Hi looking for a bit of guidance on adding rippers to my D6H with diff steer, has anyone done this or seen a setup of how it is plumbed up? I have looked at parts diagrams on sis and it seems if it didn't have the diff steer valve in the control bank that would then be the ripper valve. If it is a diff steer machine it looks like cat runs a valve remotely from the main bank I think? I have heard people say that the easiest way to do it would be to tap into the blade tilt circuit with a diverter valve, but even the guys that sell aftermarket rippers don't seem to know the best way to get it plumbed in. I have purchased a set of rippers secondhand off a machine exactly the same as mine but they were putting a bigger set of rippers on from a D7G with adapter plates so kept all the valving. I didn't get to see the plumbing on their machine to work it out so starting in the dark. So has anyone done this and how did they do it? What works best ect? Thanks for the help in advance!!
Come on now, you know better than that. Start with a Serial Number…….
Haha sorry Nige yeah i forgot that bit! 4GG05795
OK, moving on. Do you have any photos of what you have bought that make it obvious what it will need to mount on to the machine.? After sorting that bit out it would be time to tackle the hydraulics.
Thanks Nige Yes I have found some pictures that I will upload from when I got them. I have had them sitting here for about 18months and not got them near the machine yet. I think all I will need is new studs to go in the back of the machine and they should bolt straight on. They came off a LGP machine as well. I have to remove the drawbar and I thought I would replace those studs if I could get them out but it might not be necessary. The top mount threads look a bit worse for wear so I’ll get a tap to clean them out and see if I can use them as is or I might have to go bigger. Re the hydraulics… that schematic shows what I was thinking is a seperate valve. I was basing that on it looks like it has end caps on either side. I think I found a parts diagram at one stage as well with some hoses, it seemed to have its own small lines for the sensing pressure to ramp the pump up. I’m sure they are in that schematic as well at a glance. Is that your take on it or have I got that incorrect?
So the first thing that strikes me is that the ripper is not exactly the same as would have been installed on your machine had it been equipped with one from the factory. See the photo below, it should only have one lift cylinder. A quick look at your photos and I can't see a Cat logo anywhere on the castings, etc. Question 1 - Is what you have bought a genuine Cat ripper or is it an aftermarket "will fit".?
Our 6R has aftermarket Gessner rippers with a diverter valve on the tilt cyl. circuit. I’ve never studied it properly but looks simple with only a minimal amount of plumbing on top of the transmission housing. Works OK, only minor issue is when looking back at the rippers and operating the tilt lever you sometimes let the blade drift into the ground.
I suppose the first thing to do is measure up the ripper mountings to make sure they co-incide with those on the frame of your tractor.
Thanks for joining the discussion Queenslander. The setup you describe sounds like what I have heard about. Did you get that from Gessner as a kit with the rippers or was it already on the machine when you got it? I talked to Gessner about a set of rippers when I got them to build my stickrake but I couldn’t justify the cost of new Aussie built set. They might sell the plumbing set though. I have talked to some of the dealers selling the imported aftermarket sets but they didn’t seem interested in selling a plumbing kit… might have just got the wrong person. Seemed a bit odd that they wouldn’t have worked out an aftermarket plumbing kit to sell with them. Nige they are aftermarket. I thought the rippers had been built by Gessner looking at them but the mechanic I brought them from said the owner told him they were built by someone else local in Toowoomba Aus (same town as Gessner) specifically for the D6H LGP tractor that they came off. They are actually a bit wider in the ripper spacing then the OEM ones if IRC, I suspect to match up with the wider track spacing. I actually found the pics the bloke sent me with pics of the tractor they came off as well. So hoping it should match up… will measure it up when I get home, have gone to town to pick up parts for a couple days.
Here's the detail of the mounting to the tractor. Because it is aftermarket there is no guarantee that the studs #6 called out in the parts list will be long enough to mount that particular ripper. Again measurements will be reuqired.
Thanks Nige interesting to note that the aftermarket ones use extra studs it seems. Looks like they utilise every hole in the back of the machine. That may set the theme for over engineering and the plates may be thicker like you said. I’ll see if I can get dad to measure the plates before I get the studs. Attached is a pic of the back of the machine they came off. .
