Mowing Kioti DK55 TRANS WAS BOILING HOT after bush hogging WHAT HAVE I DONE???

[quadmaster50]

Got a 2007 Kioti DK55 Gear trans, just turned 600 hours. Wile bush hogging high weeds with a 8' rotary for 5 hours i started noticing a smoky smell. Water temp gauge was ok, decided to clean radiator screen and keep going. Towards the end of the evening as the sun was going down i started seeing smoke. I got off to make sure i didn't have a fire. I walk around to the back of the rear end / pTo area and i spit on the axle housing, BOILING HOT! i shut tractor off to inspect the situation and try to figure out what the **** i have done... NO, brakes were on, they don't drag, The remotes were not activated and were " open ". I was running 2300-2400 rpm, slight hills, in MED range going between 3rd and 4th.. ( 2-3 mph)
I let her sit for 5 min and limp it back to the truck, i checked the rear end / hydro oil and it was a touch low, less than a qt id guess. I dump a quart in from my truck ( always carry extra oil and fluids) and as I'm pouring it in the rear axle housing fill i can hear the stuff boiling as its going in..... I mean it was F'IN HOT!!

What have i done to my tractor? Will over working the PTO cause this? it was working pretty hard. Id say 75% of its rated power was being used constantly, but my god, its a tractor right...?????

 

[jabelding]

Something is not right with your tractor blowing relief all the time or something dragging severely in the transmission. Tractors are designed to have enough fluid in the transmission reservoir to cool it before it circulates back to the pump shouldn't be much over 160 deg under normal and severe operating conditions. Should never be that hot where water boils on the outside!

 

[quadmaster50]

Something is not right with your tractor blowing relief all the time or something dragging severely in the transmission. Tractors are designed to have enough fluid in the transmission reservoir to cool it before it circulates back to the pump shouldn't be much over 160 deg under normal and severe operating conditions. Should never be that hot where water boils on the outside!

I simply dont know, I'm changing the fluid in the morning and going to give it another try i suppose. Im trying to mow 50 acres, only got 11 done so far,,

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Got a 2007 Kioti DK55 Gear trans, just turned 600 hours. Wile bush hogging high weeds with a 8' rotary for 5 hours i started noticing a smoky smell. Water temp gauge was ok, decided to clean radiator screen and keep going. Towards the end of the evening as the sun was going down i started seeing smoke. I got off to make sure i didn't have a fire. I walk around to the back of the rear end / pTo area and i spit on the axle housing, BOILING HOT! i shut tractor off to inspect the situation and try to figure out what the **** i have done... NO, brakes were on, they don't drag, The remotes were not activated and were " open ". I was running 2300-2400 rpm, slight hills, in MED range going between 3rd and 4th.. ( 2-3 mph)
I let her sit for 5 min and limp it back to the truck, i checked the rear end / hydro oil and it was a touch low, less than a qt id guess. I dump a quart in from my truck ( always carry extra oil and fluids) and as I'm pouring it in the rear axle housing fill i can hear the stuff boiling as its going in..... I mean it was F'IN HOT!!

What have i done to my tractor? Will over working the PTO cause this? it was working pretty hard. Id say 75% of its rated power was being used constantly, but my god, its a tractor right...?????

Your thermostat in the oil cooler is shelling or your oil cooler radiator is plugged up with junk.

 

[quadmaster50]

Your thermostat in the oil cooler is shelling or your oil cooler radiator is plugged up with junk.

The only oil cooler is for the motor, its a sandwich cooler at the oil filter. It don't have any coolers for the trans at the radiator as its a manual transmission. ( yet )

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Well, I went out and serviced my tractor, kicked the bush hog on and the **** PTO clutch is slipping horribly! It wasn't doing this friday when i shut it off.... I could burn this POS.. I googled it and it seems many people have been having super high fluid temps ( 260+ deg) with the DK55 when worked hard.... Ive put 600 hours on this tractor and know how to operate it. It never done this before until i put the larger mower on it.

Okay, time to add a thermostatically controlled oil cooler. If there is a service manual floating around there should be two port for tapping into to hook up an oil cooler.

PTO clutch is electric isn't it?

 

[ritcheyvs]

I am more of a Diesel engine guy (vs transmission) but this is a gear transmission so I'll comment.

This is NOT normal. Continued operation in this state may (eventually will) damage something.

There may be something wrong with the hydraulics, either at the loader, at the remotes, or at the 3-point (unless you have added valves, like a third function). Operate the loader and remote levers to verify the hydraulics load on the engine when they should (like brief deadheading) and that the engine unloads (by ear) when you remove each hydraulic load.

Another possibility is a slipping PTO clutch. You might experiment to see if the overheat is associated with PTO operation.

Be sure you use a "premium" tractor fluid that is specifically rated for wet brakes (and clutches). I think the wrong kind of hydraulic fluid might cause the PTO clutch to slip.

 

[ovrszd]

I think your PTO clutch is the culprit. Adding a cooler might lower the temps of the oil, but won't fix that....

I'd call my dealer and talk to a mechanic, not the service tech. See if there's any adjustment for this clutch? See if it's a normal problem? What's the solution?

I'm afraid you have fried your PTO clutch. Gather all the information you can before you let a shop work on it.

Sorry for your problems. Burning the tractor is not the solution.

 

[quadmaster50]

Well, i took it into the local dealer and they said that these are know for hot trans problems, they are putting new seals in the PTO.. they say that can work one second and not the next time you turn it on... Very poor design according to them, and its in the middle of the tractor!

 

[ovrszd]

So, when you go back to brushcutting again what do you expect?