I know there's lots of experts here that will be able to help me. I know Bob/Ont from another forum but I don't have his current e-mail. He's helped me a lot in the past but I see there's lots of Cat experts here. If you have welding questions I can probably help you out. A little bit about my background, I'm an Alberta red seal journeyman welder and also have my B-pressure ticket. Currently I work as the technical product support specialist (welding) for a large industrial supplier and provide support to over 170 branches across Canada.
Now for the questions regarding my 1986 931B ser. 25Y1916. I had the steering clutches rebuilt and also had new brake brands installed. They are dry clutches. Cost was beyond astronomical in case your wondering, $6000+! Steering valves were rebuilt but the clutches still weren't working properly so I had to do a tear down to get them out. I have no way to check for internal leaks on the short steel lines going to the slave cylinders because I have a backhoe and all the hoses have to be hooked together before I can start the machine. I'm guessing the only way to check is through the cover for the brake adjuster? I don't think they leaked before so hopefully they'll be OK. One side had signs of oil in but also lots of signs of water at one point. I had a hydraulic line for the backhoe blow that went right over the cover and I think that's where the oil came from. The other questions I have are regarding the small internal spring on the brake linkage. It hooks up on a tab welded to the front of the clutch compartment. I noticed online that some manuals don't show this spring. Is it an update and what is its purpose? I bought new springs and it says to adjust them to 6.6" when installed. I put them in the 3rd hole and they are close to this measurement but may be slightly short. There is a slight tension on them. Should this be good enough?
Thanks in advance!
Oh, I have a tip for anyone doing steering clutches on a similar type machine. To make it easier to lift the clutches (tanks in place) lift them using a strap on the ends of the brake band with all the hardware off. It lifts them more level and the strap doesn't get caught up in the bottom when you need to pull it out.
Now for the questions regarding my 1986 931B ser. 25Y1916. I had the steering clutches rebuilt and also had new brake brands installed. They are dry clutches. Cost was beyond astronomical in case your wondering, $6000+! Steering valves were rebuilt but the clutches still weren't working properly so I had to do a tear down to get them out. I have no way to check for internal leaks on the short steel lines going to the slave cylinders because I have a backhoe and all the hoses have to be hooked together before I can start the machine. I'm guessing the only way to check is through the cover for the brake adjuster? I don't think they leaked before so hopefully they'll be OK. One side had signs of oil in but also lots of signs of water at one point. I had a hydraulic line for the backhoe blow that went right over the cover and I think that's where the oil came from. The other questions I have are regarding the small internal spring on the brake linkage. It hooks up on a tab welded to the front of the clutch compartment. I noticed online that some manuals don't show this spring. Is it an update and what is its purpose? I bought new springs and it says to adjust them to 6.6" when installed. I put them in the 3rd hole and they are close to this measurement but may be slightly short. There is a slight tension on them. Should this be good enough?
Thanks in advance!
Oh, I have a tip for anyone doing steering clutches on a similar type machine. To make it easier to lift the clutches (tanks in place) lift them using a strap on the ends of the brake band with all the hardware off. It lifts them more level and the strap doesn't get caught up in the bottom when you need to pull it out.