I HAVE A 2014 CAT 289D WITH ABOUT 3000 HOURS AND THE RIDE IS TERRIBLE. MY PRIOR EXPERIENCE IS IN 277 & 277C MACHINES SO THE 289D CTL UC WILL BE A ROUGHER RIDE BUT THIS ONE IS NOT COMFORTABLE. I REPLACED THE BLOCK TRACKS WITH "Z" STYLE BAR TRACKS WITH VERY LITTLE IMPROVEMENT. CAT DEALER WILL CHECK TORSION AXLES AN REPLACE IF NEEDED FOR $8000. IF YOU HAVE A HIGH TIME 289D PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR RIDE OR IF YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS I'D BE HAPPY TO HEAR THEM. THANKS
Put up some pictures of the inside of the tracks, idler and roller condition. The 289 doesn't ride as well as the 299 in my opinion, and all of the Cat CTL's are a lumper ride than the MTL's. You can fit new tracks, sprockets, rollers, idlers and torsion bars to a 289 and it still won't ride like a Cadillac. Just done one. Oh, and can you turn the caps lock off, we're going deaf.
The 277's you had were MTLs and the boggie wheels articulated and resulted in a much better ride quality, you'll never get close to a ride like that on a CTL. I have a Kubota CTL and boy do you know when you're running over a rock on a hard surface, but it's the same for all the CTLs pretty much, I've never tried the Bobcats with the leaf spring suspension though, I imagine it's got to help some.....
THANKS FOR THE RESPONSES. AS FOR THE ALL CAPS I TYPE WITH ONE INDEX FINGER AND IT TAKES ME FOREVER. maybe this will be better. i test drove a brand new 279d and the ride was not as good as the mtl ride but was much better tham my 289d. were the 2014 models a worse ride than new? i can't post pictures as i have no electronic skills but i had cat inspect uc and they found no problems. i'm waiting for the cat dealer to get a used machine similar to mine for a test drive so i can know if i am expecting too smooth a ride or if my 289 has a problem. i may be the problem.
My suggestion would be to remind yourself of how much more durable IE cheaper it is to run the CTL verse the MTL. Maybe that will help you cope with the rougher ride. I am not sure what could be wrong with the 289 other than the torsion bars are broken somehow. Really not a lot to go wrong with a CTL track system.
I've replaced quite a few rear axles on 289D's due to excessive sagging. They get bagged out and the rear end tends to sag. I don't spend much time in the seat so I can't comment on the ride quality. I don't really notice a huge difference between sagged rear axles and new rear axles. Do all the axle grease fittings take grease?
Thanks for the responses. I appreciate the info. The rear end has no sag. ll of the zerks take grease normally. I'm beginning to beleive that I'm the only problem.
All of the zerks take grease normally.
I have had the same problem with the 299d. Your front tensioner is getting loose and the weight of the machine is riding on the second small bogie idler. Does it ride better with the bucket empty? Take and weld a plate on top of the front idler tensioner frame were it goes in the track frame they have a tendency to wear out there, and all the weight is focused on the small wheel. Any questions fell free to ask.
Udate-- I was greasing 5 shots with a dewalt 20V gun, 10,000 psi. I tried greasing more shots after comments here(20 shots) and found that after 5 or 6 shots the gun relief valve opened and I was greasing the floor. There are 8 zerks on the axles and 7 are plugged. Negotiating with CAT dealer on repair.
More than likely you'll have to jack up the machine and pull the track frames in order to drill out the blockages.
FINAL FOLLOW UP: TOOK MACHINE IN TO CAT DEALER AND THEY GOT INTO THE PROBLEM AND FOUND BROKEN AXLES, DAMAGED AXLES, & SOME AXLES WITH PLUGGED GREASE PASSAGES. I DID NOT LIKE THE LOOKS OF REPAIR COSTS AND THE POTENTIAL FOR ASSOCIATED PROBLEMS. I TRADED IT IN ON A 279D HIGH FLOW.
Hopefully they filled you in on how to prevent that from happening again.