Gator 850D

marksmu · Jan 7, 2009

I recently (August) bought a JD Gator 850D limited edition in camo....its been great so far, but I was wondering if anyone else who has these hears the same amount of clicking that I do?

at idle she is perfectly quiet, and at 3/4 or higher top speed perfectly quiet, but at any speed in between there there is a clicking type sound that sounds like a spring clicking over and over again that appears to come from the CVT area. Ive opened up the bed and revved the engine to watch the CVT spring, but it doesnt do it unless your moving. Its either the spring or the exhaust manifold moving...

It does not appear to affect the performance of the gator at all, but it is extremely annoying. Has anyone else experienced this? If so anyone done anything to stop it?

Also unrelated to the rattle, my gator seems to have a down and to the passenger side lean to it. Checked everything, including tires, its all the same...Its about 2 degrees down to the front and passenger side....also annoying. Could just be my friend always is in shotgun weighs 100lbs more but it stays that way when were out.

Anyone else seen these things?

2fast2 · Jan 7, 2009

Yes on the clicking, in fact I was thinking about it while driving the Gator today, and you've described it well. I don't know what it is, and we're at 27 hours so we've got time to let it evolve.
As for the tilt, when we got our new Gator, it had a tilt, but that was because the dealer neglected to properly prep the tires. One side had 35 psi while the other had around 15. That will make it lean! I know better than to trust dealers so I fixed that on day one (or two) and it was their only oversight that I'm aware of.
We like the machine and it starts great in any temperature. We're on our third tank of fuel, which we just added recently. Miser.

marksmu · Jan 8, 2009

Im right there with you hours wise...Ive got about 41 hours, probably 5 tanks of gas....I run through alot of mud though so its been burning up a bit more fuel than I would like to get to where Im heading.

I will say, aside from the clicking, its been great. I have not been driving in water so to say, but i have been in some nasty mud, and Im yet to get stuck - though I do carry an anchor to attach to my winch with me, b/c there are no trees where I am.

nmu98 · Jan 8, 2009

I have over 70 hours and do not have a tick. The diesel is quite loud, at idle and while driving. Is this tick a sound of the diesel, or of metal hitting metal?

2fast2 · Jan 8, 2009

Not sure really.
Driving it again today I tried to figure that out. Diesels make some "interesting" engine sounds and it is possible that what I'm hearing comes from the exhaust. If it is something mechanical, it hasn't manifested itself as an obvious malfunction, so I'm just going to keep going and hope it breaks before 2 years if it is something bad.

nmu98 · Jan 8, 2009

There was an issue in some early models where the front diff would click. I also think there was a recall?

If its new, might there be a sticker on the belt that hits at a certain speed?

I have spent a lot of time under mine trying to get it quiet. The parking brake is set up very loose. I added some washers to it to stop the "ting". Also some of the other stuff under the machine can be tightened up a bit to help with rattle.

2fast2 · Jan 8, 2009

no sticker on the belt that I've seen.

I'll check the parking brake mechanism tomorrow. Thanks for the suggestion.

cef2lion · Jan 9, 2009

There was a post back in the October timeframe about a noise on the 850D. It was titled:

Need Some help with new to me XUV Gator

nmu98 had done some work on taking apart the clutch in search of that noise. I had that noise and still do today but it isn't all that bad. Not sure if this post could be related. Might be worth a look back.

marksmu · Jan 9, 2009

The sound literally sounds like a spring unwinding and then pinging very very rapidly against a thin piece of tin or something...its not a knocking or a banging, or any sound that could come from the engine...I think, and I may be wrong, b/c the gator runs great that it is the spring on the CVT spinning and tightening then popping, and then over again.

I dont know why or how thats even possible, but that is what it sounds like it.

I have tried very hard to figure it out.

Second you on the loose parking break too...I noticed my break getting very loose the other day...couldnt hold me stopped on a steep incline....

I think when I hit 50 hours Im going to take it in for its first "service" and have all of it addressed. Im bout 6-8 hours from that which I will probably hit this weekend...Ill update if I find out the problem.

nmu98 · Jan 10, 2009

cef2lion said:
There was a post back in the October timeframe about a noise on the 850D. It was titled:

Need Some help with new to me XUV Gator

nmu98 had done some work on taking apart the clutch in search of that noise. I had that noise and still do today but it isn't all that bad. Not sure if this post could be related. Might be worth a look back.

good catch cef2lion... I thought he was talking about a different sounding noise...

