$1100 dollars later

[jim863]

Took my 98 863c to the dealership to have my timing belt changed and steering looked at. two days went by and they called me and told me that they were done and that the steering was just one of my sticks bent and they bent it back. then they told me that i had water in my chain case and it needed to be changed ($500) so i said ok. another 4 days and they call and tell me it done. so here the problem i get it home and my steering still not right. when i push the sticks forward my right one has to move about two inch farther than the left before it goes. it does this forward and reverse can any one tell me why it does this and can i fix it myself. thank yall for any help.

 

[biggie]

First. Are you the first owner? Water in the chain case could be abuse/ neglect by previous owner. If not,where is the water comming from? It's a sealed unit. FYI 863 holds aprox.10 gallons of oil/hyd. Not cheap. Second. The bushings on the linkage could be worn out. Also the bushings in the lever assembly could be worn. Lift the cab and check the movement of the steering controls. Any play that does'nt look right?

 

[jim863]

First. Are you the first owner? Water in the chain case could be abuse/ neglect by previous owner. If not,where is the water comming from? It's a sealed unit. FYI 863 holds aprox.10 gallons of oil/hyd. Not cheap. Second. The bushings on the linkage could be worn out. Also the bushings in the lever assembly could be worn. Lift the cab and check the movement of the steering controls. Any play that does'nt look right?

I am second owner. Ive only had it for about month and a half. And thats why i took it to dealer to have them look it over and they said my seals were good but that they had found some water in chain case. But why would they say that the stick was bent and thats why it was steering that way. why not just fix it. Anyway enough bashing dealer. So if it a bushing how hard are they to change. And are they expensive? it just make me mad that when you take something in to get it fixed and they say they fixed it it should be fixed. Thanks for the reply and anymore input would be appreciated

 

[RonAus]

I am second owner. Ive only had it for about month and a half. And thats why i took it to dealer to have them look it over and they said my seals were good but that they had found some water in chain case. But why would they say that the stick was bent and thats why it was steering that way. why not just fix it. Anyway enough bashing dealer. So if it a bushing how hard are they to change. And are they expensive? it just make me mad that when you take something in to get it fixed and they say they fixed it it should be fixed. Thanks for the reply and anymore input would be appreciated

Hi jim863, If I paid the dealer or anyone for that matter to fix something and they said they fixed it, they should redo it free of charge, no question. Having said that I try to do my fixes myself if possible because as you found out, you cannot rely on other people to do the right thing. There are decent people out there, you just have to find them through word of mouth.

 

[Fishfiles]

Hi jim863, If I paid the dealer or anyone for that matter to fix something and they said they fixed it, they should redo it free of charge, no question. Having said that I try to do my fixes myself if possible because as you found out, you cannot rely on other people to do the right thing. There are decent people out there, you just have to find them through word of mouth.

Water in the chain case is for the most part from not keeping the inside the machines belly pan pressure washed out , what happens is there are drain holes in the bottom which get clogged up with mud , then it rains and the water gets in the belly and can't drain out , the level rises up over the case and the water gets in a few different ways , it can get in thru the vent on top the case cover , or from loose bolts on a case cover , the middle cover has a tendency to get loose as the brake is hooked to it , see alot of bolts missing or sheered off of the middle section cover ---------------as far as the steering goes , if I paid $1,100 the machine would be back at the dealer getting the steering looked at again

 

[newy1234]

Water in the chain case is for the most part from not keeping the inside the machines belly pan pressure washed out , what happens is there are drain holes in the bottom which get clogged up with mud , then it rains and the water gets in the belly and can't drain out , the level rises up over the case and the water gets in a few different ways , it can get in thru the vent on top the case cover , or from loose bolts on a case cover , the middle cover has a tendency to get loose as the brake is hooked to it , see alot of bolts missing or sheered off of the middle section cover ---------------as far as the steering goes , if I paid $1,100 the machine would be back at the dealer getting the steering looked at again

Yeah i am fairly sure thats what happend to my 743. I only just checked the chain case oil the other day and found it was milky. I know the machine had been left out in the weather before I got it so the rain water has got into the case.

