Well there is a Cat D6C dozer coming up on a farm sale this weekend. I personally won't beable to make it to the sale because I have my prom that afternoon/night. What are the key things to look at on an older machine? It would be used on the farm for clearing land and building waterways/terraces and ponds. They claim the machine has a 50% under carriage, how much longer will it last and how much does it cost to rebuild the UC? If its not a powershift machine, I won't touch it... What should be the top dollar to give since the machine needs an uc? Anyway here's the sale bill, the only pic of the 6c is of it hiding behine the D6H. http://www.adkins-auction-service.com/auctioneer.php?i=7516 I'd love the have the D6H, but gotta start out somewhere with a little less overhead cost... lol
you need to talk to the owner and find out for real what it is like. A tractor this old can be the biggest money pit you can imagine. You cannot tell much from a picture. It sounds like you are still in school, if so I would save my money and hire this work done, maybe you could work for the contractor to learn this trade, there is a lot of grunt work that goes along with it and you might not like it.
D6H would be my first choice.Although just the few pictures of it close, it has a few issues that you can see.Lift cyclinders need rebuilt(leaking).Undercarriage looks good from the far off pictures looks to have good pad hieght,maybe newer idles because of paint,Has the top roller carrier for the tracks.My guess with the pads in the condition that they are that the rails would have some decent life also? As for the D6C 50% tracks means there shot.The lift cyclinders are needing redone als il up on the hydraulic tanks means probably has oil leaks also.Could be spoiled oil,but that also means needed oil??????? Lots of things it will need,would be my guess.See the tile plow there.I'm sure they have see the working end of that thing.With both hooked on to it sometime or another! If you think you just have too have one the H would still be my choice,altho i'm sure since it showed up it has taken over the biggest share of the work.That would just be my guess,since i'm sure he started out with the C. The list goes on and on for either one needing things would be my guess.C would need a good look at the final drives.Any leaks and that means time and money.I'm sure it has gotten less care since the H showed up again. Again any issues with the H will be easier then woking on the C.I just see more life in the H.Good luck
Good advice. The owner likely didn't make the repairs himself because the dozer simply isn't worth what it would cost to fix it. It's a losing investment. If you buy it, you are making the losing investment. And while you do know the UC needs replaced, that's all you know. There could be more wrong than that. You could easily buy a dozer like that for $10-14K, but by the time you get it fixed up and running right, have closer to $40-50K invested in it. Just because a dozer is within your budget at sale doesn't mean you will stay there long. Dozers need lots of maintenance, and cost a lot of money to run. If you don't have a pretty good-sized war chest (2x cost of machine + new UC), you'd probably best steer clear and hire any work you need done. Also don't be afraid to call Caterpillar and ask what an UC and some of the other parts cost. That will give you a pretty good idea what you are up against.
There are a few things being said incorrectly here! First off if the undercarriage is at 50% it is at half life! Not shot! We have run carriage way past that. If that's the original carriage (which is unlikely) but if it is then the machine would only have around 3-5 thousand hrs on it which is low. As far as the Hyd tank leak the d6c had the Hyd valve mounted on tank side outside of tank. They were prone to mild leaks and always seeped oil. This is why the later d model put valve in tank like the 7G. The early d6c was a non turbo unit and were lower hp and nearly indestructible . Other than a little old school the d6c can be a hearty dozer. I'm not really a Cat fan but the 6c was definately a better one. Like what has been said try and find some history on machine it maybe a Jewell in the rough you never know. Steve
Thanks guys for the replys. Yes I'm still in school, but to me age is but merely a number. I have tried to get jobs with local contrtactors but most of them are simply not hiring. My grandpa ran dozer for 20-30 years as an off the farm job, he would be my teacher and guide. I don't doubt the H is a better machine, I just think the c would be a little bit better machine to start with. To me it looks like this guy ran junky equipment, but he looks like a tinkerer who takes care of the equipment mechanicaly. I believe he passed away.I think if we could get it for $18k that would be a decent buy if the motor sounds good, doesn't use oil, and if the rest of the machine checks out ok. If we got the machine, we know a guy that also needs some terrace and waterway work done. Then the jobs would progress from there hopefully..
The only thing you can tell from the pic is it's got a tilt cylinder and the skin on the blade looks to be in pretty good shape. D6c's are good machines, but with older equipment it could be a good buy or a pig. You need to have someone with experience look it over and run it to give you an opinion on it's condition. I wouldn't just take a chance on it because it's nearby....there are a lot of them available, so take your time finding the right one. Undercarriage is probably the most expensive thing to totally rebuild, but there will likely be lots of small things that need attention and they add up too. You can save by doing a lot of the work yourself, but sometimes that isn't practical.
