stuck steering clutches

mate I am no expert on these but from what I know you will need to pull the clutch out and stick it in a press undo the bolts that hold it all together then release the pressure and pull it all apart then put it back together

But before you get all keen about be sure to check that all the linkages are free and not rusted up

someone much smarter than me will no doubt correct all my mistakes so I guess watch this space the brains trust will steer you in the right direction

good luck and share some pictures

Paul

I have a RD6 that had a stuck left steering clutch from water sitting in the compartment for 15 years, actually rotted out the brake band, I filled the compartment with a Citric Acid solution and used a fish tank pump to circulate the solution for about 5 weeks, then I chained a 2 ton log to the tractor and dragged it for a day around the farm riding the brake till it was smoking and eventually wore out the lining, I had the left steering clutch adjusted wide open and used a stick to jam the steering clutch lever back as far as it would go, and when that didn't work I chained the tractor to a big tree and gently let the main clutch out still with the stick jamming the steering lever back, she spun both tracks for about 30 seconds and then the left clutch pack released!

If you are in a hurry just find a way to drag her into your shop and pull the tranny cover off and get the clutch packs out, that way you can replace the seals, clutch bearings and brake linings too.
Regards
Mike

"Tow", so my guess is he'll need instructions on getting the steering clutches out from the top of the case!

If I'm reading your post right, you just want to be able to get it in to the shop - once there, you can pull the clutches out. You don't need the steering clutches free if you have a big enough machine to push it around with. Just pull the front or rear sideways to get it turned, and then just push it straight. Once it's on concrete, it'll slide easily to turn.

Take a look at track rollers before you tow. If you have the ones with grease fittings, probably best to lube them before you go. The modern replacement "lubed for life " will have a plug in the end and should be OK until you get back to civilization.

You should also check each gear compartment and steering clutch compartment for water accumulation. The oil filled ones can be checked by loosening the drain plug until you can see what comes out first. If water, let it out until you get rid of it all and get decent looking oil. I like to catch a small sample of the oil looking for metal filings, chunks of teeth etc. Once I have all the gunk drained away, I will wait until I can operate the machine to get it warm and circulate the remaining good oil around before changing it. This gets rid of the most gunk with the least expense. Draining some of those compartments an extra time can be a pretty steep expense!

You might find the brakes frozen and need to go into the steering clutch compartment to tap on the bands lube stuff, etc to get the tracks to roll.

Sounds like the previous owner may have a track lube pump sitting around in a shed somewhere. These are a low pressure pump, usually hold a couple gallons up to 5 gallons of a sticky, semi-fluid grease. Since greasable rollers are a thing of the past anymore, the grease you need is available as "corn head" grease and is a 00 weight EP grease. The other part about the pump is they are low pressure and usually incorporate a pressure relief that limits pressure to maybe a couple hundred PSI vs a couple thousand for your normal lever or power grease gun. This makes it unlikely you will blow the seals on the rollers from over filling. The final piece of the setup is the coupler on the end of the hose. I think it is a "Giant" button head fitting coupler. The fittings are large, about 7/8" across, flat top with a spring loaded button flush in the center of the face. The coupler slides on from the side. Here is a link to the McMaster Carr catalog showing the fitting type.
http://www.mcmaster.com/#1094k26/=s6bktz

And another showing the coupler...........These are also available at NAPA autoparts
http://www.mcmaster.com/#grease-gun-fittings/=s6blr8

Maybe the whole setup is still there and a bucket of grease too............well worth looking around for............those things are VERY expensive if you had to purchase a modern equivalent from Alemite. The used ones are antiques and price depends on things like condition of the paint, rare style etc. If you have to come up with something to use, you can purchase the corn head grease in the standard 14 oz tubes and buy a coupler and a flexible hose for a regular lever style gun. Have to be careful and pay attention to any increase in the effort it takes to pump to avoid blowing the seals.

Brakes and steering clutches are inside the rear of the machine on each side of the center, oil filled, bevel gear compartment in the center. Should be some sheet metal covers there on the back and top under the seat frame if you have to get in there. Should be drain plugs (or holes where they go if they are missing) under the bottom of the housing on each side. The bevel gear compartment oil drain plug should be nearly in the center of the tractor and the final drive compartment plugs are outboard on each side closer to the tracks. Some of these plugs will take a 1/2" square ratchet or breaker bar and some may have a hex socket that takes a special wrench. Look through the tool box for the CAT plug wrench or you can make an adapter by finding a bolt with the correct size head to fit the plug socket and then weld a nut on the other end of it. That way you can use a standard socket to turn it. Or you can weld up a "dog bone" wrench with a couple different length bolts welded onto the ends of a handle about 18" long. One of the ends needs to have a very short bolt so it will fit in some of the plugs. The one for use with a socket and ratchet is a lot more versatile since you can reach up through belly pan holes to get to engine oil drain plugs etc.

Good luck! Take lots of pictures!

Hey mate be careful towing these things for long distances because the bands can get hot if they are rubbing on the brake drum, you will see what I mean when you open up the bevel gear housing.

A few years ago we towed a 1964 D6C for less than half a mile and we saw a bit of smoke come out of the steering clutch housings after a while because these dozers have a lube oil line which feeds oil into the brake band from the transmission lube system which is obviously only pumping when the engine is running but im not sure if these really old crawlers have the same setup.

I reckon the best bet would be to back the adjusters on the brake band right off until they are real loose or just fill the housing right up with oil then drain them out when you go to work on it.

What machine is it by the way?