New Guy bought my first crawler

[Kolot]

Well hello all, just acquired my first crawler, a John Deere 350 and by the serial number it is a 1967 so I think that would also be known as a "straight". It has a reverser and 6 way hydraulic blade but no winch or Rops. Been around construction most of my 62 years and currently own a NH skidsteer and CAT mini ex. Plan is to build a home on some land I have. 350 needs at least 1 track adjuster, both track chains and an injection pump shaft seal as it is dumping fuel in crankcase. First I have to check the lift pump but seeing it's age probably should do seal anyhow. To date I have freed the stuck throttle cable, and began a clean up of the butchered wire harness under the dash, including R & R of the ignition switch. Was jumping solenoid with wire to start when I got it.
As far as the Roosa Master pump is there a way to get a specific parts listing for my pump. As I said I will need the seals but likely will need the banjo washers for the injection lines , gaskets and maybe the pilot bushing if I find it scored like I suspect?
I just finished reading Slabguy's account of his accident and must say it's a reminder of how fast it can go bad, I thank him for posting that. Been lurking around the site a while but now will be asking for advice and guidance I am sure. Machine seems to start and run well although it seems to be hunting a little when at steady throttle, Has about a 1 foot braze down the water jacket that it said to have been there over 3o years but the reverser and trans seem to be tightly bolted together as I have read that's a concern. What else should I look for?

[LeonardL]

Hey welcome to the madness! Everyone should own a John Deere 350 or 450 at least once in their lifetime. Since you're new to the forum, I highly recommend that you contact Lavoy Wilcox who owns this site and hosts this forum. He sells parts and is a great person to go to for a lot of what you will need. Not to mention the knowledge the man has.

As for your injector pump? You can find most of the part numbers on the JD Parts website and then go from there. There are a few places on line that will sell you the parts you need.

Since you said this thing is hunting a little it might be better to send your pump off to be re-built. It could be just a governor ring about to give it up or it could be a calibration issue. And it could be as simple as your lift pump leaking enough that it isn't getting all the pressure it needs. Pressure is not needed at the back of the IP but I have found that they do run better when there is a constant line pressure present.

As far as what all to look for? With a machine this old and from the way it sounds it has been neglected, It's hard to say. I would look at from the point of view that everything needs looked at. You can find bolt location for your 350 on the JD Parts website and I would look at all of the major fastening points. Frame, undercarriage and drive line.

Good luck and again welcome to the board!!

[Jim B]

Welcome to the Boards. If you add a general location to your profile so it shows up it somethings helps if you are looking for something. More leads seem to develop when people have general idea of where you are.

Leonard has given you some good points. And I agree talk to Lavoy when you need parts, he may have quality aftermarket parts to save you a few bucks from Mother Deere's prices. He is not just a parts peddler, his business is primarily repair of the older JD crawlers, but he can help with 350 parts. He uses the parts he sells in his shop, so he knows the products. I believe he may be able to get manuals for your crawler, if you don't have them.

I would say the transfer pumps are often the source of fuel in the crankcase. As for the injector pump, unless you have the experience, tools, and equipment to do them fully; I believe in sending them to a shop equipped to repair them, the test run and calibrate them.

You mentioned track chains. You may have some experience with this but if you put new chains on it you should replace the sprockets as well. Worn sprockets will shorten the life of the chains. Rolls and idlers need to be evaluated as well for best life and operation.

Along with the bolts between the engine, reverser, transmission be sure the bolts mounting the drive train to the side rails are all there and tight.

Here is a link to the online parts catalog for the 350 crawler. The blade has a separate parts catalog, a link to that is below also.

PC921 Parts Catalog for 350 crawler

PC916 Parts catalog for 6305 dozer blade

Good luck and have fun.
Jim

[Kolot]

As far as the transfer lift pump do I chsnge out pump or is the diaphram available? I am ready to pull the injection pump for shaft seals but know the lift pump is a lot easier
I have the flywheel on TDC but noted the marks on the inj. Pump are off. What puzzles me is there doesnt seem to be enough adjustment in the pump to get them to line up. I need to fab a wrench to get the back nut loose. Other than diesel in crankcase machine starts easy and seems to run well.
...might r and r lift pump and run for a while see if oil level goes up before I mess with injection pump.

[Jim B]

I don't know if the rebuild parts are available. I have been using the completely new style transfer pumps that are not rebuildable. Be sure to use two wrenches when installing fittings in those or you can damage the pump at the soldered fitting connections.

