I know that the list would MASSIVE, but there has to be a spreadsheet somewhere of all the filter numbers and applications for say the past 50-60 years. If there's not, what would be the best method of obtaining all that info? Basically, what I need is all filter numbers for all the models. A big ask, but I am going to figure it out somehow. It's for a project I started working on and eventually the list will expand to other brands.
Dang! that would be a major spread sheet to cover 60 years worth of every Cat machine! I suppose you would want the optional filters for use with fire retardant hydraulic fluids too? Then you would be wanting to have it broke down by all the various versions of each model? I would not want to make a guess at how many different filters that would be just for say a D6 or D8 in all the different versions for those 60 years. Maybe just cheat a little and get hold of a Donaldson Filter Catalogue and copy it from there? https://www.donaldson.com/en-us/engine/filters/industries/construction/
Even worse when Cat changes numbers and/or has several different numbers for the same filter.
I was thinking the same thing! And then there are filters like air filters where they could have been updated to the easier to replace style where you don't have to undo all those nuts to get the secondary filter out. Just for giggles I went on SIS and put in the serial number prefix for a 980GII and did a search for "filter" that ONLY came up with 97 results! Or, I guess one could simple do a search on SIS for "filter" that should call up at least all the newer machines, as we know SIS online does not go back anywhere near 50 years. Then again that search comes up with 355,258 results.
You're going to need a chuck wagon to haul all that paperwork around
The internet has already completed that spread sheet for you. Examples like the NAPA and Fleetguard sites are surprisingly machine specific accurate. Double check with https://www.catfiltercrossreference.com/ . One Safe Source covers the common stuff. Unless you are working on D9900’s. Do you often work on D9900’s?
Coaldust, funny you should ask I was looking for a motor to convert one of my walk behind snowblowers wonder if anyone has one of those D9900's they would sell cheap? Considered a D399 but being a 16 cylinder I might need to put a little bigger tires on the old Ariens!
If you just happen to own a D9900, you got something that's worth more than 20 snowblowers combined. Cat's first ever diesel from 1931, not a whole lot built, and very few still in running order. Cat produced a series of little booklets in the 1960's, called "Parts Reference" booklets. Each style of booklet covered all the consumables of the day - G.E.T., hardware, gasket groups, undercarriage (each undercarriage booklet covered a specific item - rollers, track chains, idlers, etc), piston-liner groups, repair kits, "color-coded" o-ring seals (yep, you could ID Cat o'rings by the colors painted on them, back in them good ol' days!), anti-friction bearings, even "air cleaner" groups, for when you wanted to change over from oil air cleaners, to the fabulous "new" dry air cleaners! These little booklets were available free (remember when you got things FREE from dealers!?) on the parts counter of every Cat dealer. These booklets got upgraded steadily, each one was numbered - then, with each additional "Issue", they were numbered progressively with letters, as they were upgraded with more information, and new models or new products were added. These booklets combined marketing with consumable information, so you got told how good Cat components were, as well as getting all the part numbers and other useful info! They were extremely useful to us in the information-starved 1960's. I've collected quite a few of these Parts Reference booklets over the decades, and I have a folder full of them. The collection I have is far from complete. These booklets really were the forerunner of the "One Safe Source" books. The problem is of course, if you have a 1960's Parts Reference booklet for filters, it really only covers probably 10% of the Caterpillar range of equipment today. Cat were still producing sizeable numbers of new product lines and new engines, even in the early 1960's - but when the Caterpillar Tractor Co changed its name to Caterpillar Inc in 1986, and became a giant Global Corporation that cheerfully bought up every second brand of manufacturer who looked like they had a good product - and those products promptly became a "Caterpillar" product - then the range of filters required to fit all "Caterpillar" branded equipment, would probably have doubled. Coaldust is right on the mark, the filter suppliers websites already supply all the filter information you could ever need - including the important cross-reference information. I've got two consecutive copies of the filter elements Parts Reference books, but the first one is only 15 pages, and the second one is only 18 pages. You didn't need a whole hard drive full of numbers in those days!
Thanks guys for all the quick responses! I will definitely look into the existing filter cross references. I know that the exact filters across so many models and years would be tricky to pin down with so many options. The point of all this is to use the info to build models so we can better/faster/ more accurately order filters for all the junk we own.
OzDozer...... Those are ideal! Like you said though, things have changed a lot since those days and more than likely would require a mountain of those books to cover today's machines. Updates to come.
Good luck. If there is anything I’ve learned is that Cat is happy to sell you the part but wants to make it difficult as possible to find the right part number. After my 10 minutes in a room alone with the engineers I want 15 minutes with the parts literature people.