Help Please. I run a nonprofit park for kids WWW.MLPAA.ORG and borrowed a friends 950F Loader= year unknown? 1998? . Checked and greased everything and have only used it for about 8 hrs total (4 today) when I noticed oil drips from what looks like the starter flange? Drove it home and will power wash tomorrow. Drips seem to be hydraulic type (clean) versus dirty like engine oil. Looked under the machine when I first received and did not see oil drips at about 4 per min. Looks like the starter bolts are tight. I'm not a certified cat tech. (certified industrail Maitenance Manager, Tank mechanic in Army,etc.} but have been wrenching everything for 45 years. Do not have a manual so would appreciate a schematic of breather location and where the pump is for the fluid transfer. Anything other useful suggestions to check would be great. Thanks,
As I recall there is oil in the casing but there is also a drain back to the bottom of the transmission drop box. I think I'd first make sure the starter mount bolts are tight. Does the starter have a ground wire going back to the engine block?
the cat guys on here will want a serial number if you can give it to them. I think a lot of the cats have a wet starter, might be a gasket where the starter bolts on.
check the starter bolts first I've had them come loose before otherwise a starter gasket
Too dark right now, serial number was worn so bad on tag I couldn't read in daylight. Never heard of a wet starter. I think I saw a ground going to the engine block. bolts looked like 12 point, I couldn't wiggle starter but will check bolts in daylight. was building a pond so machine was used at minor incline during use. Seems to only leak when F & R engaged , not just idleing with hydraulic being used. Also could not see any damaged hydraulic lines (2) that run next to starter.
A worn torque converter will leak a lot more fluid when the transmission is engaged. Usually they will get hot as well if they are leaking that much. The transmission temperature gauge would start to climb when in a big push.
I was pushing soft dirt and always keep an eye on temp gages. All gages normal with no climbing during push or any time with inclined full bucket . Consistent.
one thing I did notice is slight delay going from F to R on engagement. That is what made me stop and look around and underneath, that is when I say the drips and headed home. Thought maybe hot but gage okay. Transmission fluid level on stick towards middle of hash marks. low side but not below add mark
Thanks everyone, I'll start with simple task of Tightening starter bolts first, Then maybe check Trans Temp gage to see if not giving false reading. One last question, is there a pump in converter housing that takes oil back to tranny? or just a port?
That machine has a wet flywheel housing and should have a sealed starter with a mounting gasket. The oil that is leaking is transmission oil. Oil gravity drains from housing. If the starter bolts get loose it usually shucks the gasket. If its not leaking much keep a eye on oil level and run till you get a new gasket. Bob
I think the converter and the transmission are close coupled meaning they are one piece on that machine. The oil drain off is just a part of the case of the transmission.
That starter will also have rubber sealing balls in the flange mount holes . There are extra holes for different mounting orientation that need to be plugged. If the balls get hard they don’t seal and the starter leaks. You would need to take the starter off to see them. I have also seen the end cap on the solenoid mount come loose and leak.
This is very common. I believe the part number for the balls are 3T-3434 if I remember correctly. Simply just remove the with a o-ring pick and then put some coper coat on the new ones and push them in.
Had to run that 3T3434 through SIS and yes that is the number for those plugs, about 3/8 inch rubber balls. Would help to have the serial number as it seems some 950F machines use a starter that does not have the separate nose housing! One note is that not all starters do use them but most of the newer ones seem to be made with the nose piece with a double pattern of bolt holes to make one starter fit more applications. The double patterns allows nose to be turned in more different positions to clear different things.
So I pressure washed area to give good visual also to be clean (somewhat) when I tried to see if starter bolts were tight. My friend and I used every 6 point and 12 point socket in my tool box around 7/16 and 11 MM in size. Nothing fit right. 7/16 -12 point the closest. Tried 12 point short box end, no tamale. Messed with wrench size way too long. So I took Bluox insight and started running the beast without pushing so much uphill keeping an eye on oil level and leak. Dug downhill and backed up with load then dumped. NOT A DROP all day!!!! (5 hrs.) taking full buckets. Temperature gage doesn't move past 1/8 which leads me to believe that is normal operating (bad low Gage). . Yesterday When I was pushing more up hill the gage went to 1/4... probably indicating hot. Also maybe more uphill flooded housing more if it is drain only back to tranny. Still want to check starter bolts . Can someone tell me if there is a special tool from cat? Anyway, I think it got hot yesterday and flooded housing and forced the drip out of starter. Love it when it fixes itself .
Not sure what to say about the 12 point bolts Never had a problem except if there was too thick a coat of paint. I do seem to recall one Mack truck that needed a metric 12 point but nor positive on that. Any chance of getting a S/N to help find correct information on SIS?
Should be 10 mm 12 point head bolts. You need a wobble extension and a thin wall 10 mm metric socket.
Wouldn't it have been nice if who ever designed the first three bolt flange starter if they had made the bolt circle half an inch bigger?
Yup. These new ones are even worse. First one I did on a D6n had me scrounging for the right tools to get in there and get it off. I actually modified my wobble extension with a grinder to get it to offset enough to work.
I’ve done several on d6t’s. The bottom two are easy but the one at the top is a night mare. I reposition the nose cone one set of holes, roll the motor and solenoid to allow more clearance between the starter and block. Makes life so much easier. The only way possible to get it off I find is a long 3/8 wobble extension and a super shallow 5/8 12 point 3/8 drive socket. And the last reman starter from cat didn’t have the 3T-3434 rubber balls. Luckily I had some in my truck. I hate to re use old ones unless your in a bind.
I'm having the same problem on a 916 loader I've ordered starter gasket How much oil should drain when removing the plug I'm getting about 2 gallons Thanks in advance
The Snap-on 5/8” 12pt IPRD20 sometimes works good on those tricky starter fasteners.
Just a WAG here but I bet that socket won't fit a 10mm bolt head worth a shitt. Bob
True Dat. I had Delco on my mind. Can’t find my 10mm. Where do ten millimeter sockets go?