JD350 - Drying out a steering clutch housing
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- 40C crawler
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Thu May 22, 2014 8:03 pm
- Location: Western PA
JD350 - Drying out a steering clutch housing
I own a 1968 straight 350 crawler loader. The machine has been working well until today when i lost drive in my right track. I pulled the cover from the steering clutch housing and noticed a heavy brown liquid covering all internal parts. I pulled the drain plug and about 1 cup of fluid came out. It doesn't appear to have any oil in it as it will quickly dry in the sun and is easy to wash off my hands with a garden hose. I don't know where the liquid came from as I operated the crawler the previous day without issue and it didn't rain overnight. Also i keep the crawler covered with a tarp.
I figured the situation couldn't get any worse, so I flushed the housing with the garden hose. Obviously i will not grab with the clutch being wet, so do you guys have any suggestions towards the best way to dry out the clutch pack? (I want to try whatever i can before i dive into the clutch replacement). I had a very similar event with the other clutch when I bought the machine.... that resulted in a clutch replacement.
Thanks
Alan
I figured the situation couldn't get any worse, so I flushed the housing with the garden hose. Obviously i will not grab with the clutch being wet, so do you guys have any suggestions towards the best way to dry out the clutch pack? (I want to try whatever i can before i dive into the clutch replacement). I had a very similar event with the other clutch when I bought the machine.... that resulted in a clutch replacement.
Thanks
Alan
- Al Swearengen
- 440 crawler
- Posts: 128
- Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2010 8:01 am
- Location: Sierra Nevadas...Gold Country!
- Stan Disbrow
- 350 crawler
- Posts: 2983
- Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2005 3:13 pm
- Location: Raleigh, NC
Hi,
Steering clutch fiber discs love to soak up water and oil and then there are no tricks. Just replacement.
The only hope is not much water went into the clutch pack and the machine was sitting in the hot sun to evaporate what did get in before it soaked in.
The real issue is it sounds like it was damp inside there for quite a while before the hose came into the picture. It is way too common for the machines to sit outside in the weather and also for crud to pack the drain holes closed. Then the clutch housing gets to looking as described, and more often than not, it is time for clutch pack work....
Stan
Steering clutch fiber discs love to soak up water and oil and then there are no tricks. Just replacement.
The only hope is not much water went into the clutch pack and the machine was sitting in the hot sun to evaporate what did get in before it soaked in.
The real issue is it sounds like it was damp inside there for quite a while before the hose came into the picture. It is way too common for the machines to sit outside in the weather and also for crud to pack the drain holes closed. Then the clutch housing gets to looking as described, and more often than not, it is time for clutch pack work....
Stan
There's No Such Thing As A Cheap Crawler!
Useta Have: '58 JD 420c 5-roller w/62 inside blade
Useta Have: '78 JD350C w/6310 outside blade
Useta Have: '68 JD350, '51 Terratrac GT-25
Have: 1950 M, 2005 x495, 2008 5103 (5045D), 2025 3025E
Useta Have: '58 JD 420c 5-roller w/62 inside blade
Useta Have: '78 JD350C w/6310 outside blade
Useta Have: '68 JD350, '51 Terratrac GT-25
Have: 1950 M, 2005 x495, 2008 5103 (5045D), 2025 3025E
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- 40C crawler
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Thu May 22, 2014 8:03 pm
- Location: Western PA
I let the crawler with clutch cover removed sit in the sun yesterday, then I directed a heat gun into the clutch housing for 45 minutes. I fired up the crawler and still that track wouldn't drive. So I tied back the good one and let the 'wet' one slip for several minutes. I could tell it was starting to grab b/c you could hear the engine start to load-up. After another minute or two the track started to drive. I shut it down and let everything cool. Fired it back up and again that track wouldn't drive. I disconnected the link between the steering lever and the throw-out bearing arm....and the track drove. Obviously the clutch stack thickness has changed. I ran out of daylight, so I will do will do some more testing tonight and hopefully a final adjustment, then off to moving some dirt. Hopefully the disks aren't too damaged.
Do people typically drain the housings on a particular schedule? Yes my crawler sits outside but has a tarp cover...maybe it isn't keeping the rain out like I thought. I can't think condensation would generate that volume of liquid in the housing?
Do people typically drain the housings on a particular schedule? Yes my crawler sits outside but has a tarp cover...maybe it isn't keeping the rain out like I thought. I can't think condensation would generate that volume of liquid in the housing?
