I received my 955L back from my brother the other day. What was to be a couple of days turned into a year or so. Mom always said "Never a lender'r or borrower be" I learned my lesson. The machine came back with the oil pan removed and the oil pump removed. I checked the engine oil pump and it is seized. I also noticed a wire rope about 4" long and about 1/32" in diameter in the bottom of the block. Not sure of the origin. Not sure where to start either? Would it be a waste of time trying to fix the motor knowing the the condition of the oil pump? I'm really wanting to restore because of great old memories. Should I stick with genuine Caterpillar parts or are there aftermarket parts that work just as we'll. Need help thanks?
See this thread .......... HeavyEquipmentForums There's nothing on your 955L engine that can't be fixed and there are many on here who have "been there, done that" who can guide you along the way as to how to do it. Most of them pitched up on this thread at some point or other.
I like my 955 and done several repairs and it's still going. The thread Nige is a great one showing what can happen given the time and funds to do it. I've heard some here indicate you should stay away from classic parts and after market except for external stuff like mufflers. I'll help where I can
I must admit that I'm partial to that thread Nige is referring to! I would pull it apart and see what hides inside!
If it was oil starved I would have the engine sitting on the floor, check all bearings and that includes the camshaft and support gear structures at the front, I have seen all too many engines tried to be saved piecemeal only to miss a spun cam bearing or accessory drive bushing eat the entire job back up, also gives time to flush all the oil rifling's in the block and clear any accumulated garbage in the cooling system.
The bit of wire is probably from the front crank seal, the Lanchester balance shafts cop a nasty rash if the oil feed fails as they spin at x2 crank rpm, usualy its best to pull the motor into bits as the wear points are easier to sort, the idler gear bushings suffer that is the 1 inside the front cover also the 1 hanging off the oil pump, No1 main bearing always seems to show the most wear? also the rocker shaft gear will show wear on the rocker pads, if the loader was my own I would fit IPD cylinder kits as they are crack on. tctractors
I have a couple of questions that I need answered. What is the reason or function of the "balance rods" located at the bottom of the block? Are they supposed to be in the same orientation or in a different or even opposite orientation? Plus should I invest in the service manuals for the engine disassembly & assembly?
Are the service manuals worth what you pay for them? If I were to disassemble the 3304 engine, is the service manual really a help?
Heck no, don't need a manual to disassemble any engine.... now if you were to want to put it together and have it run when complete.... I would want a manual, but that's just me. Kidding a bit, but serious.
Bryant, on the balance shaft thing it might be worth looking up Lanchester Cars as these Lanchester brothers invented the balancers also the front crankshaft style Damper (Dampener) on the service manual side there is 1 that deals with the 3304/6 engine only but the service manual on the shovel will also include a section dealing with the engine, this will state all the settings and wear limits etc on this engine, I am sure it would be worth the effort for you to track 1 down, some people think the engine is a simple unit ?? I can tell you they are often built up incorrecty by the people that think this, I dont need a manual as I have re-built heaps of these engines, but I always check the spec' in the "Book" as I am a bit Thick and need things correct with no guess work. tctractors
Thanks for the good info and I will take your advice. I'm a beginner with limited funds but I have a great desire to restore the machine. More questions to come....
Bryant, I sent you a PM.
Thanks for your help.
Even my wife laughed at that one.
I laughed as well. The real problem is my mind doesn't always communicate with my fingers.
I have a history question on the Caterpillar 955. I know the 85J series was made in the US. I have read the 71J was made in Japan and the 64J were made in Australia. Beginning in 1972 the L series was introduced beginning with the following serial numbers 85J04672, 64J03994, and 71J03198. Is this statement correct?
This may help: http://www.ritchiewiki.com/wiki/index.php/Caterpillar_955K/955L_Crawler_Loader Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
64J's were French built, other than that your info agrees with what I have.
Another great link to look up all CAT equipment, including stolen ones http://www.ironrecord.com/index.php
I am having problems trying to find the correct engine rebuild kit. Does anyone have any suggestions? Whom should I order the parts from etc?
Either Nitelite or kb9tci would be the guys who know. PM either one of them and ask.
Nige, you beat me to it! Bryant, are you in the States? We can definitely point you in the right direction if so! Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
Sounds like you are on the case kb9tci, run with it!
I live in the states. I am looking for a complete engine rebuild kit. I tried to look on the classic caterpillar web site and it seems that you need the correct part number for whatever you are looking for. I tried finding the kit using the description but that didn't work to well.
I copied this from my thread. This is from Nitelite: He saved my wallet on my Cat! I am quite grateful that Nitelite pointed me here!
I did the same thing that you are doing for the engine. I went through Cat and Cat Classic for individual parts. I did not know about Off Road at the time. I could have definitely put a full kit in it cheaper than piecing together the parts I needed. I'd say I will go with him for a kit next time, but I'm not hoping for a next time! Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk
I didn't know about offroadeq at the time I was rebuildin my D3. The machine shop bought the upper and lower kit for me from KMP out of Texas
I haven't posted for awhile and it is good to be reading post from this group again. Can anyone tell me what a standard crank shaft bearing measurement is? Also I need to know the cam shaft standard size is as well?
This is for a 3304 Cat motor
I'm not sure if you can read this: