This machine's new to me and I want to change the final drive oil level. Don't they always get filled halfway up, unless they mark a fill line on the cover and have an additional witness plug. I have three oil plugs with one in the center which should be the witness plug, I would think. This one is currently filled up to about the 12:00 plug. I intend to get manuals for this but haven't yet. The Cat dealer said it takes 1 liter. I plan on putting in caterpillar full synthetic final drive and axle oil. If I put in one liter and that comes to about the center plug I would say that would be correct. Does anyone know for sure what it should be?
These FDs can be difficult to fill. Put one of the large plugs at the 6 o’clock position, drain the oil, and replace the plug. Then rotate the FD slightly until the large plug that was at 12 o’clock moves to approximately the 2 o’clock position. Remove the plug in the centre which then becomes the level plug. Fill oil through the plug at 2 o’clock until it dribbles out of the centre hole.
Thank you so much for the help Nige! They must have a duo-cone seal or something pretty tough on the shaft. It's quite something the seal didn't blow when that whole cavity was full of oil. I also took off the big guard plate over the hydraulic drive motor. The whole cavity was packed tight with sand. Things were getting pretty rusty in there.
I was wrong about being full. I just moved the excavator a little ways with the oil cold it carried it up high and when I pulled the plug it ran out. At the 2:00 position you have a lot more opening to add oil. When I tried to fill it earlier the port was mostly blocked and didn't flow in well. Picture shows a 1q cup with a twist on and off bottom. I bought a 16 mm x 1.5 mm to half inch barbed fitting off Amazon. It took about a half hour to drain in. I left the witness port open for part of the operation. It's a little cold in Wisconsin. I'm going to run it for a while and then park it on level ground and leave it for a day or two and then check it and maybe top it off then. As Nidge said this was not an easy job... lol.
If it was easy anyone could do it……..
That’s why I save all the squeeze tops, from all my oil bottles. They go in the “special” drawer.
I really like the squeeze bags. Way easier to add oil.