HI everyone ,was looking at buying a Cat 980c,but it has a top end rattle ,maybe the head or just a pushrod . It apparently still runs ok and doesnt miss a beat ,no engine miss ,the rattle has just happened recently and they say that the Cats were prone to having pushrod problems.? Can anyone elaborate a little if they know of any issues with the top ends..not sure if it is worth getting into..I need it for a bit of clearing here and there ..
Does that 980 have a 3406 or a 3306? The 3306 have camshaft problems around 16,000 hr's 3406 can have valve bridge adjustment problems. Check oil filter and do a valve adjustment, plus bridge adj on 3406. Later Bob
not sure yet bob ,but thanks for the info .checking it over today..if it is just an adjustement taht should be not too bad.i should know more later
The rattle is pronounced is all I've been told
Well they can break a lifter retainer so the lifter turns and eats the cam. This happened to ours, and it is halfway common on 3400 series. How many hours on it?
Had this problem with an engine in our 980G. We were "lucky" as it was shortly after Cat dealer had done a major out of frame rebuild of engine. First problem was a bent push rod, replaced that and it happened a second time a few weeks later. That time it was the end. They had to replace cam and block as it had destroyed the lifter hole!
thanks for the input guys,this certainly sounds like bad news...I don't even want to go there with this kind of problem,could cost thousands and then some ,if (a) the cam is damaged and if (b) the block is too..now that would be a headache and cost as much in repairs as half the loader did to purchase.I don't think it was run for long since the rattle developed ,but the operator may not have noticed it for hours i think,if it was working hard you probably only realize if you stepped out of the cab for a siggy or ec ect...
Ben i don't know how many hours it has on the machine...i wanted to go see it but other things popped up...
It seems fairly common around here but I always allowed it was because there isn't the money around here for 10,000 hour rebuilds and they get stretched to 16,000 plus which seems to be the fatigue point for the retainers. Never saw a block that had to be replaced though.
Grizly, change and cut open the oil filter, that will tell you fast how bad things are. Later Bob