450 wont turn right

lj60driver

New User
just bought a 450. replaced idlers, sprockets, chains, rollers. got the machine down on its feet today for its first test run. left turns are perfect. right turns worked but after a few minutes of running I pulled the right stick all the way back and nothing. the previous owner changed steering clutches about 300 hours ago on both sides. these are dry clutches. where do I start?
 
grease on the steering clutches? Take the top off steering clutch cover & look inside for grease in the bottom caused by leaking seal. Should be dry down there. Used to leave the drain plug out of the bottom so any grease getting in there drained before it got on clutches. Had to remember to put plug back in working in mud & water or sand, mud, etc. went up thru the hole & covered the clutches.
 
"Nothing" meaning what? No go, no brake, or no declutch when you pull the lever back? All totally different things with different causes.
 
If the machine stops when you engage the right clutch lever, pull the small cover off the top of left steering clutch housing..Work the left steering lever and watch to see if there is any free-play in the clutch..If there is none , the pressure plate might be partially engaged causing a slipping situation..If it"s a brake that won"t apply, see if someone left the "timing" bolt loose..It would be the short bolt with jamb nut right there on top.. It sets the point at which the brake band applies..The longer bolt there is the clutch freeplay adjustment..To tighten the band for more apply pressure , there is a small cast cover on the side of the steering clutch housing right above the track.. Inside this cover is a near vertical bolt with a 13/16" head..Turn the bolt clockwise to tighten the brake band..It goes in half turn increments..With this adjustment and the "timing bolt" you should be able to dial that brake in..Should be no oil or water in there..As I stated before here; ALWAYS cover the back of the machine when not being used..From the dashboard to over the back of the fuel tank.."If a bird flies over the machine and craps , it will find it"s way into those clutches"..
 

By nothing I mean that I can pull the right stick all the way back to my leg and the machine just keeps going straight. Every thing feels good as far as linkage but the machine wont turn at all to the right.
 
When all is working correctly, pulling the lever part of the way back disengages the clutch - but does NOT apply the brake. Pulling back even further THEN starts to apply the brake. So, when you say you pull back and nothing happens - it sounds like - at the least - the brake is not working at all. If the brake WAS working, and the clutch was disengaged - that track would stop. If the brake is working, and the track is NOT disengaging, the engine would start to labor or stall.

Try pulling both levers all the way back. If the machine stops, then you know the right-hand side is disengaging. Then, with the left back, let the right go. If the right track moves, then that side is also engaging.

At this point, you'll have some idea of what is, and is not working. If just no brake, maybe just needs adjustment or some linkage got unhooked.
 
Based on your original description (newer steering clutches but sitting for a while while you did undercarriage work), I think the most likely cause might be that your right-side clutch discs have rusted up and it's not (dis)engaging even though the pressure plate is pushed in.

The first thing to do go through the steering clutch adjustment procedure (both sides). If anything in the linkage is messed up, or the brake band isn't going into detent it will be clear when you're adjusting it. If everything appears to be working, then you may be able to break that clutch pack free just by getting the dozer blade up against something solid and spinning the track while holding the left lever back while working the right lever. If this doesn't work, you'll have to pull that clutch to find out why it won't release.

Make sure to pull all 4 drain plugs on the clutch housings regularly to get condensation and/or any leaked oil out of there.
 
If all was put in right and adjusted properly, and rust locked up the clutches - the engine would labor stall when the lever got pulled all the way back. It would be braking and trying to run at the same time.
 
I don't know, my 450 seems to snort right through all the brake I can apply. I know this because I've operated it without noticing that the parking brake was set before :) If there's a little bit of water and oil splashing around in the clutch housing, all the more so.
 

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