225 parking brakes leaking

So, I power washed the UC of my 225 this weekend. It's the first time I have been able to do so since I bought the machine in 2006. (I finally have a power washer, a generator, and a well with a well pump)

I took the cover off the drive motors to power wash inside the housing as I knew it was full of dirt etc. I noticed the RH parking brake was all wet. Oil is coming out of the vent at the top of the brake. Every time I drive the machine, oil burps out the vent. On the LH side, I noticed the final drive was wet and looks like the oil might be coming from the "Pinion" part number 9K92. This just looks like a bolt sticking out the top of the final drive. Apparently there is a seal down in there, part number 6F6673. I am looking at the parts manual and don't understand what this pinion and rack setup is supposed to do, it looks like some kind of adjustment pushing on a plug going into the end of a shaft?? I don't want to mess with this if it is some kind of gear lash adjustment...

Both final drives are full to the brim, so I assume both parking brakes need to be resealed.

Looking at the cross section of the brake, the two large disc springs that clamp the clutches together looks like they would be under load when trying to remove the brake housing from the final drive? Am I supposed to apply HYD oil pressure to the brake to be able to remove from the machine? Some kind of hand pump tool like an Enerpac unit?

Also, it seems like I have a broken LH idler spring, looks like it has been broken for a while, probably was broken when I bought the machine. Can I just keep running with this broken spring?

I'll have pictures of these issues in a few days.

To be honest, I may have to just park the 225 for now, as my Ford 575D needs the lift cylinders re-sealed as a gland started spewing oil this past weekend.

I'm trying to get all my equipment in good order as I want to finally build my house in the next couple of years, but as I said earlier, all my equipment is giving me loads of trouble at the moment...

The pinion and rack is how you disconnect the motor from the final drive for towing if needed. So the tracks can roll free with the machine off.

Ah, that makes sense... Thanks

Ok, so here are some pictures of the leaks. The RH leak makes perfect sense to me, the LH not so much.

Here, the RH parking break burps oil out of the vent every change in direction of the track: http://i.imgur.com/YTWPe6i.jpg

The LH vent is not wet and does not burp oil: http://i.imgur.com/2IAqDrn.jpg

However, I see some weird eroded/rusted hole in the side of the final drive case that is not making any sense to me, and there is oil seeping out of it: http://i.imgur.com/61Gx8J2.jpg http://i.imgur.com/lZ18uTU.jpg http://i.imgur.com/KvMN7xd.jpg

I can't really get a good look of the LH leak as I am looking through a hole on the sprocket. I don't know what to make of this leak...

Here is another picture with a diagram explaining the leak I see: http://i.imgur.com/FElxqCN.jpg

So, I used a screw driver to poke through the "hole" today, and gear oil came gushing out. Looking in the parts book, there is a steal cap/plug covering up the bore that houses the rack to disengage the motor from the final drive. This cap is what is rotted away, part #9S2817.

It looks pretty difficult to remove what is left of the cap and replace it with the sprocket in the way. Has anyone done this, have any tips?

I want to replace the oil in the final drives even before I re-seal the brakes to use the machine this summer. At the moment the RH is all thinned out with the 30WT oil of the hydraulic system, and the LH has water in it.

I can't get either of the drain plugs to budge. I removed both fill plugs this weekend to remove the excess oil, this stopped the burping action on the RH brake.

Is there a trick to getting out these stubborn drain plugs? I fear if I really torque on them I will just strip them out. My first thought was to get some cheap Chinese made 1/2" drive extensions and MIG weld them to the plugs. Hopefully the heat from the welding will break them free. Then just replace with new plugs.

give the plugs a real good smack with a hammer. that was the trick we always used at the dealer.

I've tried that, but will give it another go 😊

Try to alternate tightening and loosening to free it up. It just has to move the tiniest bit and then the movement will rapidly escalate