gehl 2600 right wheels wont turn

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what have i done

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my old Gehl gets very little use..I used it a couple months ago to move some dirt...it worked fine...then I parked it outside.. Fast forward a couple months to today. 1st snow...Thought I would fire it up and get it ready to move snow tomorrow. It started up fine but wouldn't move. I rocked it back and forth a bit and just wouldnt move. Bucket hydraulics all worked smooth up/down/tilt Left it idle for about 5 mins then tried again. still nothing tried some turning and realized the left wheels were working fine but the right is not moving at all. Where do I start...unfortunately. it's gonna be working on it outside in the snow as I cannot get it to move. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
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what have i done

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I should of noted when trying to go forward or activate the right wheels it moans and groans....so the chain is still intact...maybe bound up or pump?
 

Tazza

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I should of noted when trying to go forward or activate the right wheels it moans and groans....so the chain is still intact...maybe bound up or pump?
Could the park brake be stuck on? it will casue the wheels to not move but allow the lift/tilt to still function.
It also could be the motor or gearbox if fitted to that side.
Are you sure it isn't a chain? they can snap and roll into a ball at one end locking things up pretty well
 

mark18mwm

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I should of noted when trying to go forward or activate the right wheels it moans and groans....so the chain is still intact...maybe bound up or pump?
We had a similar problem with my brothers 2600. It was parked out side and rain water had puddled in the 'wells" that the axle chains and sprockets are in. The water built up and froze in there and locked the sprockets solid. There are drain holes in these wells but they have pipe plugs in them to keep dirt from underneath from getting in, but that lets the rain water puddle up there. We where able to melt the ice and go again, =free repair. I hope it's something that simple for you. Good luck.
 
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We had a similar problem with my brothers 2600. It was parked out side and rain water had puddled in the 'wells" that the axle chains and sprockets are in. The water built up and froze in there and locked the sprockets solid. There are drain holes in these wells but they have pipe plugs in them to keep dirt from underneath from getting in, but that lets the rain water puddle up there. We where able to melt the ice and go again, =free repair. I hope it's something that simple for you. Good luck.
Yep I am hoping for it is just frozen..worked fine when I parked it a couple months ago.. And Now it is COLD REALLY COLD -5 today. I got some 4x8 foam sheets I am gonna built a shelter around it and throw a heater in there and hope It will thaw out.... I sure dont want to shovel snow by hand this year so as soon as we get some weather above ZERO I am getting it to move :)
 

mark18mwm

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Yep I am hoping for it is just frozen..worked fine when I parked it a couple months ago.. And Now it is COLD REALLY COLD -5 today. I got some 4x8 foam sheets I am gonna built a shelter around it and throw a heater in there and hope It will thaw out.... I sure dont want to shovel snow by hand this year so as soon as we get some weather above ZERO I am getting it to move :)
This may sound incredibly "red neck" but but we where desprate. We where able to jack it up enough to get a old car hood under the wheels and slide/skid it up on a trailer (of course this could not happen at home) and into a heated garage. Maybe if you have access to a heated garage you could try something similar.
 

mark18mwm

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Yep I am hoping for it is just frozen..worked fine when I parked it a couple months ago.. And Now it is COLD REALLY COLD -5 today. I got some 4x8 foam sheets I am gonna built a shelter around it and throw a heater in there and hope It will thaw out.... I sure dont want to shovel snow by hand this year so as soon as we get some weather above ZERO I am getting it to move :)
By the way, I'm in northern Wi. about the same temp here. Man, it's not even Christmas yet and we have had -20 already....... going to be a loooooong winter. lol.
 
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what have i done

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By the way, I'm in northern Wi. about the same temp here. Man, it's not even Christmas yet and we have had -20 already....... going to be a loooooong winter. lol.
Redneck or not, I had the same thought process how I could slide it into the garage. I was thinking jacking it up and slipping snow sleds ( round saucers) under each wheel Anything to get it to slide. It is only about 10 feet from the garage door. It is pretty cold and i havent found the time or the ambition to get another look at it
 

jerry

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Redneck or not, I had the same thought process how I could slide it into the garage. I was thinking jacking it up and slipping snow sleds ( round saucers) under each wheel Anything to get it to slide. It is only about 10 feet from the garage door. It is pretty cold and i havent found the time or the ambition to get another look at it
At this point the best thing is of course to warm it up. But if there are drain plugs on these chain cases shouldn't there be oil in there also? Don't know Gehl at all but once you get it thawed out look into whether or not they should be oil filled and sealed against water. That oil may be needed to lube the wheel bearings also.
 

mark18mwm

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At this point the best thing is of course to warm it up. But if there are drain plugs on these chain cases shouldn't there be oil in there also? Don't know Gehl at all but once you get it thawed out look into whether or not they should be oil filled and sealed against water. That oil may be needed to lube the wheel bearings also.
Jerry, no these drive chains are in the open, not enclosed at all. They are not oil bath like most skid steer drive chains. They are lubed simply by putting oil or chain & gear lube on them but we have found in our case that it is best to leave them dry, they seem to last longer because the don't hold dirt and grit when they are dry.The drain plugs are just to drain water and dirt out of the bottom, but usually they have never been out and the threads are seized and need to be heated to get out. It is not a very good system but these things are pretty old, back then manufacturers didn't have it quite perfected yet.
 
