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school me on wet steering clutches and dry clutches!1

J

JohnDeereJimOhio

Member
Looking to buy a new used dozer. I have found a lot
of good looking older machines with dry clutches.
The newer wet clutch machines run a little higher
cost wise. Are dry clutched that bad? I currently
have a 420c and have had no problems with it. Are
dry clutch set ups easier to repair and adjust for
an average person? Also anyone close to Ohio im
looking for a good used machine in the 6-1000k
range.. 8-15k lbs... Thanks
Jim
 
I have 2 John Deere 350 crawlers and they both have dry clutches. From my experience, if they get wet or a little oil on them then it's replacement time. From what I understand, (and I'm definatly not an expert on them) the wet clutches will last alot longer than the dry ones. The dry ones will sometimes stick if not used, tho I haven't had that problem with mine. I have replaced the clutches on both machines when I bought them and haven't had any trouble with them since. Don't know if this helps or not, just my thoughts, Keith
 
Look in the archives on here. Several of the experts prefer dry clutches in smaller machines because there's a lot less to fix if something goes bad.
 
Well, the track has to be broken, then the final drive has to be romoved. I kinda like to remove the sprocket on mine before removing the final drive. I made a bracket to pick up the final drive so I don't damage the seals (if you damage the seals you will get oil on the clutches in short order. then remove the brake band and clutch pack. replace the clutches as per the manual and be darned careful putting it all back together as it has to go straight in as I've said due to damaging the seals. If you don't have a manual then I highly suggest you get one. If you're gonna replace the clutch pressure plate you will need a guage for it. Care to follow clutch adjustment sequence is really a must as the clutch and brake have to operate in proper sequence or it can damage the clutches or the dozer won't turn due to the brake not applying at the proper time. Really not too bad a job but can be time consuming. Keith
 
A lot of dry steer machines are fixed thru the area under the seat,so finals don't need removal.
Some MF & Deere machines need finals removed,but Mitsubishi,Cat,Komatsu,IH & others are accesssed under the seat.
The wet steer system is longer lasting,but more complex & costly.
 
Dry type steering clutches consists of a clutch pack that is held in compression with springs,the pack consist of two sets of discs,one with internal teeth and the other with external teeth,the friction discs are fiber as are the lining on the brake band, the oil immersed clutch is set up the same way but the friction discs are bimetallic as are the brake linings,that type of system usually has an oil pump to circulate the oil for cooling and filtering,the oil is often shared with the bevel gear and any power assist like the steering and brakes that the machine may have,while the oil immersed clutch would have the longer life the dry type gave very good service and lasted a long time,like everything used properly and adjusted correctly they were not a worry.
AJ
 
Dry clutches are fine and are usually less expensive and easier to repair/replace/rebuild. One downside is that they tend to be found on manually actuated machines without power assist, so the controls are on the heavier side (like a lot of old school machines compared to newer power everything with A/C satellite radio and back massager). The other dowswnside is that if the machine sits for long periods of time without being run, the plates can rust together resulting in a seized clutch. Depending on how badly seized the clutches are they can often be unstuck by running the machine against a stump and pulling the steering levers back. But if the machines been sitting a long time and they're really stuck, you have to take them apart to get them unstuck.

But if you use the machine once every year or two, from my experience the dry clutches never seize (my old IH crawler has set as long as 3 years in a row outside in the rain without being run with no clutch sticking whatsoever). Good luck...
 
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