3000 series hydraulic surging

[otte3320]

Any other 3x20 owners experience hydraulic surging, cavitating, or hicups when using the loader? My loader will jerk or hicup frequently when raising the loader or dumping the bucket kind of like air pockets. It does help a little to push the joystick over to regen position but will still do it. Dealer said its normal and I drove another 3320 that did it some but not quite as much. My 3320 only has 128 hrs. Also once in a while my steering turns hard just out of the blue for several seconds and then returns to normal for however many hours it decides. Anybody else experience the same?

 

[topstoy]

How long has it been since you changed your Hydraulic fluid and filter? Using Hi Vis or Low Vis fluid? Has it been doing this since new or recently developed?

 

[chin]

How long has it been since you changed your Hydraulic fluid and filter? Using Hi Vis or Low Vis fluid? Has it been doing this since new or recently developed?

no offense sir but the 3000 series doesnt require a break in of the hydraulic system oil until 500 hours. When i changed mine at 500 the filter was clean still. There is no reason for his hydraulic filter to be plugged at 128 hrs. I have seen clean filters at well over 100 hours. The only thing that would plug a filter that low of hours would be something catastrophic. There must be an issue with the pump or possibly air. sounds like you have a new machine and its a shame that you have to resort to this when the machine is under warranty most likely. This is the point where you take some video of the issue, call john deere corporate and then email the video and let them know the dealer isnt helping.

 

[AKfish]

no offense sir but the 3000 series doesnt require a break in of the hydraulic system oil until 500 hours. When i changed mine at 500 the filter was clean still. There is no reason for his hydraulic filter to be plugged at 128 hrs. I have seen clean filters at well over 100 hours. The only thing that would plug a filter that low of hours would be something catastrophic. There must be an issue with the pump or possibly air. sounds like you have a new machine and its a shame that you have to resort to this when the machine is under warranty most likely. This is the point where you take some video of the issue, call john deere corporate and then email the video and let them know the dealer isnt helping.

All of the tractor's "working" components have a break-in period. Engine, transmission, front and rear differentials, and the implement, steering and pto hydraulic pumps. Granted, the service interval for the hydraulic fluid change-out is significantly longer than the engine - it's still part of the routine for maintainence.

Nonetheless, I agree that it seems likely that there's a line, hose, fitting somewhere in the hydraulic system that pulling in air.

Check over the tractor. Look for leaks. Dirt will collect in places where there's oil, hyd fluid.

And... while it's frustrating and aggravating - I wouldn't go all ballistic with corporate Deere just yet... Politely re-explain your tractor's problem and your experience with the other 3320 to your dealer. The hydraulic situation is not correct and if you can't find what's loose (and tighten it) then they need to haul in to their shop and take care of the problem.

Good luck.

AKfish

 

[greg_g]

x2. What you're experiencing is called "cavitation". It occurs when air bubbles travel through the hydraulic lines. The most common reason is low fluid level, which you can fix yourself. Just go to the back of the tractor, pull out the dipstick, wipe it clean, reinsert and check the level. Mine was 1.5 gallons low when I took delivery. If it needs topping up, make sure you use Low-Vis Hygard, or any J20D equivalent. I use the Harvest King brand from Rural King that costs about $10/gallon.

If the issue persists with the correct fluid at the prescribed level, you may have a bad seal somewhere that's permitting air to be sucked into the system. Less likely on an almost new machine, is a partially clogged aperture somewhere in the fluid path. This is the type of issue that should be resolved at dealer level. I assume that with 128 hours, you're still under warranty.

//greg//

 

[oldnslo]

In looking at the parts manual it appears your 3320 has two seperate pumps, one for implements and the other for steering. From the diagrams they do not appear to have a common inlet ike a double pump so I woud strat looking at any common inlet line for these pumps. I could not tell fom te parts breakdown how the inlet lines are connected.

Look very closely at al of the connections you can see on the inlet lines. Do any of them look damp like oil is wicking through a small gap. Take a wrench and check the tightness of all the fittings. Don't need to go crazy on torque but make sure they are snug.

Do the pumps ever growl or chatter loudr than other times? This would also indicate cavitation which needs to be corrected ASAP before you destroy the pumps.

Good luck on the search.

If under warranty I would NOT take anything apart. Some dealers may say you caused the problem.

 

[CorporateOffRoader]

Mine will do it right after starting up, and sometimes if I have floated the bucket the entire length of the driveway pushing snow. Other than that, I don't get any jerking in the loader.

 

[317140]

My 3520 has the same symptoms. I don't know about the loader jerking.but the steering on mine was the same way. Occasionally the steering would get extremely stiff and hard to turn. I took in in to my dealer to check it out. They ran pressure tests on the power steering circuit and said it was not developing the correct pressure. They could not get it to replicate the problem I described, exactly what you are talking about. The shop foreman called me and left a message that the pump was probably bad and the cost to repair would run about 2 thousand dollars. After receiving this message I went to the dealer to voice my concerns. As soon as I arrived he asked if I had received his message, not the first one but the second one. Seems they were trying to put my tractor inside to begin work on it when the steering almost locked up with them. After checking it out they found that the boot that the steering shaft passes thru was locking to the shaft resulting in hard steering. It would not let you turn the wheel far enough to have the pump develop the proper pressure. After pulling the boot on the steering sector and lubeing the shaft and boot the problem went away. Still cost me 200 dollars for 50 cents of graphite. I figured until now I was the only person to have this problem. Hope this info helps.

 

[otte3320]

My 3520 has the same symptoms. I don't know about the loader jerking.but the steering on mine was the same way. Occasionally the steering would get extremely stiff and hard to turn. I took in in to my dealer to check it out. They ran pressure tests on the power steering circuit and said it was not developing the correct pressure. They could not get it to replicate the problem I described, exactly what you are talking about. The shop foreman called me and left a message that the pump was probably bad and the cost to repair would run about 2 thousand dollars. After receiving this message I went to the dealer to voice my concerns. As soon as I arrived he asked if I had received his message, not the first one but the second one. Seems they were trying to put my tractor inside to begin work on it when the steering almost locked up with them. After checking it out they found that the boot that the steering shaft passes thru was locking to the shaft resulting in hard steering. It would not let you turn the wheel far enough to have the pump develop the proper pressure. After pulling the boot on the steering sector and lubeing the shaft and boot the problem went away. Still cost me 200 dollars for 50 cents of graphite. I figured until now I was the only person to have this problem. Hope this info helps.

Thank you for the info. I will have to check mine out.

 

[Red Horse]

For what its worth, same problem with my 4720. Occasional "jerkiness" when raising loader or 3 pt hitch. Others have told me to check for loose connections. My flujid level is where it should be. I am frequently putting my grapple on/off-wonder if repetitive "breaks" of the couplers can add to the "air" issue???