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Jerry, no these drive chains are in the open, not enclosed at all. They are not oil bath like most skid steer drive chains. They are lubed simply by putting oil or chain & gear lube on them but we have found in our case that it is best to leave them dry, they seem to last longer because the don't hold dirt and grit when they are dry.The drain plugs are just to drain water and dirt out of the bottom, but usually they have never been out and the threads are seized and need to be heated to get out. It is not a very good system but these things are pretty old, back then manufacturers didn't have it quite perfected yet.
Well SHe was frozen. I raised the front wheels off the ground using the bucket and tilted the bucket a bit to exert some reverse pressure on the rear wheels. Then I took a steel lid with some lit charcoal (no flames- just hot coals) and slid it under the belly of the machine.. Left it under there for a couple hours, the combination of that and today being in the teens. i was able to fire it up and drive it into the garage. it has more issues but at least it is moving. It will not throttle up so i will have to look at the the throttle linkage and then look into why she froze up in the 1st place.... all for another day
 

mark18mwm

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Well SHe was frozen. I raised the front wheels off the ground using the bucket and tilted the bucket a bit to exert some reverse pressure on the rear wheels. Then I took a steel lid with some lit charcoal (no flames- just hot coals) and slid it under the belly of the machine.. Left it under there for a couple hours, the combination of that and today being in the teens. i was able to fire it up and drive it into the garage. it has more issues but at least it is moving. It will not throttle up so i will have to look at the the throttle linkage and then look into why she froze up in the 1st place.... all for another day
You might try to pull out the drain plugs on the bottom below the sprockets. We now run with out them in, that way water and dirt can go out on the bottom and not collect in the sprocket wells. I know that dirt and mud may also come in that way if you drag the belly pan, but it has not been a issue for us. And them drain plugs on ours were a real bugger to get out. We had to heat a couple, and even drill one out and try easy outs because the hex striped.
 
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You might try to pull out the drain plugs on the bottom below the sprockets. We now run with out them in, that way water and dirt can go out on the bottom and not collect in the sprocket wells. I know that dirt and mud may also come in that way if you drag the belly pan, but it has not been a issue for us. And them drain plugs on ours were a real bugger to get out. We had to heat a couple, and even drill one out and try easy outs because the hex striped.
It sat in the garage a few days...working good now...well it is moving on its own power. I had to tighten up the throttle linkage so I could get it to rev up....engine runs good. Hydraulics for the bucket all are good. It is a lightweight machine but I think it starts to squeeel way to prematurely....not much of a load. Mark have you ever experienced this? For now I am happy it is moving as we are expecting 8" of snow tonight
 

antfarmer2

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It sat in the garage a few days...working good now...well it is moving on its own power. I had to tighten up the throttle linkage so I could get it to rev up....engine runs good. Hydraulics for the bucket all are good. It is a lightweight machine but I think it starts to squeeel way to prematurely....not much of a load. Mark have you ever experienced this? For now I am happy it is moving as we are expecting 8" of snow tonight
See if you aux hydro is stuck on
 

mark18mwm

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It sat in the garage a few days...working good now...well it is moving on its own power. I had to tighten up the throttle linkage so I could get it to rev up....engine runs good. Hydraulics for the bucket all are good. It is a lightweight machine but I think it starts to squeeel way to prematurely....not much of a load. Mark have you ever experienced this? For now I am happy it is moving as we are expecting 8" of snow tonight
We never had problems with it "squealing". We have don't seem to max out the hydraulics as it seems to have more hyd power than the machine weighs, meaning it will continue lifting until it is on it's nose from to much weight in the bucket. These machines do have a series of V-belts that run the drive motors / pump. Maybe your belts are loose and squealing? If I remember right, I think you loosen the engine mount bolts and slide the engine back to tighten the belts. If it is in your hydraulics maybe you could turn up the relief pressure so it doesn't by pass to early (if that is what it's doing). I'm not sure how to do that on this machine but I wouldn't think it's to hard. The main relief should be on the control valve under the seat. As for it being small, don't let that fool you. I have a old bobcat 600 that is rated for more than your 2600, but the 2600 will out work the my 600 any day. Do you still have the Onan engine in it or has it been "re-powered" with something else. Ours needs a rebuild or different engine and we are not sure of the best route to go with it.
 
