John Deere 170 skid loader variable speed drive sheave problems

[bronko]

I have a John Deere 170 skid loader. It runs good except now there is oil dripping from the variable speed drive sheave. This is causing hydrolic oil to get on the drive belt and then the drive belt slips. I had the seals replaced in this sheave a few months back and the shop told me the hydrolic shaft and piston that push the pulley together are getting worn and the seals may not hold. John Deere indicates they are not able to get a new drive sheave assembly since they are obsolete. I like the loader and cannot afford to get a different one. Does anyone know how to fix this?

 

[walio123]

Find a good workshop with lathes, mills and circular grinding. They must be able to make shaft and piston. If they have good thermists ... everything will be ok.

 

[bronko]

Find a good workshop with lathes, mills and circular grinding. They must be able to make shaft and piston. If they have good thermists ... everything will be ok.

Thanks for your thoughts. I will try to pull the sheave out of the loader and see what my local machinists can do.

 

[bronko]

Thanks for your thoughts. I will try to pull the sheave out of the loader and see what my local machinists can do.

I am trying to get the drive sheave rebuilt, but am having problems getting it off of the gearbox shaft. The two set screws have been pulled and I have sprayed penetrant on the shaft. Any ideas to help me get this off of the gearbox shaft?

 

[walio123]

I am trying to get the drive sheave rebuilt, but am having problems getting it off of the gearbox shaft. The two set screws have been pulled and I have sprayed penetrant on the shaft. Any ideas to help me get this off of the gearbox shaft?

Take a look here. https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/sidebyside/equipment/60437/referrer/navigation/pgId/169867 Postion 8 is a cap skrew. Do you remowed it?

 

[bronko]

Take a look here. https://partscatalog.deere.com/jdrc/sidebyside/equipment/60437/referrer/navigation/pgId/169867 Postion 8 is a cap skrew. Do you remowed it?

Walio123, Thanks for sharing your knowledge on this. I disassembled the drive assembly to the right as far as item 21 and see what you are saying about the cap screw. I plan to purchase a new snap ring pliers tomorrow and then try to get to the cap screw.

 

[walio123]

Walio123, Thanks for sharing your knowledge on this. I disassembled the drive assembly to the right as far as item 21 and see what you are saying about the cap screw. I plan to purchase a new snap ring pliers tomorrow and then try to get to the cap screw.

It's always a good idea to have the right manuals for your machine. If you can not find a service manual, you should have at least parts manual. There you can see a lot of things, at least what components you have in the thing you are dismantling. It prevents a lot of headaches and also damaged parts from improper / forced / disassembly. Most big companies have such parts manuals online.

 

[bronko]

It's always a good idea to have the right manuals for your machine. If you can not find a service manual, you should have at least parts manual. There you can see a lot of things, at least what components you have in the thing you are dismantling. It prevents a lot of headaches and also damaged parts from improper / forced / disassembly. Most big companies have such parts manuals online.

I have the service, parts, and operators manual for my JD 170 skid loader. This is a continuation to my drive sheave questions scenario above. I had a machine shop fix my drive sheave and I got the unit put back together tonight. I filled the gearbox up with SAE 80W per the manual instructions. After about 5 minutes of using the loader, the front metal seal on the gearbox blew out. I do not know why, but it threw oil all over. The thing I do not understand about the gearbox is why there is a hydraulic hose on the top and bottom of it. Can anyone help me understand why the gearbox is giving me problems?

 

[bronko]

I have the service, parts, and operators manual for my JD 170 skid loader. This is a continuation to my drive sheave questions scenario above. I had a machine shop fix my drive sheave and I got the unit put back together tonight. I filled the gearbox up with SAE 80W per the manual instructions. After about 5 minutes of using the loader, the front metal seal on the gearbox blew out. I do not know why, but it threw oil all over. The thing I do not understand about the gearbox is why there is a hydraulic hose on the top and bottom of it. Can anyone help me understand why the gearbox is giving me problems?

It looks like this gearbox is lubricated with the hydraulic oil that is circulated with the pump. I drained out the SAE80 oil out of the gearbox and had a new oil seal put in the gearbox. It ran for about 5 minutes and then pushed the new oil seal out of the front of the gearbox. Can someone tell my what I need to do to stop blowing these seals out?

 

[flyerdan]

It looks like this gearbox is lubricated with the hydraulic oil that is circulated with the pump. I drained out the SAE80 oil out of the gearbox and had a new oil seal put in the gearbox. It ran for about 5 minutes and then pushed the new oil seal out of the front of the gearbox. Can someone tell my what I need to do to stop blowing these seals out?

I took a look at the online parts diagrams trying to make sense of this, as 85W gear oil and hydraulic fluid shouldn't meet under normal circumstances.
It appears that there is a lubrication kit as an option; one would assume that the paperwork accompanying the STC would indicate that the gear oil would be removed for this install. One would also assume that it should be fed from the return circuit as flow is important and pressure is detrimental.
Without seeing how this is all plumbed together, it's difficult to offer an opinion, but if it was working properly before, it would seem to indicate that there is some kind of obstruction after the gearbox that is keeping the fluid from returning to the tank in a timely manner that allows for excess pressure buildup.

 

[bronko]

I took a look at the online parts diagrams trying to make sense of this, as 85W gear oil and hydraulic fluid shouldn't meet under normal circumstances.
It appears that there is a lubrication kit as an option; one would assume that the paperwork accompanying the STC would indicate that the gear oil would be removed for this install. One would also assume that it should be fed from the return circuit as flow is important and pressure is detrimental.
Without seeing how this is all plumbed together, it's difficult to offer an opinion, but if it was working properly before, it would seem to indicate that there is some kind of obstruction after the gearbox that is keeping the fluid from returning to the tank in a timely manner that allows for excess pressure buildup.

Thanks for your reply flyerdan. I put the gearbox plumbing back the same way that it was when I started. My next thought is the flow hose that pushes fluid from the top of the gearbox to the right clutch may be blocked. My plan is to check this first. If this seems open, then I might just cap off the hydraulic hose feeding the gearbox and fill it with SAE80. I would then need to feed the right clutch hydraulic hose another way.

 

[JD 170]

Hello i am having the same exact problem with my variable speed leaking oil onto the belt. What did you find out with this

 

[bronko]

Hello i am having the same exact problem with my variable speed leaking oil onto the belt. What did you find out with this

I ended up having my local John Deere dealer put new seals in the drive sheeve. It took them two times to get it right, but it has been working well since.