371 Bobcat internals need advice

[371bobcat]

It is more work than I first thought to remove the rear axle shafts on an old 371 (to do seals/bearings) You have to remove the clutch and lower jackshaft assembly..... So I called it quits at that point and instead will hand the work over to someone competent. - I noticed one of the two large sprockets on the lower jackshaft assembly is very loose (teeth are very worn too) I am about to call around to find a used one. There are likely other parts on the shaft like the race sleeve that are worn out. Anyhow there will probably be more worn out bearings etc. - but can anyone point out other components that should need attention in there while we have it apart? I realize freshening everything in there can be expensive and the bobcat only gets light useage so I want to really just fix what is broken or usually worn out. Should I do the clutch lining? It worked OK before but probably has not been done in decades. - Can anyone mention a good parts yard for these 371s? Thanks. Greg.

 

[Jim Z]

The large sprockets have needle bearings in them. If there is much play the bearing is probably shot. Sometimes when they go bad they ruin the shaft too. A new sprocket assy ten years ago was over $450 per side (might not be available anymore). On mine, I bored the sprocket hub for a bronze bushing, drilled a hole in the hub for oilling, and polished the shaft to remove the nicks. Repaired the first side ten years ago....just converted the other side last year to same thing. Works great. I wouldn't worry about the sprocket teeth unless the chain is skipping. Mine look bad too, but they don't look much worse now than they did ten years ago. Keep in mind that sprockets and chain wear together....replace in sets. I plan to eventually cut the old sprockets off in the lathe and weld new ones on if they fail. The 371 is a good little machine that will surprise you with its capabilities. If I could offer one tip it would be to use low gear for working (except plowing snow). Seems every time I've had issues it was usually while using high gear. Just too much stress on the drive system when doing heavy work.