How to remove final drive spindle on 350 C ?

[bustedknuckles]

Hi all,
I'm new to this forum and will certainly appreciate any advice on the project at hand.


I have a 350 C that has a bad final drive spindle bearing. The outside bearing without a doubt , the inside ??????
I don't have a manual on this machine and I'm working to remove the spindle and replace the bearing and whatever else is bad.

I'm a pretty fair mechanic but these Deere dozers are new to me and without a manual , I'm feeling my way into this thing.
I have the track broke and the sprocket removed...now do I remove the final case or just the bottom cover to gain access to the end nut on the spindle ?

[pdmech08]

The inner bearing and nut can be accessed from under the tractor. It will be behind the small oval shaped cover. The bearing is pressed onto the end of the shaft and the manual instructs you to remove the entire housing and use a press assy. to push apart. This is the ideal way since there are no obstacles once the final is removed. I believe it can be done without removing the entire final but you may have to drop the track frame to allow sufficient clearance for the shaft to come out. Probably best to remove the entire final and replace pinion bearings too. I'm sure they've had their fair share of crap go through them.

[bustedknuckles]

Thanks , Steve.
I found the right side track to not pull because the outer spindle bearing was completely gone. With the spindle " sagging " on the sprocket end it wasn't splined in at the drive end.
Meaning, once I broke the track I could freewheel the spindle until I picked up on it and I could feel it spline in .

Hopefully , replacing a few bearings will get it going again.

Nah ! No way !

Gets old pushing in a clockwise circle. (':lol:')



Thanks again for the technical.

BK

[bustedknuckles]

OK , I think I've got the final housing ready to pull. I have all the bolts front and back out and left the 2 at the top front.
Trying to rig up something now to help with the weight.

Is there anything else that needs removing for the final to come out ?

I found the bearings on the pinion dry and seized and that the ring gear wasn't meshing in with the pinion gear due to the bad outside spindle bearing.

Any do's or don't do's ?

Thanks
Dwight

[CELSESSER]

Anybody,
does the 350 final have the two bolts on the backside going into the lower part of the final case that you cant see looking at the outside of the case like the 420,430 ans 440's? If so take these out before you screw up your final case trying to pry it off with the back bolts still in.

Chuck

[bustedknuckles]

I'll have to check and be sure. I haven't tried to pull it yet.

Thanks for the heads up !!

Dwight

[pdmech08]

Don't forget to loosen off on the brake adjustment. When the final comes off, the steering clutch will come with it. I'd recommend installing new seals while its out and you might want to inspect the steering clutch for any needed repairs. Steve.

[bustedknuckles]

I got it pull today and what I found was almost a releif. Whoever was in it last has welded the nut on the end of the spindle and their weld had broke causing everything to come unglued.
I took the spindle to a freinds machine shop and had new threads cut for a slightly smaller nut.
Other than the outside bearing and the seals , it didn't look bad. Pinion bearings and inner spindle bearing were good.
Brake band's a little thin, though.

That final's a heavy mutha , too.

I cut 4 pieces of 3/4 " all thread and slipped the case out on 'em until I could get a 4 wheel caster under it. Blocked it where it needed and tied it down with a ratchet strap.

Worked good......coming out. We'll see going back in.

My steering clutch didn't come out with it. It should have ??

What are the minimum thickness' ?

Thanks for all you help !!!!!!!!!!!

[pdmech08]

Your clutch is probably in good shape. It is a wet clutch. I didn't realize you were working on a "C". I am so used to talking to people about the earlier models. You can inspect the clutch if you want to but the wet type steering was pretty good with little problems. The earlier 350's had all the steering trouble. That was why I suggested to inspect while it was apart. Sorry for the confusion. Steve

[bustedknuckles]

No problem. I appreciate all the help.
Looking at what I can see without pulling the clutches , I believe they're ok. gears just weren't meshing together with that bearing bearing gone and the end nut off the spindle.
The left track works excellent and the owner said the right track went out all at once so I think the problem is the bearing and the nut.
I got it out and took the final case apart and along with the remains of the bearing , I found a large piece of flat metal in the bottom. I'm not really sure what this was. It's been chewed up pretty bad. Too big for a bearing . Is there some type of spacer behind the ring gear ?
It's chewed up bad so I can't tell what it was. It's a sizeable chunk , though.

Thanks for your help.

Dwight

[pdmech08]

I believe there is a spacerbetween the outer brg. and the spindle. There is also a pipe spacer in there as well, but doesn't sound like that. Depending on serial # there may be a snap ring as well. Don't know what else it could be. Steve

[bustedknuckles]

OK , I see it in the parts manual now. With the exception of the spacer and the outer bearing , everything else survived.

The pinion gear concerns me , though. The cogs are tapered slightly from one end to the other. Is this JD or severe wear ?




Thanks for your help !!!!!!!!!!!

Dwight

[pdmech08]

Pinion teeth should be straight. How badly are they tapered? Steve.

[bustedknuckles]

From end to end on , about 3/16 " +-.
The wear being on the ring gear end. Looks kinda rough. The ring gear doesn't show any abnormal wear , though.

Thanks
Dwight