I have a Cat 824F wheel loader with worn rear axle pivot bushings; what is best way to do this repair? Roll the axle out from under frame or remove support pieces and work in place. I assume the axle flanges are worn as well as the bushings. I want to do this job safely. Thanks, Terry
I'm assuming you mean 924F, right..? I would suggest roll the axle with tyres out from under the machine if you can raise the rear end high enough. If not, block under the fuel tank/counterweight, remove the tyres, unbolt the complete axle assembly with supports and lower it down on to some kind of trolley, then roll the trolley out sideways from under the machine. You're probably going to find that the I/D of the trunnion supports (9 & 10), the O/D of the pinion housing (22), & the trunnion (40) themsleves are all worn, despite the fact the fibre bushes are really what's supposed to wear. Fortunately both the supports and the trunnions themselves can be rebuilt by metal spraying and machining back to stock size. Do NOT try to build up the worn surfaces with welding, especially the trunnion supports. It will cause them to fail catastrophically in short order with unpleasant results.
Thanks for the info, Terry
Interesting how a piece of fiber can wear away a piece of cast iron or steel! Guess it's like emery cloth, holds the abrasive and lets it do it's cutting.
A lot depends on the grease that has been used to lubricate the trunnions. The best thing I've found is 5% moly but not too many users go to the trouble, more often than not it's EP2 in there.