Okay so Im pretty new here on these forums, a few weeks ago we picked up our mini excavator Now we have our bulldozer. You see we live on 23 acres back in the woods off the grid way North Idaho. We have a 2.5 mile road from our home to the gate, then its about 8 miles to town from there. WE are along a river and the road can flood in spots. We get a good amount of snow, we had over 14' in 2018. We needed a few pieces of equipment in order to get along back here and make improvements. For the first year I did alot of research, talked and worked with our neighbors and their equipment, etc and then decided on what would work best for us. We had a budget of about $30K and had decided on a backhoe. We figure the backhoe would do all we needed to do, however we would need 4wd. 4x4 backhoe in the size we need is right around 25-30K for a good used unit. While shopping for the perfect machine we had an idea, what if we had a mini ex and a small dozer, now two tracked machine could do the work of the backhoe and probably quicker with two operators. Also there are places where a backhoe would be tight to do work on the road. So the decision was made to get two small machines. Now we have them both! Yesterday I dragged home our new dozer! 197(3) Case 350 (g)!!!! Metal tracks and a 6 way blade. This machine is in very good condition. I started to mess around with it a little, pushing a big rock around, moving some dirt and stuff. Then my stepson got home from work and said he wanted to get some seat time. Well we showed him where we planned to clear brush along our front pond. I have been working out there with the mini ex for a couple of days making from good progress. About 3 hours later the dozer had cleared ALL OF IT. It simply pushed all of the small trees and brush over and flattened down the dirt. Now the mini ex can go and pick up all the slash...but man oh man did this little dozer make SHORT WORK of all that brush!! just in time for fire season. So that brings me here, I cannot wait to learn more about this machine. I know people love these old Case 350 compact dozers and I can see why... We paid $9000 for this unit it was only an hour away from home. It is well cared for, came with spare parts and the shop manual and some service tools. I look forward to having this unit in our "fleet" So now we have: 1984 John deere compact tractor 650 with loader, forks, 5' box scraper, rear blade, and a couple of field mowers 1998 Takeuchi TB035 Mini Excavator 1973 Case 350 dozer!! Time to get to work! No more borrowing or renting machines!! The case has a few small leaks here and there, otherwise everything works and she is in good shape for her age. I was also born in 1973, lets see who holds up better...............
Pics please!
NICE..!!!
Got to love your enthusiasm!
PICS!!!! granddaughter approved! We are "parking this place out " for fire wise, for visibility, control our drainage, reduced bugs and of course for the kids to play!! I design elevators for the worlds tallest buildings, when I am not flying a desk or building custom off road machines I am outside building our homestead! Thanks guys!
I miss my Komatsu D39P sometimes, you can’t beat tracks for grading and pushing stuff.
That's a nice looking machine. It's very similar to my neighbors 350 loader. I was wondering if your manual has any trouble shooting information for the transmission or why it won't move?
I can certainly look that up, this machine came with the full shop manual, I have not even opened it yet I will check into that this weekend My first guess would be a bad torque converter? low converter pressure or fluid?
That would be great, thank you. He said it tries to move but won't. A couple people think it could be a problem with the shuttle clutches being worn.
