case 446

hello i have a slight problem with my 87 ingy 446 woundering if you guys could help.the tractor moves a lot better going backwards than forward i tryed all kinds of things.and in high gear it really does not want to move unless i put it in higher idel. low gear it moves but not like it should.how would i no if it would be the hydro pump the tractor has 942 for hours on it .other than that in runs great but snow is comming soon and i do want to be ready thank you so much for your help and have a great day scotty 2262.

adjust travel linkage on controll vale.

thanks very much for your fast reply jim i did try that all ready a lot of times and no better.is there any screens i should be looking for or anything like that changed all the fluids 2 times all ready.do you think it would be the pump at all ??? any help at all would be very greatful thanks once again jim .scott.

You may have changed fluids but you don't inform us what you used in the hydraulic system.


If you don't have 20W50 or 15W40 MOTOR OIL in the hydraulic system, then that could be your problem either wholly or partially. You cannot diagnose a Case hydraulic system unless you have motor oil in it.

If you have used some other type of oil, then you must drain as much of it as you can out of the system before installing the motor oil.

Please respond on this issue first and then we can take it from there.

hi tom thanks for your reply i did use the shell rotella as i have red a lot of info on the forum i thank you for your fast reply .scott

OK, good. Now that I know you have the correct oil, I can help you figure out where your problem lies.

The next step is to make sure you are getting full movement of the spool in the travel/lift valve. With the deck removed, slide under the tractor while having someone sitting in the operator's seat. With a bright light shining on the travel/lift valve, have them move the travel lever all the way to reverse and then all the way to full forward. Make sure the spool is going all the way into the body and all the way out.

After many years of use, small bits of free play begin to show up in the linkage between your hand and the spool itself. While the travel lever moves through a huge arc, the spool itself only moves fractions of an inch. It does not take a lot of slop to prevent the spool from moving fully and when that happens, travel speed will suffer.


So let's say that the above isn't the problem. The next suspect is the pump. You need to buy a glycerin filled pressure gauge that will read up to 3000 PSI. These can be had for about twenty bucks or less. You also need a high pressure hydraulic line that has a working rating of 2500 PSI or better to connect the gauge to the drain plug opening on the bottom of the travel valve.

With the guage connected and the tractor chained securely to a big tree or a truck to prevent it from moving, you run the engine at wide open throttle and then push the travel lever forward while watching the guage. This is how you determine how much pressure the pump is capable of putting out. The relief valve setting is around 2100 or 2200 PSI and the guage should go that high before you hear the squeal from the relief.

If you can't get that kind of pressure, then the pump is most likely the problem because relief valves rarely fail.

tom thank you very much. i will try every thing you have stated and get back to you .i have been a little under the weather lately. that is y i havent been on the computer. thanks a gain tom have a good day .talk to you soon.scott.

i just unscrewed the travel controll linkage the two of them and did notice that the left side sticks out a little bit more than the lift side.it does fell like it is all the way in the control body is this normal.if not how do i fix it.thanks once again for all your help scotty.

hello sorry i think my replys are going in the rong area.thanks scott.

Don't make comparisons between the travel spool and the lift spool. Your problem has to do with travel speed.

With the linkage disconnected, you can use a pair of needlenose pliers to pull the spool out and push it back in. You can measure what the total travel is with a caliper.

You can also start examining all of the linkage. Look for slop where the travel lever goes into the cast iron cross plate that runs from frame rail to frame rail. How about the nylon bushing at the top of the travel lever where it goes through the dash?

How about the end of the linkage rod that goes into the hole in the bracket that is welded to the travel lever and the hole itself? And lastly, how about the little ball-type u-joint that connects that rod to the spool. A little wear here and a little wear there all add up to reduced spool movement.

I'm not saying that this is your the cause of your problem. What I am saying is that eliminating all of the play in these parts will not only rule out the linkage as being part or all of the problem but it will also provide you with a much smoother control over your drive system.

New drive motors are likely a grand right now. I'm trying to help you eliminate all the cheap problems first, such as oil and linkage, before you dive headlong into a drive motor and then find out that the old one was still OK and something simple was wrong.

My advice is this. Do whatever you have to do to eliminate every piece of free play in the travel linkage right now and make sure your linkage is adjusted correctly so that you are getting full travel of the spool in both directions while maintaining the correct neutral position. When the tractor is in neutral and running, it should sit still if parked on grass that is reasonably level.

It should not try to back up or go forward at all. Get all of that worked out and then if you still have the problem, it's time to buy the guage, hose and fittings and do some pressure tests to see if the pump is badly worn.

Stick with it. You can do this.

thank you very much tom.scott