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New to me JCB 208s (1CX), multiple issues

BRS78660

Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2017
Messages
8
Location
Michigan
Hello everyone. This is my first thread and the 208s is my first skid-steer or backhoe. I have a compact farm tractor, but I needed something to help me with all the dirt work I have at my land and thought this would be a great machine to do that.

I purchased a 1998 JCB 208s. Its got the Perkins 100 series engine in it (thanks Dave). If there is anything else you want to know about it, let me know.

When I bought it, I knew I was going to have some issues. I only paid $5500 USD for it which seemed to be a great price (great prices come with great issues usually). The man I got it from seemed pretty genuine and told me all about it except for one main issue I am having right now.

I have not gotten much time on it, but it has already overheated on me twice with very little use. I checked it out further and found that the radiator fan is blowing toward the front pushing air towards the bucket. I thought that was odd, since I have never seen that before. Usually the fan pulls the air through the radiator towards the engine. Is this normal on this machine?

The radiator looks good, the hoses look good, the fan is blowing hard (maybe in the wrong direction). I need to check it out when its cold to make sure the water is moving well in the radiator, but other than the fan direction it seems fine. Any thoughts?

I have also found 2 of the injectors are bubbling at the threads. I am not a mechanic, but I assume that is not helping me. I also found a leak at the back of the engine. The engine sounds good though.

The unit runs, drives, loader works, backhoe works. Overall its in good shape for a 98. Some other issues he did tell me about was the turning. It drives strong straight forward and backwards. I can push anything without it stalling, it looses traction before stalling. But when I turn it, it does not want to do a nice 360. It will pretty much turn one side and the other wheels just stay stopped which makes turning a struggle for it. If you keep on it like that the other wheels will end up reversing and get you to a 360, but not very well. Any ideas? This is the same in either direction.

Also, the backhoe seems to be very touchy. If I use the controls nice and softly, it moves nice and slow and has a good amount of power. If I really move the stick full out, it comes to a hard abrupt stop like something is quickly blocking the hydraulic flow. This happens in any direction and on any motion/stick. But if you use it softly it works fine. Any ideas? I am at a loss on that unless there is some kind of adjustment I need to make.

I uploaded a few videos (on my wife's tiny YouTube channel) that can show the engine running and the overall shape of the unit.

(sorry for the bad audio)

Thanks for any help everyone.
 

mikebramel

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2012
Messages
1,612
Location
milwaukee
Are you running at full throttle when you are trying a zero turn? If you are, then I would look at loose linkage, blocked suction filter - low charge pressure - worn internals, low pilot pressure, etc
 

BRS78660

Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2017
Messages
8
Location
Michigan
It looks like the air flow is running correctly, so I will remove the radiator housing and check how bad the radiator is. Will post if that fixes it.
 

jcb jeff

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 23, 2014
Messages
394
Location
United Kingdom
Hi
Check the thermostat for correct operation and also that there is one in there as well as it could cause the water to to circulate the block and not the rad .Also check the rad has not blocked internally ,the 100 series used to overheat and crack the cylinder heads if used like that for some time with a slack fan belt.
The bubbling around the injectors you need to clean around there and prehaps change the copper seating washers first as this might be the source of where your crack is?.
 

Delmer

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 3, 2013
Messages
8,863
Location
WI
Use a non contact thermometer to take the temperatures of the top and bottom of the engine or radiator, the inlet and outlet. That will tell you where to look next.
 

AusDave

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2008
Messages
319
Location
Australia
Occupation
Self employed
Hi Brandon.
The blower fan is a good idea actually, it blows the dust away from the machine instead of sucking it into the engine and transmission area. However the fan belt looks worn from the video and I would check the radiator for blockages internally and externally.

The leakage around the injectors and at the back of the motor is a concern. The oil filter looks like it hasn't been changed in ages too. It looks a bit like this machine may not have been well maintained. Was there coolant in the radiator or just water? The motor may have been overheated when used by the previous owner, are there any bubbles and quick pressure build up in the radiator when the engine is running? Cracked/warped head, gasket failure etc may be the cause of overheating as well. Really needs a diesel mechanic to check it over as these motors are fairly simple to diagnose.

The turning you describe could be quite normal depending on the surface you are on and your experience with these machines. I would want to know the hydraulic/trans oil was not too old and is the correct oil and the filters were good too. Assuming this and that you were turning with the front bucket down and the backhoe slid to the correct side and swung in tight to the machine and locked, if you are on a surface with good grip you can still get a jerky response when turning the machine on the spot. If you are on wet ground or loose earth it will be easier. Of course when it jerks so does your hand and the throw of the controls is quite short so you tend to add to the jerkiness if you're not careful. Hard to tell more without driving the machine. If the hydrostatic system has been fiddled with then all bets are off. You really need to know the history of the machine and have the pressures checked at the various test points

The backhoe behaviour does not seem right. Although some controls like the slew can be hard to do smoothly at first, the operation shouldn't stop suddenly as you describe. There could be contaminants in the hydraulic system which is also the same oil as the hydrostatic drive causing problems with both. Cutting open the filter would be useful to check if there is anything significant in it.

