I have a 2006 New Holland LT185.b or sometimes listed as LT185B skid steer compact track loader. This machine has about 1,550 hours on it and has not been rebuilt at all, as far as I know. I bought it from a shifty eyed dealer for $19,500 last year, with 1,350 hours on the meter. It operated fine when I test operated it, but I did not have a chance to use a blade on it to use the front auxiliary hydraulics (my lesson learned). This is my first machine and I bought it to maintain my small ranch in western CO. Six problems: 1. It started making a grinding or clanking noise when going in reverse sometimes. I know the front right idler wheel is noisy and slightly loose acting so it's likely wearing out. It sounds/feels like the reverse noise may be on the right side as well. And it seems to only do it if I go into reverse after spinning the machine in a tight area. The same right hand track also loosens frequently so I have to refill the hydraulic grease tensioner on it every 40 hours or so. I hope the noise is just the front idler wheel, maybe rear one too, but is the intermittent reverse noise sometimes anything else, like the drive motor, gears, or other more costly parts? 2. When I operate my CAT grading blade the machine acts like it wants to stall when I use the tilt functions. It doesn't stall completely but acts like something is governing it while I tilt the blade to cut. One guy told me to turn off the high flow function but there does not seem to be that option to turn it off. He thought maybe the high flow was trying to push to much oil through the blade, and said the blade doesn't need high flow volume. My friend seems to think it's some kind of safety mechanism but I can't find references online or in the overpriced $400 near-useless manual I bought from a New Holland parts dealer to either suggestion. Anyone else know cause or experienced this? 3. The rig cranks and runs fine upon cold start but once it heats up it begins to have a miss and blows a little black smoke, as in unburnt fuel. It does not burn/leak any motor oil at all. Or any other motor fluids. Archoil diesel fuel additive seems to help it not miss as frequently but it still does the smoking. Archoil is very expensive and I don't want to use it forever. Any ideas to cause? 4. The hour meter reset at about 1,450 hours for no reason I know of. I was in the middle of using it lightly when it did this. It had no other abnormal electrical symptoms at the time. It makes me wonder if the machine actually has 2,900-ish (or more) hours on it because it seemed (by cosmetic wear and tear) to have more than 1,350 hours on it (when purchase). Dealer said it was a trade in from a friend he has that owns a gravel pit. Anyone have this happen and fix it? 5. The machine has high and low speed gears. When I operate it in high gear for more than a 1,000 feet or so to move it around my ranch it blows a fuse for some reason. So I usually leave it in low and it never blows the fuse. Anyone else experience and solve this? 6. I loose about 3 quarts of hydraulic oil every 6-8 hours. It ends up pooling in the bottom of the machine and leaking out of drains when I drive it around. I'm wondering if the plastic reservoir that holds about 25 quarts is cracked or if there is a line connection/hose loose. I haven't been able to identify the leak source because it gets so filthy under there. I thought about putting a dye or something in the oil to try to isolate it but I haven't found any dye that will do this and react to black light or whatever. Any suggestions? Thanks much! I've learned not to trust resale dealers and to completely run the machine for a couple of hours at least...next time. I'm pretty sure he knew it had all these issues because the price seemed too good to be true at $19,500 and 1,350 hours. All others were selling for upwards of $29,000 with similar hours and age.
NH track loader: reverse noise, motor miss/smoke, hour meter reset, aux hyd stall, high gear blows fuse, hyd oil loss
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1. The noise is probably the rollers. I think if it was the final drives the unit would have already locked up. Did you check the final drive oil levels.............. 2. If you have four couplers out on the boom, then you have high flow. If you have high flow then there is a switch down between the left control lever and the seat. Flip the red cap up and flip the switch............. 3. There is a water temp switch by the injection pump to advance the timing of the injection pump on cold starts. You could try removing the wire at the injection pump and see if that makes any difference when hot. The fuel lines can be rubbed through behind the starter. I would replace the lines and I would also replace the hand lift pump. If the unit is sucking air it can damage the injection pump............ 4. The hour meters can not be turned back on any model that has the plastic housings. They can be advanced but the hours can not be reduced. In fact when the meter gets to 9999, it stops registering.......I have heard of panels resetting the hours on their own, but do not know the cause. It seems like an overcharge problem or a shorted battery may cause the problem. If the hours are less than what were on it, then your dealer can reset it to the higher number, the hours can not be reduced.......... 5. If you are blowing fuses, then the coil on the two speed solenoid is probably going bad............ 6. The only way to find the leak is to remove the plate under the transmission and giving it a clean up and then check for your leak. Unlikely it is the oil reservoir.
Wow Mike. You're worth my computer and desk weight in gold man! Thank you much! I really appreciate it. It sounds like you've got serious experience. When I go to buy tracks and undercarriage parts, what do you suggest I buy and where? I've been looking at eBay sellers, most of which are heavy equipment shops in other states. If I have the ability to winch it onto a flat bed or do the repairs in the field, is there any additional damage risk if I wait until the front or rear idler fails completely? The tracks aren't new by any means but good enough for my prposes on small ranch. If the track was damaged (or comes off) when idler fails that's no big deal because they've served their time at this point and will be replaced when the carriage is rebuilt anyway. But I don't want to harm anything other (like sprockets or motor, etc) than the track when/if fails while she's working. So is it OK to allow the idler to fail while in work if I'm attentive and doing light and level work?
As to the blade tilt function, problem number 2, she only does it when operating the tilt (or left/right angle) function of the blade. Putting boom up or down (left foot pedal function), or bucket dump (right pedal function) is just fine. She only does the stall-like stuttering when the angle (right joystick operation) is moved to angle the blade left or right. If I'm completely still while angling the blade it's less intense stalling response, but still does it. If I'm rolling backward or forward, or moving the boom or bucket functions while trying to tilt the blade, it seems to almost stall the machine completely (but not quite). I guess I do not have high flow as I thought because I only have 2 Aux couplers on the boom...my misinformed mistake.
Do we use regular heavy duty gear weight oil in final drives? I searched but can't verify it anywhere. What weight if one is preferred?
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So I have a small project to do before spring water starts flowing in two weeks but I'm going to order some parts to have ready for my right track problem after it's completed. Hope to make it all the way through irrigation project and then rebuild it. Please tell me if I'm missing anything, parts related to have ready. Not sure if I have the nomenclature right so feel free to correct that also. 1. 1 track for right side (maybe a pair if I can afford it). 2. Front right idler 3. Rear right idler 4. Right tensioner wheel ? 5. Right track tensioner, or should I rebuild for cost purposes? 6. Lower bucket pins and bushings. The bucket pins are not sloppy yet but if cheap enough can't hurt to have or change out if in the shop for the right carriage.
The only thing I can think of for the hyd problem is one of the couplers is not opening correctly..............The final drives take 75-140 synthetic oil.......If you are going to put new tracks on, then you need to check how worn the drive sprockets are. If they are cupped then the sprockets should be replaced.
