Hello from Australia, A couple of days ago I purchased a 955L from a bloke down the road. I cannot locate a SN in any of the locations mentioned in these forums. The only SN I found does not seem to make sense, it is on the side of the engine (left) 53 H 168 decal on right side shows 955L The motor I think is a D330 or D330c, based on info from threads: - early type fuel pump - spring tensioner for the belts - cartridge filters rather than spin on (note that the motor seems to be in contradiction with the decal. I thought 955L all had the 3304?) The local CAT shop has not been able to decipher based on the info I have given them. If it is miss labeled, what other differences could I check to separate a 955L from a 955K ? ie. different rams, undercarriage etc. NB: Machine runs well. sounds nice. fwd/reverse good, only two gears engaging, adjustment issue I am thinking. Glow plugs under-performing, chemical assistance to start. Start switch was buggered. using bare wires for now (lugs). Ram seals - 3 of the four rams leak to varying degrees. Piping for the bucket 4in1 rams fractured. The left track loosened a little when I moved it, but not too bad. will clean it up and check once I get it home. Both Gearbox and Bevel case need oil changes. All wiring will need to be replaced. Need to wait till the end of the week for the roads to dry out a bit before floating it home. only 15 odd km. Any assistance wrt to where this machine sits in terms of age and which manual would suit would be appreciated. Not sure if the Australian machines were US made or Japan? Looking fwd to fixing it up. Have holes to dig. I am not far from the machine and can check/photograph as required. I am a Marine Engineer by trade, so competent mechanically. cheers, Jack NB:did I mention that it sounds good?
it may be an older machine than you are led to believe
Barr the 955L decal on the side, there is no real indication (or promise) of age. Trying to figure it out. The 168 certainly points to being an early model. The Owner has died, and the son is reluctantly sold it for the estate. He has used it over the years, but does not know details.
There's the rub. Decals can be changed (and often are to make machines look newer than they actually are) really easily. IIRC the late K & L models had a 3304 engine, the earlier K's and everything before that were equipped with the D330. I'd need to check in my Serial Number book but, like 56Wrench above, I think you possibly have something that's older than you think it is. Unfortunately 53H is not listed in the online system.
Figured it was an older unit. Not worried about that. Just need to figure out which manual will do the trick. The motor does not look like any of the 3304 photos I have found. It does look like the D330 photos. more photos can be supplied if useful. Let me know what of. Perhaps ID by part number? such as one of the rams? the turbo? or the Fuel pump. The alternator is an odd unit. It is a Wilson, made in Canada.
OK. So no luck with 955L SN or engine arrangements. Found a 955K operators book which 53H SN's Looks like it is either a 955K or 955L with a motor change. Looking at Jensales site.
Jensales have the workshop manual as well. Is there any value in the operators manual? Would assume it is generic material.
If the generator(thats what you have), has a WILSON# on it, it is a rebuilt. It will have a separate voltage regulator. Wilson usually used the delco or prestolite numbers which was good. Wilson originally had a rebuild facility in Winnipeg, Manitoba but now i believe they are rebuilt in the states- i don't remember where. That 706X number may be the number stamped in by an engine rebuild shop. Thats how they keep track of the engine and corresponding work order
Thanks 56, It look after market ish. Winnipeg is on the tag. The regulator is pictured below. It appears to be the same as the reg from the 755K manual.
Its even got the polarizing instructions which is good. If it sits for a long time with the battery disconnected, and it won't charge after starting, occasionally they need to be polarized again
It was not charging when I ran it. sat for at lest 3 years without batteries. When you say polarizing, it that the same as flashing a generator rotor?
53 H 955K Australia built late 60s . 48H 61H 31J same machines. She's a real peach, no drought just barely out of warranty. Bob
Good words to hear. I may need to use those model numbers with William Adams (local CAT) as they did not recognize the 53H. thanks.
