Just yesterday I went and visited an old Kato excavator I don't know much about these machines but this one has been sitting here for at least 15 years, The engine is flooded and the cab looked like it had been on fire. Not sure if anyone knows much about these machines. I had posted a video on my Youtube channel as well.
well... if it looks flooded out, it probably was. I would not imagine there is a whole lot there to be considered any good, maybe the final drives & hydraulic pumps because they're designed to be sealed & capable of passing through deep mud & water. what are you thinking of doing with it? Has it been given to you? What are you considering paying for it?
Back in the day they were a very honest machine , not the best just honest
There is a reason it was left there. I didn't consider them honest at all. No service, parts maybe in New Jersey warehouse, real lousy service manuals and just plain bad engineering. They were put together out of a catalog and dumped on the market for a quick buck.
I had heard most Deere parts would fit these machines? maybe false info?
It belongs to a friend of my fathers, I was just wondering if it was salvageable or just scrap at this point.
Might find another use as a boat anchor ......... apart from that, forget it. I wonder if the cab was torched for an insurance claim.?
They were very popular in Australia 30 years ago so much so that every excavator no matter what brand was called a Kato. Kawasaki hydraulic's, Mitsubishi engine, Hy-Dash track drive. The current Chinese excavators aren't that much different.
there still is half a dozen laying around the yard in varying stages of decay here
Its kinda neat... Looks like something I would drag home. haha I don't think the cab looked burnt. Just decayed from the weather getting in. Getting out out would be a chore. Even just to scrap it.
That's why it's been left there to rot, it isn't worth the time & effort even to drag it to the scrappers.
Yep thats for sure, the machine was put back there after the owner had finished building his house, I guess he had forgot about it and his kids had smashed the windows out and vandalized it. It was parked back there when the area was a farm field. Now its a swamp and the machine is sunken about a foot, There is no way they could get it back out of there without other equipment getting stuck.
What state are you in? Does the ground freeze in the winter? That would the easiest way to get it out. Still would be a chore. Probably have to take the boom and stick off. Is the engine seized?
Im from British Columbia, it gets decently cold here just enough to freeze the ground. Im sure the engine would start with enough "TLC" but the machine wont move again.
A friend has a Kato HD800Vii that is going to the scrappers, right after it hangs the new engine on his 315. One of life's bummers, he has to buy a new starter for the Kato first. The 315 tossed the crank while cleaning out the pond, so another excavator is needed to hang the engine. I told him to sell the Kato, and first thing is list the new starter
Ive not seen that anti nuclear model before was that a popular machine in its time? Kind regards Uffex
Appears still in life
Those were decent machines in their day, that one I would guess started as a logger because it has the added catwalks and engine guard. KATO is well known for cranes, excavators, dumpers, etc. Compact Excavator Sales in Kentucky is the current US distributor, only reason I know that is they're also the distributor for IHI rubber tracked carriers/dumpers. If the oil pan isn't full of water, or the intake, or the exhaust manifold, or the hydraulic tank, (what are the odds?) drag a couple batteries down there, hook up a five gallon boat tank full of diesel to her (fuel cap is laying off the side of the fill neck) prime it until you get clean diesel to the bleeders and crack the injector lines, roll her if she will, tighten the injector lines and jumper cable the glow plugs, I'll bet you a liter of LTD she'll light and walk right on out of there.
Make sure some is taking video when you fire it up!
Tell your friend not to wait on sending it. While a new starter might make it easier to load, there are so many other things that can go wrong with it just to get it running. I would rather try to get a Drott running as fool with a POS like those were.
Service manual download: https://www.mediafire.com/file/87md09yjlohy49s/HD1023-III+Service+Manual.pdf/file
The only reason it is not getting cut up in place is the Cat 315 engine job. It ran enough to pull the engine where the 315 sits, half tracks in the swamp. Then the starter hung up and burned up. I've offered to go help him with the engine job, and thankfully he has let me off the hook The tracks are trashed, it would need a link cut out of each and the track adjusters repacked before he would walk it on a lowboy. After it helps the 315 out of the swamp, I imagine the 315 will help it into little pieces for scrap.
Come on wheres your sense of adventure get that filty old hoe fired up and walk her out
Fire her up .
it won't take much to get to the bottom of the machine,like said before a starter some batteries and fuel,with a filter or two as well..even if the undercarriage is shot or loose it would still see to move if the track drives and slip ring are good..easily accomplished in a day. Bring a grill,some chicken and a 12pack of your favorite beverage,and make a outing of it
Sure, spend a thousand dollars or more just to find out what else is wrong with it. I hope it runs long enough to load the engine in the other machine.