D7e fan removal

pf/l · Dec 18, 2021

Well my project keeps on growing. Putting things back together I noticed the fan belts were definitely showing their age so I yanked them out this afternoon. Decided I better check the bearings while I was there and sure enough there’s some movement on the fan. Was getting dark in the shop and didn’t have anyone else there to watch but assume it’s play in the bearings. Wondering which route is the easiest to pull the fan. Service manuals shows it coming out the top but I assume with the cylinders and cylinder support in the way that’s not a option which leads me to my question. Which is the easiest way to remove the fan, pull the rad or take the cylinders off? I’d assume pulling the rad is easier especially as it’s already drained but thought I’d ask the experts and see what everyone had to say. The joys of old iron, the gift that keeps on giving lol.

nicky 68a · Dec 19, 2021

It’s not a big job actually.
Remove the actual fan blade and let it rest against the radiator fins.
Then you remove the big bolts that hold the entire fan hub application to the block.It’s a finger trapper and a knuckle rash job,but not too bad.
Then you can replace the bearings etc and clean the shaft up on the work bench before building it back up again.
It’s a pain of a job,but don’t remove the rams etc or the radiator.
However,it’s a very good opportunity to remove the rad and give it a thorough cleaning as that’s the best maintenance you can give an older tractor.It also allows you repair the fan hub in situ and replace any pulleys and belts.
They are readily available non oem and quite cheap,allthough I allways stick to Cat fan belts

pf/l · Dec 19, 2021

Thanks I’ll give it a try and see if I can fit my gorilla hands in there lol. Might shed a few pounds of skin but if I can get it out that way would be simpler. Was thinking about it more last night and to pull the rad I’d have to pull the canopy off the cat as well I think not sure there’s be enough room to bring the rad up and out towards the front without damaging it. The limb risers are welded solid to the back canopy so that would add extra work again plus I can’t take it off inside the shop.

DB2 · Dec 19, 2021

Thin leather gloves are your best friend when working near rad cores and other skin shedding components.

nicky 68a · Dec 19, 2021

DB2 said:
Thin leather gloves are your best friend when working near rad cores and other skin shedding components.

I never thought of that.
Good idea

pf/l · Dec 19, 2021

It appears that I’m not able to remove the fan towards the rad. It sits on a shoulder in between the fan mount and the pulley near as I can tell. Unless I misunderstood your directions I don’t think I’m able to remove it as you described. The shaft I believe is mounted to the cross brace inside the rad shroud.

pf/l · Dec 19, 2021

This is a little later serial number but same design.

bccat · Dec 19, 2021

pf/l said:
View attachment 250397 View attachment 250398 View attachment 250399 View attachment 250400 It appears that I’m not able to remove the fan towards the rad. It sits on a shoulder in between the fan mount and the pulley near as I can tell. Unless I misunderstood your directions I don’t think I’m able to remove it as you described. The shaft I believe is mounted to the cross brace inside the rad shroud.

Pulley grooves look very worn, .Did the same thing on a D7E yrs ago was 23yrs old at the time. One thing going for me it had a Cable Blade, still a miserable job

Bluox · Dec 19, 2021

The straight fan is easy as it comes out in two pieces and then the hub.
but I think you may have to take the lift cylinder tube out so you can pull the fan hub and
reversable fan in one wad.
Bob

nicky 68a · Dec 20, 2021

PF/I,I apologise sir.
After looking at your pics,I see you have a reversible fan.I’ve never had one on my tractors and no experience of them whatsoever.
I suppose the radiator is coming out then.Well,if that’s the case,you get chance to give it a proper clean and replace the pulleys if you think they are badly worn.Sometimes,a set of new Cat belts will tolerate worn pulleys,but the pulleys are really quite cheap to buy from non Cat suppliers over in the UK.
Good luck and I hope you don’t have to gaff about with that cross tube lump.

pf/l · Dec 20, 2021

nicky 68a said:
PF/I,I apologise sir.
After looking at your pics,I see you have a reversible fan.I’ve never had one on my tractors and no experience of them whatsoever.
I suppose the radiator is coming out then.Well,if that’s the case,you get chance to give it a proper clean and replace the pulleys if you think they are badly worn.Sometimes,a set of new Cat belts will tolerate worn pulleys,but the pulleys are really quite cheap to buy from non Cat suppliers over in the UK.
Good luck and I hope you don’t have to gaff about with that cross tube lump.

No worries,you had me hoping there for a bit lol. Was hoping there was a shortcut I was maybe missing but unfortunately sounds like my gut was right. I think I’ll try pulling the cylinders and cross tube first as I can do that in the shop without pulling the canopy. If it was summertime I’d roll it outside and pull the canopy off and pull the rad. It’s hovering around that -20°F( -28°C) Had warmed up to almost 0°F(-18°C)the last couple afternoons but still a bit chilly to be pulling wrenches outside lol.

