I just purchased a L35 tractor that the owner says sometimes does not go into gear. He currently has it in 3rd and it moves and drives fine. He said if I don't shift it that things seem like they will continue to work. He leaves it in 3rd because for him that was the most used gear. Any thoughts on what could cause this. The machine has a brand new motor (no idea if something there could be the cause or not) and a new clutch with 50 hours on it. There is some wiring that needs to be addressed on the machine. Any possibilities this could be an electrical issue, or am I probably looking at something more internal to the machine?
1995 L35 that sometimes seems to not go into gear.
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Third gear only would be of marginal use to me. Does forward/reverse shuttle work ok? If so, the hydraulic clutch must be ok. FYI, the L35 has both a conventional mechanical clutch that the foot pedal controls, and a hydraulic clutch controlled by the shift and shuttle action. All the shifting and clutching is handled hydraulically - quite a piece of engineering - nothing electrical. Your problem could be as simple as a cable adjustment. I highly recommend a WorkShop Manual if you are going to work on it. It includes mechanical and electrical schematics. Unfortunately, I couldn't find one on-line and had to buy one.
Yes the forward and reverse does work fine. I agree 3rd gear is slow but for now I will leave it there to get through the work I need then look into it more.
I have an L35 and occassionally I have to move the gear shift slightly for it to go into gear. When changing the trans oil last month I noticed the linkage under the fender was worn (sloppy) and needs replacement. Not sure if that is the cure, but you may want to look. Good luck.
Thanks for that info! From Protree's post above I was thinking that maybe if it screws up on me it would be worth a try kind of putting it half way between the shift points to see if it would engage. The part is 600 bucks so hopefully it is just an adjustment that can be made but if not for what I paid for the machine I was figuring a worst case was 6 grand so 600 would be a very welcome surprise! I am still replacing hoses for now. As soon as I am done replacing all the hoses for the backhoe then I will start to look into this some more.
So it messed up on my today. Nothing I seemed to do would get it to go hard into gear. It was like the clutch was slipping. When I started out working it everything was awesome would push hard into the pile and I was psyched. Then as it got warmer it seemed to get worse. I would go into the pile and it would just stop. Eventually I would put it into gear and it would not move. If I left it in gear it would sometimes almost shudder a little bit then start to move but if I came to a hill or anything it would slip. I also noticed that when shifting forward and reverse that it would make a noise almost like when you had an inflated balloon and let the air out while stretching the neck. Just for a second but I can make the noise fairly consistently when I am having the issue. It will make this noise when shifting the gear lever from say 1st to second and so on. It will sometimes make the same noise when shifting from forward to revers. I did not have a lot of time to investigate as it was raining hard but it sounded like it was coming from just under the steering column. The clutch was supposedly replaced recently but I have no proof of that and no idea what was done other then the previous owner saying that he replaced the clutch. When I was limping it home if I pressed on the brake it was easy to get the machine to stop. Any ideas? Thanks!
Mine made what I would describe as a 'chirp'. Yours may have advanced. It's caused by air getting sucked in the hydraulic pump - common problem. Replace all the suction hoses, even the ones going to the cooler. I think there are 8, mostly small sections. I also found the steel line that runs from the sump to the hydraulic filter mashed almost flat. After fixing all that, the chirp stopped and everything worked better. Lately, I get just a little chirp the first time I shift after it's been sitting. Probably need to tighten some clamps.
You need to get that fixed before you do some clutch damage. L35s are nice, but you don't want to have to go into the clutch or transmission. If there's slippage, it's one of the clutches. The rest of the transmission is gear-to-gear.
You can determine which clutch by engaging the PTO and making the tractor slip. If the PTO stops when the tractor stops, the mechanical clutch is slipping. If the PTO keeps turning, the hydraulic clutch is slipping.
There are checks and adjustments that may solve your problem. You really need the WorkShop Manual. It's around $80 or 100 if I recall correctly. I haven't seen one free on-line, but it's worth having if you're going to be wrenching on your tractor.
And a hydraulic diagram from the WSM:
You can see that one pump, separate from the one that powers the loader, hoe and 3pt, supplies the steering and transmission.
I still think you're getting air in the system. It's a common problem on these older machines - I found it discussed (here on OTT I think). Once I fixed mine, the only noise I hear when I shift is the engine and a gentle 'thunk' as the driveline slack takes up.
You can see that one pump, separate from the one that powers the loader, hoe and 3pt, supplies the steering and transmission.
I still think you're getting air in the system. It's a common problem on these older machines - I found it discussed (here on OTT I think). Once I fixed mine, the only noise I hear when I shift is the engine and a gentle 'thunk' as the driveline slack takes up.
I did purchase the manual and have been slowing trying to understand things. I would drop it off at a dealer in a second but they are all 4-6 weeks booked out.
