Shot in the dark just looking for some input. Bought a used 277B from a cat dealer and less than 100 hours since I bought (right at 2600 and if I remember right I’m somewhere around 65 hours) and I’ve already had to replace one final drive. Found the crank breather disconnected and pissing oil from dirt getting sucked into the intake. Dealer is offering no support whatsoever. At all. So now I’m stuck with a dead in the water machine again. So what’s the suggestions of the interwebs.. Cat wants $15k for a new unit.. looks like there’s some new/rebuilds out there for $8500. Or do I try and DIY rebuild. I’m not a business, I bought this machine for my property. It doesn’t make me any money, and now I’m going to be out the cost of the machine in repairs it seems. And I didn’t even get to the tracks and bogie wheels..
I bought one dirt cheap that hadn't been taken care of. They can be a money pit.
Honestly $8500 doesn't sound bad. What kind of warranty do you get with it. If you are doing a complete rebuild yourself you will probably have more than $8500 tied up in parts alone not including your time
I'm having a hard time understanding what is wrong . Does it run?
CAT MTL's struggle with value in decent shape (mostly undercarriage issues). Hopefully you bought it cheap. A rebuilt suspension system is around $8500, and was apparent when you bought it. Buying a used CTL is a gamble under the best of circumstances as has been discussed here before. Especially for private use, these repairs are expensive and using it for yourself, the return is much harder (assuming there is one) to see. Without knowing anything beyond what was written here obviously, I would call Iron Planet, and have them list it. They will do a machine inspection and you get what you get at auction. Hopefully your only into it in the mid teens somewhere. You never stop putting money into those machines. I would dump it and find something else, whatever money you may lose at auction could be much less than the machine will cost you later.
I had around 5000 in the motor, 6000 in the tracks and undercarriage parts just to get it going. Undercarriage needed more spent on it.Had a drive motor that was a little weak not real bad. Mechanic told me to replace both drive motors when you do it, another 6 to 7000. That's where I stopped and traded it in. Actually got almost all my money back on trade. I tell people to by the best machine they can afford, buy a cheap and you will have the price of a good one in it soon.
The cat / asv track machines seem to be the worst used machine to buy. Stay away.
I liked the machine rode great and would drive on soft ground you couldn't hardly walk on. Lacked a little on the power end but controls even on a half wore out machine were great. If it wasn't for the undercarriage and hard to get in cab with door on it I might have kept it. The undercarriage looked to be a never ending expense. Someone putting a couple hundred hours a year might get by but someone making a living will have way more tax right offs than they want.