1450B no steering

I have an older Case 1450B machine that I rented out to a guy to use around his acreage. He checks the engine oil, coolant and transmission oil levels every morning before use. In the morning, all fluid levels were fine. He contacted me around noon yesterday and said he lost steering and the transmission oil was not on the dipstick. I went there after work last night and dropped the two skid pans under the charging pump and the transmission. There was a sign of minor leakage around the suction filter but nothing that would have lost 3 gallons of oil in a few hours. There are no noticeable signs of oil leakage on the outside of the machine anywhere. I just replaced the radiator and oil cooler last week and they do not seem to be leaking either. I filled the transmission back up and started the machine. I have no steering whatsoever, I cannot use the brakes, counter-rotation or the high/lo speeds to turn the unit. The transmission pressure gage goes into the green for different lever positions. Question: Where did the oil go? Why do the tracks not counter rotate? Is there a common component to all the clutches that could be failed that would cause this if I still have transmission pressure? Could this be a final drive problem?

I don't have a lot of experience on these machines so any insight would be much appreciated.

Thanks!!

Can the machine push hard in a straight line or is it just rolling along under no load

What is the driveshaft doing in all this?
It should be spinning as a blur in neutral & not at all when the gears have been engaged - as long as the tracks are not turning.
You say the pressure gauge shows in the green "for different lever positions" - can you be more specific?

Have you checked final drive oils

Thanks for the questions. I will check it out and report back.

So when you try to push hard with it (blade in the dirt) it veers to the left. Seems like the left track may not be pushing. Ideas?

Could be any number of things.
What has happened re all those other issues? - No steering? cannot use the brakes?

You really need to answer the questions we give to you, as this is the only way we can help diagnose your problem/s.

• What is the driveshaft doing? Spinning hard & fast? Slowly builds up speed? Does it turn when you engage gear?
• What is the pressure gauge reading (at an engine idle) - with each individual gear range selection. Take note of differences between LH & RH sides - low & high ranges - fwd & rev ranges.
• The pressure gauge should show the same reading in neutral & when a gear is engaged - a drop in pressure indicates internal leakage.
• The amount of "clunk" the transmission makes when engaging a gear & also if there is a time difference between changes - also can indicate pressure loss & clutch pack wear

You may need to drain the transmission oil & inspect the suction screen, as this can often give clues to excessive clutch plate wear.
Can you fit a pressure gauge to the transmission to see it's actual operating pressures?

Be specific in answering questions & take notes while looking at the machine if you have to

alrman- Thanks for the help. The dozer is not on my property anymore so I was having the user do the check. I haven't heard answers back yet to the other questions. It sounds like I will need to get the machine back to my place before I can start doing a good investigation into the problem (s). I will check back in when I get some more answers.

Got the following last night from the user:

• Checked the driveshaft. Spins freely when not in gear. When in gear it rotates when it is moving.
• Left final drive oil level is low (down far enough I could not touch oil when putting my finger in the hole) when sitting level and a few metal shavings sitting in the plug area
• Right final drive-was not able to get the plug out. It is a shallow plug and it slipped and started to round the corners so I stopped

Doesn't shed much light on the subject.

When was the last time Final Drive oil was checked?
You will need to monitor what is happening to the oil there - fill it & see if level drops/ oil leaks out somewhere after some use.
Does yours have the planetary reductions? If so, which oil level was checked?

The shaft from the final drive to the transmission snapped in half. The pieces from the shaft then got into the three smaller gears in the final drive and destroyed them. I can purchase the gears and the shaft for around $1800 aftermarket. Does anybody have an opinion on using aftermarket parts from EPSStore ? See link below. My biggest question is how to get the broken off piece of shaft out of the transmission? The splined teeth of the transmission end of the shaft are still fully engaged. It seems too hard to drill and tap. A very powerful magnet might work but I'm looking for ideas...
https://www.epsstore.com/

Which type final drive do you have? Do you have the bull gear style or the planetary gear style?

Cuold you bond a piece of shaft to it with chemical metal

@1450B
Just to be sure, can you verify the shaft that broke below - this diagram is for the planetary type final drive.

The shaft is item 1 in the diagram below

I also have item 19 and associated parts removed with it.

If you look at the diagram I posted, you will see a cover - item #33 - be aware of the shims behind it so not to damage them.
If you remove that, you should see the two bolts #28 & plate #27 which would need to be removed to withdraw the broken shaft.
Not sure on how #29 circlip/snap ring, but you should be able to figure that by looking at it.

Be sure and drain the transmission oil before you remove the remainder of the shaft.