I bought a 1991 D6H Cat dozer a few weeks ago, first dozer for me. Hour meter shows 3230 hours, the owner said he thought that was correct. Paint is pretty faded and the decals are half gone, but the cab and sheet metal are okay. The seat seems to have way more then 3230 hours as well. I took my nephew along and we both got to do some pushing with it where the owner was building a pond. My nephew already has a D5H, I figured he might know more about what to look for. This is on the serial number tag in the cab shown below, I know how to find the year model of the dozer, but I have no idea what most of the other numbers mean. What is arrangement number? I also noticed that this dozer was made in Japan. The book I have shows his dozer being 175 HP compared to 170 HP for other D6H dozers. Why is it higher HP for the same 3306 engine? Serial Arrangement *1KD04383* 4Y5180 3306 Engine *10Z24497* 2P22971 Transmission *1RX003337* 8E1934 Parts order Z I have run and taken care of tractors all my life, but never a dozer. I bought this one to do terrace work on the farm and push out a few trees in various places, not looking to make a living with it. Anyway, the dozer was built and delivered as an LPG track dozer, but now has 20 inch wide tracks on it. That seems an odd size since most D6s have 22 or 24 inch tracks on them if not the wide LPG. I didn't want a dozer with LPG anyway and these grousers are still pretty tall, probably 80%. I would rate the undercarriage at 50%, the Cat salesman who put me onto the dozer agreed. The drive sprocket rails and rollers looked okay, again seemed about 50% to me, a novice. The 3306 started immediately when cold and ran great when we got it warmed up, we didn't spot any leaks or issues, owner said everything works as it is supposed to. Dozer seemed to push strong and the blade and tilt worked as it should, it has a straight blade with side arm attachment. Transmission shifted as it should forward and reverse, seemed strong. Seems a little off that the tracks were changed, but the dozer was being worked right up to the time I bought it. Somehow I think it has more hours on it, but I don't think there is a way of finding out. Any help here would be appreciated. Looks like the dozer was sold new by McAllister Cat in Indiana and the previous owner to me lives in Kansas as I do. It's been really wet here so I haven't been able to use this dozer yet.
You got an Operation & Maintenance Manual for it yet..? Probably the best $50 you'll ever spend. Translation of your numbers ...... 1KD04383 - Tractor Serial Number 4Y5180 - Tractor Arrangement (master build list) 10Z24497 - Engine Serial Number 2P22971 - Engine Arrangement 1RX003337 - Transmission Serial Number 8E1934 - Transmission Arrangement Here's the As Shipped consist of the tractor from back in 1992 when it was new. For hours on the machine, I can only suggest to try calling McAllister and see when was the last time they worked on it and what the hours were on that date. Those hours seem awful low for a machine that's almost 30 years old.
Thanks for the reply. I have a new operators manual, the dealer salesman got it for me, even though he wasn't in on the deal. He sold the previous owner a newer dozer though. I'm sure I'll get an education when I start using this dozer. Hopefully not in the way of $$$$$ of major repairs.
If the hour meter looks original and still works it may have gone around once so has 13,230 hours. Hour meters are the last thing to trust though. Regular maintainence and not abused are more important than what an hour meter says.
I used to have a D5H LGP that had 36” pads as standard.I also had a set of 20” pads that I used for certain jobs.
If you add a one in front of that number it might be accurate. As far as the undercarriage goes maybe they got a deal on components so hence the non spec pads or they desired narrower pads.
I have a bought new 1988 D5hlgp with only 4800 original hrs. on whole machine. The D5hlgp came with 34" pads not 36". To this day even the newest D6nlgp still has the same track length and width.
3200 hours out of 4000 hours (of life , but who would know ) of the first tracks on the machine and now plus its into its second set , at least and they are half worn ? What do the pedals look like . 3200 hours is very low . Hours don't add up .
Wouldn't an LGP have a wider track gauge than a regular dozer? The ones in my book that were a dedicated LGP showing a 87 or 88" gauge vs the normal 74" gauge. OP's Serial number shows it being 74" gauge. I'm no expert on these Cats, just wondering. FWD
Measured my D6H today and it's 88'' center to center on the tracks, pretty sure it was delivered as an LGP. Thanks for you info though, any knowlege is appreciated.
Adding to my post above. I have had my D6H now a little over a month, been either too wet or too cold to use it yet. I have found out a few things while washing it up and changing all the filters and the engine oil. None of the fluids were lower than the add mark, the hydraulic and trans filters on the right fender both had started to come apart. I didn't find any metal in the filters and the hydraulic fluid and trans fluids look good. Didn't look like either filter had ever been changed. I also took off the floor pan in the cab and changed the filter under there. Refilled all fluids to the full level with genuine Cat oils. 1 This dozer was built in Japan, I knew that when I bought it, not a concern I don't think. It has MacAllister dealer stickers on it, I called them in Indianapolis to get the service history on the dozer, the guy looked it up and said there was NO SERVICE HISTORY on my serial number anywhere in the world. Hmmmmmm I do have a new owners manual and parts book. 2 This dozer was delivered with LGP tracks, it now has 20'' tracks on it that are probably 90%. The rails and sprocket looks to be around 40 %. I tightened the right track and loosened the left one to manual specs. The big cylinder on the front of the track frame is right within tolerance for a used dozer. 3 The hour meter reads 3323 hours, looks to be original. It is a four digit meter, not one that would read 03323 hrs so I don't know if it has rolled over 10,000. All of the foot pedals, throttle, brake, levers and doors are snug, the foot pedals show very little wear, that makes me think the hours are correct. On the other hand, the seat is badly worn and the decals are really faded and partially worn off. Nothing on the dozer seems abused or badly worn except the rails and sprockets. Pretty sure this dozer sat out ALL the time, as most of them do I suppose. Dozer starts good cold and operates as it should. Nephew and I actually pushed some dirt pretty hard at the previous owners place before I bought it. 4 This dozer has NO GUAGES, only warning lights and buzzer for all the functions. The lights all work when you flip the test switch. I have never seen a dozer, or even photos of this dozer that didn't have the oil pressure, transmission temperature and hydraulic temp gauge. Was this the way all the 1DK dozers were built?? I'm thinking of putting those gauges on my dozer. Cat has the wiring harness and gauges at a decent price. How much trouble would it be to put those gauges in the space on the dash? There is room for three gauges right in the same part of the dash as the hour meter. Dealer parts guy got me all the numbers, will I need sending units as well?? Thanks for any help or opinions, answer by number if you like.
