Well, I've made the jump...back. In 1994 I shut down a successful logging operation in Northern CA to take a job that let me be more present raising my children. Ended up owning a successful business in the Pacific Northwest but have missed the equipment element ever since. Now 25 years later we've purchased acreage in one of the most beautiful places on earth and have acquired a sweet old sleeping 977H pedal-steer Traxcavator to help us take care of it. My online search for parts and service guidance led me here and I'm so glad it did! I must say how impressed I am by the wealth of knowledge and the generosity with which it is given by many who have felt the same unique connection in the...backside. Imagine how encouraged I was in my work to bring this machine back to full glory when I found threads here that specifically talk about restarting and restoring old 977s! You guys are great and I sincerely look forward to relearning my craft with your help. My first 'ask' from you all is regarding our initial startup of this old girl. She's been sitting for the past 10 years following the passing of her owner and we acquired it cheap from his grandson. We've gone through very parallel procedures to those outlined here as far as ensuring freedom in the engine, replacing fluids, filters, etc. We've replaced the batteries and have rolled the engine carefully a few times just to make sure we have no major obstruction issues. My dilemma is that the dipstick is missing from the main oil pan. We've reached into the pan with a piece of wire to see if we can detect water and oil consistency, but because it's my recollection that the real dipstick is about 5 feet long, I can't be sure we are seeing what we need to see, and certainly don't want to fire up with underfilled, overfilled or contaminated motor oil. I would (and may) pull the plug, but dropping (and replacing) 205 quarts of Delo before we've even kissed doesn't feel like wisdom. So here's the rub: CAT was able to give me a part number for what they think is the correct dipstick. The part # is 8M-5361 (gage A). So far, not one of the dealers, including our WA state used Cat part dealer can find me one. Are there good used part dealers out there that can help with little things like this? Or possibly, can anyone give me specs on exact length and indication markings so we can determine where things are down there? Wow, long post. Sorry guys. I promise to keep things more concise and to the point in the future . Maybe just a little nervous and chatty first time out. Again, so glad to meet you all and thanks in advance for your valuable help.
WE well that looks like a keeper judging from the tracks. if russel tractor co is still in bus. in salem va .look them up and give em a call they had a yard full of older equipt. there . meantime i`ll check and see if they are still around not sure about that
The usual advice is to loosen the plug until you get one or two drops, if they're not water, then you're fine. In your case it may be easier to order some small diameter poly tubing and pull a sample from the very bottom. If you can't find poly tubing that will fit, take the tube out of the engine and see if you get a bigger hole to check, and/or find some capilary tubing off a scrap refrigerator etc. I'd use a guesstimate of that volume in the of oil in the oil pan to see where you should be level wise. Do that to all the fluids before running it, then change them after running a while.
Back in its heyday, what would this machine have been used for that required a winch instead of a ripper?
Great advice all. Thank you. That's exactly what I'll do this weekend. (And nice meeting you btw.) With regard to the question about the winch, the old man used it for logging. Not my preferred skidder for sure, but for his small operation a skidder that could build roads and load logs (came with a set of grapple forks!) would be pretty handy!
For parts you can try Offroad Equipment www.offroadeq.com , that's where I usually go to find parts for my 977s. So far they've had everything I ever needed. Another great guy is Ed Miller over by Spokane, WA, I can PM you his number if you're interested. Hope to see your old girl up and running soon!
Not a bad looking old beast, be careful waking her up as they tend to be a little sensitive at first light up after sleeping awhile!!
Are you talking about a 977H or a wife?
That would be just 'Yes'.
Love those old 977Hs! They were all over the place when I was a kid growing up. Definitely inspired me to be an operator.
with the touches of graffitti its looks more like it's out of the city somewhere..nice undercarraige,and a winch to boot..and by the looks of the bucket hanging on the exh pipe,no muffler either..thats a 20hp boost lol. nice score if shes a runner
Says they have an 8M-5361 here..... https://www.machinerytrader.com/parts/construction-equipment/search?partnum=8M5361&pst=starts