 

[jim863]

Yeah i am fairly sure thats what happend to my 743. I only just checked the chain case oil the other day and found it was milky. I know the machine had been left out in the weather before I got it so the rain water has got into the case.

I thought about taking it back but they never charged me to fix the steering they charged me for timing belt and chain case drain and refill and the dealer is 60 miles away. the guy said that he bent the stick back cause it was bent and they wouldnt charge me for that but i think they never even looked at it. Anyway if i was going to fix it my self how hard would it be and is it under the plate between my feet or under cab? and what should i look for ?

 

[Fishfiles]

I thought about taking it back but they never charged me to fix the steering they charged me for timing belt and chain case drain and refill and the dealer is 60 miles away. the guy said that he bent the stick back cause it was bent and they wouldnt charge me for that but i think they never even looked at it. Anyway if i was going to fix it my self how hard would it be and is it under the plate between my feet or under cab? and what should i look for ?

the most common problem with erratic steering is the pintle lever is loose on the shaft , usually though when this happens the machine will not sit neutral and goes wild when tring to start , some times once the machine is started and high reved it will settle down and sit still --------------

 

[biggie]

When u start the machine, does it want to move? That's probably steering adjustment/ worn pintle ,on the hydro pumps. It could be play it the levers. Worn bushings. Lift the cab,and move the levers. DO NOT have the engine running. You'll see the connections. There should be no play in them

 

[Tazza]

When u start the machine, does it want to move? That's probably steering adjustment/ worn pintle ,on the hydro pumps. It could be play it the levers. Worn bushings. Lift the cab,and move the levers. DO NOT have the engine running. You'll see the connections. There should be no play in them

My S250 had this problem. You try and do fine work with it, moving slowly and it just bucks around. The alloy arms that bolt to the steel square shafts on the pump were worn. If you get a screw driver under the alloy arm, see if you can make it slide up. If it moves, it needs replacing. Ensure you do the bolts up tight to prevent the new ones wearing out too.

 

[Fishfiles]

My S250 had this problem. You try and do fine work with it, moving slowly and it just bucks around. The alloy arms that bolt to the steel square shafts on the pump were worn. If you get a screw driver under the alloy arm, see if you can make it slide up. If it moves, it needs replacing. Ensure you do the bolts up tight to prevent the new ones wearing out too.

I have seen were people will continue to run the machine with the pintle arms loose and it will really wollow out the notch in the pintle shaft were the bolt fits , then even after you put a new arm and bolt with lock tite all over it , it will still works its way loose in a short time , what you can do to prolong replacing the shaft is cut a couple of strips of tin , a hose clamp is about right and jam it in between the arm and the shaft on one or two sides if you can fit it and it will take out some of the slack --------------- there are 2 different size shafts they used so there are two different pintle possibillites and for a while they had some heavy duty pintles with adjustment screws built in to them , I kind of like them as they were pretty easy to adjust netrual and I never did see one wear out , but they quite using them , I would guess to keep cost down more than they didn't work --------------when ever you have wear spots on the cams of the pintle all you have to do is rotate them to a side that is still round , those heavier duty pintles have cams that roll around so they don't flatten out --------------if you take a 9/16 combo wrench and grind the round side down thinner on the outside , bend a 90 degree angle in the end and cut the open end side off , it works well to tighten up the pintle bolt ,, you can side a small pipe over it for lever

 

[Fishfiles]

My S250 had this problem. You try and do fine work with it, moving slowly and it just bucks around. The alloy arms that bolt to the steel square shafts on the pump were worn. If you get a screw driver under the alloy arm, see if you can make it slide up. If it moves, it needs replacing. Ensure you do the bolts up tight to prevent the new ones wearing out too.

I hate when it does that , I just typed out a long [post and it says I already tried to post that post and deleted the post