Check shuttle fluid level it is separate from trans. like the 580Cs
I started looking through the shop manual yesterday at the transmission and final drive sections, nothing in the troubleshooting areas mentions no movement at all. This is the first time I ever opened that book so bare with me I will keep looking for the "no move" issue. On another note the dozer got stuck for the first time. My stepson James is the dozer operator around here. Well he got a little excited, you see his mom has been trying to make an atv trail down by the river for the last year (since we moved here) the girls have been down there with chainsaws, shovels and brush trimmers all last summer trying to open it up to atv's. Well now we can remove the brush alot faster James figured he would take the dozer over there and start on a mothers day surprise....well the ground is still too soft for that = dozer was stuck!! Then as luck would have it the temps in the mountains have increased and the water came up 24" overnight, leaving the dozer in a puddle of water. Turns out it was not a huge ordeal, we tried to pull it with a truck and chain, only to snap the chain. So yesterday I went out there and found the battery dead and the dozer in 2nd gear. We hooked up a 12,000 winch to the back of my truck and planned to give it a good pull. I put a fresh battery in it and showed james that he had been in 2nd gear for the last two days (machine is new to him too). Dozer started right up and backed itself out of the hole....seems 1st gear made a world of difference Put truck and winch away....back to work clearing the brush and flattening the land. I want to get James a bumper sticker that says " I flatten stuff" because he and that dozer go together like peanut butter and chocolate.....our land is turning out really nice, real fast. I need to go get some grass seed........ We are all VERY impressed with this machine, it runs so well, sounds like a hot rod and boy oh boy does she push dirt, trees and rocks
added rear hitch much easier to move dirt Progress Spring!!
Nice photos y'all doin a great job
today I plan to move the big pile of slash!!! I need to pickup some mineral oil for the rear differential it has a small leak. I already picked up some Case type A transmission fluid, the trans has a small leak also every few days we have to add some trans fluid. Any thoughts on where the trans leak would be coming from? It is hard to see up there
Could be around shifter spool.
That could be anywhere above the belly pan. An oil leak from 6 feet away can trail to leak out of somewhere that isn't near the leak also.
Thanks for the tips! I am quite familiar with finding leaks and their source, I am just a total newb when it comes to this machine. My stepson informed me it is leaving a small puddle once in a while, he had a quick look to see its dripping right off the big yellow belly pan under the engine I think he said. The previous owner also made me aware that it may need 1/2 quart or so after a couple of days work, he was right! It uses about 1/2 quart every 2 days of us working it around. We check the dipstick and add as needed. So far no issues other then the small rear diff and trans fluid leaks. I was using dexron III until I picked up some Case type a trans fluid. Pretty sure the dexron is ok? I will research the shifter spool and the other possible leak areas and report back. On another note the dozer is great for moving the trailer full of pond mud around the property. Now I am looking at converting the larger military trailer to a dump setup
OKay the dozer is in line for its first round of "upgrades" and needed repairs. The alternator is only pushing 11.6 volts, likely needs to be replaced from what I can see. I am going to check the wiring first then order a replacement. There is at least one section of the track that needs to be replaced, the pin is worn out and so is the housing. Cleaning all the dirt and debris from the tracks and undercarriage for the first time, I can see it needs some work, a few rollers, etc Otherwise she is doing well. We have a problem that needs to be sorted out ASAP. We cannot angle the blade right to left, we can angle it out the other way just fine. The control valve/hand controls are physically restricted from allowing the blade to move the angle. The other direction works as it should. Up down works great, tilt works fine, its just the angle on one side. It is almost like there is a O ring or something stopping the lever from moving. My plan (as always) is to take it apart and see what we find, but I figured maybe somebody else might have some idea's? Thanks!
I would remove the spring cap on the bottom of spool the spring may have an issue.
seems you were bang on! After fiddling with it for a few minutes, clean the area with toothbrush and pb blaster... I found the lower cap simply unscrews Removed the spring cap, allowed the valve assembly to drop out, cleaned and lubed it cycled it up and down a few times. Some debris/gunk was in there some came out It is working better then ever now! Sometimes we win one for the good guys! back up and dozer'in Thanks!
Update! Alternator not charging, no biggie new alt is $85 Checked all wires, voltage at various rmp, putting out 11V One of our rams has a good leak, hydro fluid streaming out from the O rings... planning to rebuild the cylinder myself. Anyone know what O rings/packing/seals I need to order so I rebuild this monster? Its the big ram that raises and lowers the blade, this one: leaking from the dust seal area above the shaft....of course
The shaft seal is what is leaking you can find seal kits online fairly cheap.
There are different piston configurations inside the cylinder - one piece & 2 piece - so to order the correct seal kit you need the part number of the cylinder, usually found on the gland. If you have a hydraulic seal supply company nearby, you could dismantle the cylinder to use the old seals as samples.
