reverser seal

[CAR]

This weekend I bolted my reverser case the trans. There is a shaft seal on the front of the reverser case, is it nessasary to replace this seal if I do not have reverser on my tractor?

Craig

[Gil]

If your crawler was not originally equipped with a direction reverser it should not have the seal or bearing. If this is the case, you would also have a flat plate on the left side of the direction reverser case instead of a shifting assembly housing.

If your direction reverser was originally equipped and was disabled later in life, you may have a number of residual components left inside. There are a number of ways that people created a straight through connection using the existing parts. If this is the case you should probably leave the bearing to support the weight of components.
The problem would be that the bearing would not be lubricated unless you keep oil in the case, therefore the need for the seal. But you would not need to worry very much if it leaked if you kept filling it periodically.

If on the other hand if you have the proper straight through shaft you should not need the bearing or the seal.

[Lavoy]

I have seen in the past where people pulled the reverser and put in the splined coupling, but did not buy the correct shaft. You can use the old reverser input shaft, but you will not have much spline inside the coupling, and you will not get any lube to the front bearing. If you have the seal, then I assume your shaft has a step to it where the input shaft bearing is, or was. If this is the case, then you have the old input shaft, not the regular prop shaft. I would look for the correct shaft if you can.
Lavoy

[CAR]

O.K. I looked in the manual on page 140-25-07-Installing Transmission. That is the situation I have.
Craig

[CAR]

I also looked in the parts manual and it says a ring pilot is used when not equipped with a reverser, but does not point out a seal or a bearing. I also do not have the blank side cover, it has the shifter assembly housing. If you look at the photo you can see I have a ring pilot, you can also see the seal.



The propeller shaft has a long spline cut into it. I also see in the parts manual there are 2 different part numbers for the shaft, one for units with the reverser and one for units without. My propeller shaft slides all the way into the coupling with spline to spare. This should be the correct shaft for this application.
So why is there a seal in the ring pilot? Do you think it really is a seal or is it something to help stabilize the shaft?
Thanks,
Craig

[CAR]

Gil you were right. It must of had a reverser in there at one time. I came home and checked the part number on the pilot ring and it is the part number for the quill for the reverser. What a bummer, I would have liked to have had a reverser.

Now do I have the right shaft?

The spline on the shaft measures 2". I looked for a part number on the shaft and could not find one.

Lavoy, there is no step on the shaft. Can I assume from your comments I have the correct propeller shaft? Also, there are no components left in the case.
Craig

[Lavoy]

Craig,
If there is no "step" on the shaft where a bearing would sit, and shoulder against the edge, then I think you have the correct shaft. Pull the seal out and throw it away. A non reverser crawler would just have a big cast ring where your input shaft quill is, with a 3" or better hole in it.
Lavoy

[Gil]

At least you can be happy that you have the correct straight shaft. Some owners welded up the cage gears or welded couplers on the shaft. These frequently work but unless they are done perfectly there can be balance issues and they can add a lot of strain to the bearings, shafts, and cases.