May 8th

Today was a very busy day. Went on a service call and finished the 5500 tractor. No hydraulic leaks. Then went back to the 770 to start pulling the injector pump. What a PITA. I had taken our gear pulling kit from the tool room to remove the injector timing gear, but the bolts were the wrong size. finished unbolting the injector then went back to the shop for some different bolts. Also brought back a couple different sizes of two jaw gear pullers just in case the bolts were wrong again. Well guess what, the bolts were the wrong size AND the pullers were too large to get into the cavity where the gear is to pull the gear. Time to totally improvise and get the job done. Found that if I removed two bolts from the timing cover they were the correct size and lenght to fit the gear puller that was in the tool room. To cut the story short, gear came off and injection pump is off. Bad news is that I had to park the truck about 150 yards from the tractor because the owner forgot to unlock the gate and while walking back to the truck I stumbled and threw the pump and all of the tools I had in my hands to the ground.  Well guess what, I broke one of the mounting ears off the cast aluminum pump housing. Maybe the injector shop can weld it back on. After that PITA, I went out on a hydraulic issue on a 8870 articulating tractor. Only had enough time to make a couple of pressure measurments and then found that I did not have the fittings I needed to finish the pressure readings. Back to the shop for the night. Will pass this job onto another tech as I get to go to the coast tomorrow (I think) to help install a loader on a 7730.