My hypothesis: the right steering clutch compartment is oily, and there is some black sludge on the right side drum and band. In contrast, the left drum and brake are dry. I think the right brake is slipping on the sludge.

juiceman wrote:

My own observations with any U series D6, B model or D5 (basically same chassis) the seal for the cross shaft will seep right side first, contaminating that side. Flushing and generous dousing of the brake bands and drum with brake cleaner will usually help a lot until the back end gets opened up.
Is your helper pulling ALL the way back? If the engine isn't running with clutch and one of the selectors engaged? the booster will not be working. Armstrong required to pull back!
Neil: you like playing with fire! I would not dare test your poison oak/ivy trick!!!
JM
 
 

Juiceman, please forgive my ignorance - I think you mean the leaking cross shaft seal would be leaking oil from the transmission into the steering clutch compartment? The right steering clutch compartment has a bunch of oily residue, both towards the inside of the machine (towards the transmission), and on the drum and brake band. I had attempted to wash the compartment with diesel as discussed in the manual, but not all of the diesel drained out, even after running it with the drain plug out. The left side compartment is dry and relatively clean, so I didn't bother washing it.

My friend suggested using a blowtorch to burn the greasy residue off the brake drum - is this a terrible idea? I certainly wouldn't do it until I finish mopping up the puddle of diesel that the bottom of the drum is sitting in. If a torch is a bad idea, I'll just keep blasting it with brake cleaner. smiley

 

Try degreasing with some Safety Clean solvent or similar used in parts washers. That stuff removes oil and dries eventually and isn't too flammable but there is more flammable stuff too. There's probably a bunch of oil and dirt accumulated in the bottom of the clutch compartment just plugging up the drain hole. Run a wire or screwdriver up into the hole to open the drain.
If you can get it to drain well, Maybe try pressure washing the compartment. That is a messy job though.

You're in need of the Operation and Maintenance Instructions. A small 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick book. The one in hand is a early one Form 12692-12( maybe more on the end) book is very tattered. But came with the last 9U D6 I bought. I keep forgetting you're working on 5R. I believe everything but the engine would correct if you cannot find a copy made for the 4 R or 5 R models. I know the steering clutch information would be correct. The other way to read it is to join ACMOC then read it in the online library.

side-seat wrote:

Try degreasing with some Safety Clean solvent or similar used in parts washers. That stuff removes oil and dries eventually and isn't too flammable but there is more flammable stuff too. There's probably a bunch of oil and dirt accumulated in the bottom of the clutch compartment just plugging up the drain hole. Run a wire or screwdriver up into the hole to open the drain.
If you can get it to drain well, Maybe try pressure washing the compartment. That is a messy job though.
 

I don't think the hole is plugged. When I washed the compartment with diesel, I put in about 2 gallons and got probably 1 1/2 out of the drain. But the way the chamber is, there are two low spots that don't drain. It makes me wonder why the even recommend washing with diesel in the Operator's manual, to be honest!

I hadn't throught about pressure washing, but that's definitely a possibility. Between that, some engine degreaser, and compressed air to blow things out, it might make sense.

Ray54 wrote:

You're in need of the Operation and Maintenance Instructions. A small 1/4 to 3/8 inch thick book. The one in hand is a early one Form 12692-12( maybe more on the end) book is very tattered. But came with the last 9U D6 I bought. I keep forgetting you're working on 5R. I believe everything but the engine would correct if you cannot find a copy made for the 4 R or 5 R models. I know the steering clutch information would be correct. The other way to read it is to join ACMOC then read it in the online library.
 

Thanks Ray. I checked the ACMOC library - there is a scan of the D6 5R OMI. (Two scans actually - they look to be essentially the same.) What's in the library is nearly identical to what I got from Jensales. Definitely helpful!

neil wrote:

You could burn the residue off for sure and it's a variation on leaning on the brakes continuously to overheat the drums to achieve the same result. Definitely want pooled oil gone before trying it to avoid an actual fire, and you want to evenly bring the components up to temperature, being mindful of burning seals. I bought a cheap high-capacity syringe / oil extraction sucker from the web and it works great to drain out those undrainable pockets. Or you could throw some shop towels in there.
Another option is to use brake cleaner spray : ) to clean the brakes.
How much lining is left on the right side? Fresh is probably 3/8", worn out is probably a bit over 1/8-3/16 - just guessing. So long as you're not down to rivets, then clean, dry linings should work just fine
 

Shop towels have been extremely tedious - there was a lot of fluid in there. I've gotten maybe half of it out that way.

