Hi everyone, I bought an 83’ cat 980C wheel loader, truck driver delivered it said seller told him the parking brake is froze, been sitting all winter needs methyl… air compressor builds air good, parking brake will release and you immediately lose air till low pressure and parking brake re-engages, get about 15 seconds of driving from full air tank. Found the air is leaking out of vent holes on the parking brake housing that mounts to the transmission. Its below freezing, could the air escaping from these holes be caused by water or something frozen/stuck, or is this guaranteed an internal seal issue. If so can the whole unit be unbolted and removed in one piece, looks pretty tight. Thanks
Serial number is 63X05049 Model T278 980C 3406
You are going to have to do the whole thing judging by the color of the housing brake discs are probably cooked
Ok thanks sorry for the wuestions in not a mechanic, do you know if its possible to even get parts for this thing anymore, I heard you can thread in a bolt to release the brake manually but when I viewed an online diagram that center bolt looks too long to be removed before it hits the metal frame near where I point in the one photo, there’s only 2” max between bolt and steel frame and diagram looks like bolt goes half way thru parking brake system, along with a splined shaft. I’m assuming this whole system slides off a shaft in the diagram,so there won’t be room to simply unbolt and remove this either without other things being done. does anyone have the removal procedure for the whole parking system in the photo
If i remember right it don't have to come out very far to disengage you you want to take the bolts that are in the notches be to your advantage to rig something to hold it and lower it down because it's a lot heaver than you think be careful also block the wheels and also put the safety bar in to keep it from articulating while you are in the middle
Awesome thank you very much for your time and replies, if I run into any problems I’ll reach out for further advice.
If i recall, ive done one by pulling the seat out and slinging it with a strap and a come along from the roof of the cab. It was a long time ago though
And parts should still be pretty readily available for it. Probably both Cat and aftermarket
Hard to beat Cat for older equipment parts
Ya parts were readily available they even had them in stock, hard part is getting removal installation instructions because of the age. Considering the weight of the unit I dont wanna attempt removal myself especially with no info as to what I’m getting myself into. Will update if issue is fixed once a mechanic gets here. Thanks everyone for the replies
If you don’t have already I would highly recommend a service manual specific to the machine. Should be able to find one on eBay
Search the usual places for Caterpillar Publication reference SENR5920. Here’s just one example. The only question to ask the seller is whether or not all the individual manual sections listed in the contents page are actually present in the binder. Sometimes an odd section or two has a habit of going missing, and Sod’s Law decrees that one of them is the one you need. Cat Caterpillar 980C Wheel Loader Service Manual SENR5920 | eBay Disassembly and Assembly. 63X1 and up. www.ebay.com
Got er fixed. Was the 2 largest internal seals, 50$ each roughly. Removed seat and floor plate, lifted in/out thru the cab with crane. Thanks everyone for the replies