1975 John Deere 2030 (401c)

[JohnDeereFarm]

Hello to all out their. A 1975 John Deere 2030 (401c) it's having hydraulic problems. The reservoir is in the front of the tractor is empty. The reservoir is above the front pump and feeds it. Should the reservoir be empty at all. It looks like there is hardly any fluid flowing into it in idle. Also the line that comes out of the side of the pump pulsates. That line that pulsates, runs to the back for the rear hydraulics and for the power steering. The rear hydraulics chatter and creep up slowly. The power steering turns very hard, like it is starving for oil I should tell everyone that when i drive it down the road, the power steering is almost fine and the rear hydraulic go up almost normally. Could anyone tell me what my problem is ? I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Jamming]

Hello to all out their. A 1975 John Deere 2030 (401c) it's having hydraulic problems. The reservoir is in the front of the tractor is empty. The reservoir is above the front pump and feeds it. Should the reservoir be empty at all. It looks like there is hardly any fluid flowing into it in idle. Also the line that comes out of the side of the pump pulsates. That line that pulsates, runs to the back for the rear hydraulics and for the power steering. The rear hydraulics chatter and creep up slowly. The power steering turns very hard, like it is starving for oil I should tell everyone that when i drive it down the road, the power steering is almost fine and the rear hydraulic go up almost normally. Could anyone tell me what my problem is ? I would greatly appreciate it.

Is there a fill line on the reservoir ? Add fluid to line might work.

 

[beenthere]

Sounds low on oil. And it sounds like you think that it is low on oil too. Add oil a quart at a time and see if there is any improvement.

 

[JohnDeereFarm]

The reservoir doesnt have a fill marking on it, but the transmission dipstick says it's full? The reservoir that I'm talking about is up front a foot above the hydraulic pump.

 

[whodat526]

The reservoir doesnt have a fill marking on it, but the transmission dipstick says it's full? The reservoir that I'm talking about is up front a foot above the hydraulic pump.

are you sure that isn't the fuel tank in the front i thought that tractor used the trans/rear axle for a sump for the hyd. oil

 

[JohnDeereFarm]

It does, but it gets pumped up to the Oiler cooler then from there it goes to a reservoir that is about 2 liters in volume. I herd these front pumps on the John Deere don't suck they get feed.

 

[Brimstone10x]

you have two pumps on that type tractor . there is a pump in the front of the trans that pumps oil to the main pump up front. if the trans pump isnt sending enough oil to the front pump you get low flow and pulsation. the power steering gets all the oil it needs before any thing else,so thats why the steering seems ok.that tank above the front pump is only there to supply oil to the main pump at times when the trans pump is disenguaged (clutch depressed)and to smooth out flow to the main pump. frist thing to do after checking the oil level is to pull the suction screen and clean it and replace the filter. refill the hyd oil and try it again. buy the way the trans holds around ten gal of hyd oil.if the screen or filter are dirty the trans pump cant supply enough oil to the front pump. and hyd dont work or work slow and jerky. did this happen all at once or over time?

 

[JohnDeereFarm]

I replaced the trans oil and filter with all John Deere Products. This tractor is really a 401c which is the industrial version of the 2030. It says in tractor data.com that the rear end holds around 8.5 gallons so do you think 10 gallon may be to much? I know it will hold it though. By the way the rear screen is clean. I'll put more fluid in it tomorrow morning. Also, I herd that the rear pump works only when the rear wheels are moving??

 

[jd110]

Brimstone is right on. Check the sump screen and replace the filter first. If you have already done that, then we need to know how the tractor is equipped. Does it have a reverser? Hi-Lo shift? Independent PTO? The transmission pump supplies oil to those items and to transmission lubrication before any oil gets sent to the Main hydrauilc pump. These items can develop internal leaks that rob the oil from the main pump. Another item that can cause problems is the transmission oil filter relief valve. A piece of dirt can get stuck in the valve holding it open and dumping oil flow back to sump. The transmission pump does pump when sitting still. Depending on what type of clutch/pto you have, it can stop pumping when the clutch is pushed in.

