Engine slobbering, oil and residue coming out of stack

A dark and heavy residue emitted around exhaust manifold gaskets on diesel engines. The operator can help eliminate the residue by avoiding unnecessary engine idling. "Diesel slobber" or "slobber" consists of diesel fuel and/or crankcase oil which has passed through the combustion chamber and did not burn. These are the "heavies" that did not burn because cylinders temperature are too low to promote complete burning.
The lower temperature occurs at:

• Start up while engine temperature increases.
• Engine is idled for a prolonged period.

Small amounts of crankcase oil can find their way past the piston rings and valve guides in a new engine or in a "cold" engine while idling. The unburned crankcase oil mixes with the unburned fuel to create the "slobber". In addition to the "slobber" you can see, there is an unseen amount of unburned fuel washing down the cylinder walls. This unburned fuel:

• Forms gummy deposits on valves, pistons and piston rings.
• Dilutes crankcase oil.
• Accumulates sludge throughout exhaust system.

Gear Pump Failure 313 and 317 Skid Steers No Hydraulics

The skid steer has experienced a sudden loss of main hydraulics. The boom and bucket will not operate and the park brake will not release. The 313 and 317 skid steers use an Eaton Series 26 gear pump. Pumps built prior to October 2008 had occasional problems with the heat treat process for the gears. If not properly heat treated, one or both gears can crack. Upon cracking, the gear expands outward, seizing to the aluminum pump housing. In many cases the pump shaft snaps off.

Pumps built after October 2008 have gears with an improved heat treat process. To determine the build date of an Eaton hydrostatic drive pump, look at the pump serial number. The pump serial number is interpreted as follows:
YYMMDDRBBXXXX
YY = the first two digits are the year. 08 is 2008, 09 is 2009, etc.
MM = the third and fourth digits are the month. 01 is January, 02 is February, etc.
DD = the fifth and sixth digits are the day of the month
RBB = Assembly plant. For our pumps RBB is Reynosa, Mexico. U is Hutchinson, KS. Since 2007 all skid steer pumps are Reynosa pumps.
The final four digits are the serial number. Serial numbers starting with 1 are first shift, those starting with 2 are second shift.
Thus, a pump with serial number 081015RBB2033 was built October 15, 2008 at Reynosa, MX. It was the 33rd pump built on second shift.


If your machine has experienced a cracked gear pump failure, it is important to repair it properly and economically. Below is the evaluation, repair, and cleanup procedure following a seized pump failure on the 313 and 317 skid steer.

1. Determine whether your pump was built before or after October 2008.
2. Examine the bushings in the front hydrostat housing.
      a. If one or both bushings are damaged, complete hydrostat pump replacement is recommended. The bushings are not field serviceable.
      b. If both bushings are undamaged, replace only the gear pump.
3. Because this failure mode is sudden and immediate, very little debris is generated and sent downstream. John Deere recommends the following cleanup procedure:
a. Remove the line(s) between the gear pump outlet and the control valve inlet. Thoroughly clean the line(s).
b. Remove and flush the attenuator, if installed.
c. Reassemble the machine.
d. Drain the hydraulic reservoir and visually inspect the interior of the reservoir for debris. If debris is found, add 1-2 gallons of diesel fuel to the reservoir and stir it around to loosen the oil and debris. Drain the fuel and use a shop vac to remove the last of the contamination from the reservoir.
e. Refill the reservoir and install a new hydraulic filter. If you have SuperCaddy or equivalent, filter caddy the oil. If you do not have SuperCaddy or equivalent, proceed to steps f through below.
f. Operate the machine for approximately 30 minutes driving forward and reverse and operating the boom and bucket cylinders through their full stroke.
g. Drain the hydraulic oil and change the filter again.
h. Check hydraulic flow and pressure at the auxiliary couplers. If flow and/or pressure are below spec, replace the system relief valve.
i. change the new hydraulic filter after 10 hours of operation.

Courtesy of John Deere DTAC Solutions

Steering Levers Don't Return All the Way to Neutral -- 317, 320, CT322 Skid Steer

What may be going on is the return spring may be too weak and should be replaced with a stiffer spring.  the part number for the new spring is R26637. Remove both original centering springs, install the new springs in their place, for the adjustment procedure for the steering see your local dealership.

4640/4840 No Hydraulics, No Steering, No Brakes

There are some very simple items to check to verify the problem. First was the problem a gradual failure or an instantaneous failure. What that will tell you is whether something is wore out or if something broke. Second, plumb a gauge into the filter relief valve housing. You are checking to see if your Lube/Charge pump is putting anything out. If you see pressure move on to checking pressure at your main hydraulic pump. If pressure is going to the main hydraulic pump but nothing is coming out remove your system pressure relief valve and inspect it for sticking or wear. If the valve is fine plumb a flow meter directly onto the output of the pump to see if the pump is pumping anything. You could a have just a wore out pump. Now if you don't have any pressure at the charge pump pull out the plug on the filter housing a have someone hold a bucket at the hole and start the tractor if nothing comes out check the pickup screen before the pump is condemned. If the screen is clean as was the case on a tractor I recently did, then you have to tear into the rear of the tractor. The charge pump is located in the rear axle. You cannot just order a new pump. You have to order the specific pieces you need. In order to get to the pump you need to remove the rockshaft housing cover which is a lengthy process. The hole job including the making the special tools to lift the cover will take you between 20 and 25 hours to complete. In my case the pump was good but there was a huge hole in the outlet pipe of the pump.