Don't know serial or anything yet; only the right side steering clutch disengages readily when commanded, but takes quite a spell to reengage. Brakes seem to work well on both sides. Not driven it myself so the owner is going to get it loaded and dropped at the shop. Supposedly the steering clutch does not slip once fully engaged, but slips terribly up to 10 minutes or so after completion of a turn. Left side seems to be fine. All this is as I'm told so who knows what is to be discovered once looked at.
I’m still kicking myself for passing on a 977L a year ago. Had 4-1 bucket and a huge winch setup for train derailment services. The short time I spent driving it back-forth 20 feet in the auction yard really made me interested in getting a pedal steer machine. Seemed much more intuitive to operate than using my arms to pull individual yokes like I was driving an ox team on a covered wagon. Hope it’s an easy fix.
I could be wrong but I think this one is lever steer with foot brakes? I've not driven, or even been in the operator station of the tractor so can't say for certain. Last I physically seen it was about three years ago and it needed a P&B turn badly then. Back then I offered to break the tracks and do the turning but he thought the cost too great. I can only wonder what this job holds as I won't half-assed repair anything to the limits of my ability. Very likely will get a diagnosis, and go someplace else as I won't expend a lot of time on a dead ended trail.
977L is definitely pedal steer. Check out all the brake and steering clutch linkages for wear, damage, jamming, corrosion, before tearing into too much disassembly. A lot of the time, the linkages jam up, or fail to return properly, because lazy b******* don't wash down the tops of the steering clutches. The dirt builds up, it holds moisture, linkage mechanism bearings get corroded, linkages get sticks and other debris in them - cleanliness is next to Godliness in this area!
Oz- Along that note- what do you recommend to lubricate the linkages once cleaned out and made free of travel? Once the corrosion starts it’s a constant battle to stay ahead. Most spray stuff like penetrants evaporate out, oils eventually run out, and spray greases don’t appear to get deeply inside the rotating joints to keep out further moisture. I may start using a preservative like T9 Boeshield which is our go-to spray to keep our machine shop tools rust free. Btw- don’t mean to hijack 1693’s thread but figured lubing linkages was going to be relevant on this one.
I only ever used good quality heavy chassis grease - but the important factor is to ensure the needle roller bearing seals are in good condition, that the seal lips haven't grooved the shafts - and that the needle rollers themselves haven't grooved the shafts. If the needle rollers are even slightly suspect, I'd be replacing them, and installing new seals - provided the shafts are in good condition. If the shafts are grooved by the needle rollers, you'll still have sticky and jerky brake operation problems. I found the only way to bring shafts back to good condition was to machine the worn area down by around 1/8", build up with a high quality silver brazing rod, then machine back to correct dimensions for the bearings.
Don't worry about any hijack at all as I've never worked with one of these. From memory tractor looks clean but that doesn't mean a lot sometimes. It is a farmer owned machine so may, or may not be maintained. He's had it a long time and when I last seen it it was idling in the yard and sounded nice. Did not see it move as he mentioned a steering clutch issue, but cannot remember much more. Owner is an HVAC contractor and farms the family ground, ie not a professional dirt worker. First order of business after verifying problem will be cleaning up the area using the hot pressure washer. I'll then get into the areas addressed and evaluate a prudent repair scenario. Hopefully this is simple as a lack of maintenance issue and an easy repair.
Got a call from the owner yesterday and they think they have located the problem. After removing the seat and floor pans the area was/is buried in mud. I'm told after a couple of pressure washer hours it is clean and the pedal on the right side now moves freely stepping down, but coming back up kind of feels like a ratchet as you can feel the rollers binding, (I assume). I suppose what you guys have stated about the bearing surface of the shafting deteriorated is culprit. Never liked needle bearings riding directly on a shaft that weren't wet myself as the design seldom sees proper maintenance, (greasing). They are going to attempt to repair it themselves so I may not see the tractor. Friend of mine that works for the gent tells me he has seen some of the bushings in the u/c worn through exposing the pins so don't really think I want to get involved. In reality I don't think he'd spend the money to repair correctly, so not really interested.
Anyone that would let that much dirt pile up and get to the point of calling in a mechanic because of it just doesn’t need the thing.