 

[Brimstone10x]

if the dipstick shows full then it is all set . I just wanted to make sure you knew it was a lot of oil. how many hours on this rig . the pumps do wear out. also could have an internal leak in the trans or the rockshaft. the trans pump also supplys oil to lube the shafts/ gears, and some of them have a hyd pto system that could have a leak. or if the trans has a hi/lo unit. or if its a power reverser . when they work right their great when they dont it can become a major deal to fix. do you have the book sounds like know some about it?

 

[JohnDeereFarm]

The tractor has a reverser on it, Hi/Lo shift but, it doesn't have independent pto. I just bought the tractor about two weeks ago and it has a rebuilt engine in it so about 4 hours on it. Before rebuild? I don't know, the previous owner said that the tach did't work. Where would the transmission oil filter relief valve be located? The tractor didn't look like it got used much.

 

[Brimstone10x]

this is wear the book starts to come in , the filter relief is on the side of the trans housing above the filter more or less just goin from memory here . its a hex head looks like a plug, pull that and the spring and valve will come out . to test the trans pump kind of lo tech way, drop the filter have a large drain pan and crank the engine maybe even start for a second oil should pump out like mad, if not the trans pump is suspect.

 

[Zebrafive]

If you have a reverser you can not have a Hi-Low. Hi Lo is a hydraulic shift that allows clutchless shifting of the gear you are in to a 30% lower gear and back up to the same gear. You will have a two range manually shifted transmission.

 

[JohnDeereFarm]

Brimstone, the valve would be on the right side or the left side? Can you remember? I will look tomorrow to look for the valve. You say to drain the filter and then crank the engine to see if the trans pump is ok, when you loosen the filter won't it start to drain the trans?

 

[JohnDeereFarm]

Zebrafive, you are right. The tractor is a two range manually shifted transmission.

 

[Tx Jim]

Brimstone, the valve would be on the right side or the left side? Can you remember? I will look tomorrow to look for the valve. You say to drain the filter and then crank the engine to see if the trans pump is ok, when you loosen the filter won't it start to drain the trans?

Removing hyd filter will not allow all hyd oil to drain out only a small amt. The hyd filter relief valve is on the RH side with hyd filter. Does tractor have a 3pt hitch? If so with engine running,3pt fully raised,remove hyd filler cap cap & look inside for spraying hyd oil. JD utility tractors of that era have a history of failed rockshaft control valve o-rings.

 

[JohnDeereFarm]

I removed the filter and started the tractor up fun about five seconds and I roughly got 4.5 - 5.0 quarts of oil. I feel that means the rear pump is probably good. Yes it has 3 point. I will look at the oil filler cap to lookfor spraying. Would be why I'm having power steering and rear hydraulic issues? Especially in idle?

 

[Brimstone10x]

tx jim probably knows more than i , sounds like the trans pump is working thou.its hard to say if its at full capacity . like tx jim said run it and look in though the fill hole on the back of the rockshaft if oil is spraying the rockshaft valve seals are leaking all the time witch may be part or all of your problem you may need a small lite on a stick to see inside the housing.

 

[JohnDeereFarm]

Will that be the problem with the power steering being turning hard when in idle? The people at my John Deere dealership say the rockshaft shouldn't have nothing to due with the power steering. I will check for the spraying though. Thanks for all the help so far, I appricate it very much!

 

[Tx Jim]

Actually the only correct way to check a hyd pumps output is if there is some sort of restriction on output(flow). On checking trans pump output I normally would run tractor for 1 minute and measure output. It should be close to 5 gallons. On a closed center hyd system any type of leakage(internal/external) will contribute to sluggish operation. The people at the JD dealership you're referring to evidently don't know much about a closed center hyd system. Yes there is a pressure control valve on RH side of trans case(by hyd filter) that gives priority psi to steering BUT when psi fails below 1700 psi steering will be affected. By chance does this tractor have a frt end loader attached?????????? I can't remember if this has been addressed but the reservoir up by radiator is to help supply hyd oil when the operator has clutch pedal depressed or hyd load exceeds trans pump output. It is automatically filled when hyd requirements have been meet.