Range shifter very hard to shift suddenly in hydro CT 445

JKP_Canada · Feb 24, 2025

Hi. My Dad has taken a bit ill over the last couple years so I'm now running his hydrostatic CT 445 on his property a lot to deal with hauling some logs around, plowing the driveway, tilling the garden, etc.

Last weekend I'd been running the tractor for about 30m with no issues and had to hop off to get something out of the way. I put the range in N, engaged the parking brake, hopped off and did my thing. When I got back on, I couldn't shift back into H or M, the shifter didn't want to move at all. I did the usual little tap on the travel pedal, but that didn't help.

I couldn't leave the tractor in the field, so I pushed my luck and was able to get it back into M by applying a lot more force than I would have liked. I finished what I needed to do and drove back to the barn, but the range shifter is still super hard to shift. Fluid levels are all ok, but it doesn't want to shift anymore.

Any ideas what might be going on or what to look at?

winston1 · Feb 25, 2025

Here is a thread with lots of ideas. BOBCAT CT230 RANGE SELECTOR STICKS

JKP_Canada · Jul 16, 2025

Ended up that my dad had been putting hydraulic fluid in it instead of transmission differential fluid. Filters got clogged. One of the hydraulic couplings had a leak the last few years and Dad was just dumping hydraulic fluid in it every once in a while to top it up.

Coupling fixed, fluid replaced, filters replaced. Working good as new again.