Hey Guys, While posting pictures of my 931 while working on the steering clutch, Nige pointed out that the recoil spring on the right side was still in the compressed state. (Much to my suprise) This is my first crawler. On to my questions. If possible explain the function of the spring and how it operates. I suspect it is a shock absorbing kind of function but I am not sure how it works, And also some insite into releasing the compression? I did try to turn the nut to no avail, Do I need to do the 3" round in the sprocket and reverse the machince to compress the spring more before I can loosen the large nut, I will post some pictures but they are not that clear. The threads are pretty beat and rusted up, I did order new nuts which I hope to clean up the threads with.Can anyone tell me if this is a good plan of attack to fix the situation with the recoil spring, Thanks for the advice, Mike M.
Sorry about the pictures not sure how to fix them .
I would tighten the track till it compresses the spring and the nut is free of the frame. From there if the nut wont come off easy I would heat the nut with a torch to get it off even if you have to heat till cherry red. If you do heat it toss nut and get new one. install new nut to correct position and then release spring. But that's just my opinion. oh yes also clean threads of any junk as best you can before removal.
Great WSR ! That is what I was thinking of doing,just want to make sure that is the way to go, I don't have much heavy machince experiance but I do have a bit of the fever and enjoy DIY, It is a great retirement sport , Thanks, Mike M. P.S. I loved the spring compresser you made, and liked reading about it, I learned a few welding tips. Thanks for sharing.
The three inch round in the sprocket will work also. When you compress the spring in that manner it may relieve the pressure on the nut allowing it to be turned. Take no chances when dealing with that spring, they can hurt you bad. Just size it up, use some common sense and you'll be ok.
IMO you won't move that nut with the weight of the spring against it. As per Nitelite's recommendation you need a piece of 3" diameter round bar in the sprocket and back up gently until the nut just comes away from the frame. This will probably be a 2-person job because you can't see anything from the seat. At that point you have the best chance of loosening the nut but it may well be seized on the rod in which case as WSR points out you will need large quantities of heat. Prior to doing anything get the threads as clean as you can with a wire brush or similar and soak everything in penetrating fluid for at least a couple of days before you start. The correct location for the nut on the rod is when the spring measures 19" compressed. That's the measurement between the two red lines in the photo below. Hint: get the spring at a measurement slightly less than 19" and instead of pulling the nut all the way tight set it the same distance away from the frame as you are less than 19". Then when you move the tractor forward and the spring expands it will measure bang on 19".
Hey thanks for the compliment. Looks like you got a nice little machine there. I have many hours on a 931 and they are a handy little machine. I always wondered about painting one orange. Looks pretty cool!
NP WSR, Also thanks for the measurements Nige, The contractor I bought it from last Jan. had the engine and undercarriage rebuilt by a Cat dealer in eastern Pa.,He retired and was selling his equipment. The new hour meter (changed when motor was rebuilt) has 343 hrs. on it. I picked it up for just under $9K, I have rebuilt all the cylinders on the backhoe attachment pins and bushing where needed,(the pins on the outriggers were frozen,bent and rusted,what a PITA to remove) I also got my baptism replacing the right side steering clutch, rebuilt the tilt cylinders, only have the lift cylinders to do ,they will be ok till the spring, I am hoping to get the recoil spring done this weekend, As for the orange the previous owner's fleet of machinces were orange so I just stayed with it using Majic A.C.Orange paint I bought at tractor supply, I have mixed feelings not painting it yellow , But I will live with it, I just whated to keep the rust in check, Before painting it I used "OSPHO" a chemical that changes the chemical make-up of the rust, Turns the steel black, it is also a good primer , Thanks Mike M.:cool2:thumbsup
Hey Guys, Well I worked on the spring yesterday, And not sure if is the way it is suppose to be. But I am going to go with it the way I was able to get it,I was able to retap the inside bolt threads and that came out great, I don't have a large die for the outside threads, so I tried to clean them up as best as possible , It is in a tight spot so it was hard to get to the underside of the threads, It did not come out great , I heated the large nut and was able to back it off 2 " and going to leave it there. I did not what to take it off because I was no sure if I could get the new one back on. If at some point it needs to cut off I could always just cut it off. Can you guys look at the photos and let me know your thoughts if it will function ok the way it is? As always , Thanks, Mike M.
This is when done!
I dont know about the 931 but on my 955 the manual says to run the nut all the way out to the end of the rod so the rod is just a bit below the nut face. then the washer and bolt are installed and torqued. I think this is to lock the nut in place.
