Dumb question of the week.

[gus]

First off let me say I'm green when it comes to these crawlers. But I do have a question that might qualify for dumb of the week.

The most common problem I see seems to be the steering clutches binding up. This seems to be from moisture for the most part. If I'm understanding it correctly, they swell when damp.

OK, here it is..... Why not surface grind them back to original size as they don't seem to shrink on their own. One step further, pre wet them be fore installing and get it over with, then surface grind back.

Well, I said it was probably dumb At least I hope you got a chuckle out of it.
Gus

[wwattson]

Funny Gus.

I think you're onto one of the reasons that new crawlers have wet clutches. I can tell you from having rebuilt a clutch that had filled with water that things aren't always as they seem.

In the case of my 1010, the fiber disks hadn't actually swelled all that much even though they had been soaking in water for months or years. The cause of all the swelling that led to the clutch binding was the rusting of the steel disks. The fiber disks were at the low end of acceptable wear when I measured them but I replaced them due to their questionable state.

The two lessons I learned were that the top cover on the clutch housing needs to be well sealed and the drain hole in the bottom of the clutch housing needs to be checked to make sure it is clear. Storing a crawler or tractor under cover avoid a bunch of other issues even if thing aren't perfect.

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

I was going to post a l-o-n-g reply on the steps to correct this and other problems once-and-for-all. I decided not to spend the time, though.

It would have started with a 420c and ended with everything upgraded such that you wound up with a JD350C at the end, following the path that Deere took to get their themselves. Only, I wasn't going to actually *say* the end result was a JD350C and let y'all figger that one out on your own.

Yes, the best thing with any crawler is to store it under cover, and up on boards or logs or something like that. There's just too many parts on a crawler that don't like exposure to water.

Oh, and the wood under the tracks is to keep moisture, in the form of humidity, from collecting under the pads over time and (a) rusting pins and bushings along the ground and (b) sticking the whole machinne fast as soon as the temperature hits 31 degrees F.

Stan

[gus]

Ifandwhen I get this 420 up and running it is planned as my snow pusher. It will be stored in my heated shop for the most part. How much of a problem am I looking at when I bring a very cold, wet machine back into a heated shop??
gus

[Howard Yoder]

it will just curl up and go to sleep like an old dog or cat and be ready to go the next time you are. Most of them have not been taken care of like that and still go. Have fun.

[Ray III]

Yes, the best thing with any crawler is to store it under cover, and up on boards or logs or something like that. There's just too many parts on a crawler that don't like exposure to water.

I hadn't thought about the tracks freezing to the ground, boards are a good idea in the winter.

Anything specific that should not get wet? My crawler stays outside. The housings are well sealed and it has a new muffler/rain cap.

If the machine is going to be used to move snow, it should be parked outside at least long enough for the blade to freeze. Snow will build up on a warm blade.

[russ61]

I hadn't thought about the tracks freezing to the ground, boards are a good idea in the winter.

Yeh my dad forgot to dig the tracks out ONCE,when he tried to move it after what I recall as not a very hard freeze,he said his foot slipped off the clutch .Broke BOTH drive axles on the 1010.Lot of what I used to call "hay bailer language" I use old tires under dozers now. [/quote]

[Tigerhaze]

I learned about the tracks freezing to the ground last winter when I threw a track. It took me a couple weeks just to let the ground thaw enough to loosen it up so I could put it back on. Parking on boards is a good idea- thanks for that tip.

I now cover my 2010 after every use and prop the steering clutch levers back with boards- when I first got into these crawlers I didn't realize that the dry clutch machines were so suceptible to rainfall if they sat long enough. There were a few instances where I let the machine sit for a few weeks and the steering clutches started sticking when I first used them. That could have really ruined my plans.