JD350B Steer Clutch

jthornton · Post by **jthornton** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 11:00 am

I just bought a JD350B dozer with a 6 way blade. This is my first dozer, I have a JD310A backhoe and Ferguson F40 tractor so I'm a little familiar with machinery. It starts right up in ~30°F so I'm happy with that. The old guy had a receipt for getting the steer clutches replaced and the brake band. The right lever does not disengage the clutch. I have the Operators Manual and the Technical Manual. Is there anything I need to look for when I take the cover off the clutch area? Any tips on adjusting the clutch?

Thanks
JT

jtrichard · Post by **jtrichard** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 1:00 pm

as for adjusting you MUST follow the book to a tee ..... look for water/rust/oil/grease all bad news..... if it wont release i would say the discs are rusted to the steels if you block the lever back with the brake backed off and run it some it might break lose

jthornton · Post by **jthornton** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 2:35 pm

Thanks, I'll give that a try tomorrow. I see a receipt that the right clutch and brake was replaced in Nov 2011.

I was just over by the dozer and without measuring the tracks are too tight, how do you let some of the grease out?

Thanks
JT

Tigerhaze · Post by **Tigerhaze** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 3:29 pm

I don't know the specific procedure for a 350B, but the general procedure for a hydraulic adjuster is there is a plug that can be removed to allow grease to escape- after opening you simply push on the front idler (with a piece of equipment) or pull with a come-along to retract the cylinder for the tensioner and the grease will squirt out. Some adjusters have a check ball behind the plug that is easily lost so you really need to review the manual for your specific model (or have someone on here that knows the specific procedure for the model) before doing it.

jthornton · Post by **jthornton** » Thu Jan 23, 2014 4:43 pm

I found it, there is a bleed screw in the adjuster behind the fill port.

JT

jtrichard · Post by **jtrichard** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 1:02 am

DON'T remove that screw just loosen it or you will lose the stop ball that is behind it ....you could have a broken main tension retainer bolt ....so if when you bled it off if it dont relax than that bolt is broken

jthornton · Post by **jthornton** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 4:57 am

Thanks, I looked again yesterday and the left track seems about right with about 1" of droop. What kind of grease do you use for the adjuster? I see in the manual you are supposed to use a low pressure grease gun to fill with. While I'm asking what kind of grease do you use on the track rollers etc?

I use Mystik JT-6 Grease on my backhoe is that ok for the crawler?

Thanks
JT

Post by **Lavoy** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 10:23 am

For rollers, use Corn Head Grease, most ag dealers will have it in stock. Low pressure gun is critical for rollers, doesn't matter for adjuster, neither does the grease really other than a thick grease will be harder to bleed out if you need to loosen the track.
Lavoy

jthornton · Post by **jthornton** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 11:50 am

What gets damaged if you put too much grease in the rollers?

Thanks
JT

jtrichard · Post by **jtrichard** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 12:05 pm

regular grease gun and grease on the adjusters is fine ......on the rollers with a regular gun you WILL blow apart the seals and at about $100 each x 2 per roller you don't want to do that if you want to get a low pressure gun check out this post http://www.jdcrawlers.com/messageboard/ ... re+alemite

Post by **Lavoy** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 4:29 pm

One thing about the new "low pressure" guns. I think they are still 3-4000PSI. The original low pressure gun they want you to use is no where close to that. Once the rollers fill up, it is virtually impossible to continue pumping. On a 4000PSI lever gun, you will probably blow the seals and not even feel it. If I don't use my original low pressure gun, I use a pistol grip gun. If you are a wimp like me, it is real easy to fell the resistance when the roller fills up.
Lavoy

jthornton · Post by **jthornton** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 5:06 pm

Well I did some work on her today and it does turn to the right after all. The good news is the steering system is grossly out of adjustment. I think the brake band adjustment bolt was replaced by a regular bolt as it had a couple of lock washers under the head of the bolt. According to the manual the brake band bolt has some detent positions and I didn't feel anything like that when I tightened the bolt some. Anyway I tightened the brake band a bit and put the brake set screw in approximate position and walla she turned right.

On to the track adjusters, the machine doesn't quite match the book so here is what I have. I assume you loosen the bolt head under the zerk fitting up a tad and push to loosen the track.

JT

Tigerhaze · Post by **Tigerhaze** » Fri Jan 24, 2014 6:04 pm

The brake and steering clutch on a mechanical steering clutch system work together; if you don't follow the specific adjustment procedure in your manual you can have brake engagement prior to steering clutch disengagement and cause further issues. It is good to know though that you have some ability to adjust on your machine and get results.

Did you look on the free parts lookup on JDparts.com to confirm your hydraulic adjuster setup, since you say it doesn't match the book? Are you sure you have the right operator/service manual for your machine?

EDIT: FYI, read the thread about serial numbers you posted as I gave a possible explanation of why the part numbers may not be matching up to your adjuster.

jthornton · Post by **jthornton** » Sat Jan 25, 2014 3:49 pm

In the above photo do you think I need to back out the bolt under the zerk fitting a bit to let some grease out?

Edit: I backed the bolt out 1/3 of a turn and the track started to relax, so I dropped it down to 1". That was easy... now I need to get some #0 grease for the rollers and pistol grip grease gun. Has anyone put a Tee on the grease gun and put a pressure gauge?

Thanks
JT

jthornton · Post by **jthornton** » Thu Jan 30, 2014 5:56 pm

Back to the steering, does anyone have a photo of the adjustment bolt for the brake band? Or have one for sale?

JT

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