Hi,
I was hoping someone could shed some light on a more simple way of replacing the fan belt on my D6 8U (serial no 8U10408) with front mounted cable unit? Its got me stuffed.

Just looking at it, my options don't appear very attractive, ie;
*the entire front cable unit has to be removed, or
*the fan, water pump have to be removed, or
*the radiator has to be removed.

My manuals aren't much help either. My serviceman's reference book simply states, "Belt replacement can be made after removing the guard (1), brace (2) and shield (3). Completely loosen the belt adjustment and slip the belt (5) over the fan blades (4)." Sounds simple enough, or so I thought.... But what does the mysterious & elusive belt adjustment actually *look* like (the manual doesn't tell me !)

Turning to my ops & maintenance manual, I looked up the topic "Fan belt adjustment". Great. This should really help, or so I thought. It states: "To adjust the fan belt on tractors before 8U10798 and 9U28311 (mine is 8U10408), remove the locks (3) holding the adjustable rim (4) of the pulley in position on the hub of the fan by taking out the fastening bolts (2)". Thing is, my machine doesn't seem to have the stated "fastening bolts" or "Locks". I've looked - very carefully - my eyesight is still pretty good I reckon - I can't see them anywhere on my machine.

Am I going completely mad ?

Craig Chapman.

Craig, clean off and inspect the fan pully. You will see a locking bar or screw. Unlock it and open up the pully halves to loosen the belt adjustment. Then inspect the cable control drive to see if you can disconnect it from crankshaft pulley and slide it ahead to get old belt out and new belt in.
Later Bob

There is no easy way. You need to pull the radiator. On the cable hardnose there is a sheet metal cover over the top of the radiator. Remove this panel, unbolt the radiator and raise it straight up. You don't have to mess with the CCU.
There are two small lock tabs and bolts that lock the fan hub adjustment. When the bolts are removed the holes are counterbored to accept the pins of a spanner wrench (1/4 in. or 5/16 in. dia....can't remember). Do not use the old hammer and punch method (unless it's to late) to undo the hub as this will bugger up the clamping function that the lock tab bolt provide.

Correction: You do have to mess with the CCU. Got to clear the crankshaft drive for the belt.

Craig:

Old Magnet has you going in the right direction. If the hub has been greased well once you get the two lock tabs out you should be able to back the fan side of the hub off by rotating it counterclockwise away from the other side of the pulley. Have someone help you hold the other shieve with spanner wrench or a large pair of water pump pliers can work while wearing gloves grab and rotate the fan side of that hub to get the appropriate clearance. As Bob said you will need to disconnect the drive from the crankshaft pully on the bottom to repalce the belt. Its a several hour process no matter how you go about it. You will probably add some new words to your personal dictionary after your done.
Best of Luck. Woody

Some guys in a pinch I have seen install one of the link belts that are available from some belt stores but I never thought too much of them for longer life but you can get by with one without all the work to change it over to the correct one piece belt. The best belts we ever found was the Dayton ("Dayco") belts at the dealer & many of Cat belts were Dayton. I believe NAPA sells them or did if you don,t go to the dealer.Gates has made belts for years but we found they didn,t hold up like the Daytons did.

Let me check myself....I've got a 9U parts unit that Has the CCU hardnose removed and the belt still on. My next step was to pull the radiator but that may be due to my next step in dismantling, not necessarily a belt removal requirement. I'll eyeball it up unless someone knows for sure if there is enough room to get the belt between the fan and radiator.

OM I never remember that the radiator would have to be removed & I have changed lots of them. Usually the belt will slip around the fan & come off or some you may have to loosen the fan & slide ahead to the rad. but the D6 I don,t think is necessary. The job here I think is the CCU so that will have to be considered to remove & replace the belt.

Yes, SJ, you are right. Nothing like having a look to clear the memory:D
There is ample room to clear the fan belt. The belt is 1-3/16 wide by 31/32 thick. There is an 1-1/2 in. of clearance between fan and radiator. Working down from the top with the panel removed is not all that bad. The CCU bolts are accessible after removing the hardnose bottom pan. Toughest part is probably loosening the adjustable hub.....what a design disaster that is.
Sorry for the radiator scare, my early morning thinking just doesn't seem to be working right anymore:(

Craig,
I would agree with OM, the adjustable hub is a right pain in the backside to slacken off!
When I removed the water pump \ fan belt on my 9U, I removed the 2 locking tabs, but as much as I tried the adjustable hub was seized solid. Even after a liberal soaking with penetrating oil it still wouldn't move.

In the end I had to resort to a blunt ended drift and gentle taps with a hammer to finally shift it, which did the trick.

Thanks very much fellas.
While it is still a lot of work (something I'm allergic to), at least I have a far better idea of what to do. Those old Cat manuals sometimes are a bit lean on detail for blokes like me !