What's the diff ?

[thebigo]

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".

[Supermario]

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

http://youtu.be/EOPDFD2-zjQ

[Supermario]

Originally Posted by thebigo

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".

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.

[thebigo]

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!!

[BRICKNICK]

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.

[Lil Giants]

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?

[Supermario]

Originally Posted by BRICKNICK

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.

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
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! 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. if I find them ill scan and post.

Originally Posted by Lil Giants

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?

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!

[Lil Giants]

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.

Originally Posted by Supermario

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" .

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.

[sparkycuda]

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

[doodlebug]

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

[Supermario]

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!
I'm turning a new leaf.......The future is bright, and the young guys will turn out alright.. Besides, I'll be retired and long gone by then.
That's all I'm saying about that! I don't like it when I bring my work life grief enter my happy time.

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.
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.

[TRUCKMAKER]

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

[Supermario]

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.

[Supermario]

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! even with disinfectant spray it's such a foul smell!
Why do they always plan these repairs in the fall and winter !









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.

[sparkycuda]

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

[TRUCKMAKER]

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

[Northern Farmer]

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

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!

[Supermario]

Originally Posted by sparkycuda

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

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

Originally Posted by TRUCKMAKER

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

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 doors are opened then I don't care how cold it is!
It is a nice shaker. Found out it's a 1997.

Originally Posted by Northern Farmer

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

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!

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.

[Supermario]

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!









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

[bigford]

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