XU6168 nightmare issue - no Forward on Power Shuttle (not solved)

[raymix]

Hi everyone.

This will be a big and long story about a nightmare we had at the garage.
This is my 2nd post on this forum and this will be a big one (and I do hope someone out there could help).

N.B. if my english is a bit edgy , that's because I am actually speaking French, sorry !

Okay, for starters, I am working as an agricultural tractor mechanic in a small shop.
My boss has this LS tractor retailer and we sold somes.
The nightmare begans with this brand new LS XU6168 tractor new owner, which is a horse raiser, bought in April 2017 so he
could take care and feed the animals with his new baby.

With only 5 hours on hour meter, the tractor suddenly stop to go forward (it is a power shuttle)

The customer called at the garage to told us about it and me and the boss went to his farm to pick it up and brang it back to the shop to find a fix.

This is when things went nightmares

At first, we asked LS support "specialist" to send us the LS diagnostic tools which is a little handhelded instrument so I could see the error codes sent by the ECU and adjust pressure slopes, clutch adjustments and such, you got it

No luck so the "specialist" over the phone asked me to check out the full wiring harness that goes from the solenoid F/R valves (forward/reverse) ,he told me about a story he had about a fried harness that had caused an ECU issue, so I removed it from the tractor (and it wasn't easy because these Korean dudes prolly installed harness before putting on the full cab !!)

So now i am done, having the harness in my dirty hands, testing conductivity on each and every wires , NOTHING wrong...

Time for another chapter of the nightmare.
My favorite "specialist" over the phone asked me to check out if there was no shorts between the ECU and floor harness section. NO ! everything's fine.
Then he asked me to check out harness between ECU and Power Shuttle lever in the dash if anything is wrong. NO ! everything's fine .

My "specialist" told me it was prolly a solenoid forward problem and told me to order a new F/R solenoids assy and installed it. NO LUCK man, nice try ...

My "specialist" told me over the phone that it could be an ECU issue and asked me to order a new one with new firmware, that would resolve the problem ..
NO LUCK man, nice try ...

My "specialist" asked me to check out the Power Shuttle lever switch ( you know the orange shifter ) if there was any conductivity between it and the electrical solenoid valves, all fine but he told me to order a new one , just in case ... NO LUCK man, nice try ...

My boss asked the "big heads" of LS (by the way they are very friendly) to send my "specialist" at the shop here in Amos, Quebec and work with me directly to
resolve this problem once for all. So he was here for 2 days (Friday and Saturday) so I had to do extra time.
We separated the tractor because he was suspecting a Power Shuttle clutch pack issue so we put a new one, changed O'rings, cleaned the whole things, checked out
if there wasn't any silicon gasket stuff left that could obstruct oil direction. Everything was perfect ...
Even checked behind the Power Shuttle assy (in the transmission) (it was my idea) with a remote camera, all gears and stuff looks fine

NO LUCK, tractor still doesn't go forward when Power shuttle was F engaged.
My "specialist" tried SEVERAL tests with his handhelded diagnostic tool, NO LUCK ...

Now my "specialist" had this wonderful idea to separate the tractor a second time to make sure the 3 holes for oil direction and O' rings were ok.
I was so excited (ironic you know)

Then he had no idea what the ferk is going on. He left on Sunday leave me me with the ****.
My boss wasn't very happy as you can expect.

The next week, my "specialist" called me and thought it was "prolly" the proportional valve whose causin' all the prob.
I ordered a new one and and installed it ... yes you guessed, NO LUCK ...

My boss went berserk and told me to stop wasting time on this thing. Formal notice, court stuff from the customer, you see the picture ..
Now i put back the entire tractor together like it was and sent it back to LS and get a new one soon.

I know it all ends well BUT i am still asking myself, WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM ?!?!?!?!I couldn't find , neither my favorite "specialist" but it still bugging me and I felt I had to tell my story to all of you since MAYBE out there experienced the same thing with those darn ECU controlled Power Shuttle.