Based on your suggestions I did test and when the tractor stops moving forward the PTO is still moving. Not sure what direction that points us?
I also noticed that the dealer gave me two different types of fluid. Wondering if maybe I have the wrong stuff in there now? I put exactly 5 gallons of Kubota AW 46 all weather fluid in there. The other jug they gave me was UDT fluid. I got them on different days. Are either of these the best fluid for this tractor? According to the manual is says use "Super UDT fluid". Could it be as simple as that? The unit says it holds 41.2 qts. Has Kubota maybe updated what fluid they recommend using over the years? What is the best fluid?
When you understand a Glide Shift transmission, you can call yourself a mechanic, Grasshopper.
You can see from the schematic that when you shift 'gears' you are merely moving a selector valve. This starts to shift the gear fork, but before the gear moves another valve is actuated that disengages the clutch. Then the gear shifts and another valve allows the clutch to re-engage. The 4 -5 shift is more interesting because the 1-4 gearbox is shifting from 4 - 1 and the hi-low is shifting from low to high. The shuttle shift is similar but different. All this is finely controlled by small channels in the valve body. As a mechanical engineer, I find this system fascinating.
It is the reason I would always try to use the recommended Kubota fluid in a Glide Shift or hydrostatic transmission. You haven't harmed your transmission by mixing the 2 fluids, and I don't think it's causing your problem, but people have reported harsh shifting when using non-Kubota fluid. Engine oil is different - use whatever brand synthetic or not as long as it meets the recommended viscosity and API grade.
detour
I've stayed out (mostly) from the lubricant discussions. People use the word 'quality' a lot, and it can have 2 different meanings. The first is 'goodness', as in poor, better, best. The second is 'characterics', as in viscosity, clarity, density, etc. For example, Havoline may be a higher quality (gooder) product than Kubota, but it may not have the optimum quality (properties) that your machine needs.
I was riding with my sister in her older Honda Pilot one day on a level street when it gave a noticeable thunk. She said it just randomly did that and she ignored it. I found that it was a common problem caused by the automatic clutches, and that transmission fluid additives with friction modifiers are sold to correct it.
/detour
Your test results indicate that your issue is hydraulic clutch related. BTW, how well does your power steering work? It shares some parts of the same system?
If you want to do some diagnostics, you can check some pressures, but I think you'll need some special tools. You can see on the diagram that there are test ports for the main pressure, pilot pressure, and clutch apply pressure. The WSM has procedures and acceptable pressure values. Be careful and assume the tractor may move any time it's running.
But I would crawl under it, passenger's side just in front of the rear tire, engine off and trace the hydraulic suction line starting at the sump, through the filter and on to the pump including the side branch containing the steering/transmission pump and cooler. Any seepage is a point that air can get in. Remember that this is under vacuum and fluid won't squirt out.
Again thanks you for your time to reply!
The power steering has never been an issue at all. It always works as it should.
I have the machine loaded up on the trailer right now. So when I get it up to Maine tomorrow I will take a look at those lines because it is easy to do while it is on the trailer. If I am understanding you correctly, you are saying trace the lines through the entire filter circuit? My dealer did say that they could get me in to diagnose in two weeks so that is way better then others were telling me. They were at 6 to 8 weeks! Crazy. My guess is the new fluid will not fix this but one can hope. The dealer that I did talk with said that the fluid that I have in it now is thicker and that they recommend the Super UDT 2 fluid. My owners manual says Super UDT as well. He said that there are very small ports in the transmission that can cause fluid not to flow properly if you do not use the correct fluid. I have no idea how true this is or not but I guess step one will be drain out the fluid that I put in there and get the new stuff in there as well as a filter. At least this way I know I have the correct stuff in there for what ever testing that they will do if it does not work after doing the fluids. So stay tuned for what tomorrow may bring...
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Yes GST's are very finicky about what fluid you use.
I use Mystic JT-5 and it works 99% of the time, ( doesn't like it below -20f ).
I would try a complete fluid and filter change then if no improvement do pressure tests per manual then tear down.
One test to make sure it's a mechanical clutch issue and not a hydraulic clutch issue is to get a PTO powered implement on it, if the implement stops with the tractor not moving then it's a mechanical clutch issue, if the implement keeps working but the tractor quits moving then it's a hydraulic clutch issue.
I use Mystic JT-5 and it works 99% of the time, ( doesn't like it below -20f ).
I would try a complete fluid and filter change then if no improvement do pressure tests per manual then tear down.
One test to make sure it's a mechanical clutch issue and not a hydraulic clutch issue is to get a PTO powered implement on it, if the implement stops with the tractor not moving then it's a mechanical clutch issue, if the implement keeps working but the tractor quits moving then it's a hydraulic clutch issue.