350 B Brake band wear in
350 B Brake band wear in
I have a 350B and have just replaced the steering clutches and brake bands on both sides. I did the RH first, went fine. LH came apart easy and assembled fine also. I’ve run the machine about 3 hrs. and I’m getting a hi pitch squeak when I’m past the declutch and starting to brake, LH side only. The manual says to adjust the band until snug, so I did that and moved the machine forward and declutched using the foot pedal. Initially the machine stopped, I backed off (2 turns)until I got a roll forward on a slightly downhill slope. The machine never steered so nice. As the brake bands seated in the braking was much further back on the lever, and that squeak appeared on the LH side only. I readjusted about 1 turn. The lever was in the correct position and steered nice, no squeak. After about 2 hrs. the breaking position on the lever is further back again and the squeak is back. Is this something anyone has heard of before? How much do the bands take to be broken in? Does anybody have suggestions on the adjusting procedure or comments on how I did it? Any help or insight would be greatly appreciated. I'm not crazy about taking this apart again, at least 8 hrs of work!!
Re: 350 B Brake band wear in
Your run in time shouldn't take very long on a new brake band if everything is in good working order. If everything is right with your linkage and adjustments then a couple of run hours should have it settled where it needs to be. I suspect any number of things could be your issue. The first is the Brake Anchor bracket that has a stud that reaches out of the front side of the clutch housing. These anchors will either break the stud that holds them or the nut will loosen or come completely off. What happens is you adjust your brakes and then not long afterward it is out of adjustment again. Another issue could be worn bushings or shafts which again after adjustments are made they will settle back into a position that's either too tight or too loose and cause your brake to not function properly.
Yet another issue may be one or more pieces of the linkage could be rusted to the shafts or stuck in some manor. Everything needs to be working freely on their shafts and your shaft bushings shouldn't have any loose or badly worn motion in them.
As for your squeak... that could be anything from a bit of metal in the brake band material or a piece of debris of some sort. Rust is another big squeak maker. The anchor I mentioned will also cause things to get out of position and cause a squeak. Usually, but not always associated with a grabbing action from your brake. The brake will just grab and lock up rather than engaging gradually as you put pressure on them.
The only tip I will give on adjustments is follow them exactly as the tech manual tells you. Everything is adjusted in sequence and don't try doing one or the other without doing all of the sequence. One adjustment effects the other. Also you can search the archives here on the site. I know I have posted as well as others on how to adjust the steering on these older 350's. Follow each step is my advice on that.
Hopefully you can find something external so you don't have to go back inside of the housing. I know all too well how hard this is. It's certainly no fun when you have just put it all back together. Early in my career I learned to take it all apart and make sure everything was as it should be. It takes a little longer to do but then you know it is right when it is back together. I found that a little more time spent was time earned in the end.
Hope this helps a bit and good luck. Let us know what you find.
Yet another issue may be one or more pieces of the linkage could be rusted to the shafts or stuck in some manor. Everything needs to be working freely on their shafts and your shaft bushings shouldn't have any loose or badly worn motion in them.
As for your squeak... that could be anything from a bit of metal in the brake band material or a piece of debris of some sort. Rust is another big squeak maker. The anchor I mentioned will also cause things to get out of position and cause a squeak. Usually, but not always associated with a grabbing action from your brake. The brake will just grab and lock up rather than engaging gradually as you put pressure on them.
The only tip I will give on adjustments is follow them exactly as the tech manual tells you. Everything is adjusted in sequence and don't try doing one or the other without doing all of the sequence. One adjustment effects the other. Also you can search the archives here on the site. I know I have posted as well as others on how to adjust the steering on these older 350's. Follow each step is my advice on that.
Hopefully you can find something external so you don't have to go back inside of the housing. I know all too well how hard this is. It's certainly no fun when you have just put it all back together. Early in my career I learned to take it all apart and make sure everything was as it should be. It takes a little longer to do but then you know it is right when it is back together. I found that a little more time spent was time earned in the end.
Hope this helps a bit and good luck. Let us know what you find.
40 plus years working on JD 350s, 400Gs, 450s and other equipment both Ag and Construction.
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