It will not steer left only right. When left turn is requested it grinds like chewing up a ring gear or power divider. If put in reverse 2nd or 3rd it does the same thing. Then it quiets down and right side pulls it along. What is the most likely cause and easiest way to get to it? Thanks in advance!
If anyone else runs into that it could be the bevel gear ( ring gear ) pushed the bearing retainer through the adjusting nut. It slides right in and out after you remove the left track, final drive, both steering clutches and a couple of other things. Make some tools and struggle to understand translated material with poor pictures.
That photo makes me shudder at how much skin can get left in there. That is tight!
Check your final drive pull the drain plug and see if you have metal in there. Don;t think it is the ring gear or it would not pull at all . If you don't find metal in the final you will have to dig into the steering clutch
Thanks Dave! Appears I did not explain this very well. In that picture the replacement bearing retainer is already installed and set up. If you look closely can you see the top edges of the pinion and ring gear are rounded off. The homemade tool for adjusting them is laying on top. The ring ( bevel ) gear wore into the lock for the adjusting nut as it flopped around. That is the one that bolts on to the left side of the center section with two bolts. I did check first and found almost no metal. Just replied to my own post so it might help someone else.
If the bearing came loose then the cage where your clutch piston usually tears up so check that I dont know if Komatsu uses pressure to engage the clutch or to realase it
As I recall those little machines used a hydraulic cylinder to release the clutch and not internal porting around the support bearings. All the Komatsu dozers I've had my hands on are like the Cats, spring applied, hydraulic released.
Yeah, the steer valve is that block with two lines to it at the rear dead center. Not the spool shafts and rollers at its front. The foot pedals pull linkages that first push in those hydraulic spools to uncouple drive power. further stroke on the pedal will engage the brakes. The pins, clevis, rockers, rockshafts and roller plus roller axles all wear out and create a slop stackup that can make it so you are driving through the brakes on these. The spool isnt depressed far enough to uncouple drive power. If you are smashing the pedal to steer, these little parts need to be reamed up a size to tighten things up. i thought this system applied fluid pressure to a piston face to clamp the drive clutch pack and vented that pressure to tank for releasing. I could be wrong. Mine is a d31p-18.