Last thing I want to tell is that I was itchy about changing the whole Power Shuttle valve Block. I suspect something was blocking the forward pressure.

I took pressure tests. From the main PTO pressure line (behind the rear wheel) , it must be @ 235 lbs and it was ok.
From the GR plug on the Power Shuttle, still got 235 lbs when shifting Power Shuttle lever to reverse. All good
From the GF plug on , no pressure at all, no forward, no nothing.

Like i said, the last thing I didn't changed is the whole Power Shuttle block assy.

Story is over , BUT still a mystery to me , anyone has an idea ?
That nightmare is bugging me off, even if it's ok now but I feel like I am clueless.

For those of you who read me so far, congratulations haha !!!

Ray.

 

[3Lfarms]

Ouch! No idea on the problem, but I'd bet it was something simple that failed that LS has ever seen fail before.
You never specified what happened when it stopped working or how many hours. I assume it was still under warranty. Users can sometimes leave out critical information....like they were going 10 MPH in reverse and suddenly threw it in Forward while doing donuts in the snow. Lol
I just took delivery of a new 6168CPS myself. I'm curious what the outcome ended up being. Since LS couldn't figure out the problem, did LS replace the tractor, or did the owner just get their money back?

 

[abears3]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one having problems....I have a 2015 XU6168CPS. It has been to the "dealer" 3 times for whip lash conditions when shifting forward and reverse. It is so harsh it is dangerous. First time the dealer said some software needed to be updated. It worked fine for about 20 hours.

Then it happened again. Drag it back to the dealer and they say it needs to be calibrated. it works fine for a while now it's back to whip lash neck breaking engaging shifts.

Monday I plan to bring it back to the dealer who is over 3 hours drive. I've about had it with this tractor.

Oh I almost forgot it's drinking hydraulic fluid too. No visible outer leaks but in under 300 hours I've added over 3 gallons. I wonder if it is related since the hydraulic reservoirs for the shuttle shift and PTO.

Any ideas or anyone had this issue?

 

[3Lfarms]

Does yours have the ground engagement switch? On my 2017, there is a switch that sets the forward/reverse engagement to fast and harsh to prevent slipping the clutch too long when pulling a plow and damaging the clutch. It sounds like yours may be stuck in that ground engagement mode.

 

[Lilmul]

Hi everyone .

I have a 2016 LS6168CPS

My problems started the day the guy unloaded my tractor off the trailer . He backed it off the trailer with my back ho on it and he smashed the ho on the pavement and then used the three point hitch to raise the ho. He bent the straight bar which is 1x3 solid steel into a ski but I digress lol.

My power shuttle started acting up yesterday . I can not get the clutch to disengage even with the peddle pushed down . If I engage the shuttle valve to forward or reverse the tractor will move . It’s like the clutch disc is stuck to the flywheel .

After reading I see I may be in some trouble with the shuttle valve .

Did I say there is only 137 hours that’s right 137 hours since new and it has been serviced by the dealer since new .
He’ll i still have the plastic on the seat lol

I’m also loosing hydrulic fluid . I put over 10 litres in the tank . I thought maybe the mechanic dident fill it fully when he did the Servicing no big I just topped it off . I went out yesterday and checked it like I always do before I use it . Sure enough the stick was down to the add again WTF . I topped it up again . I don’t know where it’s going because there are no spots on the ground or in my shop.

I’ll let you know how I make out as I’ll be chatting to the dealer and mechanic today .

 

[Lilmul]

I just got off the phone with the mechanic and he told me they (the dealer) does NOT have any scanner up dates to check the shuttle valve system . It’s 2021 and my tractor is a 2016 WTF wrong with these people .

As a mechanic with my own shop I know the cost of scanner equipment . Yes it costs money to up grade to stay current so you scan new vehicles so you can fix them .

Not having the proper equipment to do the job leaves the mechanics in a bad spot .

more to follow lol