I have been looking at a loader, it's advertised as a 1972 955L with a 3304 engine. He gave me the serial# , but i can't find anything out ? The serial # in question is 85J4886 So Is it an L with a 3304 or a K with a D330 engine ?
85J4886 is listed as a 955K, built late-1971. As far as I can see the 3304 engine only came in from 85J6247-Up, so unless the engine has been replaced at some time during its life it's a D330.
Hi Nige, yes i read something in these forums a few weeks ago about it switching at a certain number, but didn't write it down & couldn't remember it. They said the engine only has around 50 hours on a rebuild, so they may have switched them out. That being a K model instead of L model kind of scares me away. I'm not familiar with the K's I've been around a lot of 955 L's and always heard they were pretty much bullet proof.
Ask the seller for the engine Serial Number. If it is a D300-series it will have the same S/No as the tractor. Even if the engine has been swapped at some point it still ought to be an 85Jxxxx S/No. If it is a 3304 it will have a S/No 78Pxxxx provided it came from a 955 of some sort.
K's and L's are both good machines. Serial numbers ranges continued from K's to L's. Not very common for Cat to do that.
Well my son & a buddy of his that works for Alban Cat in md. went down to Va. to look at the loader, It was a 955 L, it had it on the serial # plate. When they pulled the dip stick no oil at all on it. No antifreeze in radiator, hydraulics were low. So they put engine oil in it to test run it, Fired it up and ran it around checking thr steering and power, hydraulics would get jumpy if you raised the bucket to high, so it was really low on hyd. oil. Their was a big oil spot where it had been sitting & when they brought it back & parked oil was running out of the stump pan. So this is how you waste a whole day shopping for a loader. Needless to say, he wanted 12k and i did'nt even make him an offer.
Still looking for a 955 or 953, I found another 955 serial # 85J05627, Can anyone give me some info on it ? I'm hoping it's a L model with the 3304 engine. Also is it common for these machines to sound smooth when they're running, but kinda knock when they are shut down ? THANKS
I refer you back to my post #2 above. The tractor is a 955K whatever the stickers on it might say. Provided that it has not been re-engined with a newer model motor at some point it will have a D330 in it. Again the engine Serial Number is the clue - if it is a D330 it will be the same S/N as the tractor, if it is a 3304 it will be 78Pxxxx. The D330 engine was not replaced with the 3304 until 85J6247 and Up, the same Serial Number that the 955K officially became the 955L.