Squeak in my 550

[Dane]

I had an intermittent squeak in my 550 appear at about 8 hours. Over time it became more and more persistent until being a continuous thing. It happens when the engine is running and can be heard when the Gator is not moving and when driving. The squeak varies with engine rpm and can be heard regardless of gear position (L, H, N or R). Most recently I've started have intermittent trouble shifting into and out of gear.

I just dropped the Gator off at the dealer for them to look at it. They immediately thought it was the front/drive clutch. Apparently it's a common problem. They also said that there was a change made to the new/replacement clutches to remedy the problem.

[sidebite]

Dane,

Please keep us posted. Anything that the rest of us should look at..?.?...?

Sidebite

[Dane]

I'll ask when I go back to the dealer. It's a situation with the weights in the front clutch where they stick or bind not allowing the clutch to fully open. Even when at idle the pulley/clutch is slightly closed trying to drive the belt when it should not. This causes the Gator to want to continue to drive when at idle. It also makes shifting the transmission difficult if you have your foot on the brake. The transmission is held on one side by the brakes and the belt is putting tension on it from the other side so it does not want to go in or out of gear.

[sidebite]

I think I understand! Let me know. Trying to make sure mine is ok, or if it needs help.

I have a problem with squeaks and battery going dead.

[Dane]

Start a new thread with your issues and get specific with what's going on.

[Dane]

I picked up my Gator this morning. They replaced the primary/drive clutch under warranty. They also showed my my old clutch and manipulating it by hand about half the time it would stick and not open completely. Loading my Gator onto the trailer I immediately noticed that the clutch engagement was smoother than the original so if nothing else that is a noticeable improvement.

The squeak I had been hearing and what was my primary concern turned out to be nothing. Apparently it was just the belt riding on the spinning clutch pulley. The real cue to the problem are difficulty shifting in and out of gear and when stopped and I would remove my foot from the brake the Gator would creep ahead because the clutch was not fully disengaging.

Apparently Deere has made a change to the clutch as the new one has a new part number and there are some minor differences where the arrows point. The sliding sheeve was binding so and it appears they (Deere) have redesigned or changed the bushings/buttons (left arrow) and the slot in which they ride (right arrow).

2157

[vanderrt]

Dane I'm glad everything is working. I had the Primary Clutch replaced about 2 months ago and seems to be okay. The shifting is no longer a problem and no other problems are apparent. My Gator is 550 S4 and they seem to be having the most problems. I don't know if it's the lenghth of the drive shaft or the differants in the weight. I'm wondering if the new 825i S4 is having any problems. This little 16HP engine is really something I can't believe what it can do. Anything I've asked this little engine to do it's done. I'm going to pull out some Sago Palms this weekend anyway I hope I am:reye: I'm going to see if my little 2000lb Badlands can do the job. I'll let you know how the little winch works. It's exactly the same as the Badlands 3000lb winch except for the cable size and ratio my winch is slower by twice. The ratio on the the 2000lb is 153:1 vs 136:1 on the Badlands 3000LB winch. The motor size is the same.

[Dane]

Yea, the 550 is pretty impressive especially when you consider the price.

I think many of the 550 and 550 S4 problems are related to it being a new product. Just ask Boeing about the 787 and Airbus is still reworking the wings on A380's so new often comes with issues. The important thing is how Deere stands behind their product. I think the 825 S4 will be relatively problem free as it's based on a mature platform whos kinks were worked out years ago.

Good luck pulling down trees. I played around with my winch on some trees and with all four wheels locked the winch just dragged the Gator across the ground while the tree just laughed... so I brought out the excavator.

[vanderrt]

Dane....This little 2000lb winch did the same thing. I locked the breaks and the little winch drug the 1440lb 550 S4 accross the pavement. I distroyed the 5/32" wire cable so I bought 3/16 synthetic rope, be here Friday. Reminded me of backlashes we use to get in the old fishing reels:Nnd: The Gator jerked them out! It's quite the little workhorse:FX: The replacement of the Primary Clutch fixed my problems. I went ahead and bought a years extendson on my warrentee for peace of mind.