0336901 JOHNSON BOLT, Brg. hsg.

October 17, 2006
U-191
A-146
D-151
O-163
PriorityParts stock action needed PRODUCT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FOR SAMPLINGTHE ENGINE OIL AND IF NECESSARY REPLACING THE IDLER GEAR ASSEMBLY ON 3054EENGINES INSTALLED IN CERTAIN TH220B, TH330B, TH340B, TH350B, TH355B, TH360B,TH460B, AND TH560B TELEHANDLERS
1206,7502 PI30950
This Program must be administered assoon as possible. When reporting the repair, use "PI30950" as the Partnumber and "7751" as the Group Number, "56" as the Warranty Claim DescriptionCode and "T" as the SIMS Description Code. Exception: If the repair isdone after failure, use "PI30950" as the Part Number, "7751" as the GroupNumber, "96" as the Warranty Claim Description Code, and "Z" as the SIMSDescription Code. The information supplied in this serviceletter may not be valid after the termination date of this program. Donot perform the work outlined in this Service Letter after the terminationdate without first contacting your Caterpillar product analyst. Make every effort to administer thisprogram in a timely manner, but with the least incursion into the customers?operation. Taking oil samples at the normal maintenance interval, especiallywhere Customer Support Agreements are in existence, or where customersalready use Scheduled Oil Sampling, is advised to keep program costs toa minimum. This program also affords an opportunity to promote CSAs andSOS with customers not currently enrolled.
COMPLETION DATE
TERMINATION DATE
April 30, 2007 October 31, 2007PROBLEM
There have been reports of premature wearon the idler gear bushing assembly and idler hub.Root cause has been identified as a machiningprocess change made by the gear supplier, which had an undesirable effecton the surface finish of some idler gear bushings. Copper content in theoil has been identified as an accurate method for predicting whether theengine will be affected by the accelerated wear condition.Rework of the idler gear assembly is recommendedif the copper content in the oil exceeds the threshold levels detailedbelow(expressed as Cu). Oil samples should be taken duringroutine service intervals (unless an oil sampling program is already inexistence with predetermined intervals which are more frequent than thenormal service intervals).
While elevated copper levels from SOS samplingcan effectively identify accelerated idler gear bearing wear, occasionalhard cold starting difficulties may also indicate premature idler gearbearing wear.AFFECTED PRODUCT
The affected serial number list shownbelow excludes machines that were repaired under an earlier field probeto determine the extent of this problem. Other machines may already havebeen repaired with parts announced in TIBU4161. While these machines maystill be included in the list below, there is no need to replace the idlergear assembly again. If your machine is in the affected productbelow and is a new machine being currently held in Dealer stock or inventory,apply this PI and re-work the Idler gear As. (There is no requirement tosample the oil).
Model Identification Number
TH220B SLA259-260, 262, 270,272, 274-275, 277-279, 281, 284, 288-289, 291, 295-298, 300-303, 309-310,312, 315-317, 319-320, 322, 326, 329-332, 334-349, 352-355, 359, 361-363,365-369, 375-376, 378-379, 381
TH330B SLB260, 263-264, 269,274-275, 277-278, 280, 286, 293, 295, 299, 309, 311, 314, 319, 322, 324,328-329, 331-336, 338, 342-343, 348, 351, 353, 355-360, 363-364, 366-369,371-374, 377, 379-386, 388-393, 395-396, 413-415, 417-418, 457
TH340B SLC255-269, 271, 275,279, 284, 286
TH350B SLD608
TH355B JRK110-119, 121-125,127, 141, 146
TH360B SLE1123, 1388
TH460B SLF908, 929
TH560B SLG255, 257-258, 263,268-269, 273-274, 280, 282-285, 290, 294-295, 297, 299, 304, 306, 308,310-311, 314, 324, 345, 352-353, 357, 368-369, 371, 376, 379, 384, 388-390,392, 394, 400, 402-403, 405-406, 410, 417-420, 423-424, 426-427, 429, 433-436,439-440, 443, 445-446, 451, 456, 463, 470-471, 476, 484, 488-489, 553PARTS NEEDED
Qty
Part Number Description
1 OIL SAMPLINGKIT
1 2258019 GASKET-PUMP
1 2258287 GASKET-COVER
1 2514336 GEAR AS-IDLE
1 2546029 HUB-IDLER GEAR
1 2551209 PLATE-RETAIN
3 6I-0650 BOLTACTION REQUIRED
***** Parts Stock *****Remove all 232-3668 parts from parts stock.***** Affected Product *****An oil sample must be taken from all enginesin the affected product range. The oil sample report must be attached toall claims that include an idler gear change. Make every effort to administerthis program in a timely manner, but with the least incursion into thecustomers? operation. Taking oil samples at the normal maintenance interval,especially where Customer Support Agreements are in existence, or wherecustomers already use Scheduled Oil Sampling, is advised to keep programcosts to a minimum. This program also affords an opportunity to promoteCSA?s and SOS with customers not currently enrolled.