JD 350C Brake bands

[Aussie350C]

Hi, I have a 350C (wet clutch) here in Australia ( relevent to the question). I have to re-build the steering clutches and so was suggested, by the mechanic, to do the brakes at the same time. Sounds reasonable enough, but when I have looked into the parts cost, nothing is available locally and I'm looking at $USD 400 per side for the brake bands plus freight $200 more I start to question whether it makes sense to replace something that is working OK. The downside is that if we open her up and discover that the brakes need attention it will be a delay to get parts here and so tie up the workshop.
Now to the question is it possible to re-line the JD brake bands? I can get this done locally and it would be the obvious choice except I don't know if the bands can actually be re-lined. Pictures on line show them made of what appears to be some sort of composite material. Anybody have any experience with these bands to let me know one way or the other?

[Lavoy]

Very highly unlikely that someone can reline the wet brake bands, but it's possible. Usually you don't see many rebuilds on the wet clutch crawlers, so if yours are worn, you may have other underlying issues.
Price you are seeing on bands, and the freight seem high to me.
Lavoy

[LeonardL]

I agree with your mechanic that the brakes should be looked at while being into the machine that deep. In my experience with the 350C / 350D wet steering system the brakes are usually the the biggest issue and not the clutch pack. It was rare to find bad clutches on a wet system. It would nearly always be the brake bands and if there was a problem with the clutch packs it was usually a piston seal or a bad sealing ring some where. I can recall about three machines in my career where the wet clutch discs were actually worn to a point they couldn't be re-used.

I also agree with Lavoy that it will be difficult to find a re-lining company that can do the wet style brake bands. That being said however and given your situation I would ask them just the same. You never know until you ask. The company you have locally may be able to fix you up.

I don't know what Australia has to offer as far as John Deere dealers or what kind of availability you have to their parts network. Here in the states the dealers offer aftermarket parts that are a bit more affordable than the OEM parts they offer. So in not knowing what you have as far as Deere support I really don't have an answer for you in that regard.

If it was me doing the work on your machine... I would first look at the usual culprit which is the brake bands.Then look at the clutches to see if you can re-use the clutch discs and replace the piston seals and sealing rings. Then consider the cost of your brake bands as apposed to replacing the entire clutch pack along with the brake bands. That way you may be able to rebuild your system without the additional cost of the clutch packs.

I hope this helps a bit and good luck.