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We never had problems with it "squealing". We have don't seem to max out the hydraulics as it seems to have more hyd power than the machine weighs, meaning it will continue lifting until it is on it's nose from to much weight in the bucket. These machines do have a series of V-belts that run the drive motors / pump. Maybe your belts are loose and squealing? If I remember right, I think you loosen the engine mount bolts and slide the engine back to tighten the belts. If it is in your hydraulics maybe you could turn up the relief pressure so it doesn't by pass to early (if that is what it's doing). I'm not sure how to do that on this machine but I wouldn't think it's to hard. The main relief should be on the control valve under the seat. As for it being small, don't let that fool you. I have a old bobcat 600 that is rated for more than your 2600, but the 2600 will out work the my 600 any day. Do you still have the Onan engine in it or has it been "re-powered" with something else. Ours needs a rebuild or different engine and we are not sure of the best route to go with it.
prior to this one I had a 2500. it had the same squeel...didnt use it much so I sold it... Then I missed having it around so I started looking. Found this 2600. basically the twin to my 2500. It had the ONAN replaced with a motor that was a direct replacement to the ONAN. in fact the plugs and filters are interchangeable. I forget the brand...I think it starts with LAN---lanmar or lankin if my memory is working I used it today for the 8" of snow we got and it worked GOOD...no shoveling necessary. The squeel is present when pushing a pile or even driving it empty up an incline from the backyard
 

mark18mwm

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prior to this one I had a 2500. it had the same squeel...didnt use it much so I sold it... Then I missed having it around so I started looking. Found this 2600. basically the twin to my 2500. It had the ONAN replaced with a motor that was a direct replacement to the ONAN. in fact the plugs and filters are interchangeable. I forget the brand...I think it starts with LAN---lanmar or lankin if my memory is working I used it today for the 8" of snow we got and it worked GOOD...no shoveling necessary. The squeel is present when pushing a pile or even driving it empty up an incline from the backyard
If it's squealing when it's pushing or going up I'm for sure going to say your belts are loose or worn out, or both. Try to tighten them and see if that helps, I bet it will. If not you may need new belts. I think there 4 V-belts, 2 on each drive motor, if you need new ones try to get a matched set this will help the tension be equal on all the belts. you can probably get them at any auto parts store but they may need to be ordered if you get matched belts. if you are plowing 8" of snow she must be working pretty good.
 
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If it's squealing when it's pushing or going up I'm for sure going to say your belts are loose or worn out, or both. Try to tighten them and see if that helps, I bet it will. If not you may need new belts. I think there 4 V-belts, 2 on each drive motor, if you need new ones try to get a matched set this will help the tension be equal on all the belts. you can probably get them at any auto parts store but they may need to be ordered if you get matched belts. if you are plowing 8" of snow she must be working pretty good.
She is working good enough that I didnt have to pick up a shovel... In the past I have gone around the neighborhood and at least scooped out the end of their driveways that got plowed in. Last year with only 1 thank you and an offer of a cup of coffee... out of 12 driveways. i decided not to venture away from my own driveway not worth breaking down. I will tear into it this spring...just not much warm space to work on it in the winter....Im just happy it is moving and working.... Im surprised to hear their are multiple belts...I only thought there was one off the motor and the rest was chain driven?
 

mark18mwm

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She is working good enough that I didnt have to pick up a shovel... In the past I have gone around the neighborhood and at least scooped out the end of their driveways that got plowed in. Last year with only 1 thank you and an offer of a cup of coffee... out of 12 driveways. i decided not to venture away from my own driveway not worth breaking down. I will tear into it this spring...just not much warm space to work on it in the winter....Im just happy it is moving and working.... Im surprised to hear their are multiple belts...I only thought there was one off the motor and the rest was chain driven?
I think you are right about one belt. Ours must have been changed to a series of V-belts before we got it. It seems to work fine, and that's the way I thought it was supposed to be, but it looks like it's supposed to have one belt. I had to look it up in a parts breakdown and it is one only, here is a link to a parts diagram for it. http://pdf.germanbliss.com/HL2600SkidSteerLoaderpartsManual.pdf Page 12 parts 16,17,18 show the belt and sheaves (pulleys). I have no idea what that belt may cost but if it's cheaper to go with v-belts, I can assure the will work. At least they have for us, for about 10 years on the same set. The funny thing is about you only doing your own driveway now is now those same folks who never thanked you will probably be complaining your not coming to their house any more. Ha-Ha.
 
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