JD450 CJ Oil Leak

[NIKinNZ]

Hello All,

I have a 1975 (i think) JD450CJ according to the plate Serial Number JD450CJ 271126T.
The steering clutches don't work very well and it was also losing power climbing and i noticed an oil leak dripping down underneath (yes it is a bit of a dog....) after battling away to get the belly pans off i set about cleaning out 40-50 years of oil soaked mud from underneath it, once cleaned i removed a lump of mud which in turn revealed what i thought was a bolt sticking down, it ended up being a cotter pin (the legs sticking down with the head inside the transmission case), i pushed it a little and it went up a bit and about 2-3 pints of water poured out, then followed by about 2 Gallons of oil.

My questions are:-

1. What is this?
2. Why is water and oil coming out?
3. Will this continue to drain my transmission?
4. What is wrong with my machine? is it possible a seal had blown somewhere and this is a vent of some sort (if a seal blows)?
5. Any solutions?

Im trying to attach a picture but it wont let me.

Any help or pointers would be greatly appreciated, i have scanned through the manual i have and cant see anything on this.

Thank you.

[Jim B]

The cotter pin you describe is in the weep hole of the clutch housing, a common thing. It is not a tight fit in the hole and its purpose is to jiggle around and keep the hole open to allow any oil from a leaking engine rear main seal (usually dark or black colored) or transmission input/pump seal leak (usually amber colored like the transmission or hydraulic oil). It could also accumulate some water in there, depending on conditions or if you worked it in water.

You are looking at pulling the engine to find and fix the leak(s). I expect the engine clutch has been contaminated (with 2 gallons of oil coming out of that area) and will need to be replaced.

As for posting pictures you can use the dedicated server for this site by contacting Lavoy by email (postmaster@jdcrawlers.com) and setting up a user account for that server. I believe you can use the same username and password as you use for this site, if you choose. You can read the info about the picture server on the Message Board at the bottom, visible when you are signed in. it is the 8th thread down on that Board, I believe. Or you can use a third-party hosting site like Imgur or Post Image.

Here is a link to the site's picture server so you can see what is there. You save a copy of your picture there and then link the picture from there to your post. The pictures you upload remains there for other members to review if they choose. A number of us have set up galleries there.

[NIKinNZ]

Thanks Jim,

I think you are correct, looks like i will be mothballing this crawler and buying another dozer (due to time).

Thanks again! Nik