CAT TH407C overheating transmission

[jpn]

Have you got the correct oil in the transmission ??
I know our th220 will overheat really quickly if it’s not got the right oil in it ..
Put the correct oil in however, and it’ll go all day with no problem ..

I’ll have a look tomorrow what oil we use ..

We use Witham qualube hi-q-410 I believe, would a thicker on thinner oil help cool? Thicker would cause more 'friction' but thinner might not stay in the rad as long??

 

[cousinjack]

Morris CT10 or jcb trans special 10w is the same spec as CAT but imo ATF Dexron 3 will do exactly the same.

yeah, that’s the stuff !

my uncle put 32 hyd oil in ours once,

wouldn’t go two miles without overheating... we drained it and topped up with 10w ... no more probs...

on the th220 the hydraulics use the transmission oil..... don’t know if it’s the same on the 407?? But someone may have topped off with 32 ??

 

[jpn]

yeah, that’s the stuff !

my uncle put 32 hyd oil in ours once,

wouldn’t go two miles without overheating... we drained it and topped up with 10w ... no more probs...

on the th220 the hydraulics use the transmission oil..... don’t know if it’s the same on the 407?? But someone may have topped off with 32 ??

No it didn't have a trans oil change long ago as the oil was overheating, and yes same oil for both

 

[David Lane]

Hi, how did the TH407c run in the summer temperatures, did you finally resolve and what caused the transmission over heating.
Looking at purchase this machine with 1500 hours on the clock.
Anybody had other issues with the 407c?

 

[jpn]

Still got issues, the revering fan had a stuck valve, which caused not to speed up as it should, causing it to overheat easily. Fixing that has significantly helped. Its also now got a new cooler on it as we recon the last one was blocked internally... However it still running too hot and will overheat. We are going to try a different TCM (trans computer) as that's caused similar issues in the past apparently to other machines, however its likely to need a new trans... We think the previous owner overheated it to the point of warping discs inside, so that now they constantly drags and heats up too much. However we aren't yet certain.

If your still looking to get one, open the back window and just check that once its fully warmed up (trans ~85C) that the engine fan speeds up if you start off in a high gear (5th/6th). That shows the reversing fan is working. Also check the trans oil colour that it looks golden and doesn't smell burnt - if its at all dark that indicates it has been ran hot.

That being said, its clearly been built to work on and you can find manuals online on how to do most things on this machine. The engines are solid and when its working its great.

If we were to buy again, I would probably move to Kramer. Chandlers not longer supplies CAT parts and Finning has been awful - that's a major drawback for us...

 

[jpn]

Final update on this, we put a new cooling pack on this a year ago and that helped a little bit, but it would still overheat very easily. Finally after about 8 months of speaking to a cat telehandler specialist and trying different things, we decided it must be something internal in the trans likely a seal gone causing fluid to bypass the cooler... We got a new trans from him for £3500 popped it in over a couple of days (easier job than I expected) and got it all back together. Then went for a test drive and it was not much better... Still overheating...

So the trans is new, the cooler is new, we tried a different TCM to make sure it wasnt electrical. We tested the temp sensor, which is fine. There is not a single piece of the old mechanical system left (at least as we thought...)

The only other part we hadn't touched was the oil lines from the trans to the cooler and back. Apparently after chatting to the specialist they have been known to collapse if worked too hot or are too old (it's a 2014 machine). He always changes them when they do a trans or cooler, just for piece of mind.

So we have now changed those too and that seems to have sorted the issue... Very likely these ~£100 set of lines were the issue all along... Hindsight is wonderful...

Reading it will still get to 100°C but apparently this is normal (the alarm comes on at 120°C). Normally it should be around 85°C.

Hope this helps someone else with similar issues.

 

[icanshootwell]

Final update on this, we put a new cooling pack on this a year ago and that helped a little bit, but it would still overheat very easily. Finally after about 8 months of speaking to a cat telehandler specialist and trying different things, we decided it must be something internal in the trans likely a seal gone causing fluid to bypass the cooler... We got a new trans from him for £3500 popped it in over a couple of days (easier job than I expected) and got it all back together. Then went for a test drive and it was not much better... Still overheating...

So the trans is new, the cooler is new, we tried a different TCM to make sure it wasnt electrical. We tested the temp sensor, which is fine. There is not a single piece of the old mechanical system left (at least as we thought...)

The only other part we hadn't touched was the oil lines from the trans to the cooler and back. Apparently after chatting to the specialist they have been known to collapse if worked too hot or are too old (it's a 2014 machine). He always changes them when they do a trans or cooler, just for piece of mind.

So we have now changed those too and that seems to have sorted the issue... Very likely these ~£100 set of lines were the issue all along... Hindsight is wonderful...

Reading it will still get to 100°C but apparently this is normal (the alarm comes on at 120°C). Normally it should be around 85°C.

Hope this helps someone else with similar issues.

Seems like hind sight is great but best to start with the cheapest option 1st next time, mine here needs some new water pipes as one from the pump is weeping a bit, pleased you sorted it out in the end,, they are good solid machine's.

 

[jpn]

Seems like hind sight is great but best to start with the cheapest option 1st next time, mine here needs some new water pipes as one from the pump is weeping a bit, pleased you sorted it out in the end,, they are good solid machine's.

Yes I'm happy with the quality for the most part, you just really really have to keep up with maintained and do a fair bit of preventive maintaince to keep them happy.

Regarding the pipes, yes definitely should have started with them first, but didn't even consider them to be a problem they only work at 2 bar max. Once I got them off I could still blow through them fine. So must have cause the issue when under pressure and hot...

On the bright side we now have a load of spares!