What's the diff ?
 

I've always enjoyed the assembly of the rc axles and differentials since getting in the hobby. Brings a smile to my face working with the tiny microscopic stuff we play with. Heres why......

My next project at my real job. 4 final drives to swap out with exchange and I'm rebuilding both diffs due to no exchange available for this machine.:bounce: I love this work way more than underground equipment which is all tight and awkwardly built.
Axle assembly weighs 15,000lbs . Just the diff is 2,000lbs. I'll post more pics once I get the diff out and on the stand. Oh, and these are out of a 992K loader.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps49acb969.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps01ba9aec.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps5e94a70b.jpg

Re: What's the diff ?
 

now you post a bloody pic of them :rolleyes::p

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Thats cool Mario!

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Those two axles weigh almost as much as my entire 325hp 4wd tractor... that's difficult for me to process. :eek:

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Hmm not exactly pot metal, abs, and 3mm screws ....

Don't drop that spider gear. You can find it in a hurry but your leg might still be under it.

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Shouldnt need tweezers or a magnifying glass!!!

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Don't knock that one off the jack stands!

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MORE POWER... :lol: :lol: :lol:

- RCT

Re: What's the diff ?
 

So that's what your mug looks like:). I can see how you are happy to be at home working on truck/equipment parts,, our "toys" are finger friendly, your work stuff is not body friendly!! Some big work toy parts!!!!

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Very impressive !! I like it..

Alan

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Had a productive day. Diff is back together with new spider gears ( sorry, no pics of them. I don't want to look like a tourist in the middle of the work day! )
Once everyone was gone at the end of the day I got a few more.

The 2,000lbs diff assembly.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3e7ca39d.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...pse2ffee73.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psa7bff6bf.jpg

Torque on those bearing cap bolts is 1,400 ft lbs

Final drive and brake assembly, 4,000 lbs

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psd6e66392.jpg


http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psa48744d4.jpg


http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps531c21a4.jpg

And finally, the 4" diameter axle shafts.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps11445adb.jpg

Lots of hoisting, rigging and bolts to turn but I love it! :D

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Looks way better than trying to understand the wiring on a new engine! By the way, who cleans the parts before you get to them or do you have to do that? There's no way that diff was that clean in the machine...

Re: What's the diff ?
 

They are washed as a assembly before leaving the mine but there is always plenty more cleaning that we do. We have a huge typhoon parts washer that everything goes through. Big stuff is done with a pressure washer. And yes, after 20 yrs, I still do my fair share of getting wet n dirty with the wand! :lol:

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Sorry Steve. I didn't know you had a 992 project cooking.:)

I was 23yrs old the first time I worked on a 992C. I was in awe with a hint of fear for about a week before I got use to the size :D


Absolutely! True story..... I've seen a guy spinning a planetary gear in the housing with his finger. ( goofing around of course )When he reached to keep it spinning, the gear caught his finger in the housing and sheared his index finger tip right off at the first knuckle! So much weight and inertia never even slowed the gear down.:eek:

If I do.....EVERYBODY in the building is gonna know it! ;)
Slow and steady lifts. Using chain falls and the shop crane to roll these big chunks .


My mug and my wife Susan's mug can be found on the mugshot thread.:D
Ya, it always takes extra focus when working with big components. one brain fart can cost much more than a cut or bruise.

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Mario, what kind of torque tools are you using for that 1400 lbs, a torque wrench and multiplier?

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It's actually a hydraulic wrench made by. HYTORC . Electric motor running a hydraulic pump. Using a trigger you power a small cylinder inside the wrench tool. It causes the drive to turn. End of stroke you release the switch, cylinder retracts / ratchets and start over. Turn up the pressure, the tool can torque up to 2,500 ft lbs.

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Wow, ok makes sense that would be easier than a 6 foot 3/4" tongue wrench and a multiplier, makes the hard part a lot easier on the body. I always hated the end when things get torqued, we just used wrenches, no fancy stuff, never much fun.

