931B, the good , the bad and the ugly...

First off, thank god for places like Princess
Auto. They had what I needed in stock and it
didn't cost a fortune. I got a new 1 ton chain
come-a-long cause something broke in my old one, a
4' lifting sling, some jack stands and socket
accessories. It was a little over $200 for
everything. I could have got a cheaper hoist but a
good come-a-long is handier than a pocket on your
shirt.

I went out today and the first thing I did was
block up the machine better. I picked up some 7
ton jack stands on sale for $42 but when I first
put them under the Cat, I forgot that both tracks
will turn together, so I was actually pulling the
whole machine backwards to take out the first 6
bolts. I put the 2 jack stands under the track
cross member and then used the 20 ton jack and
lifted on the rear tow bar. Much easier to turn
the tracks now. I hooked a short chain across a
track pad and then hooked a come-a-long to the
chain anchored to my skid steer. If there was
tough spot or I went too far, I used a Jackall/Hi-
lift jack on a grouser bar to move the track.

I got 13 bolts out of the outside hub and 5 bolts
out of the inside hub. I used a 7/8" deep socket
and an impact swivel connected to an extension on
my breaker bar to get the outside bolts. Once the
bolts were loose, they turned easy with just the
socket. The outside bolts were tight but had no
loc-tite while the inside bolts had some kind of
loc-tite on them. Then I put a 4' sling under the
clutch pack to hold it while I removed the last 2
bolts. I wrapped a chain around the roof of the
ROPS and hung the come-a-long from it. 1 ton of
force and the clutch pack wouldn't budge. I did
notice there was a lip where it fits together on
the bevel gear side so pried that over and still
no go. Maybe part of the problem with the steering
clutch is that the arm doesn't move in and out
freely? I sprayed some WD40 on the ball end of the
clutch arm yesterday just cause it looked a little
rusty. I was thinking I might have to heat up the
outside hub cause it was stuck but realized the
clutch arm has to turn up in order to come out. I
tried to pry on it with no luck. Just when I was
about to call the shop for idea's, I thought of
something else to try. I took my pry bar and a
long snipe and pried on the adjustable bolt in the
clutch arm while I hit the snipe with a hammer. I
heard a bang and it was loose! The ball was rusted
in the socket. It's supposed to be greased.

I had to fiddle with it to turn it so it would
lift out of the compartment. OK, got the clutch
arm out. Now I know why Cat recommends removing
the fuel tank. When you wrap the sling under the
clutch pack, it doesn't lift level. It tilts to
the outside. I lifted it up as high as it would go
but it hit the fuel tank so I lowered it a few
inches and then yanked sideways on the chain to
tilt it the opposite direction so it would clear
the fuel tank. Then I just man handled it out onto
the top of the case. Would have been much easier
with 2 people. Cat lists it at 165 lbs. There's
definitely rust in the splines so maybe that's the
problem with the clutch?

Now that the steering clutch is out, there was
about 1/2" of crud packed in the bottom of the
case. I loosened it with a screw driver and
scooped most of it out. It appears to be dirt but
maybe it's clutch and brake material? Does the
case need to be cleaned out really good? There was
also a little bit of oil on the bevel gear hub and
the flange was oily. I'm guessing the bevel gear
seal has a slight leak but the checking the
dipstick, it's a little bit over filled. Is it
hard to change the seal? I have it it apart
already. Could it leak a little past the big nut?

I'm going to take the clutch pack and cylinder in
to get checked out. Do you think it's better to
put the left side back together first or tear into
the right side right away? I'm making progress but
what a dirty messy job. I drained the hyd. oil but
it's still dripping out of some of the lines. I'm
going to use a paint marker to mark the holes when
I put it back together. I don't imagine it will be
very easy lining up the holes.

Sorry for the long post. All of your guys help has
been greatly appreciated!

I started to chime in the other night and tell you that you would be time ahead to pull the tank but seems like you like to do it the hard way. Get the hole clean but it does not have to be clean enough to eat out if it. Just get the crud. I usually just pull both sides then put it back together but guess it is up to the individual.

I've never done it before and wanted to see how hard it was to do the left side first since that brake does nothing. What makes you think I want to do it the hard way? Why do think I'm asking questions and borrowed the service manual? How many times do you read about tractors that were taken apart and then sat for years because the person didn't know what to do? I'm working on this out in the middle of nowhere with no shop to work in, no air tools and so far no help. Several people, including the shop that has worked on these, who are experienced say it's not necessary to pull the tanks. The fuel tank wouldn't be too hard to pull but the hyd. tank would be a major PIA to pull since the control valve and all the hyd. lines are attached to it. Further complicating it, is that it has a 4 in 1 bucket and aux. hyd's for the backhoe. That's a lot of hyd. lines and getting them all back together without any leaks could be fun.