My son showed up with these is his K truck today. He said the loader didn't look right without them. I have to agree.
Pic of sprocket without counter weights. Will post another picture when sprocket counter weights are painted and installed.
Not familiar with 931B's. Are those weights that bolt onto the sprockets? Does your machine have backhoe attachment hooks?
Yes, the weights bolt through the 3 holes in the sprocket. Yes, it did have a backhoe attachment. The story I got was the guy that originally owned the machine sold the hoe attachment because one of his employees got injured taking it off the loader. That's what the son in law told me.
Neat. I remember seeing a few 931's and D3's with backhoe attachments on them as a child. Before there were skids, CTL's and mini's these little loaders were the ticket.
Track loaders were always a favorite machine of mine. Excavators have come on strong over the years with most contractors and with the advent of track skidsteers getting bigger and bigger, it seems almost no one wants a track loader anymore. I use to have a 935C and did A LOT of clearing with it. Back then I worked 5or6 days a week for a dirt moving contractor and was somewhere every weekend working the loader. When I was laid off I was always somewhere with the loader. I built 4 ponds on my property with the 935C (SOLD in 1996)and just recently purchase this 931B from an estate in NY. Always loved using a track loader to do clearing jobs. Over the years I have had 277 and 287 skidsteers,308 excavator and a D3G dozer. The track loader remains my favorite. Just getting all the bugs out of the 931B for now and waiting for good weather to start construction on 3 more ponds on our property. Then I will probably give the 931B to my son. Hopefully the 931B will do me well. Hope you have a great day!
Where did your son find the weights? Did you find out if it had a 4 in 1 bucket? It has the factory lines with the bolt on protectors under the boom. There is a threaded hole for a forged lifting eye to pick up the weights. I think it's 3/8" coarse thread. Not a bad idea to put at least some blue loctite on the bolts. You don't want the weights coming off or flopping around. You're lucky you have Cat sprockets. They have the proper bosses to bolt the weights to. Mine has Berco hubs I welded new rims to and they don't have the 3 bosses for the weights. Was much cheaper to weld new rims on than have to have someone come out to pull and press new sprockets on. Someone before me cut rough holes in the hubs (that were too big) to hold the weights on. I had 1 weight ready to fall off so I cut the bolts and removed it. The bolts were red loctited but the weights moved after a couple hundred hours. I can make a better way to hold it on but it's not on the big priority list since I have the hoe on most of the time. Still something I hope to fix this year. With the hoe off and a 4 in 1 bucket it's a little tippy with wet clay without the weights. A rear counterweight to fit on your backhoe mounts in addition to the weights isn't a bad idea. Always make sure the hoses at the back stay coupled. Even try to start the machine with them uncounted could blow up the hyd. pump.
Here's some pics. of my 86 931B. It is what yours appears to have been when new. The hoe might have been different though. Earlier hoes had a rack and pinion swing. There were also side shift hoes but I think those were rare as hens teeth. I don't know if the hoe could be dealer installed. What's missing is extra grab handles on the rear of the ROPS. You could ask Nige if he might be able to find the build sheet for your serial number. Mine appeared to show a std. machine and other sheet shows what was added and/or changed.
Welder Dave, thanks for the pics. Just curious of where you are from? Looking at the dirt and trees, I would guess down south or maybe Great Lakes region. Just a wild guess though. I have only ever seen one 931 with a hoe attachment and that was probably at least 30+ years ago. Cool that you have one!
My son actually found the sprocket counter weights on FB Marketplace. Some guy around Johnstown, PA has a couple of 931's he is parting out. My son said he had a 931 engine and transmission on pallets ready for the buyer to pick them up. I can send you a link if you want to check to see what all he may have. I did not ask my son if he had a good 4 in 1 bucket available. Years ago I probably would have wanted a 4 in 1. But, now me being 70 years-old and all the clearing done on the property, I really don't need a 4 in 1. Not sure what my son would want though. Yes, I can imagine your machine would be extremely front heavy with the hoe attachment on. Thanks for your replies. Always appreciate it. You have a wealth of knowledge. The multiple warnings about the hydraulic pump is duly noted!
I wander who sold those to him! It twas I
Cool! Going to sand blast them and paint them up. Will post you a pic when they are on the machine.
I'm in Edmonton, Alberta and my property is about an hour North. I thought the weights may have come from the seller and were laying around in the weeds or something. If you can contact the seller maybe they could give you some info about a 4 in 1 bucket (or possible grapple) that was on the machine at some point. There should be another control valve beside the boom/bucket control valve. My machine is very heavy on the back end with the hoe. Without the hoe on I don't think I'd feel safe heaping the bucket as full as in the pics. above. It's a 1yd rated bucket but heaped like it is I'd guess it's almost 1 1/2yds. 6 buckets puts a good load on the dump truck. As far as the 4 in 1 bucket, I think they're a little overrated. They don't load as easy or let material roll when pushing longer distances. They are handy but the biggest complaint I have isn't really the bucket but the way the hydraulic lines are mounted. Working clearing brush they get mangled too easily from stray branches no matter how careful you try to be. I need to repair all the lines on mine but I want to make some good covers to enclose as much of the lined as possible. The 4 in 1 is great for fence posts. You can push them and pull them out if you need to.
Cool, that you are from Alberta! I agree about a 4 in 1 being over rated. I have one on a Deere compact utility tractor. Yes, good for pulling fence post. I never thought about the 4 in 1 hoses getting hung up on brush while clearing, but can see where that could be a problem. Also, didn't really think about a GP bucket loading or pushing material easier, but I can see where there would be a difference. As always Dave good info. Thanks
Even the steel lines clamped on the bucket got mangled. Something catches on a hose and it pulls on the steel lines bending them. Case used to advertise their did steer buckets filled easier because they were roll formed at the back. It doesn't make much difference on a skid steer but can on a bigger track or wheel loader.
Yes, I had that happen on my Deere 3520. The hoses caught on some brush and pulled the metal lines forward and out of the plastic clamps that hold them in place. If i had to do it all over again. I wouldn't have got the 4 in 1. It really hasn't been that useful. I was thinking about what you said about the JB getting into the oil pan. The tube of the 2 epoxy I first put on was sagging a little. So, I am thinking that the epoxy was coming out of the hole and not pushed up into the hole.(maybe wishful thinking on my part) LOL