Cat 304.5e2 XTC final drive oil level

This machine's new to me and I want to change the final drive oil level. Don't they always get filled halfway up, unless they mark a fill line on the cover and have an additional witness plug. I have three oil plugs with one in the center which should be the witness plug, I would think. This one is currently filled up to about the 12:00 plug. I intend to get manuals for this but haven't yet. The Cat dealer said it takes 1 liter. I plan on putting in caterpillar full synthetic final drive and axle oil. If I put in one liter and that comes to about the center plug I would say that would be correct. Does anyone know for sure what it should be?

These FDs can be difficult to fill.

Put one of the large plugs at the 6 o’clock position, drain the oil, and replace the plug. Then rotate the FD slightly until the large plug that was at 12 o’clock moves to approximately the 2 o’clock position.

Remove the plug in the centre which then becomes the level plug. Fill oil through the plug at 2 o’clock until it dribbles out of the centre hole.

Thank you so much for the help Nige!

They must have a duo-cone seal or something pretty tough on the shaft. It's quite something the seal didn't blow when that whole cavity was full of oil. I also took off the big guard plate over the hydraulic drive motor. The whole cavity was packed tight with sand. Things were getting pretty rusty in there.

I was wrong about being full. I just moved the excavator a little ways with the oil cold it carried it up high and when I pulled the plug it ran out.

At the 2:00 position you have a lot more opening to add oil. When I tried to fill it earlier the port was mostly blocked and didn't flow in well. Picture shows a 1q cup with a twist on and off bottom. I bought a 16 mm x 1.5 mm to half inch barbed fitting off Amazon. It took about a half hour to drain in. I left the witness port open for part of the operation. It's a little cold in Wisconsin. I'm going to run it for a while and then park it on level ground and leave it for a day or two and then check it and maybe top it off then. As Nidge said this was not an easy job... lol.

Cat977 said:

As Nidge said this was not an easy job... lol.

Click to expand...

If it was easy anyone could do it……..

That’s why I save all the squeeze tops, from all my oil bottles.
They go in the “special” drawer.

I really like the squeeze bags. Way easier to add oil.