Any ideas wrt identifying if the chassis/ undercarriage is L or K ? Only point of difference I see so far is the outer track width in the L is 2160 whilst the K is 2060. from https://www.ritchiespecs.com/model/caterpillar-955l-crawler-loader https://www.ritchiespecs.com/model/caterpillar-955k-crawler-loader but other numbers on the same spec page seem to refute this. ie same track guage and same track width.
Track pitch 175.5/175.75mm left/right measured over 4 and averaged. Track width 380mm overall width 2060mm seems to be D5 dimensions still inconclusive on the machine model. Either 955K or early 955L with reco 330c motor from a 955K '67/'68 vintage
Regarding your manuals. Bob mentioned above that 48H 61H 31J prefixes are the same as your 53H machine. An Operation & Maintenance Manual can be downloaded from Cat in pdf format for US$28. Go to https://catpublications.com/ Click on "Continue as Guest" Put SEBU6650 in the box and click Search. The illustraion below should appear. This O&M Manual suits all 4 Serial number prefixes. A download is usually available within 5 minutes of paying for it.
Regarding Parts Manuals the story is nowhere near as clear. The same Cat Publications site lists two Parts Manuals as shown below. Neither of them covers 53H though. You may struggle a bit if the 53H was only ever built in Australia.
Thanks Nige, I pulled the trigger early today on a 53H service manual from Jensale. I could not locate it from CAT and was not sure about the comparable manuals at the time. Will let you know what it is like when received. Just about happy with the engine ID side atm. D330 SN 53H168 build date 1969 By virtue of the generator (Wilson) and 709X stamp under the SN plate, it appears it is a reco motor. Unsure if it is the original motor for the machine or not. The spring tensioner, Fuel pump, cartridge filters and 4S8500 block stamping lead me to believe it is the D330 rather then the D330c which should have the 3304 block (5S5300) Machine Not yet certain. It has a faded original looking 955L decal on the right side hyd tank (could be red herring) It is either very early 955L (due to track width 6'9" (2060mm) and 175.5mm pitch) Or consistent with the motor it is a 1969 955K 53H Australia build Please correct me with any of the above. I think Iam correct wrt early 955L having the D5 tracks, but cannot locate the thread you posted about them. I am looking for differences between the models other than the engine to determine the correct parts manual. Looking into the Bevel case atm. Stamping on top of mine is GK201 cheers, Jack
i'm not sure, but here it was known as polarizing-maybe someone else will chime in
The engine is the 4"1/2 bore 330B Series so I would tend to think it's from the 1967/8 spot as the 330C with the 4"3/4 bore engine was a 1969 baby ( I recall ???) the D5 Track pitch was 6"-91, looks a nice Shovel to have about. tctractors.
She certainly sounds nice. some wiring, filters oil and ram seals and she will be good for another couple of 10 year. Is there an online site to check part comparability? I am starting to think that the motor and machine did not come out of the factory together. Motor is sorted. Machine - not yet. -- The Manual from Jensales is good. quality good. text searchable. as described. certainly happy with it. And it is for the 53H model range. -- The lift and tilt rams do not seem to match the numbers form the manual, though I will need to check I have the correct number 955K form 53H manual - Tilt 5J6213 & 5J6214 Lift 5J6342 on machine tilt 6J9739 lift 6J2685 transmission filter housing 955K from 53H manual 3S8050 on machine 3S8049 Would like to ID the Machine with some surety. Trying to find a part that changes between models. maybe the torque converter? cheers, Jack
Australian models It there a record/knowledge of what models were made/available/imported in Australia? I am interested in the late 60's/70's era.
According to my info SN 169 was the last 53H series built which was 1969. 168 would be second to last built. DWF
Thanks. That is what I have found. The casing # for the torque converter only comes up as a 955K part. Starting to look like Nige’s sticker suspicions are well founded. I have found a parts like for 53H, original CAT paper copy, and have bid on it. A couple of days to go yet. Nothing electronic. will get back to the machine in the next couple of days and grab all the part numbers I can. See if I can locate a chassis part that is specific to the 955K. Cheers. Jack.
