The Keep ‘Em Crawling crew has something new for you!
You’re reading our very first newsletter!
It will be filled with all things “crawler!” We’ll have helpful tips for keeping your crawler crawling, information on new parts, and featured crawlers from our collection and those from customers. If you like John Deere crawlers, you’ll love our newsletter.
For now, we’re planning on sending a newsletter once each quarter so it doesn’t clog up your inbox.
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Need new parts in the new year? We have ‘em…including the M1636T sleeve
A lot changed during 2022 here at Keep ‘Em Crawling. We added many more used parts to our inventory, which we hope to make available for purchase on our website soon.
Besides used parts, we continue to add to our inventory of manufactured parts for your crawler. One of those parts is the M1636T sleeve. The M1636T is the sleeve the steering clutch throw-out bearing slides on. These have been available for a long time but at a high price. So we have manufactured the sleeve in large batches so we can sell it at a lower price.
Need to seek a sleeve?
If the sleeves in your steering clutches get rusty, or are covered with dirty grease, the bearing carrier won’t slide as easily, making it harder to steer and sometimes causing the steering lever to not return to the engaged/forward position. When you’re doing steering clutch work on your crawler, check the sleeves for damage.
Common damage can be flared end, bent, out of round, or deep scratches. If your sleeves are in good condition, we recommend cleaning and polishing them. You should then add a layer of grease to help the bearing carrier slide freely. If a new sleeve is needed, carefully press it in until 2-9/16” of sleeve is still sticking out of the quill. See the service manual for details.
M1636T sleeve
Replacing an engine or the steering clutches? Consider the JD-7 Tool Gauge
If you are replacing your JD crawler’s engine or steering clutches, you may need the JD-7 Tool Gauge. It is used as a gauge for adjusting the height of the fingers of the pressure plate. The fingers are not adjusted from the manufacture; therefore it’s important to set them before you put the crawler back together. Fingers not adjusted correctly can cause the clutch to slip or not disengage. Always set the fingers according to the service manual of your crawler and the instructions provided with the JD-7.
Besides the JD-7, we offer other clutch gauge tools. Check them out on our website and see your service manual to know which one you need for your crawler.
JD-7 Adjusting Clutch
We make new parts for old crawlers
Part of what we do here at Keep ‘Em Crawling, is reproducing parts no longer available. One on the parts we are currently working on is the AM1665T Hub. It’s the cast iron hub the drive axle bolts to on the MC and three roller 40Cs. The axle and hub are held together with a large nut. If this nut is not kept tight, the hub and axle start to separate and the splines can be damaged. We have the new hubs cast and are working through the best way to machine them to original specs. Our plan is to have them available for sale later this year. We’ll keep you posted!
Featured crawler: a California transplant 430C
We don’t know any of the history of the 430C before we bought it, but it’s one of our favorites in our crawler collection. Back in 2011 we bought it near Camarillo, California, a small but busy town northwest of Los Angeles. Most of the area around consisted of lemon and avocado orchards, but even at the time the orchards were quickly being overtaken by mansions because of the beautiful views from the hills.
The crawler had a factory 3-point hitch and aftermarket citrus fenders when we purchased it. Neither are mounted on the crawler now, but will be when it receives a complete restoration. In the meantime, it still earns its keep around the farm. Logging, pulling wagons, and digging potatoes are a few jobs it does regularly. We take it to shows, parades, and even pulled it in the local tractor pull once.
Although we’ve been asked many times, it’s not for sale.
Do you have a favorite crawler in your collection? We’d love to see it!
Send us pictures and information on your favorite crawler and we may feature it in future editions of our newsletter. You can send the information to keepemcrawling@gmail.com.
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