straight 350 P/M?

[Projex]

So I bought a straight 350 with 6-way blade; T4F3D s/n 096457T
Diesel engine starts right up, seems to drive ok (haven't checked all gears, but first & reverse work), reverser works fine. Blade seems to work fine (some bleed down though). Does not steer either direction.

I've got the right side final ready to come out; just need to get some all-thread for the "guides". I'll pull the left final next.

Planning to buy new chains (rails, if you prefer). Sprockets look ok. Rearmost bottom roller still spins, but way more worn shell than the others. Top roller is worn to a taper, inside and outside of center. Idlers are thin at the rim, but even. Have a few minor items to fix (broken hinge weld on battery cover, battery cables, ignition switch has a loose wire, air precleaner missing top half, an old hydraulic hose or two, etc.).

I'll use machine this on my small acreage, preparing to build a house and put in trails for future orchard and garden. Mostly sidehill work, on clay; the only rock is on the driveway. Guesstimating I'll put 100 hours on the meter each year for a few years, then I may sell. I'm not planning to earn any money with this machine.

While I have the belly pan off, and the finals out, what are some other items that may be good to inspect & replace? I saw Lavoy's post about the price of final bearing & seal kits, and it made me wonder if I should replace mine while I have the finals out for the steering clutches? Thoughts? Other things to look at while I have it apart? Filters that are otherwise difficult to replace? Adjustments to make (besides steering, obviously)?

Oh, this machine has the optional power steering. I do have manuals for this machine, as well.

Thanks; I look forward to all the wisdom and help from this board! I've been lurking for awhile. Have a question or two about parts, which I will put in another post (or ask Lavoy directly).

[Blane]

Check all mounting bolts for engine, reverser and transmission. Found almost every bolt loose and a few missing on mine .

[Projex]

I sure appreciate your advice, and will do so!
Concerning the finals, since I was only able to drive the machine 20 yards straight forward and back before tearing it apart for the steering clutches, should I replace final outdrive bearings & seals as a matter of caution?

What about the carrier tube? I've read the instructions on the appal.org website, and will be careful not to "load" these tubes, but how do i know they have not been damaged already? What should I look for? Is there some seal inside the steering clutch housings I should replace?

Thanks again!

[dtoots1]

just a bit of info...Lavoy..the owner of this site...does have access to just about all the parts that you will need for machine...and are reliable parts..not the junk chinese found on the internet...and does have access for used parts as well...

Email...postmaster@jdcrawlers.com or can reach him by phone i thinking the parts forum.

[Projex]

Yep, Lavoy will be my first call when I am deeper in, and have an idea of the total parts I need.

[LeonardL]

On your final drive bearings and oil seals, all you really need to do is check them for being within specs as in end play and for oil leakage. Otherwise I would leave them alone unless they show some sign of being in need of repair. They will leak to the inside of the clutch housing around the inner seal for the drive axle right behind the brake drum. They can also leak to the outside around the outer flange seal. These should be obvious if there is a problem.

Your carrier tubes are easily damaged and you need to be as careful as you can while removing the final drives. To check them all you need to make sure of is that the throw out bearing still slides smoothly on each of the tubes and doesn't try to hang up. I try to work the axle out of the clutch pack and slide it back inside the transmission. This frees up the final and you have less of a chance of damaging the tubes. However this isn't always possible with these dry clutches. A lot of the time they are rusted in place. In that case you try to come as straight out as possible until you have cleared the end of the tube. I have had cases where I had to ruin the tube just to get the final drive off and away from the machine. Hopefully you won't have that kind of issue with yours.

As for internal seals there are only the ones inside the bearing quills for the differential and the afore mentioned final drive seals. If they are bad they will leak oil inside the clutch housing. So look for a leak which will be obvious. Most of the old straight 350's had 90 weight gear oil in both the transmission and the final drives. So your leak will be a nasty mess. If everything is dry I would leave them alone. However with that being said your machine is fifty plus years old and may never have had those seals changed. Some of the guys on here have done total restorations on their machines and went through their final drives and bearing quills mostly for that reason. I have done some restoration work for folks as well and we did this to their machines. In the end you will just have to decide whether you want to go to that much work and expense or not.

[bcolema]

In the process of doing finals , steering clutches, etc. My advice is change out seals, bearings, tube for throw out bearing. do it now, dont worry about it later.