Traction Deere 3038e: 2wd/4wd Level Not Working After Incident

gatorbait3014 · Mar 19, 2016

Hopefully someone on the forum has seen this before and can offer a suggestion...

Got a 2015 Deere 3038e with a D160 loader, with about 45 hours on it so far. I had several acres of land logged-off over this past winter, and I am moving the cuttings and brush into piles for burning.

I was dragging brush in reverse from the edge of a creek with the loader bucket, and got a branch/limb snagged under the left-side of the tractor. It pulled-off the low-pressure hydraulic return hose from the filter assembly, causing loss of control and movement. Hose (#9) in the image was knocked off of the filter assembly (#3).

I loosened the spring clamp on the (1-1/2") hose, and reattached it to bottom of the filter assembly. Then refilled the almost five (5) gallons of hydraulic fluid I had lost onto the ground. All good so far. Regained control of the bucket and transmission.

So far, so good. I was able to drive back up the mountain to the house, and give the tractor a thorough inspection.

Then, I noticed the two-wheel drive/four-wheel drive lever was all the way down, in the 2wd position. When I pulled it back up, there was none of the normal friction or resistance, and when I let go, the lever dropped back down onto the deck.

The 2wd/4wd lever (#3) goes through the floorboard, connecting to an arm (#7) that connects to a shaft into the front-left side of the transmission (transfer case?)

Everything appears physically attached, and the shaft rotates when the lever is moved up and down. But, something is not connected.

I use the tractor almost exclusively in 4x4 mode, due to being on the side of a mountain. I have not noticed not being in 4-wheel drive. But also have not figured out an easy way to check short of finding a mud hole.

Anyone have any ideas on this? Thank you in advance...

B8FISH · Mar 20, 2016

Lift the front with the bucket and try to rotate front tires by hand to check front drive train?

gatorbait3014 · Mar 20, 2016

B8FISH said:
Lift the front with the bucket and try to rotate front tires by hand to check front drive train?

Thanks. I will give it a try later today.

gatorbait3014 · Mar 20, 2016

Finally got a chance to lift the front wheels with the bucket.

They turned freely, and the front drive-shaft rotated.

If I pulled-up on the 2wd/4wd lever while turning the wheels, they engaged and stopped turning.

So, from that, I am assuming that the tractor is in 2wd until this issue is fixed.

DT86 · Mar 20, 2016

Knocked some sort of retaining mechanism loose with the branch?

If nothing else I'd stop by a dealers lot and crawl under one like it. Take pics under yours and theirs to compare later.

Kubota 2350 · Mar 21, 2016

DT86 said:
Knocked some sort of retaining mechanism loose with the branch?

If nothing else I'd stop by a dealers lot and crawl under one like it. Take pics under yours and theirs to compare later.

I agree, something got knocked loose, or knocked off.

Steve IA · Apr 2, 2016

Did you get this fixed? what was the problem?

gatorbait3014 · May 24, 2017

Re: Deere 3038e: 2wd/4wd Lever Not Working After Incident [WHAT ACTUALLY BROKE]

Steve IA said:
Did you get this fixed? what was the problem?

The 2x4/4x4 shift lever though some linkage controls a sliding collar which engages and disengages the 4x4 on the tractor.

In the attached images (borrowed from Deere's parts website), the "Shaft" #22 (PN# LVU19323) moves the "Shifter" #21 (PN# LVU18520), which intern moves the "Shift Collar" #19 to engage/disengage the 4-wheel drive on the tractor.

In my incident, the "Shifter" #21 broke, and was not moving the Shift Collar. Attached are two images.

The first one is the parts diagram of the shifter.

The second is the blow-up view, that I have marked in RED what broke.

bucknrut210 · Dec 4, 2019

Re: Deere 3038e: 2wd/4wd Lever Not Working After Incident [WHAT ACTUALLY BROKE]

Did you or the repair shop have to split the tractor in half to make the repair? My seal is leaking and I cannot get the 4x4 shift housing out of the tight spot below the tractor because the opening is not large enough.

gatorbait3014 said:
The 2x4/4x4 shift lever though some linkage controls a sliding collar which engages and disengages the 4x4 on the tractor.

In the attached images (borrowed from Deere's parts website), the "Shaft" #22 (PN# LVU19323) moves the "Shifter" #21 (PN# LVU18520), which intern moves the "Shift Collar" #19 to engage/disengage the 4-wheel drive on the tractor.

In my incident, the "Shifter" #21 broke, and was not moving the Shift Collar. Attached are two images.

The first one is the parts diagram of the shifter.

The second is the blow-up view, that I have marked in RED what broke.

View attachment 510523 View attachment 510524

redelephants · Sep 1, 2020

Re: Deere 3038e: 2wd/4wd Lever Not Working After Incident [WHAT ACTUALLY BROKE]

bucknrut210 said:
Did you or the repair shop have to split the tractor in half to make the repair? My seal is leaking and I cannot get the 4x4 shift housing out of the tight spot below the tractor because the opening is not large enough. View attachment 631280

Did you ever get a resolution to this problem? I have developed a similar leak in a 2012 3032e and it appears a rear split is the only way to remove the MFWD housing.