Good day from South Africa. I am looking for some advice. Would it be possible to convert a Cat no. 12 grader to a pull type grader for behind a tractor. Can the controls be moved to the tractor or must a second person control the grader from the original operators station.
This type of conversion is normally only done when the engine or driveline of the grader is no longer working. I would consider it to be only worth attempting on a grader with hydraulic controls. What fault has made you decide to convert it to a pull type? Do you realise the engine will still have to be running for the mechanical controls of a no. 12 to work?
The grader is advertised near me and and according to the owner the main engine is running. The donkey engine on the grader is not running. I don't even know if it is a no. 12 grader, just saw it on some pictures and it looks like a no. 12
A local Amish bought a older #10 from me and converted to pull type. He removed the engine and put a Honda gas engine on to drive the mechanical controls added a toung to steer the front wheels. He pulls it with a D6 and someone else runs the grader controls. It is possible but if the only problem with the grader is the pony motor I would pull start it and grade under its own power.
Got any photos..? Then we could see exactly what machine we're talking about. IMO rather than over-complicating things it might just be better and probably cheaper in the long run to fix what's broke and run the machine the way it was designed to run in the first place. :witpic
How do I upload photos?
If that is all that is wrong with it, you could get an electric start conversion kit for it. If you get it working as a grader is supposed to work, it would be about 100 times better than a tow behind grader.
Where can a electric start conversion kit be acquired ? What would the cost be? The price of the grader is around 200 dollars. Would it be worth it too it to fit the electric start?
Is it a toy grader?
Just about any diesel engine Cat built can be converted to electric start but some are easier than others, depending on which engine the machine has.
No ,not a toy grader. The price is 2000 dollars, sorry
Would it be possible to fit another type of engine into the grader. Maybe a 6cyl Perkins combine engine?
Hope this works
Either rebuild the pony motor or convert it to direct electric. As a last resort you could always pull start it. Don't even think about trying to switch to a Perkins or other make of engine. That is one of the things that falls under the class of the impossible only takes longer and costs more money. You would spend several times the $2,000.00 to convert to a different make engine
Try this tutorial. Photos would really help to identify what you actually have and therefore to advise what would be the best course of action. As a general comment anything that was originally equipped with a petrol-powered donkey engine (as we know them in the UK) should be able to be converted into direct electric-starting. The key thing is how easily that can be done. Sorry I couldn't post it before. Internet's been down since yesterday and only just came back up.
Not sure but from what I can see of the engine, it looks like the D318. If you could find an old D6 that was electric start, might be able to use the starter.
I'll second what others have said about keeping the engine and figuring out how to start it. If the engine is toast, I'd still think it would be easier to find a like replacement than convert to a different one. Also agree that converting to electric start is the way to go, unless the pony motor is easy to fix and you don't mind a little hassle using it, it's never going to be a hassle free machine after all. Another option if you're handy is an "amish pony motor", a 5-8-13hp Honda that's used to start the big diesel power unit with a vee belt, usually to a pulley on the shaft of the old starter with a manual bendix lever. Might be able to do the same thing to the existing pony motor if there's room, remove the pistons and drive the pony motor with a honda. Of course, if you go to that trouble you can probably get the pony motor to run just as easy. Just saying what I've seen, and considered at times.
Check the flywheel housing below and next to the pony clutch housing, look for a three bolt flange. If it's a late enough model it may have provision for direct start already otherwise you will need to bore the hole for the starter nose and drill and tap for mounting.
John Davis Auto Electrical in Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia sell conversion kits. I don't know if they ship overseas. I've never fitted one, but I have seen their advertisements plenty of times. They say in the ad that prices start at $1,485 You haven't said if there are any other problems with the machine. If it is only the pilot motor that doesn't work, then yes it is worth it to fit an electric start to it for sure