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I hear ya! I remember those days :). Right tools for the job make things easier and more accurate. Comes at a cost though. Over 15 grand for the hytorc! :eek:

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Seeing Mario's update, that's the 1st question I thought of too...

1998, me & the neighbor pulled the front diff from an Eaton axle that's in my Panther Steiger 325hp 4wd. Re-assembling the pinion into its housing, the nut needed to be torqued to 925ft-lbs. We used a Snap-On 5' long torque wrench capable of 600ft-lbs with a 3:1 multiplier. We stuck the handle of the multiplier in the tractor's draw pin hole, chained down the pinion housing to the drawbar & proceeded to get the nut to the 925ft-lbs setting. I still remember to this day how much the handle of the multiplier flexed & I was more than just a little scared that our jerry-rigging could come apart to kill us both. :eek:

I bought a Landoll field disc last yr, the blades are 5/16 width & unfortunately I hooked a big enough rock below the surface that I bent a few blades. The gangs are torqued to 1150ft-lbs... now I know what to ask when I search for a fix-it shop to make the repair someday.

Thanx for the thread Mario, I wondered how such high torques were achieved. Could you take a pic of the torque wrench you used? Curious to see what it looks like.

Re: What's the diff ?
 

We have 2 types of hydraulic wrench at the shop. The 3/4 drive can go up to 1,500 ft lbs . The 1" drive can go up to 2,500.
And we have two pump styles. The first pic is the feild service version

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psd58ad77e.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psc8f59b3a.jpg

This one is our shop pump. Both are capable of 10,000 psi.:eek:

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps064d62a6.jpg

This is the 3/4 drive version. The reaction arm cam be rotated to almost any position. Also comes with an extension arm when required. That's a 1" 5/16 size socket you see on it.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psa0a16152.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6f6083fc.jpg

This is the 1" drive version. The reaction arm also can be adjusted on this one and hard to believe it can handle 2,500 ft lbs but it does:eek:


http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psb1178e2b.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps132b1619.jpg

This may help to give a size perspective sitting with my 1/2" impact. Both are very light and easy to handle. It's the special hoses which connect to the wrench are a pain. They're very stiff and stubborn but I guess it makes sense when your dealing with pressures up to 10,000 psi.


http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psd3ae04ca.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps531a26df.jpg

They are available for rent also. The website has a list of distributors. Hytorc.com

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Very cool pic's Mario. I am always amazed at how close tollarance's are required on these huge pieces of equipment, probably why those diff's are being repaired, "little wobbly".

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Found this on YouTube . Great explanation of the wrench in action.

http://youtu.be/EOPDFD2-zjQ

Re: What's the diff ?
 

This is actually a scheduled maintenance interval. its called the mid life rebuild. At 15,000hrs, The engine , torque, tranny and axles components are replaced with exchange. Along with power train hoses and driveshafts. Then back to work for another 15,000 hrs and then machine gets a complete rebuild. Wiring, hoses, center hitch bearings, computers, etc.
The reason for a mid life is not push components to point of failure and lose value in the core component. Cheaper to refresh an engine than to wait for it to throw a rod out the block or replace a differential before housing and main structure items are damaged.
Long story short.....preventative maintenance. :);)

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Completley understand. I bought an old John Deere 440 Loader crawler about 15 years ago, the play in one of the drives got so bad that it twisted the axle in two. Had to build a yoke or support stand to pull thhe drive off (500 LBS), alot less than what your dealing with. I couldent belive the close tollarences, especially in an older machine, but after thinking about it any kind of play will get drastically worse, fast!!

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Just awesome stuff Mario...I as a heavy truck/diesel mechanic really appreciate seeing this stuff since the most intricate parts of heavy equipmt repairs I get to do is put a track back on or repair a bad hydraulic line or hose . Maybe a starter or a coolant leak. But I never really get to tear into our loaders or dozers like this. Great stuff bud, thanks for sharing it with us. :D

Re: What's the diff ?
 

No doubt the specialized shop you work at is one that is few & far between. How far away do you have components and whole machines coming from for partial & complete rebuilds?

