T-20 Skidsteer won't come apart..

[popeye]

I am an excited new owner of an ATTEX 6x6. Always wanted one, but never could find a good enough deal to allow it. The other day cruising through craigslist, I found one for sale. I am not exactly what it is, but I think It is a 500 Thunder Chief. Please correct me if I am wrong. It has the green body, swoop preformed into it. Engine is a Chaparral twin 484. Everything seems to be intact and in pretty good condition. It starts easy, and runs good, seems to have a lot of power. Like new tires around it, but only one big problem, It won't turn. Well maybe a little. I read the incredibly great repair tutorial on transmission overhaul. I jumped in and in just a little bit had the t20 on the bench and I have run into a small problem. The case halves came apart easy enough, but something is still holding it together. Before I get rough with it, I would like to know if I have missed a step. Thanks in advance for any help. By the way I am not sure how great of a deal it was, but I gave $300. In case anyone wanted to know.:

[Don]

Hey, Popeye;
Congratulations on the great deal! What you've got is a Superchief- top of the line for Attex, and a very fast machine.

Once all the bolts are out, the halves should separate without too much trouble, but sometimes it takes some jiggling to make it happen. You should never have to pry on anything once the seal is broken between the cases.

Good luck! ...and post some pictures.

Don

[popeye]

Jiggled and jiggled. I must be missing something. The fluid that came out of it did not look very good. Could something be stuck, like a planetary, that would prevent it from coming the rest of the way apart. I would love to post some pics. Where is the best place to put them.

[JoeMeg]

Jiggled and jiggled. I must be missing something. The fluid that came out of it did not look very good. Could something be stuck, like a planetary, that would prevent it from coming the rest of the way apart. I would love to post some pics. Where is the best place to put them.

Shift pins still in? Joe.

[duckhunt81]

Sounds like the mid-plate is stuck to the "open" side of the tranny. You might be able to take a punch and try to catch an edge of a bolt hole on the mid-plate and give it a love tap. Make sure you use the punch agaist the steel mid-plate and not the alum. housing. You might have to try a few diiferent bolt holes, but it should come off that way. If it is still stuck, I would guess someone sealed it with silicone or something else similar. If silicone is present it will be a pain in the rear to seperate.

Good Luck, let us know what works for you.

[George]

Jiggled and jiggled. I must be missing something. The fluid that came out of it did not look very good. Could something be stuck, like a planetary, that would prevent it from coming the rest of the way apart. I would love to post some pics. Where is the best place to put them.

Right in this thread.

I've sealed mine up with silicon gasket stuff and it ended up gluing them together pretty good. I ended up attaching chains to both halves at the place where the tranny mounts to the frame and pulled then apart using 2x4s and a tree...kind of comical actually but it worked.

[popeye]

Shift pins are out, but I am curious about the silicone RTV comments. It was put back together as some point in time with orange silicone. I do have the case halves separated about 3/4 of an inch apart. It was kind of tough to separate, but not terrible. After separation of the halves, It just bumps solid. I will give it another try in my shop this evening. I get the feeling that someone along it's life got to the same point that I am at and said forget it, squirted Silicone in it, shoved it back together and sent it down the road. Just makes me want to fix it up even more. Is it possible for an input or output shaft to seize and prevent it from coming apart? If it won't come apart tonight, I may need to borrow your tree and 2x4 idea (if you don't mind). Thanks in advance for all your help!!!!

[popeye]

Yeee Haa! Finally came apart. Who ever assembled it the last time, did not ever want it to leak or come apart. EVER! As luck would have it for me, the side of the plate that stuck was the wrong side. George you were right. I pretty much wound up strapping it down on the bench and pulling it apart, literally. The outer bearings feel pretty rough, and they had no idea how to adjust the bands. Bands were twisted on the plunger ends. Found one loose part lying in the bottom of the case. Looks like about a 3/8 long piece of steel 1/4 tubing. Not sure what that is yet. What an amazingly simple but useful transmission. I can't wait to get it back together. Now I need to get some parts. I would love to hear any suggestions, or any trouble spots I should look for in my tranny.

[Mike]

It sounds like you have already nailed down the trouble spots. Replace the two main bearings (that you can only get from the manufacturer) and seals along with all of the other miscellaneous thrust washers, etc that come with the rebuild kit. Check your bands to make sure the material is on them all the way around and that they haven't caused any scoring or gouging to the drums and that's about it.

[popeye]

The drums look pretty good other than some pretty heavy surface rust in a few places. I think I will just replace the bands anyway. I think what I am reading is that RI is where most people prefer to purchase rebuild kits from. Is this a safe assumption?