I found the leak

[rock digger]

So if anybody is interested I found the leak in the trans, the case is cracked, Just under rhe power steering unit. It did not say a thing about this in the book. Has anybody has this problem? If so what was your fix?

[Scottyb]

I have a 350 that I bought for parts however, It runs ok and has a huge bead of weld in the transmission from an earlier repaired crack. I will assume that the guts were removed first but it works and has no leaks!

[BigV]

Depending on how big a crack, with the cast iron you have a couple solutions:

Best Way, Right Way:

*Remove trans, disassemble to bare case. Clean with non-chlorinated cleaner. Drill out ends of cracked area to prevent crack from spreading. Preheat in oven or with torch(I like an oven better). Palco 808 Rod. Let cool naturally. Finsh your weld, check for leaks


Acceptable: Heat case with torch, braze with bronze. Cross fingers, and hope you're living right.

[Scottyb]

Dang it rock digger that crack is bad news. Sounds to me like getting a transmission out and in is a huge project by itself. Let alone doing the weld job and assembly. Is this going to end the life of your deere? The one I have was brazed with bronze however, if a guy was going to go to all the trouble to do the fix then Bigv,s advice sounds real good. I am wondering how hot the case needs to be before welding?

[rock digger]

Scotty,

I have talked to several people in the last 3 days about this and can;t qiut figer out the real solution.

I talked to a guy who has run a dozer junkyard fo many yrs, he says he has seen it many times, welded and most of all fixed with JB weld.
I am noit sure what I am going to do but I am not scraping the dozer it is in to good of shape for that, I have done alot of welding over the yrs and am not afraid to try it. What have I got lose exept my time .

I will follow up here as progress is made,it still holds about 1/2 the fluid so I am going to drain down today and get started.

[Tigerhaze]

Rock digger-

There are some pretty good and detailed threads in the archived posts about welding materials and technqiues for these repairs; it sounds like maybe you are an experienced weldor but wanted you to know in case you want to read up on their experiences.

[Al Swearengen]

Any idea what caused the crack? That may certainly bear on the best repair method. For instance, if the crack was from an impact and not from type of constant stress factor, JB Weld may just be your answer.

[vestor_guy]

I was once told by a deere mech that most cases of cracks in side frames, clutch housing and transmissions were caused by dropping the tractor on a hard surface. Most cases were rapid loading and unloading on trailers. Use care when crossing that pivot pitch point.

[digitup2]

I had one years ago popped a hole in the casting not a crack but a pin hole in the case was fixed by brazing it shut and fixed several by way of a high nickle welding rod after they are cleaned up and torch heated in the weld area some cracks in housing areas are from catastrophic bearing push so watch that that hasn't happened .Se if you can get us photos .Digitup.

[rock digger]

To all who have relplied,

When I bought this dozer 4 yrs ago they told me it leaked some fluid but he could never find where. I lost about a gallon a yr. so I thought must be hose or seal somewhere.this past summer it got alot worse,when I started to look I thought it was the power steering so I started to take apart and found the back four trans cover bolt were broke off in the case.

So I took the cover off and could see a major crack in the case,open about 1/8 wide at the top.Tonight I pulled the belly pan and put a light in side the case. I could see light about 1/2 down from the top of the case it still held about 1/2 the oil so drained and got a light underneath and could see a fine crack almost all the way around but no light visible from under neath.

I am not sure how I am going to fix it but I am going to give one hell of a try. I feel I have nothing to lose and sure miss that dozer on the farm.

The odd thing is it shift well and makes no odd noises and really gave no warning just started leaking all at once. As far as the pics, I am about as good at that as I am at flying to the moon, Someday I will have to have my kid help and maybe he can figure it out.

I will keep you informed, How do I find the archives you talk about???

Rock Digger,

[Tigerhaze]

How do I find the archives you talk about???

Rock Digger,

Essentially it is this bulletin board, just digging far enough back into threads from years ago. I call them "archives" for simplicity rather than the current threads. I would help find some of them for you but am pretty busy right now.

The best way to find the information is to use the "search" function at the top right, and put in keywords such as "weld", "case", "braze", "rod", etc. and find the relevant threads. It also helps to put in usernames in the "author" field; they can be anyone that participated in the discussion. Probably the person that participated in most of the discussions on welding techniques is Lavoy although I know others contributed as well.

[kedorland]

I would follow Big V's steps..if it were mine.

Kevin from Iowa.

[rock digger]

I talked to a retired JD dealership mechanic today,he says the trans case is cast steel and has seen many of them welded.

He also told me the main cause is loose or broken frame bolts,mine had been redon when I got it. It had the update to 7/8 bolts and new threads. However when I first got it I notice one that was loose and retorqed them too specs and have always kept a eye on them eversince.
My guess is that this problem started a long time ago and finaly reared it ugly head.