I never learn...

[dlsmith]

Found some more presents when I drained the transmission.

Are those bearing rollers?

If so, that's not good.

 

[PHPaul]

Are those bearing rollers?

If so, that's not good.

Yup. That's why I'm tearing it apart, gotta get the transmission out so I can tear it down and find out which bearing(s) defecated in the sleeping apparatus.

 

[BigG]

Correct. I'd assume charging voltage would be something in the 7-8 volt range.

Now I get to learn some more from you.

 

[PHPaul]

Got the transmission out today. Took a crew of three (Me, Myself and I) about 5 hours. 4 jacks and an engine crane, lot of fussing with jack it up a little here, let it down a little there, move it back a little, reset, up/down/move/rinse/repeat. Biggest trick is getting the front flange of the transmission case up and over the rear crossmember for the undercarriage without tweaking the propeller shaft.

It's a LONG walk from the front of the transmission to the clutch and throwout bearing. I suspect putting it back in is gonna be a cast iron bitch. Definitely going to have to fab up a jig to hold the trans and allow me to tilt it just right while rolling it into place. Have some ideas on that subject, plenty of time to think it over.

 

[lugbolt]

I was self-employed at one point doing just that..."flipping" equipment, mostly lawn & garden because there was a lot more money and satisfaction in that than there was in compact tractor stuff. I had a great time doing and made a lot of money, but most importantly made a lot of great friends and helped a lot of folks that wouldn't/couldn't afford a new one. That was the 2nd most important part of doing what I did.

Unfortunately, word got out and others got in on the same practice. My main supplier was a box store up the road and the dealer that they used for repairs, warranty, etc. Well, some other folks started up their deal on a cash basis ONLY, and were able to pay a little more for their supplies than I could. One of them got busted by the IRS (cash sales and no record keeping to speak of--the IRS called it "structuring" among other things) but there's still others out there doing it.

It was fun and I miss doing it. There is an opportunity to buy out a independent shop locally and I'm on the fence with it. There is also the opportunity to sell my house, buy another one for 1/4 the cost and basically retire & do something on my own for fun. Still weighing the options. At 45 years old and 30 years in the business of fixing equipment (but not fixing stupid), I'm considering the latter option and maybe just working for the insurance and for fun, but maybe something other than service department work.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Hay lugbolt, do the latter ! 'downsize' and have FUN doing what you want. I put 1/2 my 66 years into 'small engine repairs' and quit as there's NO money in it, at least north of the 49th. ALL other trades get at least $100/hr yet they expect their machines fixed for $30( parts included ).
As long as you can afford the roof over your head, some food in the belly, RELAX, deSTRESS, as we've only got 24 hrs in a day and so many days and they get fewer and fewer, faster , as you grow older.

 

[PHPaul]

Pulled the reverser off the front of the trans and found the above. And that doesn't account for the rollers that came out of the transmission proper. Likely they came from the bearing that used to be in the front of that intermediate shaft tho. Not sure where the bearing remnants in the third picture came from, it looks to have been a needle bearing.

At the very least it will need a new reverser casting as the boss for the intermediate shaft is trashed. The nose of the intermediate shaft where the nut is all boogered up is likely trashed too.

I'll finish tearing it apart, but it's looking a lot like time to cut my losses and part it out.

Damn.

 

[BigG]

I am going to ask a dumb question, is this dozer based off of a tractor or is it a completely separate machine?

Second. Have you ever heard of the Florida Flywheelers at https://www.floridaflywheelers.org. They are a pretty large group and the may have some contacts to find you a new casting. Or help you part it out.

Sorry to see this happen. It is sure fun to follow along.

 

[PHPaul]

I am going to ask a dumb question, is this dozer based off of a tractor or is it a completely separate machine?

Second. Have you ever heard of the Florida Flywheelers at https://www.floridaflywheelers.org. They are a pretty large group and the may have some contacts to find you a new casting. Or help you part it out.

Sorry to see this happen. It is sure fun to follow along.

Most of it is common to the 40/420/430 series wheel tractors. The reverser is somewhat uncommon.

I'll sniff around for a while before making a decision. The rest of the trans looks okay. If I can get bearings for it and get a reverser casting without having to auction off a grandkid, I may put it back together.