I went to the place in town yesterday and they told me exactly what you said. If it has been rebuilt before it can be very hard to get the right parts the first time, so measurements are key OR bring in the old parts. My plan is to disassemble it so we can go get the correct parts. I need a longer cheater bar........ I have been educating myself about rebuilding these rams...enough to know what the gland is even! what did we ever do before the information age? Use books right? LOL thank goodness for Youtube Thanks guys! I have a plan now......will keep you posted.
Winter came and went, snow is melting I have removed one ram from the machine, the long one that lifts the blade, drivers side. Seals leaking like a fountain. I have one more ram to remove , one of the shorter ones that turns blade left to right, is also leaking like a sieve. I plan to take both rams in to have repacked............ Dozer did great in the snow, it really helped us keep our road passable..... Looking forward to some upgrades and undercarriage work on the case this spring
Two rams sucessfully rebuilt at local machine shop. one of the long "lift" rams was bent and leaking. They were actually able to bend it back straight and repack it, working great now. The other short ram (side to side) for the 6 way blade was BENT pretty good = we pushed it too hard. This one they had to replace the ram itself, replace the packing and seals and weld on end pieces with new bearings. Just under $700 so far.... Now to turn my attention to the undercarriage, we have a few rollers that need attention and a couple of links in the track could be replaced. Otherwise the dozer is ready to go! She sure runs nice I will get some pics as I put her back together......I wish I had more $$$ I would replace all the hydraulic hoses. She needs a new alternator and a couple of batteries. Not bad for a 47 year old machine (born same year as me)
Allright we got the machine all put back together yesterday I am very pleased! She is leak free for the first time since I have owned it. Topped off all fluids, tensioned the tracks, greased the chassis, clean the battery terminals and she is good to go! I plan to extend the exhaust a bit up past the cage, right now I get to breath alot of diesel. I plan to change the engine oil again, and then change all of the filters. I see the fuel filter is a glass bowl canister style, oil filter and hydraulic filters, air filter, all easy enough to access. Anything Im missing? Thanks fellas! Hoping to push some dirt around in 2020! We have much road maintenance to do this season
okay well almost leak free, still some seepage from one small ram, the one that tilts the blade....slight leak past the seals. Will keep an eye on it. yesterday when installing a new battery and converting the battery cables to use lugs I noticed something that slipped past me before. The OEM sticker is still partially visible on the underside of the battery compartment lid If you look closely you can see it still calls out the correct fluid types for this machine. the sticker
The "fleet" all ready to go for the 2020 season 1973 Case 350 dozer 1984 John Deere 650 compact tractor 4x4 w loader 200? Takeuchi TB035 mini ex Spring 2020 North Idaho..... just now starting to see Green grass
Here we are 2022 Dozer is lifeblood in winter deep snow storms, it is the only machine that can keep our road open however we did get her stuck in the soft stuff Luckily neighbor has a small kohmatsu and was able to remove some snow abs eventually pull me back onto the road Coolant leak developed Top radiator mounts came loose, radiator Moved around and I think a bolt went between fan and the tank Now I have a large coolant leak Limped her back home Now working to pull the 48 year old radiator for repair Pita to get at the bottom nuts! I have removed most of the front of the machine, she is sitting outside in the snow Good time for oil change and air filter maintenance Need to get her back on the road, after 4’ of snow plus we have now had two days of rain….. ouch
That does not look like one ounce of fun ....
