Any ideas what the issue might be here? My 04 Volvo EC460B machine has cracked covers on both final drive/travel motors. Once I heard an issue with the case drain can cause excess pressure to build up and do this?
If you have both sides failed like that , you have more than case drain issues. The filter should have burst before cracking the covers like that. Does it travel under it's own power? First thing I would do is crack the drain plugs loose, and just let em be til the pressure vents off. See what the oil looks like that weeps out. Once pressure vents off remove the plug, let it drain and leave the plugs out for the next step. Following up on that, I would remove the case drain hoses going up to the turning joint and cap the joint. run the hoses into a bucket. Raise one side and run that track slowly, you should get a trickle. If it pours heavy and steady or pulses like a machine gun, you have a damaged motor. Perform the same task on both sides. Did your gearboxes refill with oil? did the oil pour all over from the open drain plug? if so, you have a hurt motor. If your case drain is reasonable, and your gearbox didn't gain oil, I would remove and inspect the case drain filter , its the fattest one closest to the hydraulic tank. Cut it open with a filter cutter. Look inside for glitter. Please report back your findings.
Looks to me like something wanted out real bad. I'd be shocked if they still turned.
When you pull those covers off have a shovel handy to dig the debris out. You'll probably need it.
Be extremely careful, those plugs can be under extreme pressure and may exit with insane pressure. Again , crack the plug loose and wait til pressure vents, DO NOT be in front of it. work from the side. treat it like a split rim that wants to take your head off.
Yes be careful when you remove the plugs but those cracks aren't from the hydraulic system.
If those covers aren't packed with disintegrated gears and anti-seize the problem could be in the swing, the pumps or the turning joint itself. the filter will tell us quite a bit, after we do the initial testing.
He said both covers are cracked, Volvo motors have split covers like that before, hydraulically. That's a lot of surface area. But , I had a bulged and weeping case drain filter when I experienced this.
Being there is already a crack in the cover how could there still be pressure at the drain plug?
Water infiltration and freezing ??
As the swelling subsides, it closes back up , trapping pressure again. Just how tight are the tracks? Should hang 13" from the bottom of the rail to the top of the bottom pad
Definitely something inside wants out. If the motor shaft seals are blown I guess it could be case pressure? Wonder what kind of pressure you'd need to crack a heavy cast cover like that?
If hydraulic pressure can break those covers, imagine what a day shovel logging would do.
Sure looks like a freeze occurrence.... will be interesting to see what comes out of the finals....gear oil/water or hydraulic oil/gear oil.... the machine is in a colder climate....
Take a look at this...
Sorry, I did say you'd need a shovel for the pile of broken bits.
Both sides?
That's some serious bits
I see the damage to the planet carrier but where are the pieces that actually did the cutting on that carrier. The planet gears look clean in those photos. Kind of makes me think the sun gear broke up and you are saving that photo for the next post.
Actually it was my mistake. Only the one side was damaged. Pretty sure I figured out what actually happened here with this machine. When the engine went down the previous mechanic pulled the outer final drive covers off to remove the center driveshaft to make the tracks freewheel. Only problem was they left the center sun gear in place inside and when the machine was pulled it allowed that gear to drop down where it shouldn't be, causing the damage shown in the pics...
Anybody have an idea where I might find a good used planet carrier? Im guessing thats not a part that typically fails?
That's a fair guess. Damn shame everything got gobbled up in the process.