Greetings, I recently purchased this old Cat D5 SN 96J5682. I'm thinking it's a mid 70's model but hoping someone can pinpoint the exact year for me. She is definitely going to be a project machine. She fires right up and the 3306 runs great. No issues there. The 4 way blade and hydraulics also work without issue. The problem with this old gal is that somebody ran it off into a pond a year ago and it was stuck there for a day before it could be pulled out. The seller doesn't know the exact story because he is the property manager for this business and wasn't around when it happened. From the best we can tell, the water got over the top of the tracks at least a few inches. Here is the part that I need advice on. The bevel compartment and transmission\torque converter got some amount of this muddy pond water in it. I have flushed some of it out through the left\right\center rear bevel plugs underneath the machine. I also sprayed some diesel into the bevel compartment to help flush it out. I have cleaned the magnet\screen filter and replaced the disposable filter. Currently she wont shift into gear forward or reverse and the left\right clutches wont engage. I'm going to keep cleaning out everything that I can reach. I'm looking for advice for what to tear into first to start dealing with the stuck shifter and clutches. One idea I had was to just pour some diesel into the bevel compartment and fill it up to normal level and see if I can run the engine and let the diesel flush through the system. If that works, I could drain and then fill with the proper oil, check and replace filters as needed. I realize that will be a long shot and that I will likely need to start pulling components and disassemble\clean\reassemble. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Hey, sounds like a solid machine once you get the water damage sorted. I've dealt with similar issues on older Cats after water intrusion, and unfortunately, once mud gets into the transmission and bevel compartment, it's usually more than just a fluid swap fix. Your idea of flushing with diesel isn't crazy— I’ve done that as a temporary rinse to loosen sludge and break things free—but you’ll still want to completely drain and open things up if you’re not seeing any clutch or shift engagement. Mud tends to settle in the control valve and clutch packs. If she’s not moving at all, I’d suggest starting with the transmission control valve and checking your pressure readings if you can. You might also want to pull the top cover off the transmission and inspect the torque converter area for any lingering gunk. Once everything’s clean and resealed, use the correct Cat TDTO fluid and swap out filters again after a few hours of run time to catch anything that gets flushed loose.
Thanks for the boost of confidence and sanity check. I was thinking along the same lines and planned to pull the top off of the top off of the transmission control valves next so I can take a peek in there. I sprayed the clutch packs down with diesel a few days ago and I'm hoping that settles in and helps a little. I'll keep at it and report any progress.
You only need the year for your own information. All parts and service information comes from the Serial Number which you already have. 96J production started in 1967 so your machine is probably around 1970. I would say you're going to be needing manuals. Here are the references: - Parts Manual - SEBP1080. covers 96J machines from S/N 5262-Up. Here's one on eBay Maintenance Manual - SEBU5427 covering all 96J machines. (The title below is incorrect, it only covers maintenance, not operation.) Again one on eBay
You will also need a Service Manual which covers all aspects of machine troubleshooting, testing, and repair. There are quite a few knocking around eBay priced at anything from $40 to $90. Be aware that a genuine factory manual is $1000 new if you buy a paper copy or $635 if you buy it on a CD. So ask yourself just how good those "eBay specials" are.? At this time I can'r see a genuine manual up for sale used anywhere.
96J5682 is a 1976 model.
Thank you!
Greetings everyone. I have spent quite a bit of time with this machine and I have made a little progress (I think...). I filled up the bevel compartment with some diesel and let that flush through the system a few times while the machine was running. The first time I ran her for just about 5 minutes and then checked the magnetic screen filter and the disposable filter. The screen looked clean but the disposable filter had muck caked on it. I cleaned it off really good and ran it again. The second time I ran it for a while and checked the filters and there was almost no muck. I wanted to test my pressure at the top of the disposable filter but I had to order an adapter and didn't have that yet. I moved on and removed the top cover from the transmission so I could see the valve bodies in there. As expected they were pretty nasty. See the picture. I sprayed lots of PB Blaster and cleaned it up the best I could. Originally the spool valve for the gear selector was frozen solid but I gently pried it back and forth and with a generous amount of PB Blaster I was able to completely free it up. At this point I can move the gear lever through all gears in forward and reverse. Progress! I put the cover back on and ran the machine hoping that it would go into gear and move. Unfortunately, it wouldn't go into gear. I must not be getting enough pressure. I came back after I got my adapter and checked the pressure at the filter. To my surprise I am getting 0 PSI there. I removed the plug on top of the transmission hydraulic pump and poured a few quarts of oil in there and ran the machine again. My thougt was that this pump may have lost prime. I still got 0 PSI at the pump. I went ahead and ordered a new pump and will replace it soon. As a test, I poured oil directly into the housings for both the magnetic screen and the disposable filter. Oil drained down into both of them, which tells me that I don't have a restriction to the bevel sump or the transmission. I realize that there may be other areas clogged tho. I'm wondering if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions to help me keep troubleshooting this old gal. Am I headed down the right path with the replacing the transmission hydraulic pump? Would pond muck in the system likely have killed the old pump? It's pretty curious that the old one has no pressure reading at all. Would a pad pump be likely to show zero pressure or does that potentially indicate a problem in a different area such as check valves or pressure regulating valves? Thanks in advance for any advice or insight!