Here's a link to a sale happening near here (Udall, Kansas) Saturday April 23. There is an R2 Cat crawler, a 16 grader and a D5B dozer that someone might be interested in. The owner ran Cat equipment in California for years before moving back to Kansas in the Late 1980s. He had some really nice modern equipment that he used in CA and also here. All of that has been sold. I have no interest in these items, but I thought some on here might. Here is a link to the auction site, scroll down a little bit and click on the link for April 23 Howard Young Sale. Moderator, if it's not okay to post here, please remove. http://www.kenpattersonauctions.com/getagent/Pages.php?Page=0001992628& Here is a link to the file that might work. Copy and paste. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JK2-LRE7bIsRu6Osfpg1FhTzbuOZ_G8i/view?usp=sharing
Not all of them. You have the optional 6T-3308 instrument panel designed for an open ROPS machine. It has the warning lights down the centre and the hourmeter #20 in the RH panel and that's it.
Nige, I had the D6H in the shop last winter, it has the full set of gauges now, all working properly. The dozer is running as it should. I sent it in because I knew I had at least two bottom roller bearings completely shot, turns out that 6 of the 16 were sloppy shot. Got all 16 new bottom rollers and two new top rollers. $$$$$ I was also concerned about the left front track adjustment cylinder (Cat calls them cannons) looking really sloppy when the dozer was moving. Turned out that just inside the track frame where it swedges down, it was BROKEN right in two. No problem they said, we can fix it, they did. Before reassembling, they completely washed out the track frames, put in new seals and the left side slide bushing, and reassembled. $$$$ I also wanted the blade lift cylinders rebuilt, $1000.00 estimate, parts and labor. Found that one of the rods was bent, no problem they said, we can make a new rod out of chrome stock. They did. All fixed. While the track frames are off, they find that the equalizer bar gussets on the track frames are wallowed. No problem, we can line bore those out and bush the holes so they will be repairable in the future.. The middle hole behind the pan was wallowed as well, after dropping the pan they fixed it. Equalizer bar all tight and true now. Good news was that the hard nose was tight, no slop at all. $$$$ I discovered two cracks in the track frames, no problem they said, we'll weld those, they did, all fixed. $$$$ The pivot arms were all in good shape, oil level was up, they put in new seals on the way back together. The final drives were in good shape, oil levels where they should be. The pre inspection showed that the drive sprockets and rails were at 30%, but no damaged or loose pins. Said the rails would probably outlast my use of the dozer. The track pads are at 90 percent. The extended measurement on the track adjustment cannons was well within tolerance. I told them once the dozer was back together to take it out to their push pile and work the hell out of it and make sure there were no other problems. a day or two later I did the same thing, all was well. The engine and drive train all seemed in good shape, so home she went. The service manager did a great job, called me each time they got into something. I went to the shop several times and they showed me all that was being done. The main mechanic was up front as well and was ready to show me what work they had and would be doing. The pre inspection estimate was probably on the money, but the broken cannon and loosed equalizer bare blew that up. I was prepared for that and so far all is well as I have used it. This dozer starts quickly, runs good, and all the operating temps are normal on the new gauges. Haven't run it yet in hot weather so we'll see how that goes. I also have a ton of mostly scrap rollers, although several of them look to be in good condition. They replaced all the bolts holding the rollers on , and cleaned the frame and cleaned out the threads with a tap. Didn't have to torch or dripp out any of the bolts. All it takes is $$$$$.
How to make a small fortune. Start with a large one and buy a used tractor .............
That's what I use farming for, this dozer hasn't come close to that.
Question on the hour meter. Every Cat machine I've seen starting with the D7G has a 5 digit hour meter, except my Challenger tractors that have a built in LCD. Did this D6 come with only 4 digits? I've always been aggravated that Caterpillar was the only manufacturer for years that used an hour meter capable of withstanding 40 years of use.
I've changed as many clocks in Cats as I have in any other machines. The skid steers and mini excavators are probably the worst that I've seen in a more than forty year career. It's so bad that Cat sells a sticker that you fill out with the hours on the dead meter and put it next to the new meter.
I think quite a few of the larger operations will put new hour meters in when they do major work on the machine. If for nothing else a working hour is good for scheduled maintainence.
My hour meter is FIVE digits, plus tenths. Right now is reads 03285. I have no idea if it has been changed, it surely might have. Cant seem to get any service records other than my own.
a couple of pictures would help