1010 steering issue after years of sitting.

Drew B · Post by **Drew B** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 4:11 pm

Hello all,
I'm new to this group, but have been searching through your threads the last couple of days and found some good info/knowledgeable folks here. So, I am having an issue with my 1010 crawler dozer, and thought I would start here.

I have owned this machine for about 20 years and got a lot of work out of it, but about 10 years ago I parked it up in the mountains and there it sat for the last decade, without being started or run (bad, I know, but I was out of state that whole time). Recently I came back to Colorado, and tried to fire up the dozer. I drained all of the diesel and oil, changed the filters, and filled her back up. It started right up, and ran fine. Of course, the steering clutches were sticking, but I drove it around a bit and worked them in, until the machine was driving and turning fine.

Now for the problem: after a few hours of working with the machine, I started losing steering/power on the left track. If I put it in gear it drives straight ahead just fine. If I pull back on both sticks the clutches disengage and the machine stops. If I pull back on the left stick the machine turns left just fine. But if I pull back on the right stick, the machine does not turn or move forward. I can get it to turn a bit by holding back the stick and bumping the tranny clutch, but that's it. I figured the left steering clutch was slipping, so I popped both covers to take a look. The right clutch was covered in surface rust which I expected. The left clutch components looks like they are covered in fresh oil. I pulled the drain plug on the left clutch housing, but nothing came out, and the plug itself is dry. Could it be that the left clutch pack is oil soaked, and if so which seal would be leaking, or where is this oil coming from?

Something else I noticed: when the machine was originally parked, both clutches/brakes had recently been adjusted according to the service manual spec. Now, the right stick moves back freely about an inch as per spec before you can feel the clutch fingers engage, but the left stick feels like it has finger spring tension from the moment you begin to pull it. Normally, I would think it is adjusted too tight and therefore causing the slippage, but I know it was not that tight when it was parked. Can oil swell the fibers and cause this tightness?

Lastly, I don't know if oil temporarily slipped through a dry seal and fouled the clutch, and that seal may now be relubricated and sealing fine, or if the seal cracked and broke from inactivity and time. How common is it for seals to leak oil into the clutch housings? If this was possibly a temporary leak while the seals re-wetted themselves, could I just fill up the clutch housing with solvent (gas), drain it, and thereby clean the oil from the fiber disks? I know that's a long shot, but I am not crazy about having to break down the final drives just to replace a pesky seal, especially in the snow and winter weather of the Colorado mountains (the machine is outside, and it would need to be repaired out in the elements, as I have no shop up there).

Any light you could shed on my problem would be appreciated!

Thanks,
Drew

Post by **Lavoy** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 5:03 pm

The problem is somewhere in your LH clutch. Unless it is an adjustment issue, it is a tear down issue. There is nothing you can dump in the top to fix the problem, sorry.
Lavoy

Drew B · Post by **Drew B** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 5:37 pm

Is an oil leak into a clutch housing a common failure, and if so, which seal typically fails? Does oil actually swell the fiber disks?

jtrichard · Post by **jtrichard** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 6:40 pm

YES oil will swell the discs RUST will also build up on the discs and make it ride the throw out bearing you might try adjusting the free throw on the lever and you might get by till spring

Stan Disbrow · Post by **Stan Disbrow** » Sat Nov 14, 2015 8:03 pm

Hi,

Water will also swell the fibers. There is no quick fix for swollen fibers. Swollen ones usually means you can never drop power on the affected side. Same with too much rust. They will not disengage. As opposed to slipping.

There is no way to get rid of oil in the fibers, either. Once in there, it is in there to stay. Even if there was, the leak would remain and quickly slip things up again.

So, you are looking at pulling that track off and rebuilding the clutch pack and fixing the leak.

Usually, I now say to do both sides, but perhaps you will be lucky with the other side.

Stan

gregjo1948 · Post by **gregjo1948** » Sun Nov 15, 2015 5:27 am

Believe it or not!!! I have cleaned oil soaked fiber discs. I soak in gas over night then let them air dry.Using a little propane torch, I keep lighting the disc on fire and blowing it out after just a couple seconds. The oil will keep bubbling up to the surface and burning off. After blowing out the flame, wipe away excess surface oil. Eventually the oil's gone. If you let it burn too long, you'll blister the fiber and ruin the disc. You can not hurry this process. If you,re working on a customer's machine, you'd save him money by purchasing new discs because of the excessive labor cost. gregjo1948

Stan Disbrow · Post by **Stan Disbrow** » Sun Nov 15, 2015 5:59 am

Hi,

We have had this discussion before.

You could also do it by running the discs in an environmental chamber at about 70 deg C with a vacuum applied. Just wipe the oil off every once in a while.

But, that also requires a bunch of time and you have to still pull the final off and remove the discs. At which point, just stick in new ones and put it all back together.

And, if it isn't done for long enough to get all the oil out, back to slipping it will eventually go.

And neither method is going to help the OP get it back to driving the dead track without a teardown....

Stan

halwelch · Post by **halwelch** » Sun Nov 15, 2015 2:26 pm

As to how the oil got there a seal likely stuck to its associated shaft and ripped when he moved it.

Post by **Lavoy** » Sun Nov 15, 2015 7:43 pm

Seals seldom "heal", once a leaker, always a leaker. You will need to fix the source of the leak first.
Lavoy

Drew B · Post by **Drew B** » Sun Nov 15, 2015 10:14 pm

Thanks, guys, for all the input and advice. Looks like I'll have to break it down no matter what. Have done it before, but not as a cold weather project. Going back to a torn seal, does anyone have any idea which seal it most likely is? In looking over my service manual, there looks to be one of two seals that could be the culprit. And one looks like a much easier procedure than the other. Also, what is the availability of those parts (seals and clutch disks)? It's been awhile since I have worked on this machine and needed parts.

Thanks,
Drew

Post by **Lavoy** » Mon Nov 16, 2015 8:35 am

Usually it is the pinion seal in the final drive. I have the parts on hand.
Lavoy

Drew B · Post by **Drew B** » Mon Nov 16, 2015 6:07 pm

Ok, thanks!

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1010 steering issue after years of sitting.

1010 steering issue after years of sitting.

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