You could buy a dozer. Or... You could go to coding boot camp where in nine weeks of intensive training they teach even newbies how to write computer code. When you get out they find you a job and you make 80 grand plus as starting pay. That's where the world is heading, young fella. No thanks necessary. But hey, if you gotta push dirt, more power to you. It's a hell of a lot more fun. Just don't whine about the gubment when you can't make ends meet some point down the road (wink). Life is what you make it, and decisions at your stage are critical.
"undercarraige is probably the most expensive thing to totally rebuild" tell me that right after you do a final that needed bearings, all gears including the pinion and outer flange which was sheared and the outer case was so corroded that the duo cone seal wouldn't do it's job. tracks looked pretty cheap and easy to fix after that to me. still need to go through the other side and cross shaft. there is nothing cheap about rebuilding any cat.
You hit that one dead on! I think for this youg guy if this machine is in half decent shape it's the way to go! It's not as sophisticated as the new ones, simple design and lots of available good used parts if need be! Heck even undercarriage retrofits alot of newer machines that he may be able to get cheaper.If his grandfather has that many years behind him he should go have a look at this machine he could see some wear issues I'm sure! My first machine was a well used 46a and it needed a ton of attention! Thank god for the many wrecking yards and parts depots to keep that thing runnin! But it was possible with smart buying and elbow grease, this young guy can do the same with a little help. Just remember the cheaper you can keep your investment the easier it may be. Good luck.
I don't disagree...just saying a whole track group is expensive and when they say there's 50% left it's probably closer to 25%. Sounds like you did the same repair as I did except you bought a few more gears than me. I did both finals with one new dead shaft and one outer case put in new, plus all the seals and some bearings. I did the bevel gear shaft bearings and steering clutch seals myself so that saved a bit of cash. After I cleaned out a pond and some fence rows last fall it needed a new track tension cylinder. After repairing that I pulled it in the shed on a warm day. Got off and noticed oil literally pouring out of one inside sprocket seal. I'm guessing some mud from the pond cleaning froze and tore out the seal when I moved it. Now I have to replace a seal I just put in a couple of years ago.
Thanks guys for pointing out key wear points to look out for. I could go to school to be a computer nerd, but money or the paycheck doesn't always buy happyness, sometimes it helps though, that is not always the case. I would mostly be doing all of the mechanical work myself. If the machine doesn't go cheap, we will probably not end up with it.
ok.. for D6C10K...did you still have the labyrinth (probably spelled that one wrong) that go on the outer case and overlap the one on the flanged wheel that the sprocket segments bolt to? Mine are all corroded off and I was going to tear both sides apart to get them put on correctly. That might keep frost from ripping a seal? Good job on the bevel gear, setup on that is supposed to be kind of time consuming, mine has to be done too. My dead shaft has already been done, and the case was bored and sleeved, but not perfectly as one stays a little wet. At least it wasn't destroyed by the big flange wheel breaking away from the flange. where in iowa are you located? I am north of sidney a ways..
I bought a old D6C 10K this winter for 8,000. It was at auction but I knew the farm it came from and it had had a lot done to it. Didn't even have to service as it had just been done. Went right to work with it. Love it, no electronics to fail. Bought a Vee Blade and a rake blade for 2,500 togather and I'm in clearing trees. Wish it had a wench and a better dirt blade but will have to make do.
Well I got the call this afternoon, Dad bought the dozer for $18,100, has a new cutting edge. Um the story is the farmer bought it brand new in 1974, and it is a powershift. We might loose our asses on it but we're gonna give it a try. Dad didn't think it was burning any oil, and it started up and ran pretty good he thought. Now I have to figure out on how I'm going to balance learing to operate and a day job as I just got on with Ditzfeld Transfer to pretty much be their gopher..
does it have the turbo motor?
I don't know because I haven't seen the machine yet in person and dad didn't tell me. What years did they start putting turbos on them? If it doesn't have a turbo couldn't I just switch the manifolds with manifolds and exhaust/intake piping from one that is turbod?
The D6C was fitted with a turbo'd D333 @125h.p. when first introduced in about 1963. When the engine developed into the D333c with the larger bore in about 1968 the turbo was dropped but the same 125h.p. output was retained. This went on for about 4 years until 1972, when the turbo was re-introduced and the h.p. was increased to 140. The D333c gave way to the 3306 in the same year.
