I have a Komatsu D31E-20 that is starting to have trouble steering to the left. Eventually I am going to have to pay somebody to fix it or make an attempt to fix it myself. I finally have a concrete floored and insulated shop. Can anyone tell me what the process is for accessing the brake liners and steering clutches? Thanks for any help. Also, I have a call in to Brandeis Equip. ( somebody is due to call me back after the holidays) they are to give me a price to replace the brake bands and steering clutches. Anybody want to make guesses what their quote will be. Merry Christmas to all
What kind of trouble are you having? Is the adjustment on the brake bottomed out or maybe the clutch doesn't disengage? Are the clutches slipping in a hard push? The process is pretty straight forward unless you have an enclosed cab. The seat with all the control linkages has to come off. There is a plate on the frame above each clutch and brake that has to come off to reveal the brake bands on clutch drums underneath. The drums are unbolted on each side and the brake band is used to pick the drum out of the hole. Usually a day for a knowledgeable mechanic to pick both sides out. A half day or more to clean things up and a day and a half or two to put things back together right. Most dealers figure a thousand a day for labor. Brakes bands relined used to run around $150 each in the brake shops around here. Figure at least double that now days. If the clutch packs are shot I don't even want to guess. I would guess that if the packs are OK and all you need is a reline on both bands a dealer will be somewhere around $5,500 as an estimate. What it will actually cost is going to be somewhat higher as there will be consumables and environmental charges plus what ever they can scare you into doing that might not need to be done. An enclosed cab is a pain and adds a bunch of labor. I've seen guys pull all the hydraulics out also which doesn't have to be done and just means more money in the dealer's pocket. At any rate it is a lot of money and depending on your utilization it usually is worth the money to try it yourself or find a competent independent wrench to do the job.
it steers well both directions in second and third, but in first where I do most of my work it doesn't steer very well to the left. Then when it does go left it goes full left. Its worst going backwards, especially downhill - in that situation it won't go left at all. On flat ground in first, it steers left okay but not very well. I have adjusted the left brake but don't know how far to turn it in The clutches do not slip in a hard push at all, if i'm trying to push a tree over that is too big the tracks will spin It does not have an enclosed cab, but I was certainly figuring that the dealer would want $5000 plus. That is way too much for a $16,000 dozer. I might go to craigs list to look for a mechanic looking for a side job. Thanks for the info on the process, that is what i was looking for.
If you decide to hire it done I have a guy that can do the job in Etown. Reasonable and honest.
is this the name you gave me all ready? if not send it over PM, I would be interested in talking to him
Don't know what is happening in first that makes it hard to steer and the problem doesn't happen in higher gears. You need someone to troubleshoot the problem before tearing the machine down. Good Luck