Looking at a 73 model 977L on an online auction. Machine looks to be in good shape but of course its hard to tell from just pictures. What is the major weakness on this machine? From reading here maybe final drives? Any idea if the ritchie specs weight of 47600 is accurate? Anything else about these machines i should be aware of? thanks
Pretty hard to tell what could give problems without knowing anything about the machine. Great machines but you'd need to run it and see it in person. If it wasn't maintained could be a money pit.
I had one for a few years. Mine was a 11K serial number. You are correct, the final drives are there weak point. The older ones were basically a D7 with D6 final drives. I've heard that the 14X serial numbered machines have heavier finals.
The bevel gear shaft bearings go out of them too and make for hard or no steering. Later Bob
I think that is pretty close, my 955 weights in at 32K and that's with a D5 track. Most looking for the 955 or 977 would go with the 955 due to weight and there are a lot more of them around.
My motto lately has been to get as big as i can haul. Main use would be fixing and building terraces. Moving trees once down. Machine i was looking at is a 11K serial so kinda makes me a little leary of the finals
I mostly had a blade on the 977 that I had and built terraces with it. It always seem to get the job done but nobody (including me) seem to want to run it. As far as wieght, I think mine weighed right at 49,000 lbs.
The hub bearings are a weak spot but Not That Weak. If you have one start every Monday AM or Friday PM by putting a crowbar behind the sprocket and checking for movement, Early adjustment of bearings can help extend life. I would say all things considered It's very durable in it's class. Also if you can move it buy it above a 955. Later Bob
Bam curious as to why no one wanted to run the 977?
I think, as far as my help not liking to run it was mostly due to it not having a nice cab to sit in. That being said, they would usually run it but the next day they would show up to work bright and early to get in another machine. For me personally, It just seemed like they were slow, didin't turn as easily or nearly as responsive as say a 963 or 973. Around here alot of track loaders have blades on them and they take a little while to get the hang of them when you are used to running a dozer building terraces etc. If you are looking for a machine that you can get into fairly cheap to do farm type work, I think they fit the bill very well.
You need to be a real operator to run a 977, the hystats with counter rotating tracks can make anyone look good, but in doing so they wear off a lot of undercarriage iron. Later Bob