Newbie with a question pausing transmission.

[Iron mike]

I am not usually the type of guy who jumps right in with a tech question as their first post, but I am a little stuck atm!

I picked up a 2014 RTV-X1120D in July and have used it around the acreage all summer, but nothing major used shuttling the wife and I around planting saplings hauling water. The Kubota works perfectly fine for all of that.

I installed a KFI snow plow in the fall, as we live in a snowy part of Alberta I was looking forward to plowing the gravel drive. I had taken the Kubota out and plowed some dirt and leveled a few humps in the yard with the blade and all worked very well In the fall.

We got a decent snow fall over the last few days and was excited to use the plow in earnest today. the Kubota is stored in a heated garage at 5 degrees C, it started fine and I let it warm up for 5 minutes. Drove out in the yard and started plowing, the temp outside is -10 C. The Kubota ran fine for the first 10 minutes then started to stall. Not the motor the engine rpm remained the same, but the transmission started, pausing!

I would push the pedal down the rpm would build the Kubota would move a few inches less than half a tire rotation and stop then pause for 5 seconds them move forward a few inches and so on. In order to get the unit to drive constantly I have to plant the pedal to the floor and with the blade up I can only creep along at 7 kph. Almost like the brake was on, I did check the brake was Not on. It does this in hi and lo, 2wd and 4wd.

needless to say I’m a little disheartened at the moment, any suggestions on where to start looking ?

engine revs and idles fine, I am more leaning to a transmission issue, either related to flow due to heat or cold. Thoughts?

 

[Iron mike]

Ok, a update, from bad to worse but hopefully a easy fix.

now the Kubota starts fine as always but has no forward or reverse movement, the shifter lever is now easyier to move from one position to another but no matter what gear, hi, lo, rev, 2 or 4wd the unit will not move, but the engine revs. I suspect either a broken shift select cable or a fault with the shift mechanism.

i now have the shift select lever stuck in the lo selection, I had turned the motor of to check the shift linkage and the selector is stuck in low, unfortunately I can’t start the motor now as you have to be in neutral to do so.

I am quite mechanically inclined and have bulit cars, Jeeps, bikes and trucks from the ground up. But have NEVER dealt with a hydro transmission before and I am in a unfamiliar place of not knowing what to do next.

next step for me is to find a workshop manual and troubleshoot the linkage.

anyone know where I can get a digital copy of the workshop manual for a 2014 x1120D?

Thanks in advance for any help offered. Mike.

 

[aurthuritis]

get someone to shift the lever while you rock it back and forth by hand. it will probably come out of gear. you can bypass the neutral safety and start it or just jump the terminal at the starter solenoid is another trick. always use the ebrake if you do this incase it starts to move. as for the transmission i would change the oil and filters with oem filters and super udt oil in the transmission. sounds like your oil doesn't like the cold.

 

[Iron mike]

Unit was serviced at the dealer with OEM filters and oil when I brought it. And have put in less than 10 hours since then. The unit is also in a heated garage now and the issue persist, regardless of what position the gear selector lever is in the transmission won’t go into gear.
I ordered a PDF version of the service manual and I should receive it tomorrow.

 

[aurthuritis]

you can shift the transmission gears by hand if you lift the bed and move the shifter directly. that is good news that the dealer serviced with SUDT

 

[aurthuritis]

get it running?

 

[Iron mike]

get it running?

Sadly no. I was able to get it to shift in to N by rocking it back and forth. the shift lever feels super loose, but the cable does not appear broken and the lever moves the linkage. I am not able to move the linkage by hand.

Still no movement under power in any direction.

I checked the Hydraulic oil tank under the passenger seat and it has 1/4" of fluid on the dip stick

my thoughts are: a) maybe the shifter cable is stretched and needs adjusting b) the shift fork has slip out of position c) filter or passageway is clogged d) transmission in shot.

I am heading to the Kubota dealer at lunch, its a hour and a half drive one way to pick up new filters and fluid and a shift cable if they have one.

 

[aurthuritis]

go to the rear of the machine near the top left side i think and see if the transmission relief valve poppet is stuck. you can use a little wd 40 or atf to soak it and get it to seating. it should pop in and spring back freely

 

[aurthuritis]

check the clamps that hold the shift cable to make sure they are secure.

 

[Iron mike]

Ok. Did some basic tests and came up with the following.

with the vehicle on jack stands, front wheels chocked, rear tires off the ground.

in Neutral both rear wheels spin freely, spin one wheel the other does not move.
in Reverse, Hi or Low, spin one wheel the other spins in the opposite direction. So looks like the transmission is going into gear, so not a cable, or fork issue. Neither wheel moves under power. In Neutral or an gear neither wheel moves with the parking break applied, neither moves when the foot break is applied either with or without power.