That thread is here http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/atvs-utility-vehicles/129178-need-some-help-new-me.html

marksmu said:
The sound literally sounds like a spring unwinding and then pinging very very rapidly against a thin piece of tin or something...its not a knocking or a banging, or any sound that could come from the engine...I think, and I may be wrong, b/c the gator runs great that it is the spring on the CVT spinning and tightening then popping, and then over again.

I dont know why or how thats even possible, but that is what it sounds like it.

I have tried very hard to figure it out.

Second you on the loose parking break too...I noticed my break getting very loose the other day...couldnt hold me stopped on a steep incline....

I think when I hit 50 hours Im going to take it in for its first "service" and have all of it addressed. Im bout 6-8 hours from that which I will probably hit this weekend...Ill update if I find out the problem.

When you say it sounds like a ping, now I know what your talking about. The noise you are hearing is from the clutches. The tolerances and springs in there are not perfect... I have had the drive clutch and the driven clutch apart and lubed them. It helped a little, but not much.

I think I would work on getting the parking brak and anything else that rattles fixed first. Those items can be as loud, or louder than the ping. It sounds odd, but the diesel moves so much and rattles the ehole machine, that the noises are hard to find. I think I posed pictures of the washers I put in somewhere on here....

marksmu · Jan 20, 2009

I have found part of the problem on my gator that was contributing to the noise....this past weekend I lifted it up and found that I had one of the rubber engine mount pads broken off....the bolt appears to have sheared somehow, and alot of the pinging was coming from the pad and its metal housing shaking around on the broken nut.

I was able to get it off, but I am taking it in to have it put back on. Its new and under warranty so Im not messing with it myself. It didnt look difficult, but why bother if I dont have to?

I can drop it off on a monday and have it back before the weekend.

At any rate, it was part of the sound, but not the whole thing. One of the sounds is eliminated the other is still there.

2fast2 · Jan 20, 2009

Interesting. Did you see this from above or below? Which mount is it? I'll have to take a closer look at mine.
Thanks.

marksmu · Jan 20, 2009

You would be able to see it from the side as well as from the bottom. If you stoop down near the drivers side, under the engine you can see a 2" or 3" round rubber pad on a bolt that keeps the engine from pinging against the frame when its rocking around. Mine broke...the bolt head sheared off, and the rubber pad came out. It is part of what was pinging.

Its not all of the pinging...but I will post a photo of it this weekend when I go pick it up to take it in. I will also be asking the dealer about the sounds coming from what I think is the CVT spring.

chipsndust · Jan 25, 2009

Just noticed this post, maybe this will help. Last summer, my 850D developed a noise, only when moving. Turned out to be a small stick (piece of brush). There is a stiffener plate underneath. The plate has a square hole in it. The square hole has a rubber grommet which snaps in, the grommet has a round hole in it which the driveshaft passes through. The brush had partially knocked the grommet out. The misaligned grommet made a squeaking or whistling sound, from rubbing on the driveshaft, and the stick made a less regular clicking, more metallic sound. Removed the stick, popped the grommet in place, and the noise was gone.

marksmu · Jan 27, 2009

Just spoke with the dealer about my problems...I had it in on Saturday and I guess they got to it today. While at the service department I drove it around to show the service person my clicking complaint. He agreed it was odd....so we drove some of the ones on the lot around and they had no similar sounds...

As to the sounds coming from the engine. Its a misfiring cylinder. Apparently its only missing at the 15-30% throttle range, and cleans itself up after that and before it. They are going to clean the injectors and see if that clears it up.

As to the tilt - turns out I had a very small leak in a tire that was letting out just enough you could not notice. I used tire goop to seal them up, and all is well.

As to the mount - they are not sure how it came off, but it is the driver side rubber pad...its housed between the motor and the small frame piece. They were amazed it could even come off, but they are replacing it as well.

Just updating....if anyone else has a click, I'd take in to be looked at...it may be the cylinder as well.

marksmu · Feb 3, 2009

Another update if anyone is following. The dealers service dept checked the cylinders and turns out they were not misfiring. What was actually happening to mine, was the engine mount was never installed properly....b/c of this at the RPM level the engine would torque to one side and not encounter the mount to stop it. This put a stress on the spring clutch. When at the specific RPM it was twisting the clutch, causing the belt to ride on the clutch akwardly, thereby causing the spring in the clutch to repeatedly make the popping sound. I got the call today that they have fixed everything, put a new belt, new clutch, and new mount on it.

All this from a brand new gator with 46 hours.

At least I can say that JD is standing behind it and fixing everything. Im just glad I didnt need it this week.

nmu98 · Feb 3, 2009

Glad its fixed. Its hard to understand what noises people are hearing on the net as we all describe things different. I don't think too many others will have the ping you did! at least I hope not. That had to be loud....