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Thanks Nick. Glad you like seeing this stuff. I figured not everyone has the chance or lives in the right area to see things like a 992 loader and figured id share with my extended family :D
I wish this forum and ipads were around back in 2001. I spent 2 weeks sailing the great lakes on a 700ft laker as I rebuilt a gen set engine. the main propulsion engine was massive and I was in awe for the entire time on board! I just couldn't get over the size and power! It was a 5 cyl Sultzer engine. 5,000 hp and three decks high!:eek: Max rpm is 120!
I know I took pictures with an actual camera.... ya know, the type where you actually had to tke the film roll out and send it to get developed.:lol: if I find them ill scan and post.:cool:

the exchange component business is huge now and has radically changed how we do business. We can get customer machines back up and running way faster than ever before. This current 992 midlife rebuild is a guaranteed 7 day turnaround. That's replace engine,rad, torque, tranny, diffs, final drives and powertrain hoses and back to work on the 8th day!

the dealership created a specific division to rebuild components called Reman. It is based in Toronto so we can get anything from an engine, tranny or hyd pump overnight, ready to go. due to the major mining demand there is now another Reman facility in Thunder Bay which has a main focus on underground equipment components.

our core business here in Sault Ste Marie is of course, the steel plant and the nearby gold mines 5 hrs away. The furthest place we have sourced equipment from is Peru. The company bought over 25 used machines from a underground iron mine and shipped to us and Sudbury for rebuild. At one point it was a 1 yr wait before delivery after purchasing a new underground scoop. we could rebuild a scoop in less than 3 months. Another way to meet customer demands.

gonna toot my company horn one more time.... we are the worlds largest CAT dealer in a geographical sense. The dealership covers from the Canadian east coast all the way to Manitoba and runs as far north as the territories .

as great as Reman is for our customers, there is a negative side to this type of approach. our new younger mechanics are becoming " robot parts changers" . When I was young we rebuilt everything in house. gave you a chance to open up, see what things looked like and helped understand how things work. nowdays nothing is opened up and repaired, just replace.

I don't want to place every young up coming mechanic under the same stigma but I see a major lack of troubleshooting skills in the next generation. how can you troubleshoot something you don't even know how it looks and works inside?


I apologize for my rant. Joe asked and that got me going! :lol:

Re: What's the diff ?
 

I suspect it's Edmonton that is the center hub for the west side of Canada b/c it seems everything heavy equipment & parts usually comes from there.

I know exactly what you're talking about Mario, I see the exact same thing happening with agricultural machinery & the young 20's & 30's mechanics just don't seem to have a clue what they're doing, they just R&R parts to chase the problem... but to be fair - the equipment is getting more electronically complicated every yr & the training is not there to support it & the diagnostic tools are just as ridiculously expensive that it's impossible to supply every dealership in the country with them... but then again, big dealerships don't seem to have a conscience about raising their shop rate 10% to 15% every yr either while the quality of service drops. 6yrs ago I was paying $65/hr, now it's $130/hr, all the while the mechanics have received next no training & no specialized diagnostic tools.

That's my rant & it's all your fault Mario. :p

Re: What's the diff ?
 

I see the same problem every day. As a Technical Trainer for the Kentucky/Indiana Komatsu dealer, we also struggle with the loss of knowledge caused by using Reman components. We haven't taught a engine/trans/final drive rebuild class in several years because Reman is the quicker way to get machines back in production. Keeping up with the latest technology and troubleshooting procedures is our #1 priority for training, and we use disassembled components where possible to let them see what is inside. Mario, you hit the nail on the head about troubleshooting and understanding systems when you have never seen the inside! We do what we can, but since Reman is handled by Komatsu, we have a hard time even sourcing a component to tear down for training class. It is a different market than when I started in this 45 years ago. Technology has changed so much and so quickly over the last 20 years, we often get newer technology before we have everyone trained on the previous version! At least it is not boring - sometimes extremely frustrating - but not boring.

