953c 2 piece final drive seal

[Bradley Martin]

Hey guys, I was just looking for opinions on how long it should take to replace the 2 piece final drive seal on a 2004 bbx 953c. (Part# 9g-5347). I just replaced my first one and it took me roughly 12 hours from track on and tensioned to track back on and tensioned. I asked a local shop how long it normally takes, and the guy said he does them in 3.5hrs. I'm not sure where I could lose 8.5hrs and has me curious how long it takes other people. Also, a couple sprocket bolts fought me a little but nothing crazy, I would say it came apart relatively easy. Thanks!

 

[Bradley Martin]

Also my 12 hours included me going to pick up the seal and then also back out to replace some broken bolts. So I can see where I could shave off a little time, just no where near 8.5hrs.

 

[Mobiltech]

He is leaving out a lot of things as part of the job . I haven’t done one recently but 3.5 sounds way low. By the time you bring it in , jack it up , split and reconnect track you will have burned up most of that time.
The proper cleanup of parts and seal install takes an hour.

 

[Bradley Martin]

Yeah I thought he was joking with me at first but he was serious. Granted, he's like Nige on these 953's and knows them like the back of his hand but still, I probably had 3 hours with just the chain and sprockets.

 

[Nige]

Full disclosure. The OP messaged me about this and I suggested he create the thread.
I've never done a sprocket Duo-Cone seal for this model so I have no idea what would be a reasonable time estimate, although 3.5 hours seems to be waaaay low.

My questions would be along the lines of:-

1. What were the working conditions for the job (field vs shop).? Access to the machine.?
2. Adequate lifting equipment on hand.?
3. Hand vs power tools.?
4. Any time taken for trips to the dealer/wherever during the job for non-forecast parts requirements.?
5. As an absolute minimum was the machine undercarriage all cleaned off before the job was handed over to the mechanic.?

 

[Bradley Martin]

I would say the biggest difference between my shop and theirs is, experience, they have overhead crane and I'm using a forklift, and they stock all the bolts and everything. I'm not sure about washing the undercarriage, mine was not. I do feel better hearing that 3.5 sounds hard to achieve from you guys too. I was puzzled trying to figure out where I could speed up that much.

 

[Nige]

Why would anyone in their right mind consider digging into a final drive (even if only partially) if nothing had been cleaned beforehand.? There are contamination isssues to consider here.

If it was going into a dealer shop surely it would go through the washbay to be cleaned before even being allowed to enter the shop.

 

[Bradley Martin]

It wasn't to hogged up, it's been dry around here, I cleaned off any dirt I saw before separating the planetary.

 

[Nige]

It wasn't to hogged up, it's been dry around here, I cleaned off any dirt I saw before separating the planetary.

I get what you're saying, but there is no way that machine would get through the doors of a dealer shop without being pressure washed. Generally that is NOT something the mechanic has a responsibilty for, there are lower-paid staff responsible for that. So the 3.5 hours he mentioned to you would not include time spent cleaning because HE isn't responsible for doing it........

 

[Bradley Martin]

Oh okay, I understand.

 

[Dave Neubert]

5 to 6 hours

 

[Tyler d4c]

Does it really matter if it has taken you Longer as long as it's a well done repair