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Wayne
01-02-2003 00:09:44
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Re: Dry steering clutchs in reply to richard, 01-01-2003 15:05:53
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Been working on heavy equipment for most of my life and have never heard this before. I guess the first question would be what do you consider 'a long period of time', just a season, or years ? I do know that for any type of equipment setting for long periods of time is the worst thing that can happen to all the systems, fluid or dry, because of condensation buildup in the enclosed spaces. We just repaired a CAT excavator that set for 6 months with a dry hydraulic system and had to remove and polish every spool, in every valve, on the machine...but that's another story. Anyway, the main thing that will happen with the steering clutches wether they are tied back or not, is that any moisture buildup will eventually result in rust on the clutch faces. This rust will cause the metal discs to bond to the fiber coated discs, so even releasing the tension on them won't let them slip like they are supposed to. Problem is as highly polished at the clutch faces get, it doesn't take much to rust them up pretty good. Personally I can't see where tying back the levers will accomplish anything but leaving a few thousands more gap between the discs, because just pulling the leaver back doesn't actually spread them, all it does is release the tension on them enough so they will slip. Either way moisture is gonna get between the discs eventually and cause rust. Too if you do pull the release collar back and release tension on the clutches, and the collar rusts to the shaft, or whatever, in the released position, when you go to put the machine back into service your possibly looking at big problems getting the collar to slide back into the engaged position. If it's stuck to the point that the springs alone won't engage it, your most likely looking at a teardown to free it up. If you leave the clutch engaged though, when you get ready to run the machine again, the possibility of just pulling the lever to break the collar free, if it should happen to be stuck, is a whole lot greater. If the collar can be greased, and is, then this shouldn't be a problem, but I have seen it happen. Either way though, if the discs are stuck to the point they won't slip, a teardown is gonna be your only choice. We have an old 440C JD dozer and even the way it operates with the ball/cam type release, this type of problem can happen, as ours was stuck when it was given to us. If your talking about a really long time in storage, I'd find a place to put it inside, but if that's not possible, and you have to cover it with a tarp, etc, just make sure to leave a good air space around the machine. Too little airflow will basically insulate the machine and the resulting temp difference between the machine and the outside air will cause condensation on the inside and outside of the machine, just like on a cup of ice water on a hot day. If the clutch compartment has a drain plug, I'd replace it with some type of breather plug because the housing is less likely to buildup moisture inside if it can breath than if it's sealed tight. Like I tell my customers when they have a question, that's just my opinion, and I know there are alot of them out there, but final decision is up to you. I know I tend to get long winded with responses, but I hope this helps. Wayne
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