So first post here. I’ve recently bought a 2005 CAT D5G lgp to keep on the farm for a few years. Currently being used to rake cut over forest after having the stumps sheared. The hour meter doesn’t work but the previous owner said it had a little under 8000 hrs on it and in the few months I’ve had it I’ve probably put 80 hrs on it or so. The rails were in pretty bad shape when I got it with bushings starting to wear through, so I recently parked it and we started work on replacing the rails and sprockets. Apparently Cat is currently running 30% off undercarriage parts so I was able to get Cat parts for a similar price as aftermarket. While having the rails off I noticed one final drive has some slack/ play in it between the spindle and the hub (the part that actually turns and the stationary part) ? With the back of the machine blocked up and no weight on it, it has a slightly wider gap at the top and tighter at the bottom. You can wiggle it in and out side to side or top to bottom by hand. Looking at a diagram I found on this site I think was for a D3G it looks like it could be loose retainer plate or the spindle? I have no idea how long it’s been like this and noticed no problems in the few weeks of hours I’ve operated the dozer. Any advice and information is really appreciated.
Welcome to HEF! I can't help you but there should be one or more of the cat gurus pop on here soon with some advice.
Can you please post a Serial Number. I can then identify the parts manual illustration that corresponds to your machine and probably also upload an assembly procedure that will give you an idea how to check and adjust the bearings. Maybe the first thing you should do is to rotate the final drive cover on the affected side until the drain plug is at the 12 o'clock position so that no oil will run out, remove it and take a look at the condition of the magnet. Take a photo before you try to clean it and post it back here. You may already be past the point of making a bearing adjustment.
Hey Nige, the serial is D5GLRKG01403. I’ll be back out to the machine later in the week and will pull the plug and check the magnet. I’ll post the photo too. Thanks for your time and expertise.
Here's a section of the final drive The play you can see ought to be in the two taper bearings #24 & 25. The other possibility I can think of is loose bolts #44. What strikes me as strange is that there are no shims called out behind plate #43 to set the bearing preload. Reading the assembly procedure the preload is set by pressing the bearings to a specific measured position using special tooling. If anyone has experience of doing this please chime in. The worst part of all this is that in order to remove the cover #31 will require unwrapping the track, because the same bolts #28 that hold the cover #31 in place also fix the sprocket segments on position. Not a small job and I'm not sure I would fancy trying it with the final drive still mounted on the machine for fear of damaging the O-Ring #34 that seals the joint between the cover and the hub #27. It really needs the complete final off the machine and turned to lay flat on its back so that the cover #31 comes off upwards.
i did a final on a d6h had to replace hub and had to hve some shims laser cut as bearings were to tight. there should be no movement better pull it down
I always use a nylon strap and take it off in place it is no problem of course I have a crane
I was waiting to see what was on the mag plug before suggesting that, and am expecting it to have a Xmas tree of spalled bits of bearing on it. I think it's very likely that's what will have to happen.
Alright so I went ahead and took it apart. Used a sling like Dave suggested. Used tractor loader with forks for the sling and it worked well. The plugs are still in the cover, the allen heads are rounded and I’ll have to try and turn them out with a chisel. But, I can see the backsides of the plugs and there’s no metal on them. I wonder if they are magnetized? There’s new plugs waiting for me at CAT. Nige, you were right about the bearings. Booth sets were pitted, starting to have flat spots, and small chunks missing. The races had pitting as well. I have new bearings and races on order with CAT that’ll be in early next week. Thanks everyone for the help.
Not surprising I'm afraid. Please go back to the 2nd paragraph of my post #5 above regarding the need for tooling to press the bearings into place to a set measurement. I'm not sure exactly how you will be able to do that. I can upload the procedure if you like but really this needs input from someone who has done it with the final drive mounted on the machine, not off it and up-ended as described in the D&A procedure where gravity will be assisting to some extent. Failure to press the bearings to exactly the correct measurement will likely lead to a premature bearing failure.
Attached is the assembly procedure. 289-2961 is the bearing driver tool. Not the end of the world TBH, I found it aftermarket on the internet @ $85. https://aftermarket.express/caterpillar/2892961 Another thought. What does the condition of the faces of the Duo-Cone seals look like. You may be in for replacing them as well, or at least the Toric Rings. That will also need the D-C installer tool that is listed in the assembly procedure.
I've always figured the Duo-Cone seals as single assembly type parts. Once the machine has been in the dirt we never reused them.
Alright guys. It’s back together… The duo cone seal and metal faces didn’t look bad so I just wiped the faces clean and left them alone. Nige, I didn’t get the bearing driver as you suggested. I hope I don’t come to regret it. The inner bearing seats against part of the spindle, the outer presses in against the race in the hub. Filled her up with about 4.25 gallons of CAT TDTO 50 oil. I have about 4 hours of runtime on it since and so far so good . Sure seems to operate smoother with new rails as well! Again, thanks everyone for your contributions to this thread. Nige, the diagrams and assembly procedures have been extremely helpful.
Did you maintain the dimension "X" of 1mm as specified by the assembly procedure.? If not then the bearing preload can't be guaranteed and the new bearings could potentially fail in short order by being under or over-loaded.
I replaced bearings 39 and 31 of the assembly procedure. The bearings on the spindle, not the planetary gear bearings. Unless I’m really misunderstanding the assembly procedure (it wouldn’t be the first time) I’m interpreting dimension x to be for the planetary gear bearings not the large spindle bearings.
Gotcha. I thought you were replacing all of them.