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- 40C crawler
- Posts: 15
- Joined: Thu May 22, 2014 8:03 pm
- Location: Western PA
- Al Swearengen
- 440 crawler
- Posts: 128
- Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2010 8:01 am
- Location: Sierra Nevadas...Gold Country!
Moisture in these dry clutch crawlers has always been a problem. Not just Deere but all makes. Since you live in a climate where there is a lot of humidity and your temperature fluctuates a lot, you are going to get condensation. Here in Missouri we have the same issue with this problem. I have seen these dry clutch machines condense as much as a quart of water in just a couple of weeks. This happens mostly, if not intierly on machines that just sit and are not used.
Where I used to work we had a Forestry division that had a philosophy of not using there machines for anything but fire fighting. Their machines sat for months at a time and would condense so much water that it would literally ruin the clutches from rust and the water soaking into the fiber plates. Every year it was a scramble then to get their machines operating properly for fire season.
By contrast, our Construction division who used their machines practically year round never had this issue. Friction, as Al said kept this moisture burned away and it was never an issue.
Anytime you have heavy iron and you get it warm either from working the machine or from just the outside temperatures and then it cools down, especially in a high humidity environment, then you will get a lot of moisture from condensation. Some machines are worse than others but the 350s are famous for it.
A partial answer is to run your machine at least a half hour every week and really make the clutches work. Another thing to do is remove the clutch housing covers and then keep the machine covered so rain doesn't get in and remove the drain plugs if you are going to have a machine sitting for a long period of time.
You did the right thing in drying them out. All you can do is throw the heat to them and as Al said, run them until the friction will help dry them out.
Rust and water makes a great lubricant and thats why they slip so easily. All you can do is try and keep them dry.
Where I used to work we had a Forestry division that had a philosophy of not using there machines for anything but fire fighting. Their machines sat for months at a time and would condense so much water that it would literally ruin the clutches from rust and the water soaking into the fiber plates. Every year it was a scramble then to get their machines operating properly for fire season.
By contrast, our Construction division who used their machines practically year round never had this issue. Friction, as Al said kept this moisture burned away and it was never an issue.
Anytime you have heavy iron and you get it warm either from working the machine or from just the outside temperatures and then it cools down, especially in a high humidity environment, then you will get a lot of moisture from condensation. Some machines are worse than others but the 350s are famous for it.
A partial answer is to run your machine at least a half hour every week and really make the clutches work. Another thing to do is remove the clutch housing covers and then keep the machine covered so rain doesn't get in and remove the drain plugs if you are going to have a machine sitting for a long period of time.
You did the right thing in drying them out. All you can do is throw the heat to them and as Al said, run them until the friction will help dry them out.
Rust and water makes a great lubricant and thats why they slip so easily. All you can do is try and keep them dry.
40 plus years working on JD 350s, 400Gs, 450s and other equipment both Ag and Construction.
- Al Swearengen
- 440 crawler
- Posts: 128
- Joined: Sat Aug 28, 2010 8:01 am
- Location: Sierra Nevadas...Gold Country!
- Stan Disbrow
- 350 crawler
- Posts: 2983
- Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2005 3:13 pm
- Location: Raleigh, NC
Hi,
Keeping one under a roof rather than under a tarp is also a big help. And parking it on planks helps as well. Tarps assist in trapping moisture from humidity almost as much as they keep rain off. Let the air flow, and keep the drain plugs out for the same reason (unless you plan on working in water with it like some pond diggers do).
Stan
Keeping one under a roof rather than under a tarp is also a big help. And parking it on planks helps as well. Tarps assist in trapping moisture from humidity almost as much as they keep rain off. Let the air flow, and keep the drain plugs out for the same reason (unless you plan on working in water with it like some pond diggers do).
Stan
There's No Such Thing As A Cheap Crawler!
Useta Have: '58 JD 420c 5-roller w/62 inside blade
Useta Have: '78 JD350C w/6310 outside blade
Useta Have: '68 JD350, '51 Terratrac GT-25
Have: 1950 M, 2005 x495, 2008 5103 (5045D), 2025 3025E
Useta Have: '58 JD 420c 5-roller w/62 inside blade
Useta Have: '78 JD350C w/6310 outside blade
Useta Have: '68 JD350, '51 Terratrac GT-25
Have: 1950 M, 2005 x495, 2008 5103 (5045D), 2025 3025E
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