New T300 FEL Problems

[les.houston]

I purchased one of the new T300s the end of April this year. For the most part, this tractor is a great machine. I like how everything is set up and am very happy with it...with one exception...

The hydraulic system running the FEL is poor. Within the first three months, I had to have the loader valve (joystick) replaced due to faulty valves. During this time, the system developed the inability to lift and curl effectively. Its capacity was less than half of the stated rating. When the dealer replaced the valve, they said the system had lots of air in it and that was the cause. They bled the system down and sent me on my way.

Everything seemed to be working fine, but now over time, it has developed the same lift and curl problems with air in the system. (The problem with the original valve has not showed up though, and that is a good thing.) The oil is not foamy or creamy looking, it is still very clear. (I changed it at the 50hr interval with high quality fluid.)

I contacted the dealer about it and after they contacted the NC office, it appears there are some issues with this loader. The manufacturer of the loader was going to NC to conduct some testing and evaluations.

Has anyone else experienced any loader issues with the T300 or T350? Any thoughts?

 

[les.houston]

Update...got the attention of the TYM regional sales rep, Larry ??. Taking it back to the dealer and Larry wants to see for himself all the things the loader is not doing. It is rated to lift 1,600 pounds, but struggles at 600. It has no break out force, spongy hydraulics, slow hydraulics, and the list grows.

The head tech at TYM in SC says they have a "handful" of other T300 owners reporting similar issues, but do not have a fix or reason it is occurring right off the assembly line.

Is anyone else having issues with the T300 or T350?

Thanks...Les

 

[Redneck in training]

Update...got the attention of the TYM regional sales rep, Larry ??. Taking it back to the dealer and Larry wants to see for himself all the things the loader is not doing. It is rated to lift 1,600 pounds, but struggles at 600. It has no break out force, spongy hydraulics, slow hydraulics, and the list grows.

The head tech at TYM in SC says they have a "handful" of other T300 owners reporting similar issues, but do not have a fix or reason it is occurring right off the assembly line.

Is anyone else having issues with the T300 or T350?

Thanks...Les

I have T330 HST about two years and put on it little more than 200 hours. So far I had only one problem with leaking rear transmission sight. Dealer gave me new one for free and it took about 5 minutes to replace. Another nuisance was poor paint job on operator platform and cylinders. I fixed that by myself with spray paint.

 

[Grut]

I have a T330 Gear TLB and only problem I have had was the front loader valve freezing up when it is below 20 degrees, just need to wait a little longer before using. My dealer stated he figured it out--the loader valve is mounted upside down due to the remote joystick with the cables and the holes in the now top caps are meant to be facing downward. He advised to clean out any moisture and spray some wd-40 then seal holes. It worked, haven't had any problems yet this year.
Are you leaking any fluid? Enough leaked would cause some problems.
Hope you get your problems resolved quickly. Good luck!

 

[sperry]

Red neck in training
I have had a T330HST for a few years now and noticed the trans fluid sight leak about two months ago. Would you give a breifing about the fix. I really like my tractor and am glad to hear it's a quick fix!

 

[pete-mi]

I also had my sight glass leaking a little bit last summer. I got the floor jack out and lifted the right rear side of the tractor. Then with a screw driver I was able to remove the sight glass and clean the area. I then put some silicone around the sight glass and reinstalled it. I kept it on the jack for a day as the silicone dried. The next day removed the jack and have not had a problem since. My sight glass was good but for some it may need to be replaced.

 

[Redneck in training]

Red neck in training
I have had a T330HST for a few years now and noticed the trans fluid sight leak about two months ago. Would you give a breifing about the fix. I really like my tractor and am glad to hear it's a quick fix!

The dealer told me that it is a systematic problem due to material the original sight is made of. It dries up, hardens and then leaks. There is new design available from the dealer. When replacing it just park the tractor nose down slope so the sight is above oil level, then use small screwdriver to pull the old sight out and press new one in. It is very simple and quick job. Or do what Pete Mi did.

 

[TYMinColton]

Following this thread closely. . . I think my T273 site is also leaking around the site glass. At first I thought it was the overflow hose, but the leak has continued ever so slowly all winter.Guess I need to have a closer look

 

[les.houston]

Thank you all for the feedback. I don't have a leaking site glass (yet) and no other signs of leakage are apparent.

Larry Bible, the Territory Manager met me at the dealer site (Coleman Equip. near Steelville, IL) I bought my T300 at this last April.

He ran the FEL through its paces and immediately noticed the lack of power and "snap" he said it should have. We put a set of forks on it and barely got a 1,200 load off the ground. It should pick up 1,600 with ease.
He immediately said he will replace the pumps, loader valve, and have the system flushed.

