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

Brand new Gator xuv 550 S4 makes grinding noises when using 4 wheel drive!

First you need to verify that it is only in 4 wheel drive that it makes popping or grinding noises. Check to see if there is the appropriate amount of oil in the transmission. After you've confirmed that there is the proper amount of oil and the noise only occurs when you are in 4 wheel drive, remove the front driveline where it comes out of the transfer case. With the Gator on jack stands so that none of the wheels touch the ground run it to see if the noises have stopped. If so then it is coming from your front end. If not then it is coming from your transfer case. Remove the transfer case to verify as you may have gear teeth in the transfer case missing or broken.

4105/3032 E Won't Drive Forward or Backward

This particular model has a hydro-static drive transmission. The bracket that connects the linkage to the transmission is prone to breaking. Crawl underneath the tractor and follow the linkage to where it enters the transmission housing. If everything is fine then the problem is probably the hydro-static circuit but this failure is a usually a gradual failure. If the failure is an instantaneous failure then it is more then likely not the circuit.

310J Backhoe cuts Throttle and flashes STOP when in Gear

310J Backhoes have a safety seat. They have a sensor for when you are locked in the forward position and when you swing the seat around to dig. If one of the wires is broken or not making contact it effects all kinds of things. For the front switch if it is malfunctioning then it will cut throttle as you are driving because it is telling the computer that you are not in your seat and so it needs to cut throttle. It will also flash STOP but when you put it in neutral it stops flashing. Once again it is because the computer thinks you are driving with out being in the seat. If you go into the maintenance menu on the on board diagnostics and go to switches and watch the seat switches it will show you if they are working properly or not. It will tell you on or off for the front and on or off for the rear. If you are locked in the rear it should read on and vice versa. In order to fix this you have to dismantle the seat and remove the floor mat. Most places don't stock these switches though.

TRANSMISSION TEMP HIGH on 6430 and 6430 Premium

Over the summer there were a couple 6430's and 6430 Premium's that came in where the Transmission Temperature is too high but it is full of oil. It is also pulling EGR codes and tractor goes into a power derate (engine cuts power and goes into limp mode so as to prevent catastrophic failure). The coolant reservoir if you just glance at it says it is full. However due to the design of the coolant reservoir there is a divider inside that separates the engine side from the EGR and Transmission cooler side. Make a complete examination to be sure that you do in fact have the correct amount of coolant. Don't just make a quick look at it, fully examine it.