Noise in transmission

[Diamondpilot]

Didn't open up the transfer case yet but I figured out the trick to move from 4 to 2 to 4 wheel drive. Just like everyone here said you have to have the tractor crawling a bit with the clutch in and it will shift very easily! Now I did some more mowing here with the unit in 2 wheel drive and I still heard the rattle or clunk just below me but not as frequent; more noticeable on a bumpy area. It is also there without the PTO driven which I remember as well. I'm now thinking worst case scenario that something is loose in there and I've been lucky so far. I'm not sure where to open up the unit yet but I'll have a closer look now. Any pictures or explanations would be much appreciated as always.

Thanks

Cory

If you have a FEL check its connections out. Especially the area where the loader arms are in the saddles of the loader mount. There is a piece of threaded rod that may need snugged up. Its where the pin goes though and then the rod is snugged up to take up the slack. Mine will tell me when they are working lose.

Also, I do not use the clutch when going from 2 wheel to 4 wheel drive. I just put a little pressure on the control and it slides right in and out when the tractor is in motion.

Chris

 

[succor]

Hey everyone, it's been awhile but I finally started working on the noise in the transmission. I got all plates off below me and exposed the whole gearbox assembly. Nothing noted yet except some gasket material inside where the shifter is. Now I'm going to drain the gear oil and have a very good inspection inside! Probably something sitting at the bottom; we'll see!

Cory

 

[succor]

Hmm strange, I drained the oil and don't see any big signs except where the big drive gear is for the left rear tire. It looks like at the back near the bottom of the gear, the teeth are very close to the cast housing but there is good clearance on the right gear. I'm wondering if that's why on bumpy areas it clunks inside. Maybe that gear is hitting the cast iron. However the gear itself does not look damaged so I need to get a long magnet and fish around in there to see if something else is there. Hard to see nut maybe that's a chunk of cast not supposed to be there.

Cory

 

[succor]

Just another note everyone, I was talking to a service fellow out east and a better description of the "clunk" would be taking a small hammer and smackin the side of the transfer case. This is the best description I can give. After it is hot than it happens once. Over bumpy areas maybe a couple of times in a row. I put a lighter oil in and seemed less frequent and quieter but still evident after 2 hours of mowing.

Cory

 

[succor]

Just giving as much info as I can for everyone out there to ponder on. There are a total of 3 lids I removed. The first one is a small one up front of me where the shuttle shift mechanism is. I removed that and found some minor where on the gears but nothing serious. There is a drain plug for this because there is still oil in the bottom even though I drained the main gear oil at the back. So i pulled the plug and nothing came out? First time I removed this plug I guess but I pushed a small screw up there and it looks like silicon gasket material was in the way so it drained. The second plate further back is where my shifter/gear oil fill is. I notice there is another deeper pocket of oil here that I cannot drain. I think it's the linkage for my 2/4 wheel drive system. It would be nice to get the oil out here but I'm going to have to use a retractable magnet and fish around I guess. The 3rd plate is under the seat which is the hydrolic tank. Another question I have is when you add gear oil where the dipstick is, does the oil travel equally through all 3 chambers and fill up? Why would there be a separate drain plug for the shuttle shift compartment and no separate oil fill plug? There is also no separate drain for below the 2/4wheel mechanism either which would be nice.

Cory

 

[Diamondpilot]

Oil will get to all the gear boxes eventually but it takes time. It has to flow though bearings. I modified my top plates that you have removed with a drilled and tapped hole. I then used a piece of 1/8" steel rod welded to a pipe plug and made a dipstick for that gear box. I can now check and add oil to each gear box as needed.

Chris

 

[succor]

I've read threads where oil takes time to get to the front chambers. I might manually add oil to these before I close them up. How high should the oil level be in these smaller boxes. In the back the oil is about half way up the gears but in the front, the gears are smaller and are running higher than the back so they are not sitting in much oil except for the very bottom.

 

[succor]

Made sure all chambers were completely empty and had a good visual and the only thing was some gasket material up in the shuttle shift chamber and of course the left rear wheel drive gear coming close to the mould on the inside. Other than that, the whole gear assembly looked clean and smooth. I don't remember draining the small 2 chambers before so maybe with brand new 80w90 oil it will run smoother.

Cory

 

[erj]

Another question I have is when you add gear oil where the dipstick is, does the oil travel equally through all 3 chambers and fill up? Why would there be a separate drain plug for the shuttle shift compartment and no separate oil fill plug? There is also no separate drain for below the 2/4wheel mechanism either which would be nice.