Ha! See that’s where you gotta flip the script, this is fun! This is living! Running around on atv’s and tracks with family and neighbors, trying to beat these challenges is what it is all about. Sitting at a desk designing elevators for 25+ years, well this is the kind of thing dreams are made of! One word Perseverance with some help later today I should have the radiator tank free from the dozer and I can take it to town for repair/ rebuild. I wrenched my back pretty good digging snow last week so having some help to remove the heavy dozer bits will be nice! Found the power wire to headlights melted. I needed those Lights last week, I was actually driving the dozer at night using my cell phone to see… she was my ride home after the utv threw a belt. These suckers move pretty good in 2nd and 3rd gear I plan to replace the halogens with some Led pods this time around. Anyone have any tips for getting at the bottom two radiator nuts? Do you remove the belly pan or? I have the service manual it just says to take the radiator out the front from behind the grill, I assume with the belly pan off they would be easy access. I did not want to lay under her any longer then I needed in the snow man and machine vs the forest The forest fights back
When I took mine out I took the skid plate off. The worst part of it was the 2 hydraulic cooler lines for the torque converter, I had to heat one of the fittings up to break it loose.
Removing that sucker was easier then I thought. I had tried to get the nose cone skid plate off the other day removing all the bolts and prying on it did not seem to budge Well today with the “rad support” out of the way I was able to get a better pry on it and the nose piece came off of its mounting plates. After that easy access to the lower rad bolts and cooler lines. So the tank is out and ready to go in for repair! Good time To clean out a bunch of goo and forest debris from the underbelly The whole radiator support and headlight piece was loose which is likely what led to the rad mounts coming loose. Good to have it all apart for repair and cleaning hopefully the repair/rebuild can happen quickly at least before the next big snow Converter cooler lines came right off Luckily for me, oil leaks likely kept fittings fresh
There ain't many things worse than working on a machine in the snow. At least you gave a good attitude about it!
Very nice post to read. Keep up the good work
Thanks fellas Sure I could have put the dozer in the garage to work on it but man oh man that would be a lot of snow melt to deal with!! Temps have been in the 20-30 nice and warm for this time of year, in fact I find Idaho winters are pretty “warm” compared to 9000’ where I come from… no sideways wind! The shop has floor drains, guess what? They have never worked for me In the spring maybe I can get the drains open so I can melt machines to work on , it is on the list of things to do hahahahahha
Okay radiator is getting a new core Prices suck these days over $600 for a new core sheesh Will be done early next week In the meantime I am trying to buy new upper and lower hoses and a radiator cap I can find the cap online, the lower hose is like 5” long and straight that I can source… I am having a hard time finding the upper hose?? anyone have good source for these parts? help!
Fourtencustums. I just got a hose with the same degree bend that was too long and cut it to fit. I got mine from a auto parts store. As long as the ID is the same on both ends I would think it will work.
You can also get flexible radiator hoses that you can bend into any shape you want. Car part stores should have them, or you can find them easily online. Just match up the inner diameter.
Copy that dudes I have boxes of hoses and I am used to sourcing these at parts stores “cut to fit” it is yesterday had a chance to fit some Led cubes for new headlights turned out awesome! Now ordering a couple of small led bars for front and rear work lights to mount under the roof Our road turning to mush, warm temps has us driving through lots Of slush. Plow truck is fixed but won’t drive out in this crap not without going with the dozer first looking forward to getting the radiator back!
Radiator is ready! Woohoo working on sourcing some hoses, I dug out my box of spares I bought this silicon hose a while ago for turbo diesel intake on the Takeuchi Might work perfectly for our application here Made a small change to headlight situation will allow more spotlight from the cubes Dozer should be back together later today!!
You guys ready for the bad news? holy heck I’ve been through it this winter got dozer all out back together ran for about an hour, no leaks everything good then a fan blade came apart and took out the new radiator and upper hose Sob!! So basically the old radiator Mount came loose and went through the fan, destroyed the old core. Had rad rebuilt and we bent the fan blades back into shape…well I must have missed something because one fan blade broke in half and took out the core and upper hose neck…. So today I will be removing the radiator again and taking it in again for repair. I might be the best customer this radiator shop has ever known!! battle on It was glorious while it lasted Considering an electric fan conversion? Fun fun please send $$$ Heard a loud “smack” and then plenty of steam…found this little Gem just sitting on top Of the new tank carnage Hard to see but it also Smacked the crap out of my new core, hopefully I’m this can be repaired not replaced!! Tgif
Damn, I hate to read this type of post but appreciate the follow up. Save to say it's never a good idea to straighten bent fan blades as the centrifugal forces imparted to the formerly bent blade are often catastrophic in nature as you have discovered. As you stated hopefully the core can be repaired or is not compromised badly. I've had a lot of radiators recored and the last five row unit I had done was just over $1400.00 so they are getting expensive. Electric fan is not a bad idea.
