John Deere 4300 Shaking When Engaging HST (forward or reverse)

[Kinjun]

First time poster here. Glad to join the community.

I have a John Deere 4300 HST that came with a house we purchased earlier this year (February of 2021). It has about 2700 hours on it and I spend approximately 8 hours a week working on it as something "else" happens (little stuff so far, like losing pins in the pedal assembly, etc..). This past week we had our first snowfall. I used the tractor and the snow blower attachment it came with. Worked well. I went out to use the tractor earlier this week to blow more snow. It starts fine and idles well. When I press the HST pedals (forward or reverse) the Tractor tractor shakes violently (vibrations are below the pedals) and creeps slowly in the direction I'm pressing. I contacted the prior owner and asked if he's had this problem before. He responded with the action to cover the tractor with a tarp and let it "warm up" for 30 mins. I tried the warming up for 30 minutes last night to no avail. I'm now using the tarp method he recommended. I'll followup with wether it worked or not.

I searched for a few days on these and other forums. I can't find any reference to the issue I'm experiencing. Many hits come up with break linkage checks for stuck breaks and such. Hoping someone might have experience with this particular issue and can help point me in the right direction.

Advanced apologies if I'm posting in the wrong area. Happy to adjust.

Thank you.

 

[BeezFun]

You'd probably do better posting this in the John Deere Owning and Operating forum. But I can make one suggestion. There's a damper between the pedal and the transmission. If that damper goes bad the tractor will jerk and buck when you try to go forward or backward. So if you find that damper you can probably disconnect one end and use your hand to see if it still acts like a shock absorber.

 

[NormL]

you probably already checked the fluid level in the HST but if you have not, it's the first thing I'd do. I bought a Toro HST with blower attachment almost two years ago and when I got it home was when I discovered the rear wheel axles leaking oil. Once I replaced the seals and topped up the oil, it operated as it should.

 

[Kinjun]

Thank you both for the response. I do recall checking the fluid level first thing. I'll recheck to be sure.
The damper suggestion is new for me. Much appreciated. I'll give that a shot as well. I'll try and move this thread to the recommended location.

 

[oldnslo]

Do you get any strange noises while shaking is going on? Growling, squealing, etc. Does the engine act like it is under land or straining?

 

[super55]

99% sure what is going is your tractor is in need of a fluid and filter change. JD's are pretty temperamental with what hydro fluid they like. Being that it happens when it is cold sounds and the previous owner was throwing a tarp to warm it up for 30 min. is telling me that the viscosity is too heavy when cold and your getting some cavitation from restricted flow which could be wrong fluid viscosity or restricted screen/filter.

Get a filter, JD hygard-lo viscosity (tractor uses almost 7 gallons) and pull the sump screen and clean it up it up. My 4310 was having issues in cold weather years ago and this resolved it. Make sure you use JD hydraulic oil and not some off-brand spec. equivalent, These JD transmissions are awfully finicky for some reason.

The 4300 is a pretty solid tractor but it sounds like the previous owner didn't do much for maintenance on it.

 

[Kinjun]

Wanting to thank all for the feedback. I've started with the replacement of the damper referenced by BeezFun. It was, in fact, "stuck" in the compressed position. I've removed it and am awaiting the new part to arrive.

Oldnslo - I'll try and get some video and post the behavior.

Super 55 - Thank you for the walkthrough. I did check the fluid levels, but have not done a complete build and filter change. I'll start this afternoon.

Per BeefFun's recommendation, I'll be moving (trying to) this post to the JD Owning and Operating Forum.

 

[Kinjun]

New thread here: John Deere 4300 Shaking When Engaging HST (forward or reverse)