pulling brake drum on d2 ?

Tim.

I hate to tell you but the steering clutches are inside the brake drums. You'll have to take the finals complete with brake drums off. This is my least favorite job on Cats, I take the cross shaft off, then move the track frames ahead and tackle the finals. If the steering clutches weren't stuck you have a good chance of just sliding the finals off after you get all the bolts out. If the steering clutches are stuck, it's usually a case of trying to pry the finals off. With a stuck steering clutch, I'm at about 50-50 of getting the final off without breaking the brake drum.

It depends on what won't come off, if you have been able to take off the whole final drive assembly with the brake drum and cannot get the drum off the tapered spline shaft and you do not plan to go further into the final drive to replace seals and bearings, and the drum is ok, then you can leave the drum where it is. If the drum will not come off the clutch pack and you cannot get the final drive assembly off, that is a whole different story, often requiring distructive force, torch etc. and replacement of most of the steering clutch components.

I don't see it being explained here and maybe it's not necessary, but understand that when you pull a final drive, the clutch pack stays on the tractor and the brake drum stays on the final drive. You need to pull off the clutch pack from the shaft and take it to a press for disassembly and reassembly. Don't try to take a clutch pack apart in your garage with common hand tools. When the bolts let go it's like an explosion. Hopefully, your dealer or shop will still have a drum on hand to line up the outer clutch plate teeth when you put it back together and you won't need your old funky one to try to get everything straight.

Have fun!