Ken

Re: What's the diff ?
 

And the young kids can't find a bad ground, because the laptop doesn't tell them to look for it !
Cheers, Neil.

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As frustrating as it is dealing with and trying to help the up and comers of the industry I can't help but find myself feeling old....... It's been over 20 yrs since I was green and I seem to recall hearing the oldtimers complaining about us young guys! :rolleyes::p
I'm turning a new leaf.......The future is bright, and the young guys will turn out alright.:D. Besides, I'll be retired and long gone by then.:lol::D
That's all I'm saying about that! I don't like it when I bring my work life grief enter my happy time.:cop:

So here's a happy work update :) the 992 axles are long gone and now back into rebuilding a R1700 underground scoop. the axles are out and I thought to take a couple pics of these cute little things.:lol:
Only weigh 5,500 lbs. the diff is just over 800lbs. A far cry from the 992 diff that weighs 2,000lbs! :)
The axle housing is a little different but can be compared to a 966 or 970 wheel loader size.

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps3dcbe36b.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...ps15fc3139.jpg

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Cool stuff Mario! What truck are you standing next to?

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It's a 725 articulated dump truck. There's also a 735B in the yard. It's that new ugly style looking cat truck will full tier 4 final emissions crap.:(

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Nobody likes to be sick with a bad cold and a really stuffed up nose. I'm not sick but as of today and for the next week or so..... I wish I was sick :(

Look what rolled into and stunk up the shop today. I'm not one of the unlucky souls who has to work on it ( been there, done that ) but I have to smell it all day long! :eek: even with disinfectant spray it's such a foul smell!
Why do they always plan these repairs in the fall and winter ! :mad:

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psqjozwxka.jpg


http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psrsobhkzd.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psdsqqsw1c.jpg


On a better note. There's been something you don't see everyday in the truck shop. Just got a in frame rebuild done and I wanted to get a couple pics before she goes. Not sure what year it is but old enough, it's got a mechanical fuel system in it. I love the sound of a good old 3406. :)

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psyixiql1x.jpg


http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psszy5fqon.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psdiuashiv.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psb0udqny2.jpg

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Mario, trash compactors are the pits!! We've had complaints from the front office personnel because the stench drifted over the building and was pulled in by the AC system. Too bad they can't enjoy it up close and personal.

Ken

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There is no good time to be around trash trucks or compactors, but the smell increases 10 fold during the summer! Nice FreightShaker!

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Thanks for sharing your pictures from work Mario, quite impressive to say the least! Pretty neat to see some heavy equipment parts laid out and get to see what the internals look like. Was delivering at the local Demix mine here in Laval was in awe to see these machines up close took my sweet time with that delivery :D

Two dabs of Vicks vapo rub under the nostrils definitely helps with harsh stenches, bet the guys at the shop were cursing when that one showed up!

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:). There's nothing like it and I just knew you could relate and have experienced it . :)

I agree Kent, smell is bad in the summer but at least the machine is worked on outside when possible. Bad thing about this time of year, too cold outside to leave the bay doors open all day so with things a closed up its nasty. Especially first thing in the morning :eek: doors are opened then I don't care how cold it is! :lol:
It is a nice shaker. Found out it's a 1997.

Thanks Brandon, glad you enjoy the pics. To me it's normal, usual stuff and forget to take pics and share. ......Every now and then, I remember. :)

Re: What's the diff ?
 

Another something different came in today I just knew I had to share.
I'm sure many of you have never seen an underground grader? They've been around for years but this is the first one I've seen that is based on the new M series grader.
New lower cab, shortened front frame and circle draw bar and a whole lot of guarding for the back end because you can't see sh*t out the back! :eek::lol:

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psxqrpl56o.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psjledgacy.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psmxxdcfaa.jpg

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...psqi0trboq.jpg

With the cab lowered, you actually straddle the goose neck of the frame!

http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/...pso9yh7yuq.jpg

Re: What's the diff ?
 

cool pic, your boss know you snap pics to show your interweb pals??