crawler wont turn

[hank]

Hello, I haven't been here in a while, ....but I have a problem. So, I put my dozer in a situation I shouldn.t have................it was kinda wet.....I was grading my back yard........everything was going great, was back blading, & then........all hell broke loose. The dozer fell to the left side, ..& it was a mud hole, & that is where I tried & tried to get my crawler out...........but I just went deeper & deeper. The old girl sat there in the mud & water for a few weeks Thank the good lord, my wife's cousin brought the big old case back hoe king thing over from the DPW, ...........he picked me up & pulled me out. . Ok, so since the big ordeal, I have replaced the clutch, cuz it was frozen. I don't know, the last guy that had it apart, threw a clutch plate in there & called it good. It wasn't good., It is good now. So,.....now I have no left turn. I can turn all day to the right, but when I pull back on the left handle,............the tractor boggs down, ....& it wont turn to the left. Could the clutches be frozen to the plates? I have never had one of these apart, but I'm not scared to tear into it. Any thoughts would be great before i take that damned track off. Thank You!

[pop pop]

look at the turning clutch assembly thru the inspection covers under the seat.
my guess is it did rust/seize up from what you described, take a jab at them with a big screwdriver to see if they can be loosen.
compare the 2 sides since you say one side works,you'll probably have to fiddle with adjusting.
do you have the lower plug in? its on the inside bottom of the final drive housing, maybe its missing and crap got in?
assuming you have a 420?

[dtoots1]

Well HANK,
1st thing...lets get your profile updated to show a location...someone may be nearby to looksee.

From what i am seeing....your said you replaced the ..CLUTCH..as it stands....if this is one of the older models..420 etc...you will actually find 3 clutches in them...engine clutch....and both steering clutches/brake (finals)..

So which was changed.??

If steering clutch was changed....that will require a whole series of adjustments..OR teardown of final to replace....simple but necessary...to me it sounds like adjustment problem..if clutch was indeed replaced...if NOT been replaced...that set of clutches could easily be rusted stuck from being exposed to water from the mudhole as well as filled with mud...either clutch slipping or brake slipped as needs brake to engage and lock that track to turn

also do need to know what machine actually involved.

[hank]

Thank you guys for replying. I guess I thought this was just a crawler site thing, so i didn't specify my tractor, It is just an old 1954 John Deere crawler, So,.....a John Deere 40 with tracks instead of wheels. Sorry about that. Pop Pop, if there are plugs under the seat, I will look for that, I do not see anything missing, underneath, (holes, plugs gone). dtoots1, I replaced the actual clutch. From the engine to the trans. It was frozen to the flywheel. The last owner put a used plate in there, but never even sanded the rust down from the last time it was frozen. (clutch lines were different, so it was easy to figure that one out) all is new now. I love this old tractor, was just looking for a way to free something up before it becomes a winter project. Also, I will have my wife update my stuff. i am not a computer guy. Hell, I have a flip phone, & if I were not self employed, I wouldnt have that. People relate me to the unibomber, cuz I hate technology, & am Polish.

[dtoots1]

Hank,

Am not sure if you did get this figured out...in order for your dozer to turn...the steering brakes must stop the track on the side that you want to turn to...which means the clutch must disengage just before the brakes apply to stop that track..if clutches or brakes are slipping you cannot turn that way...which means...oils,,,mud,,debri is interferring...so inspection is needed...if clutches are indeed frozen...rusted...you mite be able to break them loose by putting the blade against a tree or stump and spin the tracks to break the rusted clutches loose...otherwise will require final to be removed and new clutches installed.....follow instructions in book on adjusting steering clutch and brakes t o see if can get any movement as first solution..