i have a older machine- 92 853G to be exact- that I picked up 3 years ago and got running. used it for what I needed, and stored it away. havent used it more than 10 min at a time in the last 2 years. It has s small leak somewhere while sitting (which I never fixed) so i know I have to fill the tank before starting. start it up saturday everything is fine. I start working with it fixing a road, and after 20-30 min or so, I keep hearing a popping sound from the right front wheel. honestly I dont know how long it was, because the first couple times I wasnt even sure what it was. finally, after I realize its my front wheel, I decide to quit and start backing down the road- well the wheel keeps locking up and "popping" free If I kept the machine moving in one direction- either forward or back- it was fine. it was when I stopped and changed directions i would sometimes get the noise. I didnt have a chance to get into the machine, but my searching is leading me to believe its the drive chain that is likely stretched and is causing the noise I am hearing? searching leads me to think I can pull the cover off the top of the chain case , and it might be possible to fish a new chain with a masterlink in that way? also noticed my right rear axle bearing is leaking. from what i read, those are NOT fun to replace
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SkidRoe
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It does sound like a drive chain and it sounds like you are on the right track.
With regards to the axle seal, you machine should be new enough to have removable hubs. as long as the axle bearings are tight and in good condition, it should not be a horrible job. There are plenty of threads describing methods of removing the hubs.
Cheers - SR
With regards to the axle seal, you machine should be new enough to have removable hubs. as long as the axle bearings are tight and in good condition, it should not be a horrible job. There are plenty of threads describing methods of removing the hubs.
Cheers - SR
so slight update to this. I parked the machine and havent moved it since this happened. Saturday I looked quickly at the machine while I was there. looks like the hydraulic oil tank is completely empty, and I could see a stream of oil from around the right rear tire of the machine. I talked with one local mechanic, and he is saying drive motor seals? I dont have the time right now to devote to fixing this, so I may end up having to pay for him to repair it. is this likely an expensive repair?
ok guys bumping this back up. I dropped my machine off at a local repair guy a few months back. I finally talked to him about the machine and the news wasn't great. he is saying the bearings are shot in the drive motor gearboxes (think thats what he called it). the bad bearings were causing the sprockets to move- hence the reason I had some binding. also said they likely took out the seals, hence the reason for my hydraulic leak and my chaincase filling with oil. now here is where I need help- he is saying it could be $4500 to fix! said he won't know exactly until everything is apart how much damage there is, but once its apart there is no turning back essentially. so my questions: 1- is it worth putting this kind of money into a 1992 bobcat? 2- could I save money doing it myself?
I didn't think these machines had a gear box, i thought it was just a motor carrier that has 2 bearings and a seal that the motor mounts to. If this is the case, i don't see the repair bill being too nasty for parts at least, labor will add up though.
It depends on if you have helpers and gear to do the job if you can tackle this job your self. If the carrier bearings are gone, you will need to pull the old ones and install new ones, i did this at home without any special tools, so it can be done, it just depends on if you're up for the task, Bearings will run you i think, about 50-100 a piece, if you do both sides like you really should, that's 400, then seals, say anothe 50 each, 500 then quite a bit of oil for the chain case, say another 200. So right there is 700 in parts.
If you think you can get helpers for it, i'd give it a go.
sorry yes I had it wrong. I looked at the machine yesterday and had him explain it to me. its all the bearings on the inside of the drive motors. as soon as you open the chain case you can see the brake rotors on the shafts, well it looks like ALL the bearings on those shafts are junk. also, I have 1 questionable front axle bearing, so I might just do both front axle bearings. also probably need at least the front chains. so my rough math I'm thinking some thing like this: bearings and races for both motor carriers bears for both front axles new front chains. all the required new seals. I dont know how much a new chain is? could I assume $1000 for everything listed above?
I honestly think the guy was just too busy with other work, didnt want to tackle this job so he gave me a pretty high price. he said it would be about a day to day and a half just to get it apart. assuming it took a little longer to get everything back together correctly, I would have several thousand dollars just in labor.
I only have prices for a smaller 7 series machine, i don't fully remember if the bearing cones came with the cups as well, i had in my mind that for all axles it was $400, that's 8 cups and 8 cones, so $50 each full set. Then the drive motor carriers, they run 2 taper bearings as well, say 100 each as they are larger than the axle bearings, so that's $800 then chain, i don't know what gthat goes for these days, so i can't really make a guess there, but your $1,000 in parts will be very close. Also, you will need new seals for axles and the motor carrier, ass another 200 to be safe.
To actually do the work, drain the chain case, remove access covers and brake. Crack the bolts inside the chain case and on the outside of the axle hubs and crack the taper seal on the axle hubs. Remove bolts inside chain case and pull axles out. It all takes time, for someone without knowledge i see it being a long job, but with a helper and a clue of what to expect, it's not a horrible job, i have done a few chain cases, yet only a 453 was done with the machine still assembled, the others had the chain case out.