JD350 Track Drive/Steering Issue

alanpeters257 · Post by **alanpeters257** » Mon May 26, 2014 7:47 am

I appreciate all the great information that I have already learned from this forum. I will try to not write a novel to explain my situation.

I recently acquired a 1968 JD350 crawler loader from a good friend. I drove it about 1 mile to get it to a truck and another 1/2 mile to get it to my house after the unload. It drove and steered ok, then i started to move some dirt and tear out a few stumps. After a 1/2hr of work the left track started to have drive issues. I removed the steering clutch housing cover and noticed a chocolate milk colored thick slurry in the box. The slurry would quickly dry when sat out in the sun (so i am assuming no oil and it is just water and dirt). I drained the box and used a shop vac to force air in to dry the area. Still no change in the drive. The left track will just not drive, except for few times where it would drive for a few feet.

I flipped through the service manual and attempted to set the steering adjustments per the book. The right side worked exactly like the book illustrated. However on the left side when you attempt to pull the clutch control arm until the throw-out bearing contacts the clutch finger with a screwdriver it is nearly impossible to move. It takes a large cheater bar to make the clutch control arm move even from it most relaxed state (ball joint disconnected). I don't understand what this means. The previous owner said it has felt 'stiff' for quite a while but that track has never failed to drive until now.

If you look into the steering box, you can see the throw-out bearing (I think) moving and the pressure plate moving when you pull the steering lever. If you attempt to drive that track you can see the 'inner' portion of the clutch assembly spinning.

Once i felt that all hope was lost I did flush out the box with water and dried it but the results where the same, no drive in that track.

I am guessing the next step is dissemble the steering clutch assembly, but i just wanted a few experts to chime in and hopefully tell me I am missing something obvious before I tackle to teardown.

Thanks and sorry for the long story.

Post by **Lavoy** » Mon May 26, 2014 9:14 am

While it is best to pull the final and replace the clutches, if it is just water, it will dry eventually. Keep in mine that the clutches are stacked up inside of the drum, so little or no air gets in there, even with the vac. I have used a cheap blow dryer on a low setting and leave it for hours.
As for the shaft moving hard, most likely rust on the throwout tube from the water. If you can get some sort of lube on it, it may come around.
Lavoy

alanpeters257 · Post by **alanpeters257** » Mon May 26, 2014 10:27 am

thanks for the reply. I think i am just going to bite the bullet now and fix it right. I have looked over the threads on here about getting into the clutch assembly and feel like I can do the job. And since i will be in there i want to replace components that should be replaced....friction and steel plates, throw-out bearing, pressure plate, brake band are the parts i am thinking I will need along with a full technical service manual. Are there any other major parts that I am missing that typically get replaced during this job?

Post by **Lavoy** » Mon May 26, 2014 4:34 pm

Throwout tube is sometimes damaged or bad, that is about it. Main thing is to clean degrease, derust and anti-seize anything you don't want to stick again.
Lavoy

alanpeters257 · Post by **alanpeters257** » Mon May 26, 2014 7:50 pm

Lavoy I have read that you are the guy to get the parts from. Typically how long does it take to get them? I am referring to clutch plates, throw-out bearing, pressure plate, brake band and possibly the throw-out tube. If the turnaround time is pretty short then i will probably wait until it is disassembled. If it is several weeks for parts than I may just order them now. How do I go about ordering them?

It is up on blocks and luckly the track master pin came out easily....it looks basically brand new.

Post by **Lavoy** » Mon May 26, 2014 10:26 pm

I normally keep multiples of clutch components on hand, but due to volume of sales I am on occasion sold out until my next shipment comes in. As a general rule, every component except brake bands I can restock in 4 days or less. Brake bands can take longer depending on where my order fits in the production schedule, but most of the time 5 days or so.
Lavoy

alanpeters257 · Post by **alanpeters257** » Tue May 27, 2014 7:40 pm

I am looking for a service manual for my 350, serial number states that it is a 1968 model which would make it a straight 350 (I think....serial number 098762T).

Why is there such a large difference in price between a straight 350 and 350B service manual (approx 2X). Is the differences between the two models close enough that I can just buy the 350B service manual or am I just asking for trouble?

jtrichard · Post by **jtrichard** » Tue May 27, 2014 8:35 pm

there is this one on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/John-Deere-JD-3 ... 2158wt_867 $112 .......i dont know how much mother DEERE gets for one

Stan Disbrow · Post by **Stan Disbrow** » Wed May 28, 2014 4:51 am

Hi,

As to the nature of the changes, I do not really know. However, whenever they upped the model number on anything, you ought to think of it as pretty much a new design.

I would get the correct manual.

Stan

alanpeters257 · Post by **alanpeters257** » Wed May 28, 2014 5:43 am

Thanks for the info.

jthornton · Post by **jthornton** » Sat May 31, 2014 1:48 pm

jtrichard wrote:there is this one on ebay http://www.ebay.com/itm/John-Deere-JD-3 ... 2158wt_867 $112 .......i don't know how much mother DEERE gets for one

I have a straight 350 and a 350B manual and I've not seen any differences yet...

JT

alanpeters257 · Post by **alanpeters257** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 6:51 am

I got my 350 back up and running this weekend. I did the steering clutch replacement kit from Lavoy, along with a few of his suggestions. Job went pretty smooth....had a few things fight us (brake drum sliding inside the new brake band and pulling the track tight enough to slide the master pin through) but overall it wasn't a terrible job. Just big heavy parts. I learned quickly to work smarter not harder.

Thanks again.

jthornton · Post by **jthornton** » Mon Jun 09, 2014 7:12 am

I hope you took the time to get some photos of the job.

JT

JDcrawlers Messageboard

JD350 Track Drive/Steering Issue

JD350 Track Drive/Steering Issue

Who is online