straight 450 crawler

[cdglobal]

I have a 1968 straight 450 that is acting strange when I pull left steering arm. It stops the machine and right track acts like it locks up.Sometimes especially when first starting up, the left steering arm can be pulled and right track will act normal for a short time, then do what I described above.
Please offer any suggestions.

[LeonardL]

If your left side is still pulling then the right side steering clutch is not engaging. That is why it is appearing to lock up. What happens when you pull the right side steering lever?

[cdglobal]

when I pull the right steering lever it turns to the right with
no problem as expected.Left track oes not lock up.

[Tigerhaze]

That means your right steering brake is working but that the right steering clutch (actually a number of sandwiched fiber discs and steel plates) is likely slipping. These crawlers have a clutch and brake on each side. Your left steering clutch is not slipping which is why it will drive to the right when you pull the right brake but not to the left when you pull the left brake.

The likely reason that it sometimes works when you start up is that your right steering clutch fiber discs are likely oil soaked and when warmed up they release the absorbed oil. The oil usually, but not always, comes from a bad seal on the final drive.

I believe that there is an access/inspection plate on top of the steering clutch housing which you can open and see if you see oily surfaces.

[cdglobal]

Thank you. I will check to see if I can see
oily residue in the area. Since I am not always at my farm, it might be a while before I can report back.

[Scottyb]

cdglobal,
I am having a similar sounding issue with my 350b. I have not had a chance to look at the problem because of work and the extreme cold we had here for the past while but, when I pull my right side steering arm it will lock up everything. Left and right side, and it might even stall out if I kept trying. working it forward to reverse once or twice breaks it loose. Pulling on the left side and everything works normal. I am guessing the brake band is loose or broken and somehow it pulls both brakes at the same time when it grabs?? Anyway it sounds like we may have the similar problem so I will post here when I get mine figured out. It might be a week for me to get a look. At least we are getting a break from the -35 weather this weekend. I will be watching your post as well to see how you make out
Scott