Sent you a PM Sid.
Later Bob

Got it, I will get those numbers for you first chance I get. I may not be able to get them till late in the week. Got a busy weed ahead for a change.

Did some pushing and stump popping with the machine this weekend. The tranny did fine. My governors may be not quiet right, I could bog the engine a bit in certain situations.

Checked my pressure with a new 600 pound guage. When warmed up I get 310-320 psi. Modulates back up in about a sec after shifting. I have not changed the orl yet. I think I will put in new TO4 oil, 30 wt and see if it goes any higher. Do those pressures seem ok Bob?

Yes they are good Sid. Have a parts pic for you and want to get some pic's of pressure testing and will send them.
Later Bob

Just to let everyone know, my 955L is still pushing fine. A few o-rings and a replacement valve did the trick.

This thread had some great information that I think is applicable to the issues I'm experiencing with my 955L SN: 85J10466.

My transmission fluid is transferring to the bevel gear case. It is doing so at a fairly high rate. Several gallons over a few hours.

I have been removing oil from the bevel gear case through the filler tube and adding fresh fluid to the transmission so I can accomplish the work I need to get done. I need to finish a few more projects and then I will have some downtime for a repair.

I did some more research and found several other places saying the steering clutch pump can suck oil out of the transmission if the pump seals are bad or the steering clutch oil screen is clogged. Here is one: www.yesterdaystractors.com/cgi-bin/viewi...bd=crawlers&th=53142

Is it worth checking the steering clutch pressure to try and confirm this? It sounds like the steering clutch pump is getting fluid one way or another if the seals are bad. I also read in the service manual that the fluid pressure won't be at maximum condition unless the clutches are new. Given that the steering clutches function without issue, I'm guessing there isn't much value in checking the pressure.

I will pull the steering gear oil screen again and clean/inspect it first before replacing the pump but I did this last winter and it didn't contain anything alarming.

How difficult is it to service the steering clutch pump? Any tips and tricks for removal, overhaul, and re-installation? I didn't find anything in the 85J 955L service manual I have about servicing this pump. I might just buy a replacement pump, they're not terrible at $250ish.

If it ends up that the actual problem is the pinion seal leaking directly between the transmission and bevel gear case (multiple sources say this is unlikely to fail) then I will just have to live with it and keep playing the oil shuffle game as I am not up to pulling the transmission at this time or in the near future. A few gallons of oil will just be the cost of getting work done. Given the high rate of fluid transfer, that makes me suspect the issue is with the pump rather than the pinion seal.

After reading this thread I can also confirm I definitely have these issues:

1. Some fluid leaking into the belly pan. Previous owner appears to have welded my belly pan on so removing it to clean out and inspect is not something I can tackle anytime soon. Can someone explain why and from where the torque converter leaks?

2. Tracks won't spin all the time when I'm pushing into material. Seems like when the machine is between cold and top operating temp it will keep spinning the tracks while pushing but once it gets warmed up completely they will stall.

3. When the machine is warmed up from use, turned off, then restarted (while still warmed up) it takes a few minutes for the machine to move, like it needs to build up pressure. It will start to move slowly and then after a minute or so it's back to moving around just fine.

I am still maintaining fluid levels and using the machine because I have a tight schedule to get dirt moved for a new barn. Once that is done I can afford some maintenance time.

I think I have a gauge to check the trans pressure on top of the filter. I will try to get to that sooner than later and see what it reads at various operating temps and while holding the brake and shifting once warmed up.