Owatonna 1700 sluggish

Help Support SkidSteer Forum:

eric.butkovich

New member
Joined
Jan 3, 2006
Messages
2
I have a Owatonna 1700 that will not steer or move quickly until warmed up. The bucket works fine at all times but the drive power will fade while turning until warmed up by driving forwards or backwards without turning for about 15 minutes then the unit works fine with plenty of power while turning. Is this a torque converter issue? The shafts from the transmission to the wheel drives will stop turning under any load until the unit is warmed up.
 

Tazza

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Dec 7, 2004
Messages
16,829
Is this machine hydrostatic? i would guess it would be.
Has it always done this? if not, you may have the wrong oil in it, it may require a lighter oil.
Does it make any horrible noises while you try to get it to move? as on some older bobcats there was a suction line filter for the hydrostatic pump that you didn't know was there unless told. These cloged up and caused little to no power like you said. As the oil warms up it gets thinner and it may be getting past the filter easier. If the filter hasn't been changed by you, change it! then you will need to try and find out if it indeed does have a suction line filter on the hydrostatic pump.
Good luck!
 
OP
OP
E

eric.butkovich

New member
Joined
Jan 3, 2006
Messages
2
Is this machine hydrostatic? i would guess it would be.
Has it always done this? if not, you may have the wrong oil in it, it may require a lighter oil.
Does it make any horrible noises while you try to get it to move? as on some older bobcats there was a suction line filter for the hydrostatic pump that you didn't know was there unless told. These cloged up and caused little to no power like you said. As the oil warms up it gets thinner and it may be getting past the filter easier. If the filter hasn't been changed by you, change it! then you will need to try and find out if it indeed does have a suction line filter on the hydrostatic pump.
Good luck!
Thanks for the information. The unit is hydrostatic drive, so I will look for a suction line filter for the hydrostat. The unit does not make any strange noise. I purchased the unit not running with engine issues. The engine was replaced and the torque converter was out during this time, so I do not know if I damaged a seal when it was put back together. The previous owner (a friend that I trust) claims that it did not have these symptoms when he owned it at the time of engine failure.
 

jimcook

Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Messages
8
Thanks for the information. The unit is hydrostatic drive, so I will look for a suction line filter for the hydrostat. The unit does not make any strange noise. I purchased the unit not running with engine issues. The engine was replaced and the torque converter was out during this time, so I do not know if I damaged a seal when it was put back together. The previous owner (a friend that I trust) claims that it did not have these symptoms when he owned it at the time of engine failure.
Did you find a suction line filter? I posted (two up from this thread) a problem about a Mustang 310 with a very similar problem. the boom and bucket hydraulics work fine, but suddenly when I engaged the 'clutch' (idler pulley which tightens a sepentine belt which drives the two hydraulic pumps that power the left and right steering) the engine would bog down and die. Once warmed up, the drive seems to work a little better, but still not getting enough to really drive the unit. I changed the filter for each hydraulic pump but that didn't help. I cannot find any reference in my parts manual or operation manual about a 'suction line filter'. I suspect that if you solve your problem it might well help me solve my problem. Please post what you end up doing to solve this. If I get mine solved I will also post the info.
 

bluewindmill1

New member
Joined
Jan 1, 2011
Messages
1
I just test drove a 1700 that would drive, but you could not move the other hydraulics while driving. Seams to me that it would have a weak pump, or is this common with the torque converter system?
 

Mattb

New member
Joined
Jul 27, 2020
Messages
1
i have an old owatonna 1700 with a v4 Ford all hyd work just as they should. but it will not move has new suction filter and torque converter. ive checked clutches for adjustment all ok. from time to time it will start to creep under high throttle but thats about it. when i as changing the converter i pulled the charge pump to take a look. it all looks brand new. its very similar to a front pump on a automatic transmission. im at a loss
 

what66

New member
Joined
Oct 3, 2018
Messages
4
i have an old owatonna 1700 with a v4 Ford all hyd work just as they should. but it will not move has new suction filter and torque converter. ive checked clutches for adjustment all ok. from time to time it will start to creep under high throttle but thats about it. when i as changing the converter i pulled the charge pump to take a look. it all looks brand new. its very similar to a front pump on a automatic transmission. im at a loss
I have one of these machines they are very cold-blooded until the converter warms up it will be sluggish. It is not a hydrostatic unit that's why it has clutches it only has an automatic torque converter. I've been working on an idea to preheat the fluid going into the converter but haven't done it yet I'll let you know if it works.
 
Top