What do I do with my Case 1150H? (Warning long post) I am a very small one man band dirt guy, I started out doing excavation work part time, and working a full time job, then about a year ago I took the plunge and quit my job and became full time self employed, about 3 years ago I purchased a Case 850g dozer, I loved the machine, it was simple, reliable, and easy to operate But I have a 25 ton trailer, I can move something bigger so I got to looking to trade into something a bit larger and heavier, I can really only afford one machine, so my thinking was something larger that would handle stumps and some heavier dirt cutting but still be able to do finish work like I could with the 850. So 2 years ago I bought a low hour Case 1150H, at the time I thought that it was the perfect machine, everything the 850 was in terms of simplicity and reliability just on steroids, at 24,500lbs, it fit my “one man band part time business model” no electronics to give problems, no emissions, Cummins power that I can buy parts for at the parts store in town, big enough to cut dirt, but still be able to do finish work/ yard jobs, fits on my trailer behind my dump truck nicely. The machine had 1800 hours on it when I got it, then immediately after I got it the transmission started acting stupid,(probably reason it was for sale) so I did some research and everything pointed to the Teflon oil control rings on the ends of the transmission shafts, well sure enough took the caps off and some of the rings where shot. I also noticed that a couple of the caps had a slight ridge in them, but not having researched it thoroughly, and being in a panic mode with my brand new to me machine being down and a customer waiting for me to get there job done, I took a flap wheel on the die grinder and lightly polished the bore of the cap. So problem solved, put new rings on and took machine back to the job and it shifted and pushed fine. Now this is where things get squirrelly ………..this machine has not been as nice to operate as my 850 was, I cant “feather it” around a turn with the steering pedals like I could the 850, if you use the pedals to steer as soon as you apply pressure the brake locks down hard making it very jerky, especially on the left side, you can’t press and declutch then feather the brake on. Now, it seems like I’m noticing that on the left side the brake is coming on before the clutch is releasing, like when I start pushing the pedal to steer the tractor is laboring but not turning, then I press the peddle more and it starts turning, but some times it acts more “normal “ tho still jerky. Now the questions. Is the brake/turning problem an indicator that my control rings are failing agin? Does the jerky steering indicate that I probably have control ring issues or the caps are wore allowing leakage past the rings causing my jerky steering? Or is this more normal on a 1150 for them to be jerky? Am I just imagining problems? When I bought the machine there was not a lot of info on the 1150 other than control ring problems, but now I have read in one place that Case changed the design of some parts of the transmission when they went to the H model, and it was problematic, and they have discontinued most of the parts for the transmission since, like the caps that go over the control rings, and that they have been known to have problems in the transmission valve body itself, and a replacement valve body is north of $13,000.00 Is there any truth to this? Or is all this bs? Do I now own a $50k paper weight? The machine fits my business, and if it acted right I would be content to keep it, but it will need a undercarriage in the next year, my original plan was to replace the undercarriage, then look at adding a ripper, then keep the machine from now on. But now I’m wondering if I need to get it gone asap and be looking to move into a later model hydrastat machine like a Deere 700 or a Komatsu 51 and just get on the electrical emissions bandwagon like everyone else. Any help and opinions would be greatly appreciated.
In all honesty, I think you need to start looking at something different, and this is coming from a guy that owns a 1150G. There are a few Case guys on here, @Coy Lancaster @alrman are a couple that come to mind.
The H series dozers had their share of problems with those rings and wearing into the caps. I've seen them wear the groove in the shaft so the ring moves for and aft. The one thing to check is the declutch spools. I attached a picture. If these spools are sticking they won't declutch so you end up applying the brakes before the declutch kicks in. very simple check. Light brake pressure should declutch then as you brake harder the brakes apply. Remove the brake lines from the spool make sure you don't lose the copper washers. Insert a screwdriver through the open passage. You should be able to move the spool fairly easily. If it takes a lot of effort then the spool jumps you found your problem.
Where is this valve located? On top of the transmission? Or under the dash? If I do have a spool problem what is the solution?
On my G it's on the engine side of the firewall, in front of the brake pedals.
The valve is on top of the transmission. If the spools stick you will need to remove the valve. Thats not too bad a job. Remove linkages, brake lines ( cap them using the existing bolt washers and a nut. Sometimes the seals swell or collect dirt causing them to stick. Check for broken springs. The valve Shimmy is talking about is the brake valve at the fire wall. This can cause some problems braking but bot what you are describing.
Linishing the worn end cap is not how to fix it..... You need to have the cap machined out, a new sleeve fabricated & pressed in place - with a small peg to stop it rotating in the future. Unless this is done, & proper clearance is maintained, the oil will likely be bypassing the oil control rings. Have all the oil control rings been checked? Were the brakes working normally for a while after you replaced the shaft seals that you did? Usually the worn rings create hesitation when shifting gears, maybe only a few seconds, so take careful note of what happens when you operate. Maybe fit a pressure gauge to the QR fitting near the filter & watch what occurs when operating - particularly when changing gears & applying individual brakes.
Sorry, I typed before thinking it through.
I agree about fixing the cap, I had already thought about the machining fix, I talked to my parts guy today and he told me that the caps are discontinued. I have a machinest that could handle the job if that was to be needed, how would he go about gettting the correct diameter?? Is there a spec for that somewhere? Will just measuring the inside of the bore and using the smallest diameter you can find in there work? I assume the tolerance will be fairly tight. I probably do have a bad cap, seeing as one of them had a ridge that could be felt, but I’m not sure if that is my problem at the moment, it could be I suppose, but I do NOT have any delay in gear changes, in speed or going forward to reverse, if anything it is a quick hard gear change, especially when changing speeds. Yes I changed all the oil control rings when I did, I wish I could remember which ones I found bad, but like I stated in my post, I was in a hurry up panic mode, and the machine wa a brand new to me and I was not anticipating having future problems unfortunately. To my best remembrance that it braked fairly smooth afterwards but I don’t believe it was as smooth as my 850 ever was, it steered nicely, the main problem the first time was the slowness’s about taking gear and slipping in gear. I may have a brake spool problem now, and I hadn’t thought about before but I wonder if the jerkiness in the steering/braking could be the fact my undercarriage is getting worn? Can slop in pins/bushings/sprockets cause enough slack to make steering and braking jerky?
Re machinist & end caps - yes if you pull one that hasn't been sanded smooth, the ID of the area without the grooves is a good indicator. - I've never seen a spec on those that I can remember..... but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. You don't mention have difficult it is to fit the end caps, once the new seals are stretched to fit - how did that part of the repair go? The worn undercarriage shouldn't really be a problem with feathering the brakes, but a machine with all new undercarriage is noticably smoother to operate. If you had a problem with a spool in the transmission control valve, I doubt both L & R would be affected by a broken spring in one spool - one brake pedal should still work better than the the other side. Hence the suggestion to fit a test gauge & see if there is any difference in pressure while operating individual circuits/gears & brakes L&R.
The only reason I think I might possibly have a declutch spool working correctly is that it seems like the left side the brake is coming on before the clutch releases sometimes. As for as refitting the caps yes they where fairly hard to do, I had to cut a coke can into bands and band them and clamp them while the seals where hot to shrink the seals back down enough to get the caps on. What is the difference between the h and the g models? I was under the assumption that they where pretty much the same design of machine that case had made forever, but I don’t read about anyone having any issues out of the g model, and I do not read anything about oil control rings going bad on the h model, why is this???