JD 450 has no power on left track

[nathan619]

I bought this dozer last year to clear some land. It has worked great but yesterday the left track has no power. I can pull the left brake and it turns, I pull the right brake and nothing happens, the dozer stops altogether. In a straight line it drifts left. So, the left track has no go. What could be wrong with that left side?

I'm assuming I have a 66 model since the serial number is T5F3M 035377T.

I'm in the process of getting a maintenance manual from an old thread I found. His email is brad.kahler@141.com. Does anyone know if he's still the guy to get a manual from? (I now have a manual)

I'm attaching pictures of my JD. Please comment on anything you notice that I need to fix because I don't know anything about the workings of a dozer.

http://gl1800riders.com/forums/picture. ... ureid=4524
http://gl1800riders.com/forums/picture. ... ureid=4523
http://gl1800riders.com/forums/picture. ... ureid=4522

[Tigerhaze]

I bought this dozer last year to clear some land. It has worked great but yesterday the left track has no power. I can pull the left brake and it turns, I pull the right brake and nothing. In a straight line it drifts left. So, the left track has no go. What could be wrong with that left side.

It sounds like your left steering clutch is slipping- there could be a variety of reasons for this. There should be an inspection plate so you can see the steering clutch during operation and see whether there is rust or oil contamination or another reason the clutch is slipping.

[nathan619]

I bought this dozer last year to clear some land. It has worked great but yesterday the left track has no power. I can pull the left brake and it turns, I pull the right brake and nothing. In a straight line it drifts left. So, the left track has no go. What could be wrong with that left side.

It sounds like your left steering clutch is slipping- there could be a variety of reasons for this. There should be an inspection plate so you can see the steering clutch during operation and see whether there is rust or oil contamination or another reason the clutch is slipping.

From the 2nd picture above (left side of dozer), where would the inspection plate be?

[KenP]

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[nathan619]

In the first pix, your left track has way too much slack. You need to adjust it similar to your right. Otherwise, you'll jump your track... which is generally the beginning of a long and very bad day.

Yep, I definitely don't need that to happen. I noticed it got real slack this past weekend and was originally going to post about how to tighten it but then this problem happened with the no power to the left track.

[Tigerhaze]

I agree on the comment about the slackness of the track- you can look up my "Show and Tell" post showing how much of a pain it is to reattach

I am not positive about inspection plates on the 450B; however on my 2010 (the predecessor of the 450 series) they are located on the top of the steering clutch housings, just to the left and right of the seat base. There should be 4 bolts or so holding it down.

[OneWelder]

It probably is the steering clutch ,and track adj.
but if I understand you right the track got lose at the same time as the loss of power? I think I would look to see if final is leaking and for debris . are you getting any strange noises ?

[OneWelder]

I posted before I was through
I said to look at final because it looks like a wet spot on bottom pads just in front of sprocket.

[cinok]

I am one of those guys that can fix anything with wheels almost anything. But crawlers I am lost. Here is a link to JD parts manual I have had luck in the past finding things that I have know idea what they are by using it.
http://jdpc.deere.com/jdpc/servlet/com. ... ervlet_Alt

[nathan619]

It probably is the steering clutch ,and track adj.
but if I understand you right the track got lose at the same time as the loss of power? I think I would look to see if final is leaking and for debris . are you getting any strange noises ?

The track went slack the day before this happened. I didn't notice any strange noises when this happened.

[nathan619]

I posted before I was through
I said to look at final because it looks like a wet spot on bottom pads just in front of sprocket.

I had just got done power washing the mud off the bottom and tracks so that may be water. I'll have to look when it gets light out to make sure.

[nathan619]

How would something being wrong with the left side steering clutch make the dozer have no power at all to the left track? I'm having a hard time seeing how it works in my mind. I would think it'd still have power to go, it just wouldn't turn (or am I looking at this wrong?)

I got the manual last night and I'll look it over today.

[KenP]

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[nathan619]

Power gets transferred to the drive sprocket through a clutch assembly that is not unlike that in a car.
If the clutch is way out of adjustment, wet with oil, worn out, or hung up in a "released" position, there will be no power on that side.
If the clutch is way out of adjustment in the other direction, or the clutch is seized, you can't release it and the power is continuous.

There is also a brake on each side. When you pull the steering lever back to make a turn while driving, the linkage is such that the clutch is released (stopping the power) and with more lever movement, the brake is applied stopping that track. In order for the steering to work properly, the lever linkage has to be adjusted correctly and the clutch and brake must be in good condition.

Thanks for that explanation. Now it makes sense. I'll be looking at that this weekend. Now I need to look at the manual to see how to check the clutch.

[KenP]

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