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SOS results on my D3s Final Drives.

FMD

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2013
Messages
83
Location
somewhere
View attachment 107689

View attachment 107690

Alright guys, whats going on in my right side final, and how much am I looking at spending? On a side note, the transmission came back good. Thanks, CJ

Edit..hmmm, looks alot better on my desktop. I'll attach them to photobucket.

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb34/pp13bnos/FinalLeft.jpg

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb34/pp13bnos/RightFinalDrive.jpg



Keep in mind that correct oil analysis is a trending process. What was your last analysis on this compartment? Was it clean?

If this was your first oil pull from this compartment. The ISO 4406 came back very high which suggests the oil hasnt been changed for a while. First, the SOS came back reportable (yellow level) not critical (red). If you are not changing your oils on a interval, this maybe "normal" readings. If you go without changing oil in your car engine for 75,000 mile and pull an sample for oil analysis, the oil is going to come back with problems on the report.

Change the oil in final drive and run the machine for 40-80 hours and resample it. If it comes back with the same results you are going to need to "dig in" and do some diagnosing. Water and dirt could be normal in final drives if the oil isnt changed on intervals on these compartments. My machines work in deep mud a lot and I will get samples coming back with silica and H20 even when I change my oil on schedule, just not quite as high as yours.
 

CAT793

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Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Messages
141
Location
australia
It is full of Water, Dirt and lots of Wear Elements.

Does it have any external oil leaks? What is on the Magnetic Plug?

Flush the compartment. Refill and resample at 125 hours to see it it has settled.
 

Nige

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
28,984
Location
G..G..G..Granville.........!! Fetch your cloth.
I'd agree with Cat793. If water is getting in then surely oil is getting out. This is a sealed compartment we're talking about. The magnetic plug can tell you a lot. Take a picture and post it here.

Your ISO at 24/21 is high but not off the scale. A good fushing should fix that, at least temporarily enough to start to monitor a trend.

Get the final drive up to working temp then drain and flush before refilling. Personally I'd drop a few gallons of hydraulic oil in it and run it back and forth a few times to flush it. The thinner oil works better to get crap out IMO. The viscosity looks a bit "off" to me, I'd expect it to be low 18s, not almost 20. Are you by any chance using EP gear oil in it..? If you are then I would suggest after draining and flushing that you refill with an SAE50 oil meeting TO-4 specification.
 

pp13bnos

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2011
Messages
354
Location
Oregon
I changed the oil in both finals 250hrs ago. This was the first SOS tests I've done on machine. What bothers me is that I don't really run it in mud or water. Soft wet conditions, yes. When I pulled the plug last time and drained the fluid, there was a tiny, tiny bit of stuff on the magnet, but no more than on the left side. Nothing to cause alarm. As for external leaks, its pretty tight, except for a minor engine oil leak thats going to be taken care of soon. When I pulled the add plug one the final, the fluid was right at the top. The oil I used was the cat 50W TO-4 stuff.

This is what the machine is used for 85% of the time. http://youtu.be/Zd3mkFxNTNM

Sounds like a plan then. I'll do as you guys say, and run it, drain it, flush with some hydraulic oil, and fill it back up and run her to 125 hrs. Kinda sucks is that I'm heading into my slow season.
 

Nige

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 22, 2011
Messages
28,984
Location
G..G..G..Granville.........!! Fetch your cloth.
If this is the first analysis after an oil change you really don't have much to go on. As FMD rightly says it's all about trending and observing in which direction the analysis results are going. 1 sample isn't anywhere near enough.

You can also use diesel for flushing, just be careful not to put the machine under any stress when you're running it with the diesel in the FD. And when you drain the diesel pull the plug and leave it to drain for a good long time, overnight is good - just plug the drain plug hole with a shop rag to prevent contamination getting into the component. The rag will soak up whatever diesel migrates downwards from the gears & bearings.

Can you post the results from the other final drive for comparison purposes..?
Also post a photo of the mag plugs from both sides please.
 
Last edited:

John C.

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2007
Messages
12,865
Location
Northwest
Occupation
Machinery & Equipment Appraiser
A D3C is a pretty experienced piece of gear and the stuff you are working in has a tendency to turn into mash and get forced into any space. We call it sand jacking when dirt starts getting into cracks and pushing it apart.

I'm going to guess you have that mash worked into the turning spaces where the seal rings ride and it is allowing small amounts of water and mash to get into your oil. The material itself could be absorbing the oil which might explain why you don't see anything leaking. It is pretty common for those rubber rings on the seals to be damaged from foreign material especially given the age of the machine.

The advise of the others is right on in repeated samples and establishing a trend. Is pushing silage a year around job or is it a seasonal event? If the trend continues it might be worth pulling the sprocket and replacing the seals. It is pretty spendy to fix a broken final and they usually lock up in the worst places.
 

pp13bnos

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2011
Messages
354
Location
Oregon
Here is the left final Nige.

http://i207.photobucket.com/albums/bb34/pp13bnos/FinalLeft.jpg

No John, pushing silage isn't a year round job. Probably for about 3 months out of the year on average. Other than that, I'll do an odd job clearing berry vines, or maybe spread a load of gravel for someone, so it'll probably be next July before I get enough hours on it to do another test.

Is replacing the seals much of a task? I have done some minor repairs on older equipment like replacing a transmission on a old H-90E, splitting tracks, etc, but never into pulling a sprocket and replacing seals, or into a final for that matter.

Thanks for the help and reply's guys. CJ
 
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