Do you have the service manual SM2063?

Do you have it on TDC compression stroke? How are you confirming the stroke it is on? The timing pin will go in the flywheel at both TDC compression and exhaust. The marks in the pump will only line up on the compression stroke. If you turn the engine to line the pump marks up, does the timing pin go in the flywheel hole?

Most also have a dot on one side of the shaft drive tang and a matching mark in the drive slot the shaft tang goes into inside the pump. Lining those up puts the pump in time, as long as the shaft and gear remain in place.

[Kolot]

I have electronic version of 2063 but it says volume 1 of 2. It is 525 pages. Think I will go ahead and pull valve cover to verify both valves number 1 are closed and loose. Good time to run the valve clearances as well I suppose seeing I know nothing about the machine. I am going with cylinder 1 is at front closest to radiator, is that correct? Will the new style pump line up with the original fuel lines, they are metal flare fittings, kind of like to keep those. I was " assuming" because timing pin divit was lined up and marks on fuel inj. pump visible that I was on #1 compression. Very hard to see the marks, static mark is clear, but the other wheel is discolored and hard to see, got it where I think I see the mark, Took picture of it and zoom it seems to be a horizontal line. I need to figure out how to post a picture here.

[Kolot]

to be clear, to get the pin to align with the divit in the flywheel, the marks on the pump are about a heavy 1/8" apart. But it does not look like I can rotate the pump enough to align them with the timing pin in place.

[Jim B]

My point is the pin can go in the divit of the flywheel even with the #1 cylinder (closest to the radiator) on the wrong stroke, and the pump marks will not align. The first thing I would do is confirm Number one cylinder valves are both loose, to be sure it is on the right stroke

If you have a CDC pump you need a bunch of parts to change it to a JDB pump, it is not a straight pump swap. Someone may be along with more info on it. It seems JD had a kit to do the swap which has not been available for years. That means finding a list of what is needed and searching salvage yards, JD and aftermarket for individual pieces. I believe all the injector lines are among the parts that have to be changed out.

Is your electronic version of SM2063 from JD or aftermarket? As far as info I see in the JD bookstore SM2063 is just one volume.

To post pictures you need to use a third-party hosting site like Imgur or Postimage. Or the site has a dedicated picture server as well you can use to post pictures. You have to set up and account for it with Lavoy. There is info about it on the Messageboard Announcements and Q&A Board you will find at the bottom of the index when you are logged in.

[Kolot]

Inj. Pump starts DBG. Just bought new lift pump, will pull valve cover to check if #1 locked in on compression tdc no

[Canuck 420c]

Welcome to the forum

[LeonardL]

Your pump starting with DBG means it will be the newer style Rossa Master pump. There are a few different designations on the newer style pump but all have the same style shaft that drives them and the same cup seals to seal them.

On your timing... Another point of reference for the timing is on the front crankshaft pulley or damper. There will be a "TDC" or a "0" that will align with a line that is cast into the aluminum front timing cover. You can see it by shining a light down and underneath the Alternator. If your flywheel pin is in the timing hole then the front pulley should also show that it is at top dead center.

Another thing to watch for on these older Deere engines is the fact that there are balance holes drilled into the flywheel and you can mistake them for the timing hole. So, in the end you want all three of your indicators to be aligned. That is the flywheel pin, front crank pulley and the timing marks in the pump itself.

[Kolot]

I think I found the line cast down by the pulley under alternator but will have to get in there and clean some more to find marks on the pulley. As for the drilling of the flywheel, will the balance holes allow the timing pin to drop in. I have only found 1 so far and it is much shallower than I would have thought , basically just a slight dimple of a drill bit but my home made timing pin drops in and keeps the flywheel from turning. Latest is I am going to put die in the fuel and see if it shows up in the crank case under UV light . I am hoping the lift pump change has solved the problem of fuel in the oil. Die is from CAT and is supposed to be ok in the fuel. barring this over 1tooth at a time with a screw driver is an exercise in futility. Anyone know what barring tool will work with the 350 diesel, that hole is rectangular not round so that a new one on me, but if they have a barring tool I would like to get 1. part number. Don't see it listed in my manual.

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

Yes, there is a tool. It has a gear that goes in the hole to drive the flywheel. You use a ratchet and socket on the end of that. And it has a hollow bolt to hold it in place and the locking pin is spring loaded and part of that. Handy to have. I don't have a reference for the P/N handy though.

Stan