Double checked, I have Kubota filters and Kubota premium UDT (we don’t get regular or super UDT up here) in the unit, service report has them with less than 10 hours on them. Hydraulic tank has fluid 1/4” up the dip stick, fluid is crystal clear. Transmissio has fluid 1/4” from the full mark, also crystal clear fluid. No play in any cable all move freely, I checked them all. Checked the valve that is controlled by the brake cable at the rear passenger side, it moves freely.

a little history on the unit it has 695 hours on the clock, I picked it up in July. Came from a dealer. In great shape and worked flawlessly until last week. Recently installed a KFI plow and 3,000lbs winch.

Im not to savvy on hydraulics, but am quite mechanically inclined I am a Red Seal Journeyman Machinist and 2nd year Millwright apprentice but have zero experience on this type of transmission or this complex of a hydraulic system, in fact it makes my head hurt reading just about it. Guess you Can’t teach old dogs new tricks.

other than to continue Reading up on the matter, I’m at a brick wall on where to check next.

 

[aurthuritis]

that's good info. does your power steering seem good? will it dry steer the tires on a hard surface while sitting still? with the transmission gears in neutral and engine running push the drive peddle while watching the fluid in the reservoir. does it suck down or just show turbulence? see any foaming or air bubbles?

did the failure happen all at once? or a little at a time? any noises from the rear axle area???

 

[aurthuritis]

if you put it in 4wd will it move??? you are perfectly qualified to figure this out so don't let the HST upset you. it is really very simple

 

[Iron mike]

No it will not move in 4wd. So no power going to the wheels. Power coming from the engine, transmission is shifting into gear, but not being transferred to the wheels. the Hydraulic bed works, but that is a separate system to the drivetrain correct? Power steering works and will dry steer. i will check the hydraulic fluid movement. It happened while I was plowing a little skiff of snow, started about 10 to 15 minutes into plowing, i put it in gear gave it gas and the unit would not move straight away, more gas and the unit would move, limped it back to garage, then the next day it wouldn’t move at all.

 

[aurthuritis]

does the hst make that normal buzzing sound when the engine is running? something to know and understand is the HST is running anytime the engine is running. so if you place it in neutral and cycle the peddle from idle to full rpm the swash plate controlled by the speed control lever via the speed control servo should move and make the motors turn. do this a few times to warm up the oil and listen around the filters for fluid cutting and check the reservoir for foam or air bubbles. does it sound normal?

 

[aurthuritis]

No it will not move in 4wd. So no power going to the wheels. Power coming from the engine, transmission is shifting into gear, but not being transferred to the wheels. the Hydraulic bed works, but that is a separate system to the drivetrain correct?

engine power flows via a shaft through the gearcase into the HST,driving the charge pump and main drive pump. when the peddle is depressed the speed control lever begins to move and calls for the speed control servo (a small haydraulic cylinder) to move the swash plate or tilt it. when the swash plate tilts it makes the pistons on the main HST pump depress one at a time as the pump rotates. the flow from the main hydraulic or HST pump then goes to the HST motor and it begins to turn. the power output from the HST motor is connected to the gearcase and from there to the wheels via a differential. make sense????

 

[aurthuritis]

things to check other than the above but need to be eliminated. check to make sure your axle splines aren't stripped in the drive hub of your rear wheels. could be the HST is working?? check your rear axles where they go into the transmission case to make sure the splines aren't stripped. just use the ebrake to figure these out while jacked up. make sure the speed control lever is moving when the peddle is pushed??? and not turning on the shaft.

 

[aurthuritis]

with the vehicle on jack stands, front wheels chocked, rear tires off the ground.

in Neutral both rear wheels spin freely, spin one wheel the other does not move.

this is interesting???? shouldn't the differential cause the other wheel to spin in the opposite direction? have you used the diff lock recently?

 

[Iron mike]

with the vehicle on jack stands, front wheels chocked, rear tires off the ground.

in Neutral both rear wheels spin freely, spin one wheel the other does not move.

this is interesting???? shouldn't the differential cause the other wheel to spin in the opposite direction? have you used the diff lock recently?

Never used the diff lock. With the vehicle on stands with the rear tires off the ground if I engage the diff lock both wheels should turn in the same direction correct?

 

[aurthuritis]

aaaannnd before any nuts or bolts are turned after re reading the original post. if this could be viscosity related then try filling the reservoir up to the top of the add mark just to see. also make sure the hose from the bottom of the reservoir isn't colapsing when the hst transmission is running

 

[aurthuritis]

Never used the diff lock. With the vehicle on stands with the rear tires off the ground if I engage the diff lock both wheels should turn in the same direction correct?

yes it should lock both wheels together.