Dragline - Swing Clutch "Grabbing"

[lcommar]

Hi all.

I have a 1948 American Steel Dredge dragline. The clutch that controls the swing to the right wants to "grab" when I attempt to swing. I am not sure how best to describe this, but rather than a nice, smooth rotation, the clutch engages abruptly and jerks the boom around. I relined both clutch packs and they are still breaking in. The guy I bought it from, years ago, told me to add some borax to the drum to cure this problem. That helps, but not for long.

Does anyone out there have a better solution?

Thanks, Mark.

[unit]

try fullers earth powder or try setting swing brake and then engage friction for alittle while to wear in lining

[RICHGRABLE]

Hi there, when I read this, I thought for a minute or so,,,,then I finally decided it might be some worn control parts, "BEING IT IN ONLY ON ONE CLUTCH" On my Bantam I had the same problem, but the little needle roller bearings on the cones that activate the clutches were worn and flat, not even turning. I had Bantams for years, and to prevent this, you keep these little suckers clean on the outside so they roll as they are supposed to and not slide as they do when they get dirty. Also the mechanical rods, adjustable turnbuckles etc. have to be free of dirt and dust. Now we have spray and fast drying teflon, which I use. Hope this BS helps.

Pictures of my C-350 are in the gallery. THANKS

[plit55]

I am not familiar with the model dragline that you have, but we have several Koehring cranes. One of the 405's that we have will get grease or oil on the lining of the swing clutches which will make it grab. When this happens, the easiest solution is to spray a lot of brake clean, or some call it brake wash on the clutch and drum then just run it till it is dry. We sometimes use baby powder on hoist clutches that slip, but I think that will make one that has some grease or oil on it grab worse. Hope this helps