Hi all, working on a new to me old 75 D5. I've come upon what appears to be 4 plugs for the steering clutch drains? They appear to have been left out and there's dirt and grime in there now. Attached are photos. How does one go about cleaning this or is it a take apart job. New to the caterpillar maintenance Thanks all.
Dig as much of the muck as you can out of the hole. Next put plugs in holes. Put about 5-10 gallons of diesel fuel into clutch/ Brake compartments . Drive tractor around for a while then drain the compartments. Check the amount of muck still in compartment. If still excessive then repeat the process. My guess would be that there are seals leaking in the compartments causing oil to accumulate. Some guys would remove plugs to allow oil to drain out and prevent getting on the brakes or clutches. Good Luck
Hey Stangstrech, welcome to HEF! I had the same situation on my 69 D5… Best dry-clutch cleaning solvent Hopefully in the next couple days I’ll fill my D5 steering clutch areas with a “solvent” to remove the dirt/gunk (luckily, limited oil in compartments). Question is: What’s the “best” (aka most effective) solvent(s)? My list at the moment: Kerosene Gasoline Diesel Mineral Spirits Brake... HeavyEquipmentForums I found removing to top cover and the back cover gave great access to get into those clutch/brake compartments, so make sure you open both up. Rather than pour the cleaner/diesel in, I bought a good spray bottle and worked top-down. I also bought a couple rubber plugs that pushed in each drain hole then tighten the nut to create seal (found mine in plumbing isle at Lowes), they helped since I found I had to douche each compartment several times to get the big grit/crap out…but worked really well. Mine also had the brake band adjustment bolts missing…well one was sheared off…but do clean those threads and get those back in (plus you’ll see the brake band adjusters with the covers off- easy to address while you’re right there) In the end not a bad job, just a gut punch when you see/find that issue… Take pics- keep us (and the next guy!) posted on how you make out.