hey, thats a hack of a job u got there... its a powershift TXM u´re talking about? well, charge pumps of that "era" are gear type, i guess u wont find any control gadgets in the pump body. (as a piece of mind inspect the pump first) Since that thing was frozen for some time, i´d sugest u clean the complete system, as the pump alone is never the cause of problems. Considering that rust may develop inside those components, its quite dificult to get rid of debris just by flushing.
I suspect when you drained the bevel/trans it was all water, right? Aside from diesel, what oil/weight/amount did you add back in? Having witnessed sunk pickups before…doesn’t take long for the water (heavier) to push out the oil (lighter). Both finals full of water too? Likely your engine is ok since it “only” went swimming waist, I mean, track high.
Hi Richel, I wanted to share and update with you and others. It turns out you were right about the transmission control valve. But first I started with a new hydraulic pump for the transmission. I was getting 0 PSI at the filter, which is just downline from the pump so I knew it had to be bad. Boy was it! It was completely shot. The bearings were completely worn out. After I got a new pump in her, I noticed that my pressure still wasn't in spec (over 300 PSI) at the filter, so I pulled the relief valve and cleaned it out and got the plunger moving smoothly. Still no improvement with PSI readings at the filter after that. I kept flushing the system out and cleaning the screen and replacing filters as they got too dirty. I started to think maybe I fried my new pump due to dirty oil but it ruled that out since I was so frequently cleaning the screen and changing filters. My oil was getting cleaner. Next I worked up the courage to try to take the transmission control valve body off and inspect\clean it. As seen in the pictures below, it was a gunked up mess! Also, some of the passages on the lower portion of the valve body were completely gunked up. Although I had originally freed up the two main spool valves, there were other spools and plungers in the valve body that were seized up. I thoroughly cleaned and reassembled every part of the valve body. Every component of it was operating smoothly when it went back together. I installed the valve body back on the machine and drained \ replaced all of the oil in the bevel compartment. I started her up and was amazed to see 300+ PSI at the filter. I nearly fell off of the dozer in shock and amazement. I looked into the bevel compartment and I could see oil circulating from several points as it should. Next I tried to put it in gear and I could feel the machine trying to move but it just wouldn't. I kept trying first gear in forward and then reverse. After a few minutes of this I could feel the machine start to slam in either direction and see the tracks jolt as it did this. In the meantime I could also move the clutch levers more and more and they began to free up. Finally, after the forward and reverse jolting it broke free and moved. It turns out the tracks were pretty seized up from sitting in pond muck for so long. I ran out of time and had to head back home but the tracks were moving freely by the time I left. It still feels like there is some resistance with the tracks and I am hoping they free up over time. That's a wrap for now. I just wanted to share the great news. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction! Please see the before and after pictures below: Before: After: see in next post
After:
That control valve was UGLY.........
Indeed it was! It's a strong testament to how these old Cats are so well built!
Nice work and pics to back it up! I remember reading here on HEF how tracks can lock-up/seize from sitting/weather/etc…if I remember correctly recommendations were to park it in water puddle to “soak”, then use it… Keep up the good work/pics…definitely enjoying this project!!
I've read the same thing and its been raining a lot here lately so maybe that helped. After the tracks initially turned over half of a full revolution, I stopped and inspected. I could see where all of the old pond muck had settled into the chains and pads for over a year. I scraped as much away as I could and sprayed the tracks down the best I could. Some of that old muck was nearly like cement. Its kind of amazing that she eventually broke free under her own power. I've got more small projects planned for the old gal, and I'll keep this thread updated with pictures. Thanks to all who have chimed in and helped with information!