Today at an estate sale I bought a tiny shop vac. Between that, shop towels, a manual transfer pump with a small hose, and blowing the compartment out with compressed air I plan to get the compartment dry next time I go up there. Then I'll start up with the brake cleaner again.

I estimate the liners are about 3/16". So, getting toward end of life. Moreover, the drums are not flat - the drums for both brakes have a pair of ridges in them, maybe 1/16 deep. So, most likely they are already scored.

I think at this point, I will focus on cleaning up the right side brake, then using the machine as-is until the steering gets unacceptable. Then I will have to pull the seat, and replace the brake liners and drums on both sides. Unless someone has a strong feeling that I should replace the brakes first. I'm just not sure I have the patience to do the brakes without removing the seat, and if I already have the seat off, it doesn't seem like drums will make it that much worse. But I am probably being unrealistic! haha
 

Yesterday was a huge day! I ended up driving the machine 1.5 miles down a steep, curvy dirt road. And I didn't even damage the road. Definitely couldn't have done it without this forum, and the youtube channels of squatch, pacific northwest hillbilly, and LAOL.

First, I got elbow-length gloves and cleaned a bunch of greasy sludge out of the right steering clutch compartment by hand. Then, I mopped up all the rest of the fluid with a huge amount of shop towels. Then I fired up the machine. I drove it a foot, sprayed the drum with brake cleaner, drove a foot, sprayed, etc. After that, the right brake was grabbing great, and I could turn whenever I wanted to. In fact, the right brake works too well now. I will loosen the right brake adjustment screw before the next time I drive it, so the two sides feel more similar.

My friend who is visiting egged me on so I started down the 1.5 mile path (I had been planning to put it off until the next day). About 1/2 mile in there was a good spot to stop, so we broke for lunch. No leaks (besides the coolant drip from the coupling near the pony motor) and all the fluids looked ok. When I opened the radiator cap with the diesel running, I didn't see any movement in the coolant. But with the diesel off, the coolant level was 1-2" lower. So, I assume the water pump is doing something.

After lunch we went back to drive the rest of the way. I actually had a little difficulty getting the diesel started, because every time I switched to "run" it immediately kicked the pinion out, presumably from residual fuel in the cylinders. After 3-4 tries it started. In retrospect, I probably should have just given it a little throttle before switching to run, but I'm still getting the hang of the machine.

I had read in the book that when you're going downhill, if you pull the left steering clutch you will drift right, and vice versa. I was paranoid about tearing up the (private) road and/or hitting a neighbor's $30,000 fence so I mostly stayed in second gear - so there was a lot of engine braking. Pulling the left clutch to drift right definitely worked, but pulling the right clutch didn't have as much effect. It's not obvious to me that a clutch adjustment would fix that. It feels more likely that oil got into the clutch and so even when released it's not "fully" releasing.

The only problem I had, is that the throttle won't hold its position. The previous owner left a c-clamp on the throttle for this reason. If the clamp isn't tight, the lever drifts forward and the engine slows down. The first few times the engine starting slowing down I got really stressed out and was worried I was going to break down - then I figured out the reason and really tightened the clamp hard. After that it was easy cruising. The engine speed didn't sound too high even with the throttle wide open, so the governor is for sure working.

Another thing I noticed is that the weld holding the pin for the right turnbuckle on the blade fell apart and got lost, perhaps last week when I pushed some logs. I'm not worrying about that for now, since the blade configuration was...questionable.

For now, I have the machine parked at the bottom of the hill. I need to get a truck up there to take it 1/2 mile down the road to its future home. That should happen this weekend, weather permitting. Sorry no pictures on this post but I will try to include some with the next update!

JPiper, I've enjoyed your entire story on your new D6 ! Have you ever read the book "Bulldozer" by Stephen Meader ? Your project reminds me of that book with Bill Crane and Ducky Davis resurrecting a D2 they found.


www.amazon.com/Bulldozer-Stephen-Meader/dp/1931177031