Terramite T9 noisy moving forward and backward.

[scot74]

My Terramite T9 (2wd) is noisy moving forward and backward at the point in which significant motion is experienced in either direction. It is a loud squawking\squealing noise seemingly proportional to the increase or decrease on the pedal whether forward or backward. It sounds like it is coming from under the seat toward the back half of the machine. I would not call it a super high pitch whine. It is particularly loud when going up hill or pushing into a pile of rock. The hydraulics seem strong in both the backhoe and FEL.

In addition, the machine moves SLOOOWWW. It is worse moving forward than in reverse. It seems to go in reverse at twice the speed as it goes forward. I have adjusted the pedal governor bolts accordingly and it did not make a difference though there was not as much pedal room to move forward when compared to reverse prior to my adjustment.

The fluid is topped off and I do not see any significant leaks of any kind. There is only a small "weepy" cylinder on the FEL.

Is the noise normal? Also, doesn't it seem reasonable that it should move forward faster and backward, slower? Please help.

Thanks in advance!
Scot

 

[Terrasteve]

Scot every terramite that I have ever heard had a very loud hydro pump. Mine is the same. When I first got it I thought it was very noisy so I changed the hydro fluid hoping to quiet it down. It did nothing to reduce the noise level. Since I have had mine I have seen many others that are just as noisy as mine. It is just the nature of the Beast. It gets louder when put it under a load. Nothing you can do to change that. I have put a couple hundred hours on mine since I got it with NO problems what so ever. As far as the speed I noticed that mine is a little faster in reverse than forward as well. I took a handheld gps with me once and recorded the top speed in forward, it was just shy of 4 MPH wide open. I did not check it in reverse but it does seem a little faster, Maybe it's cracking the 4 MPH barrier in reverse LOL.

 

[scot74]

Scot every terramite that I have ever heard had a very loud hydro pump. Mine is the same. When I first got it I thought it was very noisy so I changed the hydro fluid hoping to quiet it down. It did nothing to reduce the noise level. Since I have had mine I have seen many others that are just as noisy as mine. It is just the nature of the Beast. It gets louder when put it under a load. Nothing you can do to change that. I have put a couple hundred hours on mine since I got it with NO problems what so ever. As far as the speed I noticed that mine is a little faster in reverse than forward as well. I took a handheld gps with me once and recorded the top speed in forward, it was just shy of 4 MPH wide open. I did not check it in reverse but it does seem a little faster, Maybe it's cracking the 4 MPH barrier in reverse LOL.

"When I first got it I thought it was very noisy so I changed the hydro fluid hoping to quiet it down."

Ha. That is exactly what I did. Same result.

"Maybe it's cracking the 4 MPH barrier in reverse LOL."

^^^LOL...I am certainly not going to be traveling back in time with it! When I asked about the variance in speed between forward and backward the guy I bought it from said, "Maybe it is the sensation of going backward and it just feels like it is faster?" and I was thinking to myself..."It isn't exactly a tilt-a-whirl in either direction."

I am happy with the machine though I can tell that moving material with it will be slow. I am ok with that. For what we paid ($8500 for a T9 Diesel with 547hrs) I view it as a digging workhorse capable of road maintenance as well.

 

[Terrasteve]

Sounds like you got a good buy on it. They are very handy machines that are built like tanks. I don't think I could be without one now. It sure has saved me a lot of back breaking work.