I have a customer with a 236B skid steer. There appears to be a dry bearing in the RF hub. Has a noise in it that is getting louder.I have pulled the hub assembly and removed the back seal but the axle will not press out of the housing like all the Case machines I have done. Is the collar that the inner seal ride on pressed on? What is the best method of removal? Heating the collar? I did put it in a press and put a little tension against it but it did not seem like it wanted to move so I did not want to break the housing so I stopped until I could get more information. Thanks JJ
Don't look like it has any kind of lock or snap ring. Parts list just has bearings and seals. Them bearings must be tight. Get mad at it and push 'em out!
You will be money ahead if you update your hubs to the optional heavy duty ones. I have done this to both of my 236's. Service Magazine SEPD0831, 17 April 2006, "A New Axle for Extreme Applications Is Available". The scope of this article has been expanded. See the information that follows. Note: These new "special application" axles should only be required if there is a history of shortened seal life in extreme applications. Table 1 Part Number Machines 258-2759 Axle 216, 216B, 226, 226B, 228, 232, 232B, 242, 242B 258-2859 Axle 236, 236B, 246, 246B, 248, 248B, 252, 252B, 262, 262B, 268B 258-2957 Axle 246C, 256C, 262C, 272C
Thanks. I guess this customer is not Extreme enough. This axle is the first to have issues and his tractor is sneaking up on 4000 hrs. JJ
Looking at that parts diagram, those look like open bearings, not sealed/lubricated, do the bearings get lubrication from the chain case? I can't tell what item #4 is in the parts drawing, doesn't look like a seal though. #3 looks like a collar to load the bearings when the sprocket is set.
#4 is the inner seal. I have that removed already. #3 is a collar that seems to be on pretty tight. This is what I think may need to be heated slightly to get it to come off. I put it in a press and put a little tension on it but did not want to break off the ears of the housing so I stopped until Monday. I can see where the inner bearing race/cone is around the shaft and have confirmed no snap ring. The inner bearing is greased with a really good looking green grease. I suspect that the outer bearing is dry. About a month ago we started getting a slight noise almost sounded like a track clicking. It has now started making a squeaking noise and seems to be coming from the RF. Only thing is we have yet to get any play or wobble so we can not confirm the problem yet. The machine owner is very proactive about getting things fixed before they come completely apart. I picked up some material yesterday to build a larger stiff back so that I can put some pressure on it a bit safer than the way I had it in the press. The one I had was too small. I'll keep this thread updated. JJ
Ahh, grease packed bearings that don't get additional lubrication over their lifetime, I couldn't guess that for sure because I couldn't tell by the diagram that #4 was actually a seal. I think what you're going to find is the outer seal has been fouled by dirt/grit over time and has allowed the debris to get to the outer bearing and contaminate/displace/destroy the grease it had. Given this, and that the machine has near 4K hours, I think I would try to convince the owner that it would be prudent to go through all 4 axle housings now while you have it down. Kinda like tires ya know, if right front tire on a car is slick, you can pretty much bet the other three tires are near the same.
Just got in from finishing this machine. Ended up the outer bearing was perfect just like the inside bearing. The clicking noise that we heard a month ago was the right side drive motor that was going south. The excess noise we heard this last week was when it had completely come apart. Installed new drive motor. Removed tank many lines and flushed. There was metal particles everywhere. Cat said it would cost 25K for them to fix it and to just run it through the auction. LOL Hope we got it all. Time will tell. Hopefully it did not run too much through the drive pumps. JJ
Well just got off the phone with the owner. Machine made a 9.5 hour day today with no problems. Think we are going to put one more day of use on it and then drop the hydraulic oil again and filter. Probably going to pull the tank again to see if there is any more debris that has made it back out of the system and into the tank. Keeping fingers crossed for this owner.
Well we will never know the fate of this machine now. The owner had no faith in the machine that he was not going to have any other problems with the pumps and such on his machine. He took delivery on a brand new 262C today and traded to old one in. So if you see a super clean looking 236B for sale from Cat, watch out. LOL
How did you get the axle apart I am having the same issue? Press it out?
Yes sir. It took a BUNCH. Of pressure but I finally went bang and pressed out.