I recently purchased a used skid steer and I knew it needed new axle seals I hope to buy the seals tomorrow and I was wondering what kind of job I am up against to replace them? Are there any tricks I should know about? Is there anything I should do while I am in there? Any advise would be appreciated.
I can say a few things based on a Ford CL55 that I did a lot of work on, as my Ford was built by Thomas. The CL55 was as I see just a larger version of what you have, kind of like possibly a CL35 that Thomas built for Ford. I took each side chaincase right off the machine but it is not a must, but being bent over on the inside of the machine and not being able to use air tools led us to remove them. Honestly it probably saved us time in the long run. At times when putting the axle/brearing assemblies back into the chain case a third hand can be helpful to start the bolts and to keep from smearing the gasket goo. They are pretty simple all in all. Be prepared to get speedi-sleeves for the axles as the spot where the seal rides may be grooved pretty good.
So today I took a wheel off to size up the job and I quickly realized that it might be a bit different than I initially realized. from the parts diagram ( http://www.thomasloaders.com/upload_files/manuals/133 Parts Manual (SN LE000537-LE002182).pdf page 28) that I saw, there is a bolt on the back side behind the sprocket. I can't find an access point to remove that bolt and presumably the sprocket/sprocket keys. Where? How?
I managed to get the axle seal out and all looks good except the seat for the seal has two grooves that are smooth and only about .002-3" deep. I am wondering if it makes sense to ignore it or should I get it machined?