Cat Model 12 99E Leaking Oil Bad Near Starter

[Matt Norman]

If this helps I did find the part numbers for the gaskets, there are two for the starter. One goes between the adapter and flywheel housing and one between adapter and starter nose.

It took a little digging around as according to SIS that model was standard with the gas starting engine but was available as a direct 24 volt electric start from factory.
View attachment 192376

Also looking at the picture of your starter I see that someone has replaced the starter solenoid with a newer style one. Have to wonder if they did not know the starter was a wet flywheel application and did not replace one or the other of the gaskets when working on the starter.

Back many moons ago the when the local electrical repair shop was just getting going, they are now all over the Eastern State I believe, we had some problems with starters they worked on. see there is an oil seal between the pinion gear area and the electrical area of the motor and they were not too fussy about replacing that seal. It seems they were not aware of wet flywheel designs!

Also had problems with the nose cones for some starters. They often were replaced with nose cones with double sets of bolt holes for mounting to the armature housing to allow one starter to fit more applications. Problem was when used on wet housings they would leak like crazy if no one new about installing the rubber balls in the unused bolt holes!

Guess I got a little of topic but maybe the points will help someone down the road.

I will check all these things for sure. Lots of great information. I tried to find those gaskets online. Any advice for who I could call or where to look for the gaskets? Im new to this cat machinery repair as you can probably tell. I have worked on our tractors some but never a grader this old.

 

[Matt Norman]

Got your last response after I posted the question. Thank you so much for helping me out.

 

[kshansen]

Like I said above a Cheerios box and a small ball peen hammer is all you need. If you need a better description I found a not too bad video on YouTube to give a better idea. I personally would use a smaller hammer than he did!

 

[Bluox]

Check the plug on the end of the solenoid housing will be a slotted screw about 1" diameter ,should have a gasket on it. Don't try to make the starter gaskets they are made of a tuff grade of oil prof material not cheap cardboard .
If you go to the Cat store ask them to set you up a parts account and you can get on your computer and look up parts.
good luck
Bob

 

[kshansen]

Agree a pair of official Cat gaskets would be a better choice than homemade fro Cheerios box, but to get it working and confirm the leak is in fact the gasket anything would be better than a missing or torn gasket.

Oh! by the way before even thinking about removing the starter remove the ground wire from the battery. Yea I know it probably has a disconnect switch and that should be good enough till someone bumps the switch while starter is being worked on or wires are hanging down with it off. Besides the connections at the battery probably need cleaning anyhow!

 

[RZucker]

Agree a pair of official Cat gaskets would be a better choice than homemade fro Cheerios box, but to get it working and confirm the leak is in fact the gasket anything would be better than a missing or torn gasket.

Oh! by the way before even thinking about removing the starter remove the ground wire from the battery. Yea I know it probably has a disconnect switch and that should be good enough till someone bumps the switch while starter is being worked on or wires are hanging down with it off. Besides the connections at the battery probably need cleaning anyhow!

I like the backers on legal pads.

 

[Matt Norman]

Agree a pair of official Cat gaskets would be a better choice than homemade fro Cheerios box, but to get it working and confirm the leak is in fact the gasket anything would be better than a missing or torn gasket.

Oh! by the way before even thinking about removing the starter remove the ground wire from the battery. Yea I know it probably has a disconnect switch and that should be good enough till someone bumps the switch while starter is being worked on or wires are hanging down with it off. Besides the connections at the battery probably need cleaning anyhow!

Ok will do, are there any other gaskets or seals that you think I might order around the starter area. I don't have a breakdown of the starter and solenoid. I called my closest cat dealer, 1.5 hrs away, and they said they could get them. I've done an oil filter and oil change greased the grease seats, motor board, and all the gears. I need to check fluid levels in all the hydraulic and gear reservoirs. What else would you suggest checking or looking into?

 

[Bluox]

Check with Cat and ask for operation and maintenance manual for your machine .
Bob

 

[Matt Norman]

Ok thanks

 

[kshansen]

I did a search on Ebay for "Owners Manual Cat Model 12E" and there are some manuals listed there, prices are not cheap but might be worth it if you plan on keeping the grader for some years. Just be sure the S/N's listed are right.

 

[Matt Norman]

Check the plug on the end of the solenoid housing will be a slotted screw about 1" diameter ,should have a gasket on it. Don't try to make the starter gaskets they are made of a tuff grade of oil prof material not cheap cardboard .
If you go to the Cat store ask them to set you up a parts account and you can get on your computer and look up parts.
good luck
Bob

I was in the process of taking the starter off and noticed the whole plug was missing. This would explain the sudden large amount of leaking oil. any advice on finding a replacement plug? thanks

 

[Bluox]

Try a starter rebuild shop, measure the threads might not have to remove starter.
Good luck
Bob

 

[kshansen]

Try a starter rebuild shop, measure the threads might not have to remove starter.
Good luck
Bob

I would expect any shop that worked on starters for large trucks or construction type equipment would have a pallet full of old starter cores. A box of doughnuts might be all you need to get a couple of those plugs and gaskets!

 

[Matt Norman]

I found them from Cat for only a few dollars. I will update as soon as I get the parts and get them put on. Thanks, everyone for your help.

 

[Matt Norman]

I found them from Cat for only a few dollars. I will update as soon as I get the parts and get them put on. Thanks, everyone for your help.

Ive finally got the grader running and not leaking any oil. However, the engine area has started to make a faint buzzing noise. Gonna check the belts and hoses to see if anything is rattling making the noise. Any common things that can make a bussing noise?

 

[kshansen]

Ive finally got the grader running and not leaking any oil. However, the engine area has started to make a faint buzzing noise. Gonna check the belts and hoses to see if anything is rattling making the noise. Any common things that can make a bussing noise?

Any chance of doing a video of it and post it to Youtube and then a link here?

Just a wild guess but how about removing belts and run for a few seconds to see it that eliminates it?

Or take a piece of heater hose a couple feet long. Hold one end next to your good ear and then hold the other end at different places to see if you can narrow down where it's coming from. Try near generator, brushes making noise, fan and fan guard and so on.