No, we bought the tractor after the rippers had been installed a couple of years. You could easily do it yourself after nutting out the fittings that are required. Any hydraulic shop should be able to help you out…try BJ’s in Dalby if you get stuck. Gessner may not sell the plumbing but would point you in the right direction. Some interesting gear in the photo background. HD21 and little Fiat with bull tilt blade… don’t see many of either any more. P.S. Gessner’s spare parts prices are even scarier than there new equipment prices.
Ah ok, I am in Dubbo at the moment doing a parts run so I’ll visit the hydraulic shop here and see what a diverter valve and some starter fittings will cost. I think I’d have to work the extra hoses once it was mounted. Yeah a few things in the background that I’m glad someone else finds interesting too. The little Fiat is a 70CI and the first machine I purchased when I started contracting about 12 years ago. It has a manual transmission and a power shift type forward and reverse clutch system. The HD21 might have to get sold at the rate I’m going to help pay for transmissions rebuilds in the 966G and D6H. I don’t know if anyone would pay much for it though.
Mounting plates are 25mm thick so I’ll go and terrorise the Cat dealer parts guys with my list of other parts I need and get some measurements of the standard studs.
They might terrorise you with the prices for said parts.
The 20 x 5D-3118 Studs from the parts list above that screw into the rear frame are zinc-plated, 4" long x 1" UNC (8 TPI).
Thanks Nige. That should be long enough do you think? 2” for nut and mounting plate, 2” in machine threads
Ok so about $200 for the diverter valve so that is the cheapest and easiest way to go it seems. Rated for 200bar the guy said and 80L/min so that should be ok I think? Just have to work out the fittings and hoses required now for that side of things.
With the diverter valve what size pipe does it use? 1/2" or 3/4? I am guessing at that flow rate 1/2" pipe. 80l/min seems a bit small to me, especially since you have twin rams on your rippers. Don't also forget you will need one that is closed so that the oil gets blocked when not diverted to the implement not being used. (so the rippers will not drop to the ground when not in use)
Just not sure what flow ours is producing but they work fine through 1/2 inch hose into twin cylinders.
That’s a fair point about the twin cylinders. It might be a bit small? I think they were 1/2” I was going to go back later with a ORF fitting from cat that is the same as on the tilt cylinder hoses, so that we can try and work out what fittings and hoses I need. I want to try and set it up so that the tilt hoses stay as is and go to the new valve, then the new aftermarket add on hoses can sort out the in between. So what is standard stays standard for easy hose ordering and replacement. Ah Queenslander said his has 1/2” hoses so might be ok.
At first glance the hoses do look a bit on the light side. But, as I said, the rippers perform fine…wouldn’t want them any faster.
Well these new fangled machines run higher pressures so can run smaller diameter cylinders and less oil flowand have the same travel speed and same breakout force as bigger rams with lower pressures, but bigger flows that the old reliable machines have.
If it has tyres, tracks or t*ts, you’re gonna have trouble…. regardless of age.
A bit of an afterthought. Have you considered adding a set of rear remotes while you are at it in case you pull some implement down the track? Nor knowing what your application is going to be, but if agricultural, you can do some different stuff.
I hadn’t thought about extra remotes. I don’t have a use for them right now but there is a few things I wouldn’t mind trying in the future that they would be handy for. I had already got all the bits when I saw this so I will just go with what I have for now. I don’t think it would be too hard to add extra later. Thanks for the idea though!!
So I think I have everything I need -Thread tap set for cleaning and restoring threads. -New studs and nuts -Hydraulic change over valve(24v was double price of 12v) -All the hydraulic fittings and combinations I could possibly need just in case. All in field reusable so I can make exactly what I need. -20m of hydraulic hose so I can re hose the ripper assembly as well. Should have a heap of this left over for future projects -A fancy rocker switch that lights up for the dash. Just need to start setting it all up. I have a few challenges with the New 140m grader that will have to take priority unfortunately so I’ll report back on this when I start it. Might help others out in the future if I document it.