 

[BAP]

Don’t give up yet. Try places like Wengers in Pennsylvania or All State Ag parts. They salvage Ag and Construction equipment.

 

[PHPaul]

Well, I may have been overly pessimistic. There's an outfit out of N. Dakota called "JDCrawlers.com" that comes well recommended and he says he thinks he has the reverser housing on the shelf and knows he has one in a parts crawler that just came in.

Just waiting to see how many grandchildren I have to auction off to pay for it.

The rest of the trans looks pretty good, bearings and seals should be reasonably available.

 

[Ike]

Well, I may have been overly pessimistic. There's an outfit out of N. Dakota called "JDCrawlers.com" that comes well recommended and he says he thinks he has the reverser housing on the shelf and knows he has one in a parts crawler that just came in.

Just waiting to see how many grandchildren I have to auction off to pay for it.

The rest of the trans looks pretty good, bearings and seals should be reasonably available.

Did you check on YT tractor web site there use to be a guy on there that had a lot of parts for these

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Grandchildren... They can always make more.

These crawlers need saving. You have our approval. Do what must be done in the name of the project.

Skeets

 

[RCW]

It's amazing what you can find now-a-days over the interweb thingy...

I'm 55 going on 85, and never bought stuff online until a couple years ago.

My 'Moline had governor issues, and needed a rebuild. Just can't get parts to rebuild the governor.....

For $75 and $30 shipping I got a great used governor from Manitoba, Canada. 5 years ago it would have been a show-stopper for me.

Up there, a running MM Z was only bringing $1,000, so the owner was parting out a bunch of them.

I'm keeping him in my address book!

Loving your project! Look forward to your progress.

 

[BAP]

PHPaul, here is another salvage parts place that says they have 420c transmission parts.
https://www.farmerjohnsparts.com/index.html

 

[PHPaul]

@BAP - I contacted Farmer John. Also have a list in to Lavoy Wilcox at JDCrawlers.com. Neither has gotten back to me yet.

While waiting on responses for transmission parts, decided to go over the track frames and front idlers. Front outside end of right track frame was broken completely off, just being held on by the bolts in the stone guard.

Whoever said "My welding skills have greatly improved my grinding skills" must've seen my work, but it's back together and I'm pretty sure it'll hold. Vertical/Up on the inside of that piece working in an 8" space was...interesting.

 

[BAP]

@BAP - I contacted Farmer John. Also have a list in to Lavoy Wilcox at JDCrawlers.com. Neither has gotten back to me yet.

While waiting on responses for transmission parts, decided to go over the track frames and front idlers. Front outside end of right track frame was broken completely off, just being held on by the bolts in the stone guard.

Whoever said "My welding skills have greatly improved my grinding skills" must've seen my work, but it's back together and I'm pretty sure it'll hold. Vertical/Up on the inside of that piece working in an 8" space was...interesting.

Hopefully one of them had the parts you need without having to auction off your grandkids.

 

[PHPaul]

Well, I did the math and the bottom line is I just don't have the pockets to fix the crawler.

At a MINIMUM, I'd be into it for $2000 plus the purchase price and I don't have those kind of resources.

I'll be parting it out, should be able to cover the purchase price and maybe even put a few bucks in my pocket.

Known expenses if I tried to fix it:

Ring gear and pinion - $450 plus shipping. Several people have recommended cleaning up and running the old ones, but the pinion has multiple fracture lines and I wouldn't trust it not to grenade and trash all the other work.

Reverser parts - $450 plus shipping. About the same if I get the parts to eliminate the reverser.

Full set of bearings for the transmission - $550 plus gaskets and incidentals.

Estimated repairs to hydraulic cylinders - $200, and that's if I make do with the pitted rods. At least double and probably triple that if I replace the rods.

Another few hundred for the inevitable gotchas, new fasteners, muffler, genny overhaul, starter overhaul, etc.

Time to run while I still have a shot at breaking even.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Darn, sorry to hear that, I've enjoyed the thread. I could use a spare grandchild, but maybe even on sale that might be a bit much.. Gotta consider the upkeep

 

[CaveCreekRay]

At least you know the parts will go to keep other crawlers running. Body donors have a purpose too. Great effort though. Good thing its all made of styrofoam and plastic. That'll keep the mailing costs down. Hope there are a lot of crawler repair projects close by.