It goes without saying that if you buy a secondhand machine with no justifiable service records, you can assume you immediately need to change all fluids and filters. And if you have any leaks of course deal with them first. The machine may have been completely abused from day one or reasonably well looked after, but my motto is "expect the worst, hope for the best and anything better then crook is good!" :)

Let us know what you find, AusDave
 

BRS78660

Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2017
Messages
8
Location
Michigan
All great info guys. I will pull the rad and change all the fluids and filters. Then I will re-diagnose it from all the suggestions. Thanks so much for your insight.
 

Ervin009

New Member
Joined
Mar 14, 2019
Messages
3
Location
Oradea
Hello everyone, a have same problems with my machine like BRS.
Can somebody tell my where I should found all the filters? Or somebody have a service manual for 1 cx? Another problem is after one hour work, a warning light, turn on, number 5. from image. But a short pause it turn off but after a few minutes, also came back.
Thank you for all the responses.
 

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hookedondiesel

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2013
Messages
503
Location
Sault Ste Marie Ont. Case 1835C
Personally, I would turn your fan so it sucks air from the outside. With the hood closed I don't think there's enough air flow supplied. Just my opinion. There are also kits to test if you have a head-gasket problem. Here's a link that may help you. I would take care of the overheating problem asap. Ensure that the test kit is for Diesel and NOT gas.
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test
 

Nige

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Jun 22, 2011
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Location
G..G..G..Granville.........!! Fetch your cloth.
I've been looking for an illustration to help explain my post above, and finally found one. Imagine removing the fan shown in the 1st illustration and turning it front-to-back (180 degrees in other words) then reinstalling it. The blades are still going to be facing in the same direction, so the air flow direction will not change. The air flow direction will not change but the flow volume will reduce because the angle of the blade aerofoil will be incorrect for the direction of rotation of the fan.
The only way to reverse the air flow direction would be to use a fan with the angle of the blades going from top left to bottom right, or to somehow reverse the direction of rotation of the fan.
upload_2019-3-16_14-0-58.png
upload_2019-3-16_14-6-12.png
 

Tinkerer

Senior Member
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May 21, 2009
Messages
9,342
Location
The shore of the illinois river USA
I learned the hard way many years ago on Clark forklift I was operating outside in zero weather. I turned the fan around and it still blew the air away from the engine.:(
I was ecstatic the first time I ran a Cat dozer and saw that it had a reversable radiator fan on it.
For those that have never seen one, the blades can be pushed in and rotated. It was very important that they pop back out and lock in place.
Sorry op that your thread went off topic ! I'm done with the fans.:)
 
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AusDave

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2008
Messages
319
Location
Australia
Occupation
Self employed
Hello everyone, a have same problems with my machine like BRS.
Can somebody tell my where I should found all the filters? Or somebody have a service manual for 1 cx? Another problem is after one hour work, a warning light, turn on, number 5. from image. But a short pause it turn off but after a few minutes, also came back.
Thank you for all the responses.

Hi Ervin.
Send me your email address and I'll send you the manuals that should help.
The warning light looks like the low hydraulic charge pressure warning. Change the filter and cut the old one open to check for debris.
I also had this light come on and I ended up replacing the sensor which operates this light. The sensor had failed and was giving an incorrect signal.
Regards AusDave
 

AusDave

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2008
Messages
319
Location
Australia
Occupation
Self employed
Can I just correct something. Turning the fan will not change the direction of the air flow. To change from a “blower” to a “sucker” fan requires a different fan assembly.

Nige is absolutely correct. On one of my 1CX's a blower fan was fitted as it was used with an asphalt grinder and it's preferable to blow this dust away than suck it through the machine. I also had a custom made blower fan made for my other 1CX to stop the dust being sucked through the machine in dry Australian weather and also to draw the heat away from the cabin.
Even in hot Australian summers the blower fan cools fine and keeps the engine and air filters cleaner. There is plenty of air flow with the bonnet shut from the slots in side panels and it can draw hot air out of the transmission area as well.
Regards AusDave
 

Nige

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G..G..G..Granville.........!! Fetch your cloth.
I thought I said that. To reverse the air flow in your example of the ceiling fan you are changing the rotational direction of the fan, not removing the fan assembly and installing it reversed but then still having it rotate in the same direction. The two processes are not the same, despite the fact fact that intuitively it ought to work like that.
 
Last edited:

kshansen

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Mar 11, 2012
Messages
11,127
Location
Central New York, USA
Occupation
Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
I thought I said that. To reverse the air flow in your example of the ceiling fan you are changing the rotational direction of the fan, not removing the fan assembly and installing it reversed but then still having it rotate in the same direction. The two processes are not the same.
When in need of explaining why reversing the fan would not reverse the flow of air to those who could not wrap their head around it I used this explanation.

I explained that a fan or say boat propeller(aka screw) was actually a short piece of threaded rod. Now if you screw a threaded rod into a nut clockwise and then remove it and flip it end for end it will still go into the nut while turning clockwise. It will NOT reverse the direction!
 

hookedondiesel

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2013
Messages
503
Location
Sault Ste Marie Ont. Case 1835C
Ok, I get it now. But why would they have it fitted this way, it doesn't make sense to me. I get the " no dust" etc going into the engine. I'll have to check mine, It's also a JCB and see what direction this thing spins...lol
 
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