3CX JCB 1997 Maintenance questions

[diggerjones]

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll see if I can chase one up.
(after all, how many strange ways can there be there be to get grease into a nipple!)

Mine has 2 grease points on the uj's have to have a look for that 1

 

[Gecko]

If you find a source - buy two! I haven't seen any (other) reference to them.

 

[mart1602]

I found it!!
The bucket ram seals were delivered yesterday, so I got started with it. This is now my sixth cylinder, so I'm getting quite good at it, but I couldn't find the dowel. A closer inspecting this morning in daylight revealed the truth - someone had (presumably) failed to find the dowel, damaged the rod-end and nut and then used a saw to split the nut (and never redrilled the dowel hole).
I've put it back together with plenty of locktite as I have no way of drilling it with adequate precision.
Unfortunately, the saw cut crosses the spot where the nuts O-ring sits.

View attachment 13705

car body filler is meant to be good,havent tried it myself

 

[Gecko]

car body filler is meant to be good,havent tried it myself

I didn't have any filler on hand, so I used a generous amount of loctite on the thread.
Hopefully that'll keep it together and keep weeping to a minimum until it's next rebuild!

 

[Gecko]

Mopped out all the goop from the bottom of the tank (hopefully I haven't caught anything from it!).
Pulled out the return filter and spent 30 min trying to clean the debris from the bottom groove before I realised the filter housing is removable (they don't mention that in the manual).

Got as much old oil (I use the term loosely) as I could from various rams and refilled with fresh oil.
WOW - didn't realise there'd be such a difference. Particularly the hoe, it's much more responsive and less 'snatchy'.

Still trying to workout how I'm going to replace the wear pads in the Extradig - that's the next major job.

 

[Gecko]

Two days.
Two fukin' days.
Refilled the hydraulic tank with nice smelling fresh oil. Take it for a test drive - all good.
Two days later I finish lowering in a new gate post (easiest gate post I've ever put in!) and bugga me but there is a large lake of oil showing a burst hose (5/8" hose between loader and hoe valve chests)

 

[V8Druid]

Two days.
Two fukin' days.
Refilled the hydraulic tank with nice smelling fresh oil. Take it for a test drive - all good.
Two days later I finish lowering in a new gate post (easiest gate post I've ever put in!) and bugga me but there is a large lake of oil showing a burst hose (5/8" hose between loader and hoe valve chests)

fresh drum of oil required then apart from a new hose

 

[Gecko]

It was cheaper to buy a 200l drum than a pallet of 20's, so I've got enough to top it up, but I'm still not happy

 

[Gecko]

As an update, I've worked my way through all the fluids and filters (haven't bothered with the brake oil),but managed to over-fill the trans.
When I first took delivery, I thought I had a Synchroshift, but as I chizzle d the gunge off, I unearthed a Powershift. Trouble is, the serial doesn't match the chassis ID plate, so I don't know what I've got.
Is there anyway I can do a cross-reference on the trans serial to find out what it is / what it should be in?

The only obvious external differences are the location of the ID plate and the absence of solenoid coil "G".
I've looked closely and I'm reasonably confident coil "G" was never /can not be fitted. As it 'normally' would control the mainshaft, I realise this doesn't sound right, but there seems to be a shroud covering the stub the coil would normally slide over.

 

[GazCro]

You'll only have one of two transmissions on that machine. Easy to tell you either have a gear lever coming out the floor or you turn the f+r shuttle (powershift) to change gear.

 

[Gecko]

Ah - sorry, I wasn't clear.
Yes, it's definitely a powershift (with shuttle / shift lever on the steering column as you say)
What I'm trying to understand is where the box came from and anything else relevant.

 

[Gecko]

The only obvious external differences are the location of the ID plate and the absence of solenoid coil "G".

Forgot to mention - when I went to replace the oil filter on the Powershift, the "correct" filter didn't fit. The "correct" filter should have a 3/4" thread while mine has a 1" thread.
Clearly the trans has been swapped at some stage, so I don't know its origin or spec.
In the process of refilling the oil, I measured the oil in as per the manual, but the dipstick shows it overfull.
I've now read some transmissions need the torque converter drained separately to the box, but there is no mention of that in my manual.

My plan is to mark a plastic tube to the length on the 'full' mark on the dipstick, slide it down the dipstick / filler tube and pump it down to the correct level.

Should I look for a drain on the Torque Converter? (should I have known?)

 

[Gecko]

I knew I'd missed a few grease nipples.

Finally dedicated a slim grease gun to the inaccessible outer UJ's. Using a bent tube and adding a 1/8"BSPt x 45° adapter, I've managed to get to the offending nipples.

RHS

LHS
Chuck engaged on the nipple

 

[Mick-the-fitter]

I agree boiling water for the seals, they do tend to pop in fairly easily when soft, yeh been on the back end of a dethreaded rod and pin, had to get the nut turned off and start again. My client decided how easy it looked to just take the ram apart, and soon found out! If I remember rightly about £550 worth of misadventure.

 

[Mick-the-fitter]

Do you have a three or four speed box? Or a serial number?

 

[Gecko]

Do you have a three or four speed box? Or a serial number?

Good question!
The machine left the factory with a 4-speed box, but what is in there now is not original.
I read the serial as :445 372-2 00187
Any help identifying it would be greatly appreciated.

 

[topkit]

Its probably just a straight replacement box is it still a 4 spead with shuttle, My project 12 is a 97 phase 1 model wth manual box, if you get stuck for parts or part numbers go onto the JCB parts website and put in your machine serial number in you then get all of the diagrams up with the part numbers which has proved very handy, i have just found that they do oversize bushes for the boom which is pretty handy. I will post a couple of pics of my machine later today if the sun stays out!

 

[Gecko]

Thanks - yep, I've used the online parts list quite a bit to identify parts, but it is not without its issues.
- it will only let you in if you are in the UK. Fortunately if you lie (use a vpn), it will also let you in.
- when you enter your serial, it shows what "might" be fitted. eg. my serial shows 4 alternative front axles (1x 2wd and 3x 4wd axles)

The Serial Plate shown above is the only info I've found for the box, but searching on the ratio (1:1.823) only seems to bring up 4-speed boxes, so you are probably right.

 

[topkit]

Here is my 97 pro 12 she is in pretty good nick, i tidied the paintwork up earlier in the year, i just need t o do the boom pin the rest is pretty good it has had plenty of grease during its life.

 

[Mick-the-fitter]

Do you have a picture of the filter and adaptor thread on the box?