Hello, There is one for sale near me that looks like a good machine. The finals on each side seep oil along the bottom row of bolts. My description of the leak may tell you that I know next to nothing about dozers. The oil fill/level check plugs appear to have not been opened in a long time as they are caked full of very old dirt. One of the few things I do know is that repairs are very expensive. How much concern is there on this type of leak? Thanks
Check the final oil level, a little low it's no big deal. If it's dry you might want to think no. As far as a leak goes, that's nothing. Just a seep. Also. give us a serial number, and more pictures. Sprockets, rails, idlers. Pony or direct start, power shift or direct drive? Asking price?
looks like it could be a leaking copper gasket around the drain plug in that picture although i would never be that lucky. is the other side the same or is it leaking down from the sprocket seal area?
The other side is the same. Neither side has had the oil level checked in a long time. It might be seeping from above but not dripping.
If the oil plug had recently been removed and the oil levels high I'd suspect that it was done just for the sale , if they don't mind you could drain each side and check for broken bits , the older the oil is the easier it is to determine if the finals are sound .
Old CAT finals leak oil, fact of life. If it's easy, fix it, if it's not just keep the oil level up, Check everything once a week, front to back, engine, torque if it has one, transmission, hydraulic unit, finals, winch. Pay attention to how the steering clutches release and hook back up, I seem to recall they were a weak point. Same with the transmission, slowly work all the gears and get a feel for how they hook up, and don't be in a hurry shifting gears, it's old tech, rev it up, shift, wait until it's happy and revved back up, shift, wait, etc. Same going down, one click at a time and wait until it's stable. It's a bulldozer not a Honda civic. I may be off a letter, outfit I worked for had an E or an F, can't be sure now. 65,000 pounds I think, U blade and winch.