JD 550 nightmare!!!

[jinman]

There is a drain and a screen at the bottom of the transmission that was removed to try and access the tube. We will remove them again today along with an access panel where the fill tube is on the top end of the trans. The only problem is that there is huge filter with big 1" lines that have to be removed in order to access the panel. I'll keep you guys posted.

How big is the opening you put the tube into? Can't you use a fiber optic scope to look around inside the transmission from the dipstick port or refill port? I suspect the size and type of tube inserted is largely responsible for the hose sticking. It probably got itself wedged between two surfaces and just got tighter as it was pulled. If you could get a wire hook down inside to grab the end of the hose, you might be able to get it out. Having a scope to guide you would be an absolute necessity, but I'd spend a lot of money on high-tech gadgets before doing disassembly. I see your challenge as two-fold: finding the hose and getting it out. Both things will test your patience for sure.

 

[foggy1111]

It seems a lifetime ago ...but it was in the early 70's....when I worked as a sales rep for an independent laboratory that did spectrographic oil analysis based on the Caterpillar model (whom originated the idea for machinery). We offered our services to contractors, trucking companies, aircraft and more. It is amazing at the failures that could be predicted...however meaningful oil analysis is/was hard to "pull off" on a "one-time" basis...rather a trend is the way to catch problems.

But....the high silicon levels indicate dirt contamination which can indeed cause wear to the copper surfaces (bearings and such)....so...how high is high copper? Do the results show a presence of water contamination or GLYCOL? While the water is not good.....ANY amount of glycol present and very high copper levels (some of the increased copper wear is likely a result of the silicon) are your biggest concerns.

I was involved in this during the early days.....I feel certain the results are better interpreted today than back in my time....but had to give my .002.

Good luck...and keep us posted on your outcome.

UOTE=archeryantny;1608857]Sorry i haven't posted lately been kinda busy trying to straighten out this whole debacle. Tomorrow is the day of truth. We were scheduled for "extraction" on this past Monday, but we were hit with a blizzard, so that put things off. This situations sucks in plain English.

I spoke with my mechanic today and he received the results of the oil tests. They came back less than stellar. I do not have the results in front of me right now, but I will get them and post them tomorrow. Heres the short and sweet. They weren't able to get an accurate reading from the trans oil test due to the fact that there was too much contamination from water and coolant. He did not like the fact that there was coolant present in the oil. Engine oil was very high in silicon and copper. Hydraulic oil was fine.

As of today he is urging me to not buy it and by the results of the tests he could see very costly repairs needing to be done in the future. I will keep you guys posted on what comes next. This has been a week from heck and I am confused to say the least.[/QUOTE]

 

[archeryantny]

How big is the opening you put the tube into? Can't you use a fiber optic scope to look around inside the transmission from the dipstick port or refill port? I suspect the size and type of tube inserted is largely responsible for the hose sticking. It probably got itself wedged between two surfaces and just got tighter as it was pulled. If you could get a wire hook down inside to grab the end of the hose, you might be able to get it out. Having a scope to guide you would be an absolute necessity, but I'd spend a lot of money on high-tech gadgets before doing disassembly. I see your challenge as two-fold: finding the hose and getting it out. Both things will test your patience for sure.

I do currently have in my possession a bore scope a friend let me borrow. The thing is amazing!!! I tried looking down from the fill hole but i wasn't able to get the right angles to get a good look. By removing the screen and access panel hopefully that will give me a different viewpoint.

I will have the oil analysis later and will post the results. right now I'm waiting for the mechanic who should be here any minute.

 

[foggy1111]

I was thinking about your dilemma.....

I too admire your diligence to get the tube removed from the tranny. I think all to many buyers would just vanish.

But.....if antifreeze is present in the engine and tranny (?) and the silicon and copper ppm is high and/or excessive....then, I think your obligation to get this machine back to the way it was is less than when the machine was represented to be in good operating condition (with the receipts to support the claims)....hose stuck in tranny or no hose.

I would definitely share the oil test results with the current owner.

Maybe I'm stating the obvious, and you will be able to remove the plastic hose....but it sounds like that tranny may need to have some repairs AND the plastic hose removed.....so perhaps the current owner may need to pay for the hose removal situation when the tranny is rebuilt....(should the hose not be able to be recovered). One way or the other....the tranny ain't right.

Again.....Good Luck!

 

[archeryantny]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The plastic finger of the devil has been exorcised from the machine!!!!!!!!! After 7.5 hours of knuckle busting wrench turning, unabated cursing involving several well known saints, and some minor delirium; the plastic tube that was sent straight from the depths of heck fire, has been removed. WHAT A RELIEF!!!!!

I have to hand it to my mechanic he has the patience of a priest. In order to get down to the transmission access there was quite a bit of "escavation" that needed to be done. The whole seat and frame had to come off, all the clevis pin linkages had to be removed that control the brakes and steering, random electrical connections had to be re-routed, the 40 lb hydraulic filter had to be removed and all the immovable steel piping that was connected to it, then when we finally got down to the top of the trans 30-45 minutes was spent just cleaning it so no debris would fall in and contaminate the transmission.

When we finally opened up the trans there it was, sitting right there. It took 30 seconds to remove but a whole day to get to. When he inserted the tube, because it was so cold out, he wasn't able to straighten it out. The tube was still kinked and held its rolled shape. When he tried to feed it in it actually snaked its way into another compartment and got snagged on something in a completely different compartment. The piece was about 16 to 20 inches long.

My mechanic still needs to come back another day so we could finish putting the machine back together. The worst is behind us though and with A LOT of blood, sweat, and tears the job got done.

Foggy thank you for the kind words. It got late and I forgot to grab the analysis, once I get the info I will post it for your review..

 

[john_bud]

How did the trans gears and such look when it was apart? If the antifreeze was in the trans from a leaking cooler, then there may not be much if any damage done.

It may only need a new cooler.

Just a thought. Not that you are likely to want to see that machine any more!

jb

Oh, one thought. Your "nightmare" was closer to a good nights sleep compared to the real nightmares that dozer ownership can provide.

 

[archeryantny]

No I don't want anything to do with dozers anymore. I find these dozers are a lot like boats, the best ones to have are your friends.

 

[TCBoomer]

If the antifreeze was in the trans from a leaking cooler, then there may not be much if any damage done.

John...even though I'm not familiar with this trans, wasn't it mentioned that there are clutches inside this trans or does it have an external dry clutch?

The only reason I ask is because if they are wet clutches lubed by the contaminated fluid, the antifreeze will destroy the clutch facing material.

I could be wrong, but felt it was worth mentioning...

 

[Dirthog]

the only problem with taking oil samples on a old machine like that is you have no base line to work off most of the oil co. want a series of samples to tell if there is anything wrong with what ever they are sampling oil from no just one out of the blue

 

[john_bud]

John...even though I'm not familiar with this trans, wasn't it mentioned that there are clutches inside this trans or does it have an external dry clutch?

The only reason I ask is because if they are wet clutches lubed by the contaminated fluid, the antifreeze will destroy the clutch facing material.

I could be wrong, but felt it was worth mentioning...

Very much worth mentioning. And I don't know the "right answer" either. Would have assumed the clutch material would show up in the test sample, but don't know. I also don't know how much moisture / antifreeze a wet clutch can take before it gets grumpy.

jb

Archeryantny, I know "BOAT" stands for Break Out Another Thousand, I wonder what DOZER stands for?