'68 350B right side final drive removal

[Andy B]

As soon as I get a method to post pics I will post a few, but I have a question on removing the final drives.

The right side steering clutch and brake needs to be rebuilt, so I need to remove the final drive.
Getting out the master link pin was pretty easy, and the drive sprocket came off in a few minutes.

I was about to remove the final drive, and realized I can't get to all of the top bolts. My 350B has a rockshaft on it. I am guessing I need to remove the rockshaft and bracket that holds it to the tractor because the bracket covers the top few bolts on the final drive. Is this correct, or is there a way to remove the drive with the rockshaft mounting brackets in place?
Does the entire rockshaft need to be removed?

Thanks,

Andy B.

[Lavoy]

Not positive, but I think you might be able to get by just taking off the cylinder bracket.
Lavoy

[Andy B]

If I can get the cylinder pin out, I think that will work. Once the rain stops, I am hoping I can get back to the project.

I'll let you know if it I got it apart by just removing the bracket.

Andy B.

[Andy B]

I got the final drive off. That is a story in itself.

My next question is how to get the plates and disks out of the clutch/brake hub? They have not moved in years and are rusted in there pretty good. I was able to get the first four pairs out but now the rest are so deep I don't have enough room to get something in there to pry under them. I need a pry bar with about a 1/8" foot on it to wedge down between the center gear and edge of the plates.

Any ideas? I have been spraying everything with penetrating oil for two days.

Andy B

[LeonardL]

About the only option is to beat them loose. I use an air hammer with a blunt end bit and just hammer them until they loosen up. Move the hammer around the circumference of the plates while hammering the crap out of them. I have also used a ball peen hammer and a blunt end punch. I have had a couple of guys say they used heat and then hammered them out. The trick is to break the rust loose. I assume the hub is still in place? Just be careful not to damage anything other than the old plates themselves.

[Andy B]

Sir,
That is exactly what I was about to try and wanted to quick check the forum before I got to business. LOL

I have an air hammer, ball peen hammer, and blunt chisels.

More to follow.....

[Andy B]

The air hammer worked great! Less than 5 minutes and the rest was disassembled.

I have most of the linkages freed up, but I think I need the inner and outer cone bearings, JD7390 and JD8902. The final drive shaft has a good bit of play in it. I didn't get it apart yet to verify the bearings' condition.

Andy B.

[Andy B]

The bearings looked good, so I think I need to add another shim to the stack under the quill cover T24860.

Andy B.

[Lavoy]

You do not just arbitrarily add or remove shims, you need to measure the freeplay in the shaft, and adjust for proper preload.
Lavoy

[Andy B]

So far so good.
Now the next stuck piece, the shaft pilot bearing, part JD8567. It's the bearing that the end of the clutch input shaft rides on.

It's a blind bearing, so you have to put a puller into the 9/16 (or so) inside diameter opening in the bearing to pull it. I have no idea what kind of industrial bearing puller people have, but the jaws are bending on the one I have. There's really no place to beat on the bearing to get it out, and you can't heat the bearing. You'd need to heat the entire final drive shaft, and I can't say I am a fan of getting that entire part hot enough to make a difference.

Any ideas how to get this bearing out?

[dtoots1]

re...blind bearing removal...someone once told me on like a pilot bearing..to get it out..fill the back space and hole with grease and wood dowel in shaft hole ..hammer and grease pushes bearing out??...have not had to try that yet so cannot verify...kinda use hydraulics to push out..wood dowel should be close fitting

[Andy B]

My kids stopped by, we had a lawn-mowing fest and pizza-fest.

Anyway, after I posted my question, I started searching for tips and came across something similar to what dtools1 posted.
Only it used bread, a socket, and a hammer.

I was skeptical of this Internet legend, but I had bread, a socket, and a hammer.
Let me say, if you jam a slice of bread into that pilot hole and whack the socket with a hammer, the bearing will be out in about 1 minute. I would have never believed it if I hadn't witnessed it myself.

[Andy B]

The old 350B now turns left and right, in both forward and reverse, and the track can be tensioned.

For now, I'm going to leave the left side alone. Maybe next spring I will repeat this adventure on the left side.

Andy B.