350 B Engine Seized?...Maybe

[coehillbilly]

Hello..Started up just fine, drove it for about 5 minutes then heard a clanging grinding sound, then a puff of Black smoke a second later and that was it. Dead Dozer in the middle of the road. Oil and water full, not overheated. Starter engages but nothing moves. Any Ideas?

[RANDY Fay]

I would say the springs on damper plate on fly wheel have broken--easy fix just pull eng. and replace--plate and springs have fun Randy

[jdemaris]

Hello..Started up just fine, drove it for about 5 minutes then heard a clanging grinding sound, then a puff of Black smoke a second later and that was it. Dead Dozer in the middle of the road. Oil and water full, not overheated. Starter engages but nothing moves. Any Ideas?

My opinion is that the fix is far from easy. 350s that got used hard failed often. Deere agreed they had a problem and I worked along with several Deere engineers sent over to us from Syracuse - trying to come up with a remedy. At first they were hoping the original parts could be adequate with different assembly techniques. It took Deere a long time - but they finally fixed the problem starting with new 350Cs - serial # 706659 and newer. At that point - Deere completely changed the setup. Deere also uses the newer parts to upgrade older 350s when they rebuild and resell them under the "Certified Relife Program."

Best bet is - if you can find a later setup used - off a late 350C or any 350D.

If you needed to replace all the worn parts - total cost is $1000 from Deere (without upgrading). If the flywheel is damaged, it is no longer available from Deere and it requires an upgrade to the newer setup.
When you pull apart, you will find all the parts worn.

Cost of all new parts to upgrade to a much more durable setup is $1,740 and it's well worth the money. Comes with a new flywheel and one-piece isolator as used in late Cs, Ds, etc.

Very common problem with mid-range 350s, 350Bs, and 350Cs. Problem did not exist with the first 350s, nor with the 350Ds and newer.

We had several brand new machines lock-up before they even got sold.

Here's the deal - and it's up to you how to approach the repair.

1010s and early 350s used a spring-dampened clutch disk and pressure plate to drive the reverser. Simple and relibable.

Then, Deere changed over to a convoluted system that uses a pile of separate parts. Spring anhor posts on the flywheel, springs, a center-plate with a brake-lining type facing on it, etc. There is very little clearance between the springs and the reverser housing. Once one stretches, or moves in wrong direction, all comes apart and it locks the engine up solid. I had to repair many out in woods.
As far as calling it an easy fix - that's up to interpretation. If was a #1 repair with 350s. Many new 350Cs were recalled and we had to pull apart and redo before they even got sold. In my opinion - it is a mess and very poor engineering. The biggest problem is the spring-clip-achors that bolt to the outer diameter of the flywheel. There is nothing to hold them in place. The MUST be in the correct position facting straight out from the centerline of crankshaft and Deere made no provision to hold them there. Deere just relied on the installer using a lot of Loctite. If any one of the anchors moves a little, the engine siezes. If the springs get installed with the hooks pointing in the wrong direction, the engine siezes. If a spring stretches the engine siezes. Etc, &c.
Also, just about any I've ever had apart had the wear-facing torn off of the center-drive-hub. That tells me it's inadequate. We sent them out and got them relined rather than replace.

Up to a few years ago - Deere used to offer the old isolator as a package with all parts included - but no more. You can still buy all individual parts except the flywheel - which can get ruined over time from the anchor pins getting loose.

Here's some parts info and prices:

New isolator used on 706659 and up

AT27834 FLYWHEEL 1 - 700657 350C flywheel
RE15923 FLYWHEEL 1 706658 - (MARKED R79771) $560 used on 350Ds also

Isolator -(SERIAL NO. 706659- ) AT77319 $1,180

Complete new isolator - flywheel and isolator assembly - $1,740
Ealier: #69744 to 706658
Isolator plate - AT29086 ISOLATOR $700

Spring (need five) T29675 SPRING $39 each - $195 total

External anchor (need five) T55320 RETAINER $25 each - $125 total

External flywheel post (need five) T29706 BUSHING $8.80 each - $44 total
Stop pin (need five) 25H1052 GROOVE PIN $.77 (cents) - $3.85 total

Bolt (need five) 19H3032 SCREW $2 - $10 total

Pilot bearing - JD9359 BALL BEARING $28

All parts for older torsional isolator - $981

[coehillbilly]

Thank you for the rapid reply on my question...that was REAL SERVICE....all I can say is WOW!...I like the first answer but am anticipating having to do the second...the cup is not half full in this case...I think it's totally empty...hehe....yuk

[coehillbilly]

GREAT Information but more help needed as I finally took the engine out this summer and found that the middle piston and connecting rod were both cracked, valve slightly bent and the liner gouged....some teeth on the flywheel also are damaged. Coolant in the oil but no crack in the block can be found? Any advice would be appreciated.