Tontosgold

Mark didn’t explain how he removed the transmission/clutch compartment oil seals without taking out the bearing base, I just encountered the same problem. First I drilled pin holes in the the bearing base and made a tool which could engage the pin holes. The bearing base was way too tight and wouldn’t budge so I gave that idea away.

I searched topics on CTOA and found Mark’s post which convinced me to remove the seals with the bearing base still in place. I drilled a small hole through the face of the seal then inserted a Gland Packing Puller which is a strong flexible steel rope with a corkscrew on the end (tip- attach vicegrips to the handle end which creates a surface you can tap with the hammer). The seals come out easily.

There are two oil seals, an inner and outer. I noticed the shaft surface where the outer seal rides was rusty and has chewed out the seal lip. When I am ready to fit the new seals I will sand the shaft back to a smooth surface and apply a little grease which will help prevent rust from returning.

Hello good people,

Here we go again with a recurring problem so I thought it best to continue this thread. My dozer has sheered the final drive output shaft in identical fashion as the photos in Steve’s earlier post. I recall another member also suffered the same problem a few years back. I know my break wasn’t caused by a foreign object getting caught in the tracks as I was root-raking regrowth on clean ground when I suddenly lost left side steering.  Fair to say my machine gets pushed to the limit with the attachments I’ve made for it and the tasks it performs so it’s probably been a component failure in the making for some time. Luckily the dozer was in an accessable area for the 17 ton excavator so I was able to pick it up and carry it back to the shed for repairs.  Now the question is what to do about it?

I am hesitant to only replace the broken output shaft as it appears there is a design flaw and the same component failure is destined to reoccur. Now I am toying with the idea of retro-fitting a smaller diameter drive sprocket. To my way of thinking this would lessen the tortion force applied to the final drive output shaft (axle) and reduce the likelihood of twisting it off again. Any engineers out there who can confirm or negate this reasoning?

A smaller drive sprocket would require some additional modifications to accomodate it, namely converting the undercarriage to a high-track of sorts. My existing steel tracks need replacing anyway and I think it would be foolish to replace with the same rapid-wearing dry pin Yuchai track links. These days there are skidsteer loaders utilizing steel tracks in a high-drive configuration (see photo). I might be able to get a second-hand set from a parts wrecker. Raising the whole machine 300mm means the blade lift rams would need end extensions or longer cylinders and a smaller drive sprocket means slower drive speeds also. Food for thought, ideas / suggestions anyone?

Hi Chuck,

Push up a full blade of dirt and then see how easy it is to turn by hand –  hence the more powerful cylinders on the angle. Allows you to direct the load while in motion. Does that answer your question?

Aha, now I know why my dozer was losing coolant this week.  The radiator cap rusted out so I scrounged another one from my junk pile but it has a weaker spring. I started root-raking a paddock and after 20 minutes  noticed the temperature creeping up over 90C.  I shut down and popped the hood and saw coolant running out the overflow. It lost over 2 litres.  Better get the right cap.