I am going to see if I can buy a die to rethread the shaft, If it doesn't cost to much, if the price is real high I will just live with it the way it is, I already have a new nut but I could not get it started on the shaft and did not want to make the threads worse so I just skipped It, I'm off to visit my dad(89 Yrs old) in Fla. this week so it will have to wait till I return. Thanks, Mike M.
Not sure how high is high but check out McmasterCarr: http://www.mcmaster.com/#2573a44/=zfd7qe I think the size you need is 1 1/4 fine(12 thread per inch).
Thanks K, That size sounds about right I measured the threaded shaft at approxately "1.203 inchesal I checked the place you posted $62.00 plus shipping , I think that was a bit high for a one time use for me , I have this other place I'm going to call this morning near me and see what they have http://www.threadcheck.com/ This company looks like they have alot of stuff in stock, If I can get it for around $25 or so I would be in , Will see how it goes, Thanks, Mike M.
If you know the size you need would finding a local machine shop who have the correct size die in their tool crib and renting it from them for that one job be an option..?
Well could go "caveman" and make your own. Cat part number for a 1 1/4-12 nut is 7H3539 cost $4.25. Buy two, one to replace the one you are taking off and one to make a thread chaser. To make the thread chaser out of the nut spend some time with a good rat-tail file to cut grooves in three or four places through the threads so it looks like a thread chaser. The groove will make room for the junk that comes out of the rusty threads. Won't be perfect or hold up for many uses but for a one time use might do the trick!
Thanks guys for the thoughts, especialy K with the nut thing, I'll save that for the next time, I did try with a new nut even pushing it up against the shaft with longer center bolt , but I just could not get it to start! I only spent a half an hour on it, Anyway I bit , and bought a die from the company I mentioned in the previous post for $43.00 shipped to me!a little more than I wanted to spend,(the $60 plus shipping just seemed a bit much ) I recommend the "thread check" place for future tap,die or measuring needs. Which I figured I deserved it for doing all the work myself, But You know what I will have the cleanest recoil spring shaft in town, Thanks guys for the imput, Mike M. :scool:usa
Not to wish you any bad luck, but, have you checked the other side of the machine? There is bound to be one over there too Another trick from old Ken. If you have a threaded hole that needs cleaning out and no tap handy take a good grade 8 bolt and with the edge of grinder cut a couple grooves down the side so it looks like a tap. This will give room for dirt and or rust to go while turning it down in the hole. Also very handy for the time you want to clean out a hole too deep to reach with a standard tap, like the front cover or an engine.
Yes K, Thanks for pointing that out,:thumbsup Thats how Nige noticed the problem originally. YIKES !!! I posted a few other pictures of both sides on another thread about my steering clutch, And Nige pointed out the difference between the leftside(correct) and rightside (incorrect) postion of the nut, I finally lucked out,only one side was a mess, I'm sure the previous onwner had no interest in righting that wrong, Thanks, Mike M.
Hey All , I must say ! This Forum is the Great, And All the Members and Senior Members Deserve and big "Thank You" for all the help you have givin me and everyone else that gets to learn and make this easier for us to work on our machinces. We are blessed that you guys are willing to share your Experiance,Knowlege , and Wisdom to some Guys that you, don't really know and just what to try to help! I can't Express how Great that is for everyone ,Thank you All,:usa:notworthy Any way I finally got the nut off . I bought a die to clean up the threads and it came out ok !! Here are some pictures , I'm pretty sure it should work just Great, Thanks again , Mike M.:thumbsup
Plenty of anti-seize on it before you run it up into the correct position..?
Yes N!! That was done first before a light coat of paint. Thanks, Mike M.
I'd like to know the story behind the "Exploded" and re-welded Sprocket ??? g
Yeah SWG ! Me too, sorry I don't know the story on the sprocket, I bought it with the sprocket like that, Previous owner did the nicer looking beads on the sprocket . I tig welded the other ones , Ground a deep vee in the three cracks and welded inside and out, to get as much penatration as I could with my machine, Later , Mike M.
I dont know if there is such a thing as to much antiseize! On my undercarriage rebuild I used 2.5 cans of antisieze. My buddy helping me bitched about it the whole time as we usually had the stuff up to our armpits, hair and face or where ever else you could imagine it. worst thing was wiping the sweat off your face with a rag then realizing it had a gob of antisieze on it. made ya look like the tin man on wizard of oz. still I just think about how many stuck bolts I had to drill, tap , torch and all sorts of other manners of removal during the project and hope the copious amount and mess it creates will be worth it down the road at next overhaul.
WSR , Thats some funny Stuff , I hear exactly what your talking about, when I put the new pins in the backhoe attacthment outriggers, I promised myself I would turn them every month just for GP !! Mike M.