th gear. Especially since the machine has just been started about 8 minutes before. It will reach the top of the hill in 4th gear going just a tad faster that if it was in 3th. Is it bad for the machine to drive up that hill with the torque converter slipping like that in 4th?
It's a bad idea, you're beating on the weakest part, the drive line. I climb hills with no more than 2/3 throttle. If it takes more than that, I drop it down a gear or two.
I do alota of over the road trips with the machine. Myself, I run the hills in 3rd mostly. Depending on the machine and how steep a hill, theres rare times I go down to 2nd. Backhoes can take the abuse though. I watch town and gas company guys run the machines 4th gear non stop over the road. Sit at a stop light left in gear and start off in 4th. Most gas co. round here drive everywere. Although not the best way to run the machine its surprising the amount of abuse some machines can take and not have problems.
I can imagine this is abusing the torque converter but it should not do any harm to any of the other drive components. I have also watched guys abuse the torque converters like this but I don't know if they last a long time running them like this or if they prematurely burn up. More opinions or actually expertness would be nice here. Please write about your experiences.
With all due respect to others on this thread, I want to clarify what is meant by abuse. Climbing hills in 4th is not of concern as long as you don’t overheat the torque converter/transmission. Same logic applies to any gear. Simply watch your oil temp gauge, avoid yellow/red lines on the gauge, and you will be fine in any gear. If you are overheating the oil, then shift to a lower gear so the drive-train runs cooler. Heat is the issue to avoid, not that the torque converter is stalling while going up a hill. The torque converter is allowing the slippage via hydraulics-oil, not through resistive surfaces/plates so you are not wearing or abusing anything, but you are generating heat which will damage the drive-train system if allowed to continually operate in the manufacturer’s yellow/red gauge areas. Also, please don’t confuse stalling the transmission with doing FNR (Forward/Neutral/Reverse) activities as that is different. So if you are generating a lot of heat, then yes you are abusing your torque converter. If you running cool, then use whatever gear gives you the performance you want.
fpgm04, You sound like you know your stuff and what your saying is what I thought. Thanks for your knowledge. I will drive up the hill on 4th as it is faster than 3rd and it only takes seconds to reach the crest. Thanks
He is right about heat. Its my personal preference to use lower gears climbing a hill in certain cituations. Most steeper hills better off using a lower gear. 3rd will run stronger and less work on the motor. Every machine is different. A 590sl with a hammer on it will climb a hill 4th gear with ease verses my brand new 580SN which on the same hill runs better in 3rd gear. Different machines, dif engines, trans, rear axles. I've only had one time that the rear end over heated on me. 95 degree+ day, hot as hell, chasing millings after the tiger cat got a head start on me. Did 2000ft on a windy road up and down. Forming piles and loading into triaxles with a 580M turbo, alot of quick forward reverse working the brakes. Rear end warning light came on 3-4times that day. Stopped, read through the op manual and did what it said to do. Other than that never had a torque convertor guage over heat. Very rare on L series to even see the gauge budge. M series, cats, and deeres the gauges a bit different. I know with cases, if it were to over heat, the manual says put the trans completely in neutral and run the engine I believe 3/4 throttle till it cools. If its a blockage should help clear it. Good maintance is also key.
My JD 310D only has a warning light for the torque converter temperature and nothing for the transmission. Just engine sensors and a hydraulic oil filter light.