57J / 85J From what I can see the 85J 995K change to 955L at SN 4672 did the 57J also switch from 955K to 955L at a certain SN ? cheers, Jack
I don't think so. The Japanese 71J, US 85J, & French 64J machines are all listed as both K/L but with no indication of the Serial Number at which the model changed from K to L. The Au-built 57J is only listed as a K. It could be that Australian track loader production stopped with the last of the 57J-prefix 955K machines. Maybe @FWD who posted above about dating your machine could answer that.?
955L 64J9258-up 71J5382-up 85J10129-up no 57J Bob
With D5 track gear, IF this is a 955L as per the decal, it can only be one of the first 955L machines before they switched to D6 track gear. The 57M (jp)is on the second hand market here, so I am assuming that the 71J (jp) was also imported (from Japan) Found to other panel with the 955L decal today. Not conclusive by any means. IF it is a 955L I am now looking parts on a 71J5382-up that differ from the 955K 53H series. Took a heap of photos today with the Stampings from the rams, hyd pump and main bucket frame member. Once phone charges back up will do some digging. cheers, Jack
Parts anomalies :- This is based on the limited SIS I can access https://avspare.com/caterpillar/head/6j9739/ The head for the lift cylinder comes up as only comparable with a 955K 6J3988 Torque converter cover comes up as only 955K 4S5863 everything else i have found without being able to wash the machine yet seems to be both. cheers Jack
Hi Island We have a 955 K ? Serial no 57J352.was sold new to Portland cement at Geelong. We are 4 th owner. the last owner bought it to level a block so he build an industrial shed and in doing so stuck pine pallet through the radiator new one was 3 k. This machine had the engine replaced with 3304 di never hooked up oil gauge { nylon line} and as i haven't a book not sure where to hook in . Think it should go on right side of motor in oil gallery. Our machine would have been sold by William Adam in Melbourne Victoria. I am new to forum not sure if I am speaking out of turn .We are having trouble getting info on 57J too.
Also shows up in an L (64J s/n) unfortunately.
Thanks Bob/Chrisso, I have got a 53H Workshop manual from Jensales The parts book for the 53H I got from an ebay bloke in Brisbane. (near enough to mint) I have not had time to reference the parts book much yet, but is does look like the engine is from a different machine. At this stage I am leaning towards the machine being a 955L with a 955K motor. This seems to fit the narrative so far as it is in that the Father of the guy I purchased it from had a number of these machines and this was the one he kept. Got a couple of days off now so will get back to the machine as see what I can find. Roads still too wet to float down here. cheers Jack
correction for above. 53H ---- not 57J
I know that this seems like reviving an old thread......but time moves differently on an island. Floated the 955 home a day or so back and started cleaning. Ended up removing the rear counter weights looking for the SN. It was to the left of center behind the counter weight mounting frame. Faint and covered in crap. No tag, just stamping. 56Wrench and Nige, correct you were. 53H168 The engine and machine match. Keeps things simple.
Some good, some no as good form the ongoing cleanup. Right track and gear serviceable. Left track, not so much. Chain pins worm thru. considering reversing the track to get some life out of it whilst I source a replacement. Tension spring broken. Still holding some pressure, so will not disturb it for now, thinking flip the track, pump it up and see how it goes for the short term. 2 lift cylinders leak - can order seals now. 1 of the tilt cyl leaks - new seals 3in1 jaw piping fractured - may just replace with a T-piece and hose. All wiring RS. Engine starts easy and runs well. Drove on and off the float fairly smoothly. Will get to the oils next...... Thanks for assistance thus far, now starts the ordering and repair. On the look out for a D5 chain in Vic if anyone know of a used option. cheers, Jack
At least now you've removed all doubt. And also with the machine and engine S/Nos matching it indicates that the machine as it stands is somewhat "genuine" as regards provenance and getting parts shouldn't be too much of an issue.