I don't have any insight to offer on your cat purchase as the only D6 I've run is a D6D, but I was in the same situation as you 30 yrs ago. I tried the college thing but after one year I decided that I would never be able to take sitting at a desk all day wishing I was outside. It won't be easy and somedays it definitely will not be fun, and you probably will not make as many dollars as an engineer or computer jockey but the world will always need people who can fix stuff and build things....and they'll never be able to outsource or offshore dirtwork to China or India. Some of my best memories in the biz were having my son help me fix my old beater equipment when it broke and teaching him how to run it. Good luck to you and your dad.
ME 2! Good Luck :bash
according to the cat performance handbook I have, in the former models section it lists the 74a/76a models of C's as 120 hp. it also lists all 10K series of C's at 140 hp. I know personally of guys that told me a 76a would outwork an early non-turbo 10K. I have run a late 10K and it was a great tractor.
10K are not all turboed ?
10ks were non turboed up to 5983 and 125hp, from 5984 up they were turbocharged at 140 hp and at 7953 the D333C upgraded itself to the 3306. hp stayed at 140 for them and all D6Ds including the later direct injection ones. Same thing happened with the Japanese built 69J versions which were more common in my part. And yes the old 120hp 76As performed better than the later non turbo charged 10ks. There were a lot of other upgrades took place too when they upped the hp to 140, Get some books for her caleb and learn some mechanical skills, they are a good honest simple tractor and you will always get bits for them, genuine and pirate. Final drives are the main things to keep your eye on, change/check the oil and adjust the final drive preloads every 1000hrs. Along with all the other usual servicing. 20 years ago I was like you too, although I was lucky I knew what made them tick, and had spent a lot of time on D4s pushing dirt. cheers and good luck :drinkup
Caleb- I live just a few miles from the man who owned the dozer in Higginsville. I did not know him personally but no people who did and the sale bill was posted all around places where I live. From what I hear he took care of his equipment so hopefully you got a good well taken care of machine. What did the other high track machine that was on the auction bring? I personally think you got a decent deal and will do well with it.
9 weeks boot camp and a guaranteed $80K plus job?:cool2 Sign me up, I'll keep my paid for equipment and run it for fun.
The 6h brought $62,000 or somewhere in the mid $60,000 range. Dad picked up a new spare cutting edge for the blade for $100, he thought it was a buy, I don't know what they bring new but this winter we paid $200 for a new cutting edge for a rear mount tractor blade.... I think we are gonna have it hauled up to his place in Carrollton to play with by doing some work with his ponds and brush. If it doesn't some how work out to be able to do custom work we will probably try to resell the machine and maybe make a dollar on it. Where can I find used shop manuels and service/owner manuels for the machine?
I recently purchased both parts & service manuals on Ebay, for a D6C 10K that I had just purchased & everything worked out ok. Metalman
You did good! I think you will be fine,if the same fella owned it since 74 he obviously took care of it or it wouldnt be running!Thats along time for one owner!I think the 6c is a hearty machine just pay attention to eleaks and youll be fine. Congrats Steve
Dad claims one of the final drives is leaking.... So this should be fun. lol
Just do the easy things first caleb; drain the oil, check for any toothache or sadness. Paste on the drain plugs is normal. Back the tractor up onto a block of wood so sprocket has no weight on it. pull the outer round cap off, then remove the lock over the deadshaft nut. Then check nut is tight,500 ft/lb you will need a 2 5/8 socket. then pull the outer dirt guard off and look for a big castellated nut next too the sprocket, it has a lock bolt on it remove it then tighten the big castellated nut ANTICLOCKWISE. This tightens the bearing preload. The preload may be loose causing the sprocket seals to leak. You use a big C spanner to tighten the nut,it should be 1200ft/lb tight but I have used a small 1 ton bottle jack to do the same job. The procedure is outlined in the lubrication and maintence guide which should be a must for you to get, parts book and service manuel are also good to have. Leak may well be the sprocket duo cone seals, but do this first and then run it for a few days see if the leak takes up. If it doesn,t you will have to break track, remove trackframe and get someone with the proper tooling to pull the sprocket. If you have to do this go the whole way in and check the final drive gears and bearings out. If the large inner tapered roller bearing is at all doubtfull replace it. And if one final drive is sad you can bet the other won,t be far behind, on the plus side when they,re done you should be able to get 8000hrs out of them before you have to go in there again. :drinkup
Thanks I was not aware of that , just never saw a non turbo 10k, he wil be ok with this one at least he got one you can get parts for.Good Luck Caleb
That's for real Shopguy,plenty of parts, genuine, cat classic, pirate, 2nd hand, and no electronic manure to go wrong :notworthy
Yeah thats what dad thought no electric gremlins to worry about lol. I fouind a Hot Line- Parts Connection book on my desk that I think I picked up at a farm show. I think it will come in handy as it has a lot of construction equipment salvage yards, track specialist, tranny specialist, ect.. listed in it.