It was just one blade Slightly bent!! Lol lol hard lesson to learn… good news I bet I can get the rad out much faster this time and The new headlights are awesome. Need to get dozer back running luckily there is no snow in forecast Looks like a 14” fan will fit right in there hoping the intake has a good spot I can add a coolant sensor for a fan switch
You may consider having the radiator shop install a "bung" into the top tank to mount a level sensor to alert you to a low coolant condition. I usually do this with a retrofit and power a lamp on the instrument panel to alert the driver or operator to a leak, or low coolant level.
Radiator shop hooked me up! They fixed the damage for free, this was very nice of them. I gave a nice tip when I picked up the unit and they gained a customer for life! I am happy to report the now fixed radiator is back in abs working. We successfully converted the machine to an electric fan. I used a 14” Mishimoto fan with adjustable electric controller from summit. This controller has a screw in temperature probe with adjustable heat range turn on. Also includes a manual over ride switch so you can command the fan to come on manually. to mount the fan we built a full shroud which replaced the factory shroud unit. We had to lean the top of tank outward about an inch to help w waterpump pulley to fan clearance I am very happy with the result! The case dozer is back pushing snow and running well. The new headlights work awesome, I have a led bar and some rear pods to add now as well. next upgrades planned are some detachable side wings for the blade to make it a bit wider for snow season, the dozer will also need some undercarriage work sooner rather than later. getting familiar w this machine very quickly with each visit to the shop
Finished!!
Nice work on the radiator in the snow!! And awesome job on the LED’s... I’ll definitely be watching what you come up with. mine is “in line” for spring/summer tinkering...just hanging out in the aftermath of recent Nor’easter/Blizzard!! The white stuff sure does hide a bunch of ugly!!
Whatchu talkin bout Willis? That is a thing of beauty.
Thanks for posting the details of your project. If that fan is reversible it, it would be really nice to have that option for the summertime heat and the operators comfort.
It is reversible! I see in the case manual that two mechanical fans were offered, a puller and a pusher. That was the first time I have ever seen anything like that…. A first for me! thanks for the kind words we will be putting her to work today trying to get a handle on our road before the big spring melt off
I looked everywhere for a summer (push) fan for my T/L/B and never found, one although Case used to sell them. I wasn't aware of a reversible electric for a replacement until now.
Fan seems to be working fine, keeps the water temps between 190 and 200 all day long. time came to finally adjust the rear brake bands and change the differential fluid to make sure the correct stuff is back there. When warm she was having a hard time turning and of course the external adjusters were maxed out. So off came the rear diff cover. Super easy to adjust the bands. I loosened the external adjusters and added 3 full turns to the band Clevis adjusters. Drained the rear diff, cleaned up the cover and housing, and re sealed it. I also drained both final drives. All the fluid I drained out was pretty nasty. things I learned: Must use gl-1 90w mineral oil in rear diff There are two drain plugs for the rear diff Reman brake bands are available on eBay for about $90 a pair for new Liners I may order a set to keep around for next time, super easy to change out! she’s turning great now! Will see how long this lasts two drain plugs, same diff It takes 7 quarts of mineral oil gl-1 I put 85w-140 in the final drives, gl-5 Fluid Next up finish installing all of the led lights, two more cubes for the rear and a 22” bar for the top of the cab
Some pics of us clearing snow in preparation before the big spring melt I Love this machine!! She will really push some snow. Next I will be looking for a muffler