Amphicat questions

[AmphicatMan]

Hi guys, I bought this very nice amphicat last year. It has the 2 speed forward/1 reverse gearbox. Which I know wasn't the best, but my problem is that it leaks really bad from everywhere. Now I have taken it out rebuilt it, all new seals around the bearings and all of that, put it back in and it still leaks oil. I wouldn't care about the occasional drop here or there but it leaks so bad it gets all over the clutches and the brake rotors and then you can't steer anymore. I have tried 3 times now tearing it apart and trying every kind of sealer and it just doesn't help. The only thing I can think of doing is just run it without oil and let it wear itself out, which would probably take quite a while. Any ideas?

Also what I was thinking of doing was just taking that whole crappy trans out of there and make it hydraulic. Put a hydraulic motor on each side running the chains and then just control them indepentantly with two hydraulic valves. This would give me true skid steer as well. Basically it would work just like a bobcat. Anyone ever try that? Thanks, Jim

[jpswift1]

Reworking everything to make it hydraulic drive would be very time consuming, pricey, and make it very heavy.....plus you'd need a more powerful engine too since hydraulic drive requires more power to drive the wheels. This might be a silly question, but did you replace all the bearings as well? Sloppy bearings will wear seals right out. Also, you might want to consider picking up a plunger style Borg Warner Amphicat transmission up if that doesn't work. There are parts machines that pop up on ebay and Craigslist every now and then for a decent price.

[Mike]

Hi Jim, welcome to the site. Your amphicat looks great. Upload some more pictures to the gallery if you have any. I know it's got to be frustrating to replace parts and have the gear box continue leak like that but I have to agree with jpswift1 that converting it to hydraulic wouldn't be your best option. Can you tell exactly where the gearbox is leaking from? Could you post some pictures of it?

Edit: I just made it to the gallery and saw that you had posted some more pictures. That's a heck of a restoration! For anyone else reading this thread, here is the picture showing the leaking gearbox:



Do the shafts have any play in them or wobble at all?
Is the case cracked anywhere?
What kind of gasket or sealant did you use between the two halves of the gearbox?
One last question. How much oil did you put in the gear box and could it be overfilled?

[LarryW]

I agree with the crowd on the hydrolics being heavy and pricey. I also agree with getting a borg warner plunger style transmission. Or maybe even a bakerhill or t-20 if you can adapt to run the 50 chain to an axle or jackshaft and then run rest to 40 just so you dont have to redo all the sprockets.

[AmphicatMan]

I would love to get a t-20 but I just can't find one. I have been searching for months, so if anyone knows of one fairly cheap somewhere please let me know.

To answer some of the questions, the bearings seem fine, there is no slop that I can see. I did not overfill the tranny, I filled it to the "drain" hole in the back just like your supposed too. You know I was thinking about it the other day, is there any reason I couldn't just pack it with grease? All your really doing is lubing the one gear nip thats engaged. Grease would be nice and thick and probably not run out all over but would still coat the gears nicely. I could kind of pack it full of grease so its always running in it just like the oil now. Just a thought. Thanks guys for the help!

[yankedriver]

I have the same tranny in my 'cat, I just took it apart today, I noticed that there is no fill plug on mine, just a grease fitting on top. I took it apart because it was jumping out of forward and found that someone put the gear in with no detent ball. also, it was filled with grease, not oil.

[pgruessing]

I also just got a Amphicat with the T-10 but it is missing some parts on the left hand side of the tranny where the the secondary clutch goes from the motor. Does ANYONE on here have any parts for this transmission??? I called Richard but he does not have anything and suggested I buy another machine. Sorry, I don't give up that easy. I'll post pics of mine soon still cleaning her up she was found sitting next to a garage at a spring works in Hagerstown MD. Any help would be appreciated.