440 Crawler No Power

[smurrison]

Hello all,

New the board and I have absolutely no idea where to begin. My dad has a 440 crawler, sorry not sure on the year or serial number yet. We were using it the other day. It seemed sluggish but was working okay. Then, it just stopped. Diesel engine runs fine, bucket goes up and down, all be it slower than it should. It will move about three feet in both directions, but has no power to pull itself up over small bumps. If you pull on a steering arm, it stops dead. As I stated, I have no idea how these things operate. Any ideas on where to begin? It does have the reverser on it, but it doesn't work. Never has since dad bought the thing a few years ago. Not sure I would worry to much about it, but dad just had the engine rebuilt last winter, so we may as well try to fix it.

Thanks

Scott

[Lavoy]

Fuel filter is my first guess, second is the rubber line from the fuel pump on the suction side. I had the same thing happen on one, and it was the old line collapsing and starving it for fuel.
Lavoy

[Jim B]

A bit more clarification please. You say the engine runs fine. Does the engine speed droop (or does it stall entirely) when it stops moving or does the engine stay running at speed when it happens? Again you say it has no power to pull itself, is the engine dying or engine runs at speed and machine stops?

If the engine is dying Lavoy has the right track to pursue.

If the engine stays running at speed when it stops, I would be looking at the engine clutch or the clutch in the reverser. How is the clutch pedal free play?

Hydraulics will change with engine speed as it has a front mounted, engine crankshaft driven pump, unrelated to machine travel. Is the speed of the hydraulic system the same whether it is moving or stopped at a given engine speed? Bucket speed is governed by the flow the pump produces at a given speed, engine speed up and slow loader speed could be low flow from the pump. If packings are leaking internally the lift may be slower and weaker.

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

Moving sluggish you say? You don't, by chance, have the foot brake parking 'lever' engaged, do you?

The reason I ask, is I just had the Sluggish moving syndrome with my 420c. I had just serviced it (engine oil, filter, reverser oil, etc) and had the parking brake engaged. Guess what I didn't reach down and undo? Yup! New oil made the old girl run sluggish - Not!

Danged old CRS!

Stan

[smurrison]

Engine does not die out. Keeps running when the machine stops. Pretty sure it isn't a fuel issue. I will start with the brake first, may as well start with the easy stuff. If that doesn't pan out, we will look at the engine clutch and reverser. The reverser hasn't worked since dad bought the machine a few years ago. However, the machine has worked fine without the reverser. Any chance something changed in the reverser to give us issues now? As I have stated, the machine will move about three feet in both directions, but when it finds any resistance, it stops dead in its tracks. Engine RPMs do not change.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Scott

[Jim B]

I would start with checking out the engine clutch, followed by the reverser. If the clutch or reverser were good and a brake locked up, or there was a mechanical issue causing binding in the gear train, the engine would lug down. Engine speed not dropping off tells me the engine power is not being delivered to the drive line. The engine clutch is the first thing after the engine itself in that path, followed by the reverser clutches.

[dtoots1]

i will second JimB motion...First though you need to go thru linkage...for loose or worn fittings and adjust the clutch...unfortunately that entails removing the rear belly pan, unless you have or can fabricate wrenches bent to clear framework to adjust the clutch mechanisms.
to replace engine clutch both belly pans need removed as well and while engine out reverser can be taken out and rebuilt as well. Contact Lavoy for all good replacement parts as internet parts seem to be known for bad results.

also is good idea to add your location to your profile...located in the login drop down box, others may well be nearby for help or parts.

[smurrison]

Thanks for the information and suggestions. I'm sure I will be back with a ton more questions.

[Jim B]

If you don't have manuals for it, contact Lavoy (postmaster@jdcrawlers.com) and I bet he can get them for you, if he doesn't have them in stock at his shop. You should see if you can find the serial number, I think it was on a tag riveted on the console below the instrument panel on the diesels. Sometimes there are serial number breaks where changes, which affect the parts needed, were made during production runs. I think the 440's had some of those.

[smurrison]

Dad has a couple manuals for it. The guy that rebuilt the engine got them for him. I will be up there Monday, I will take a picture of the serial number.

[smurrison]

Found the serial number. 454364

[Jim B]

Looks like a 1960 crawler by the list on the FAQ Board.