It took me a while to get the attention of a rep. from the company, but now that I have, I must admit they were responsive yesterday. Larry said they would make it right, one way or another.

The guys at Coleman Equip. have been great. They have been trying since May to get this to the attention level it needed.
I will keep you all posted...

Les

 

[Grut]

That's great. Glad TYM is going to make it right. Unfortunately it does take time to climb up the ladder.
Keep us posted on how your tractor is after all the work.

 

[les.houston]

Well...now TYM is waffling on their decision. They decided they needed more tests...and as Murphy's Law would have it, the T300 started acting better in the shop. The Regional Manager confirmed what was going on and that it was not lifting and working correctly, but now, instead of fixing the problem, they are in a holding pattern.

Grrr....

 

[les.houston]

Well...according to the dealer, everything magically works! All that was done was to pull the sump strainer screen out and check it. According to them it was not stopped up.
Nonetheless...they brought it home to me last night. I will give it a workout this weekend and validate it myself.

 

[myyaz33]

Les,

Do you believe in magic?... Isn't that a song? Anyway, lets just hope he is right and not just wasting more valuable time. Sounds to me like you have been patient enough so if this time it doesn't get fixed I would squawk a bit louder. Maybe pretend this tractor is your money maker and you were having to limp it around the job site unloading pallets by hand until they were light enough your loader could lift them.

Good luck

 

[dieselsmoke1]

I've got the red version of the T330HST. No leaks so far in 600 hrs. Only serious problem was the front axle bolt thing, luckily caught before any serious damage.

 

[sperry]

Whats the front axle bolt thing? Please share the info! What a great site TBN is.

 

[dieselsmoke1]

Here's the posts from 2006 in the Mahindra

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/mahindra-owning-operating/78781-tym-10-series-check-front.html

and the TYM forums.

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/tym/78784-tym-mahindra-10-series-axle.html

I understand this issue was not limited to the Mahindra models only.

 

[dieselsmoke1]

Another nuisance was poor paint job on operator platform and cylinders. I fixed that by myself with spray paint.

Yea I did that to the platform as well. Couldn't tell it a year later as more powdercoat had popped off. Last time it was blow everything off that a power washer would get, use paint scraper, wire brush and sanding sponge to remove anything that would budge, brushed on Rustoleum Pro Primer and Dark Gray, sanded the exposed areas to knock down the brush marks and sprayed them for color match. Problem solved.

 

[les.houston]

I'll just start this out with my mood...

We left off with the dealer delivering the T300 (Baby) back to me on Thursday night per TYM's instructions.

The first chance I got to get on Baby was Saturday morning to push and clear the 8 inches of heavy wet snow we got 70 miles southwest of St. Louis.

The 3-point works like a champ...never had any problems with it. Pushed and plowed snow with the rear blade for an hour then moved on to the church parking lot. Used the bucket to make the first pass at clearing (I have a heavy duty tooth bar and it won't get the first 1 inch) the lot.

The FEL worked great just like the dealer had explained to me...but only for about 15 minutes. About the 4th bucket load of snow, it strarted getting sluggish again on dumping and would just hang limp until the stick was held in dump mode for 7 seconds, then would start to snap the bucket to bang the load out. Then I noticed the curling cylinders starting to compress again under slight down pressure on the ground.

When I was done about an hour later, I measure the amount of compression and I was able to compress the curling cylinders 6 inches...Yes...6 inches!

I got home, called the dealer and they immediately got on the phone with Larry, Territory Manager.

As of this morning, they are working back and forth with Larry on what to do. In the meantime, I found some technical white papers on air in the hydraulics and the lasting effects it can have on a system...not good.

Right now I feel like the 3-legged, one-eyed, broke tailed, neutered cat called "Lucky"...

 

[LAWALLSTRACTOR]

Sounds like you are getting air in the system. Mayby there are some loose connections on the suction line between the transmission housing and the pump.

 

[les.houston]

Yeah...I believe all agree it is air, either through a leak or through cavitation...supposedly all connections have been checked...

Latest update:

Larry Bible, Territory Manager, got approval to replace the loader valve (AGAIN), blow out all lines, flush out all fluid, and refill. They will run it for a few hours running the FEL and see how it goes. If it still does it, then on to replacing another component and so on and so on...

I sure would love to have Baby at home working...getting tired of making payments on something I can't use.

I will have to say though that Kenny at Coleman Equipment has been absolutely fantastic through all this and as far as any dealer goes, they have been great to work with. I don't hold them responsible for TYM's lack of response and ability to resolve this issue.

Stay tuned...