I was trying to look for pulleys last night just out of curiosity and couldn’t find anything that crossed up from the old part numbers in the manuals. Said contact dealer for indirect replacement so I’ll have to call cat and see what that’s all about I guess.

pf/l · Dec 20, 2021

Bluox said:
The straight fan is easy as it comes out in two pieces and then the hub.
but I think you may have to take the lift cylinder tube out so you can pull the fan hub and
reversable fan in one wad.
Bob

That sure would’ve been a lot easier if it had the straight fan. I do like have the reversible fan though so I guess I’ll have to put up with a bit of extra work. Looked up the bearings last night and I think I have them on hand here. Don’t have the seal though I don’t think.

pf/l · Dec 20, 2021

bccat said:
Pulley grooves look very worn, .Did the same thing on a D7E yrs ago was 23yrs old at the time. One thing going for me it had a Cable Blade, still a miserable job

They’re pretty polished for sure. I have actually ran my fingertips down them to see how grooved they are. Who ever put belts on last time threw a set of v belts on. C74, I could still make out the numbers on the one. Matches up in length with the cat belts but they are a touch wider. Not the correct belt but they have been on there for years and with proper tension I suppose would get a guy by. Napa didn’t have the belts in their warehouse but cat is a day away. 183$ cdn though.

pf/l · Dec 20, 2021

Pulleys are quite worn as bccat said. I haven’t been able to locate any online or through cat yet though so they might have to do.

part numbers I think are
3s8415-fan pulley(confirmed with the numbers on the pulley)
4s6837-crank pulley(unverified just going by sn.)
3s5036 or 7m7589 not sure which it is. Both parts diagrams look the same but have different numbers. Don’t have it off yet to verify.

All these numbers come up in the cat system but say indirect replacement available call dealer. Called dealer this afternoon though and they were a little clueless. I did see one listed online for 353$ can’t remember which one it was now. Saw one used one in Australia as well.

DoyleX · Dec 21, 2021

So you dont have to pull the cross tube. Loosen the bolts but keep the nuts on a couple threads for safety. Use the blade hyd to push the tube up and back out of the way. Worked on my D6C enough so I could get the assy out. If your bolts aren't long enough and interference isn't a problem with other components 4pcs of threaded rod will suffice also.

56wrench · Dec 21, 2021

You could have your pulley grooves re-machined if there is enough material under the bottom of the grooves although it may require shorter belts after. I have used that trick a couple times if a new pulley has not been available

pf/l · Dec 21, 2021

DoyleX said:
So you dont have to pull the cross tube. Loosen the bolts but keep the nuts on a couple threads for safety. Use the blade hyd to push the tube up and back out of the way. Worked on my D6C enough so I could get the assy out. If your bolts aren't long enough and interference isn't a problem with other components 4pcs of threaded rod will suffice also.

Thanks for the suggestion I’ll take a look at it and see if that might work in my case. My first thought is I’d be a little concerned about bending the bolts as I think it needs to move back about a foot to get it out. Being I don’t have the blade on I’d have to block up the c frame to get enough stroke from the cylinders as well. Will take a look though anyways and see if there’s any reason it wouldn’t work.

pf/l · Dec 21, 2021

56wrench said:
You could have your pulley grooves re-machined if there is enough material under the bottom of the grooves although it may require shorter belts after. I have used that trick a couple times if a new pulley has not been available

My brother is a machinist so I’ll have him take a look at them if he makes it out for Christmas. Not sure yet if I can get the crank pulley out with the rad still in place or not so not sure if I can fully address the issue or not.

nicky 68a · Dec 22, 2021

pf/l said:
My brother is a machinist so I’ll have him take a look at them if he makes it out for Christmas. Not sure yet if I can get the crank pulley out with the rad still in place or not so not sure if I can fully address the issue or not.

You’ll need the radiator out to do the crank pulley in my opinion.I’ve had a few D8 crank pulleys out over the years and I’ve allways removed the rad,allthough I once left it halfway out as I was by myself with no crane.
It’s a good time to reseal the crank seal and take a good look at things

pf/l · Dec 29, 2021

Bit of a update. Fan is out and apart. Bad news is there’s nothing wrong with the bearings. Simone has had the bearings go out years ago and threw it back together with new ones. Kind of wondered as it spun nice and smooth and didn’t seem like a bearing issues in a way. Thinking I’ll get the shaft built up and re machined. Fp smith showed new ones available and the company that sent my oil cooler showed inventory as well. Nothing through cat. My part numbers don’t match the book but it’s awful close. 3s2121 is what the book shows and mine is 3s2119. Could simply be a misprint years ago. A lot of the other numbers I checked matched. Was a horrible job getting it apparat but wasn’t exactly fun either. Once I got going on it, it went not bad though. Everything came apart pretty good thankfully.

D7e fan removal

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