Shop Talk Blog

A Spooky Troubleshooting Guide for When Your Equipment Acts Possessed

Your skid steer can act downright haunted some times, with things like strange noises, phantom movements, and mysterious leaks -- and sometimes, death. The good news is that it isn’t ghosts, but rather an all too real issue with mechanical or hydraulic causes. So here’s a Shop Talk Blog post where we provide practical troubleshooting tips, empowering you to take control of the situation.

The Phantom Creep: When Your Skid Steer Moves on Its Own

Have you ever had your final drive inch forward or backward with no input? No worries: your skid steer isn’t possessed by a spirit. The most likely causes are …

• A sticking control valve
• Contaminated hydraulic fluid
• A faulty joystick

How do you deal with this “spirit”? That’s pretty straightforward: clean or replace the hydraulic filters and bleed the hydraulic lines, and if that doesn’t work, then inspect the control wiring.

When it comes to final drive motors, gear oil is the quiet workhorse that makes everything else possible. It cushions the gears, keeps heat under control, and prevents metal-on-metal destruction. But here’s the catch: when gear oil is neglected or handled the wrong way, it can turn into the very thing that shortens the life of your machine.

One of the most frustrating things about equipment failures is how often they sneak up on you. Your machine might sound fine, run fine, and get the job done—until one day, the final drive gives out without much warning. A common culprit? Gear oil that’s quietly been working against you instead of for you. Gear oil is supposed to lubricate, protect, and keep things cool inside the drive. But once it’s contaminated, it stops doing its job, and the damage starts piling up long before you notice anything’s wrong.

In this Shop Talk Blog post, we talk about gear oil contamination, signs to look for, prevention and maintenance tips, and what to do when the damage is done.

Here are a few other Shop Talk Blog posts you might find of interest:

• Final Drive Motors: Frequently Asked Questions 
• Too Hot to Handle: How Summer Heat Wears You Down on the Job Site 
• Reman Final Drive Motors: Affordable, American-Made, and Eco-Friendly 

You’re on the job, deadlines are already tight, and suddenly your skid steer doesn’t sound or feel right. Every hour of downtime costs not just time but money. 

That’s why we’ve put together this Shop Talk Blog post to help you learn the early warning signs of a final drive that’s about to fail. That way, you can catch these problems before they become catastrophic-- and more expensive.

Loss of Power

If your machine suddenly feels weak, maybe struggling to climb like it used to, or is sluggish when it has to move with a load, then here are some possibilities as to what is wrong with it:

• A blocked case drain filter
• Internal wear in the final drive
• Weak charge pump
• Final drive brakes are not releasing
• Other hydraulic issues

If power loss is only on one side, or the machine tries to curve to the side, that’s a big clue it’s a final drive issue.

In the world of compact equipment, even the most seemingly minor component can make or break your machine’s performance. One such part, frequently overlooked but absolutely essential, is the case drain filter. It is a low-profile workhorse hidden in your hydraulic system, and when neglected, it can lead to catastrophic damage to your final drive motor.

At Texas Final Drive, we’ve seen the aftermath of ignored or clogged case drain filters: cracked housings, shredded rotator groups, and thousands of dollars in repairs. Here’s what every equipment owner and operator needs to know about this vital component.

Here are a few Shop Talk blog posts you might be interested in:

• Identifying the Hydraulic Ports on a Final Drive Motor
• Bobcat Final Drive Failures and Case Drain Filters
• Preventing Case Drain Related Failure on Final Drive Motors

A sudden hydraulic line blowout is more than just an inconvenience—it can shut down your jobsite, delay your project, and cost you in lost time and fluid cleanup. Whether you’re an independent contractor relying on a single machine or a rental business trying to avoid customer complaints, understanding how and why blowouts occur is essential. 

This Shop Talk Blog post will not only help you recognize the risks, but also empower you to spot the warning signs early and take simple steps to prevent disaster before it strikes. Your proactive role in this process is crucial.

Here are a few more blog posts you might find helpful:

• Hydraulic Hoses and Final Drives
• 5 Things to Avoid Doing with Hydraulic Hoses
• Exploring Hydraulic Connectors

Finding a high-quality, cost-effective replacement can be challenging when one of your final drive motors fails. At Texas Final Drive, we get it -- you need to keep your equipment running without breaking the bank, and that’s why our reman final drive motors are the wise choice.

In this post, we’ll cover three reasons why choosing a reman final drive motor from Texas Final Drive is the best decision for your business: no expensive tariffs, made in America, and environmentally friendly.

Here are a few other blog posts you might find interesting:

• Rebuilding a Track Drive
• Maintaining your Excavator Final Drive
• 5 Things You Should Know About Floating Face Seals

Replacing your final drive motor is a high-stakes decision affecting your equipment, schedule, and bottom line. But with the correct information and supplier, you can get the job done right the first time. You can't afford to make the wrong decision when it comes to replacing your travel drives.

Gear oil is easy to overlook—until something goes wrong. A noisy final drive, worn planetary gears, or sudden power loss can all point to a single cause: lubricant failure.

Many don’t realize that gear oils are engineered fluids, not just oil. They’re packed with chemical additives that do far more than reduce friction—they help your equipment run cooler, cleaner, and longer. These additives reduce wear, prevent corrosion, fight sludge, and help the oil survive extreme pressure and temperature. Without them, even top-tier base oil won’t cut it.

This Shop Talk Blog post covers what gear oil additives do, how they work, and why they're essential for protecting your final drive motor gearbox. And whether you operate compact track loaders or full-sized excavators, knowing what’s in your oil helps extend service life and avoid costly repairs.

Here are a few other Shop Talk Blog posts you might be interested in:

• 3 Things You Should Know about Gear Oil for Final Drives
• Gear Oil Part 1: How to Troubleshoot Gear Oil Problems with Your Final Drive
• Gear Oil Part 2: How to Check and Change the Gear Oil in a Final Drive Motor

If there’s one thing we know here at Texas Final Drive, it’s how we wish people would maintain their final drive motors. That’s why we’ve come up with this comprehensive guide to final drive motor maintenance. It touches on more than just the final drives, though, because issues such as track tension and even a dirty undercarriage can impact the performance of your final drives and cause premature wear.