My 275 Case just stops moving

[ymontana]

During use the tractor just stops moving. There is no change in the sound of the engine or the RPMs and the PTO continues to have power. I can move the range selector thru all three ranges without grinding while the tractor is in gear and the clutch is out. I can not change gears without engaging the clutch though. The dealer thought it was the clutch and charged me a grand to discover that the clutch is perfect. The tractor only has 600 hours! Lastly it seems most likely to occur when I am using the lift arms to raise and lower my mower a lot. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Kernopelli]

Huh...don't know much about that tractor but didn't that model have an inching pedal? I've never owned anything with one or exactly how it works but aren't some cable activated and some hydraulic and they basically modulate the clutch for minimal or slow movement? If it was being depressed/engaged, wouldn't that basically disengage the clutch? I'd check it out.

 

[ymontana]

Thanks but no. This tractor does not have an inching pedal and the clutch is not engaged during the "stoppage". Thanks for the thoughts though!

 

[Kernopelli]

Just kinda thinking out loud here.....Gear drive trans. The 3 pt hitch lifting repeatedly shouldn't be able to interfere with the drive system at all. Hydraulic system is completely separate from the drivetrain except for shared oil and the pump(s) are driven by the engine ( if you want to consider the engine as part of the drivetrain) Being able to change gear ranges w/o using the clutch sounds like an indication that something isn't right there. I've never owned a tractor that the range gears were any different than the forward/reverse gears, i.e. that they could be shifted w/o using the clutch ( not talking about a powershift trans etc here). If it's not a clutch issue, I'm gonna have to go with something amiss with the range gears with the details we know so far. It would have to be more than just popping out of the range selection and getting caught in a false neutral too. ....if you are saying that once it has stopped pulling, with tractor running, you can move the range lever through the 3 ranges w/o clutch and it doesn't grind and the tractor still doesn't pull itself.

What happens after the tractor quits moving? Are you able to eventually get it moving again? If so what do you do that makes it start moving again? Or, have you been taking it back to the dealer each time and they've been getting it "running" again?

 

[ronwiita]

During use the tractor just stops moving. There is no change in the sound of the engine or the RPMs and the PTO continues to have power. I can move the range selector thru all three ranges without grinding while the tractor is in gear and the clutch is out. I can not change gears without engaging the clutch though. The dealer thought it was the clutch and charged me a grand to discover that the clutch is perfect. The tractor only has 600 hours! Lastly it seems most likely to occur when I am using the lift arms to raise and lower my mower a lot. Anyone have any ideas?

we have same tractor, same problem, we tried locking and unlocking the dif lock and moving it back and forth and seems problem is gone. wondering if dif lock is half in and half out. had the case Int dealer out but he couldn't figure it out. just wants to open it up at $60/hr. would appreciate any answer yopu get, Ron in Ohio

 

[Kernopelli]

I Looked in my manual which covers Mitsubishi MT300's. The 275 was one of the made for CIH Mitsubishi compacts.They are a pretty close match to the 275 in many ways. Same K3M engine and the diff and axle diagrams are identical between my manual and Messick's CaseIH parts diagrams for the 275. It looks like the locker is a fork on the pedal shaft that slides a hub to lock the side gear/axle drive gear in the diff. W/O seeing it in front of me, it's always hard to grasp the whole differential concept and it's "real" construction/operation. But just sitting here looking at the parts and how they fit together...and how any differential is generally constructed I just don't see how an issue with the lock being partially engaged ( "wondering if dif lock is half in and half out.) could cause a problem that would prevent both wheels from driving. I could see the lock not working correctly but one wheel would still drive. I could see one of the diff gears being broken,etc but you wouldn't have an intermittent issue if that was the case. You would likely also have gear grinding, banging, OMG type symptoms that something was obviously wrong in the latter scenario.

I am far from being a mechanic. Diagnostics, especially when things are being described to me and I'm not terribly familiar with the specific item is NOT my forte either. I can usually fix most things once I've got it in front of me though. I can see/understand how it works and if I can take it apart I can put it back together correctly. I could be totally wrong.....but with the symptoms described by the original op, I don't think the diff lock is related to the issue.

 

[Weed]

We had the same problem. The tractor would move 20 to 40 feet and then coast to a stop with no change of sound or any bad noises. Finally one time when we got it to move we jammed the diff lock all the way down, moved 10 ft. frontwards. Disengaged diff lock. Then reengaged the diff. lock and did the same thing backwards. Then jammed right brake, drove in a circle. Pressed left brake, drove in a circle. This made sure both axles were working in the differential. Amazingly the problem completely went away. (I didn't think it would work, I was just frustrated with the dumb problem, but it worked.) I am not sure about reading the schematics, but I know if one axle would have been stripped or broken the diff. would not keep moving the tractor with the other good axle. So I think the diff. lock was screwed up and one or both sides were not totally engaged. That was after paying money to a dealer who could not fix it or figure it out.

 

[Kernopelli]

We had the same problem. The tractor would move 20 to 40 feet and then coast to a stop with no change of sound or any bad noises. Finally one time when we got it to move we jammed the diff lock all the way down, moved 10 ft. frontwards. Disengaged diff lock. Then reengaged the diff. lock and did the same thing backwards. Then jammed right brake, drove in a circle. Pressed left brake, drove in a circle. This made sure both axles were working in the differential. Amazingly the problem completely went away. (I didn't think it would work, I was just frustrated with the dumb problem, but it worked.) I am not sure about reading the schematics, but I know if one axle would have been stripped or broken the diff. would not keep moving the tractor with the other good axle. So I think the diff. lock was screwed up and one or both sides were not totally engaged. That was after paying money to a dealer who could not fix it or figure it out.

Well, sure sounds like the same problem and symptoms. Looking at the diagrams, it's hard to determine exactly how the fork/hub locks the diff/axles but there's got to be something to it ( the diff involved w/ the problem). My manual doesn't explain anything concerning the diff lock so I am just trying to understand how it works from the parts diagrams. Since the diff allows either wheel to turn, I guess it makes sense that if the hub is sliding between open and locked it could hold something in a place that allows neither axle to drive? I concede, it appears your evidence overpowers my (weak) logic.

I still can't grasp how that would work though. I am guessing that any locker works by locking one or more of the 4 diff gears from independent movement of the others ( this is where I'm probably confused). I don't see how that hub is taking the relation of those gears to each other out of the equation....just whether they can spin independently of each other or not. Oh well, that's always been my problem...strong back, weak mind.

 

[yojohn]

Have same problem with my 275. Got worse this week. Can only go 30 ft at a time. PTO/bush hog works fine and no problem with clutch. Diff lock works fine, but tractor won't go. Tried L-M-H and every gear. Starts working again on it's own. Has to be some link or splined shaft between trans output and diff input. I hear little rattling in rear when I release clutch.Did anyone resolve this problem?

 

[BrokenParts]

Hi guys, same troubles here with my 1991 275. I drove it today and had all gears and all ranges. it was working great then stopped moving again. Nothing in any gear or range. no grinding even with clutch out i can go past every gear and range. I tried the diif lock on and off too. Has anyone had any more events and fixes to explain this problem? Thanks