Cory

Cory,
On my Jinma 284 there are 4 drain plugs as shown in the top 2 pictures below. While I am under the tractor, I check/clean the weep hole shown in the 3rd picture. The only fill for the transmission is in the 4th picture.
You mention 3 chambers. Keep in mind that the rear chamber is separate from the other 2 and takes hydraulic oil. The front chamber for the shuttle shift is fed gear oil from the 2nd chamber through the bearings. If you want to fill it separately, simply measure the distance from the bottom of the 2nd chamber plate to the dipstick mark. The first chamber will require that same level of oil.
I have added a separate dipstick for the shuttle chamber as Chris mentions. Before that I always tried to change the fluids in the evening and let the tractor set overnight cause I was nervous about not having oil in the shuttle gears.
RonJ

 

[Diamondpilot]

I would just fill it about 2/3 of the way then button up the compartments that do not have dipsticks. Then fill the normal way through the dipstick.

I am like EJR and like to let it sit overnight then top it off the next morning before using to make sure I have the proper amount of fluid in it.

Chris

 

[succor]

Thanks for the pictures and info. Yes I know what you mean about hydrolics. The tank above the rear end is separate on mine so now I have to fill that as well. I have 3 drain plugs; one for the rear end which does just about everything, one for the 2/4 wheel shift and one for the shuttle shift. I pre-filled the first 2 compartments then closed them and filled the normal way through the dipstick. I now have waited overnight and will check this morning again to see if I have to add more which I'm sure I will. I hope with brand new oil and putting things back together carefully and tight that the occasional "clunk" disappears.

 

[succor]

****! Ran the machine beautifully for an hour till clunk clunk!! Sound good but 3 small clunks and that was it this time. Picture a small hammer going tap tap on the side of the chassis. Back to the drawing board?!

 

[erj]

While it is fresh in your mind - describe exactly what you were doing just before and during the clunks - speed of tractor, slope of ground, gear you were in, etc.
RonJ

 

[succor]

This post has been here for awhile, just read back and you will see. I've had the problem so intermittent for about a year or so it's very hard to pinpoint. It doesn't matter what gear, pto, 2/4 wheel drive. It doesn't do it in reverse but I don't drive backwards long enough to hear either. It happens when it's hot. Nothing looks broken. So the common pieces would be frame, engine, clutch, and drivetrain. Inside the drivetrain looks clean and in good working order. Possibly going to have to get off the tractor while in gear and walk beside to find out where this tapping noise is coming from exactly. Also no loader on at the moment too.

 

[greg_g]

Not enough Fotons on this forum for your particular problem to have been mentioned before. But there is a pesky noise that some Jinma 200 series owners have reported when their tractors still had relatively few hours on them. It seems there's a bearing or sleeve or something up high enough in thetranny where it doesn't get a good splash bath. The solution was to temporarily overfill the tranny until that problem area gets a good oiling, then drain off the excess. I don't recall any Jinma owners come back with a repeat complaint after having bathed that noisy spot just once.

//greg//

 

[succor]

Thanks Greg, I was thinking of doing that possibly because of not enough lubrication but how overflow should I go and how long should I run it like this? When I put the lids back on, I pre-filled the chambers first making sure I splashed oil on everything. The manual says oil capacity is 11 litres but I added about 14 liters to the full mark. One other thing to note, I ran transmission/hydrolic fluid in previous for about 3 hours and the noise was reduced quite a bit but this fluid is far thinner than 80w90 oil.

Cory

 

[greg_g]

Yeah, that's more evidence that there's something in there that needs a good dose of lube oil. If it were my tractor, I'd remove the covers and pour in until it appeared that all rotating parts were at least partially - if not completely - submerged. There's gonna be a lot of splashing, so you want to at least set the covers back over the openings before you start the engine. In your case, you probably want to bolt them back down, then run the tractor through the usual scenario where you hear the racket. If it goes away. drain back to the fill marks - job's done. If it persists, drain back to the fill marks - and we'll take another look at the situation

//greg//

 

[succor]

Interesting, you know I remember when I opened the lids up, the oil level was not touching the upper gears where the shuttle shift is (chamber under the key switch). Just the lower gears were submerged in oil. I also think one of the holes passage holes from the previous chamber was plugged with silicon from the gasket material; possibly factory defect. I added about another 2 liters to the oil now and I will let it sit for a while to settle in to the next chamber. The oil level is still not that far over full but I added about 18 litres now. Here is another question; when you check the dipstick, do you screw it in, than unscrew to check the level or do you just dip it in to check it? That would be a difference of about 3 litres right there. Maybe the oil was under filled the whole time. I'm going to run the tractor again here and see..

Cory

 

[greg_g]

The following isn't limited to Chinese tractors. Checking dipstick levels on most Asian equipment:
1. threaded:
a. unscrew and wipe stick
b set back on hole
c. remove and observe fluid level
d. add fluid as required
e. screw stick back in
2. unthreaded
a. pull out and wipe stick
b. push back in hole
c. remove and observe fluid level
d. add fluid as required
e. push stick back in

//greg//

 

[succor]

Good to know, thanks Greg; I have the threaded dipstick and I was filling as if unthreaded. That changes oil capacity quite a bit considering the thread is about 3/4 of an inch or so. I was running the unit with the oil on the add level or below always.

Cory