1978 JD450C change tranny fluid and filter?

[farrellapparel]

Hi, I could really use some pointers. My rig has trans fluid w/ water (looks like a latte). It drives fine but wants be weak or not go if you decide to stop while pushing dirt. Needs a head of stem or it does not want to know. Q. Will you please give me the basics on how change fluid and filter?
Thanks!
John

[tjdub]

Hi, I could really use some pointers. My rig has trans fluid w/ water (looks like a latte). It drives fine but wants be weak or not go if you decide to stop while pushing dirt. Needs a head of stem or it does not want to know. Q. Will you please give me the basics on how change fluid and filter?
Thanks!
John

I think that changing the transmission fluid on the 450C is the same as it is on my 450 straight (w/HLR). If not, disregard this

1) There's a 1 1/8" drain plug at the bottom of the transmission. You will need a socket to reach it through the hole in the belly pan and probably a breaker bar to get it turning. Make sure you have plenty of drain pans because it holds around 6 gallons.

2) As long as you're going through all this work and oil you had better clean the screen filter. This is located on the right side of the machine near the transmission drain plug and it's kind of hard to get at. Look up the schematic on jdparts (under TRANSMISSION FILTER) to help identify the cover for this. It's held in by three 9/16" bolts. Try to clean up the area around and above as much as possible before taking this off because it's probably caked with crud and you don't want that going into the screen's canister. I recommend getting a pre-made gasket from deere for this job because not only is it hard to get to, but it's hard to dry out the area to use silicon gasket maker and the cover has a sending unit in it so it hangs there by a wire making everything pretty cluttered and annoying because you have to do this from under the machine.

3) The actual filter sits in front of the radiator behind the grill. Just open the grill up in front of the machine and it's right there. It's just a standard spin on filter (same part number as the engine oil filter).

4) The dipstick and filler tube are the same hole (under the seat) . I'm guessing you already know where this is since you know how bad the oil looks . Anyway, a LONG (automatic transmission type) funnel sure helps for filling it back up.

[farrellapparel]

Sounds good. If one is under the rig looking up at a belly pan, do you reach up somewhere to find the 3 bolts? Battery side or other side? Also, do you know how to find this: Look up the schematic on jdparts (under TRANSMISSION FILTER).
John

[tjdub]

Sounds good. If one is under the rig looking up at a belly pan, do you reach up somewhere to find the 3 bolts? Battery side or other side? Also, do you know how to find this: Look up the schematic on jdparts (under TRANSMISSION FILTER).
John

jdparts is Deere's online parts catalog. Here is the link:

http://jdparts.deere.com

It's pretty valuable for the schematics alone. If you sign up for an account you can use it to order parts direct to your nearest dealership for pick-up or just add them to your cart to check prices or availability.

Here is the schematic I was talking about:



You can see the bolts through the track on the side of the tractor opposite the battery. It would be pretty had to remove/install the screen through the track though, it's easier to work from underneath.

The gasket you need is labelled "4" in that drawing. Part number is T14094.

[farrellapparel]

Totally helpful. I'm going to sign up. Thanks