Just purchased a Cat 305 C Cr , It has a Cat thumb and a aftermarket 24 in bucket . The thumb will not close all the way . Is this because it has the aftermarket bucket ? Thank you for any input
Very possible but there's no way to know for sure. Does it not travel far enough or is there an interference somewhere, hitting something that makes it stop?
it is not a full rotation thumb. If the thumb cylinder is fully extended, that is all you get. I have both cat and aftermarket buckets for mine and it extends the same no matter which bucket you use. You need at least a 20" bucket to cover the width of the Cat thumb.
:witpic but seriously though, pictures are worth a thousand words... If it is just a regular non link thumb then wherever the cylinder stops thats all the rotation like the others said.
I agree. Pictures would be nice. Can you find out from the previous owner when the thumb was installed and what bucket was on the machine at the time, or maybe just look at the welding on the stick for the anchor of the thumb cylinder. Does it look like factory welding quality..? If not it may be that the anchor point was installed in the wrong place on the stick.
A standard pin-on non linkage thumb will rotate out 115 to 135 degrees.