Well after spending $3000 to $4000 every year to fix the lanes to the back farm fields I decided to take the plunge and get something for myself. I had a little experience running my dad's old D7's and HD17 that were cable operated but not much experience actually maintaining them. Hopped on Craigslist after deciding what size and features I wanted and found two identical D6C's. Picked out the cleanest looking one and went to check it out. Love at first sight! Got her home and put 10 to 12 hours on her but figured I had better take care of her to keep her in tip-top shape. So far I added about a gallon of engine oil, checked all other fluid levels and greased the zerks I could find. Now that I have done that it seemed the zerks where the track adjusters are were hard to get grease into and I wondered if that is common or if I shouldn't force the grease into them? I am planning to dig a pond over labor day weekend and was hoping some of the experts could fill me in on what I need to do as far as maintenance, what should I keep handy, etc., etc. The pond will be about a couple of acres and just dirt pushing, no tree and brush removal. I haven't changed the air filter yet but will do that before I start the project. Looking forward to tips and advice as I play in my bigger sandbox with my bigger toy.
Not sure which D6c you have, but here's a basic list of checks I'd do on a powershift 10K D6c.... There are a few zerks that aren't obvious.....two on the short drive shaft between the torque converter and transmission (pull up the floor plate between brake pedals). There is one on the fan pulley bearing. There are a couple under the back of the tractor to lube the inner pivot of the track frames and on the outer end of the final drive hub, also for the track frame. Most others are obvious....lift cylinder pivots (3 each side), blade linkage, etc. Think there are a couple on the hyd. linkage pivots. The track adjusters shouldn't be hard to add grease to. You might relieve and pressure in them by loosening the relief (the one next to the one with the grease zerk) Then remove the grease zerk bolt and see if it's plugged. Don't adjust them too tight....should have some slack between the carrier rollers. If you don't know how many hours it has since a service I'd change the engine oil & filter, check trans oil level, fuel filter & water separator, change the hydraulic filters (2), change the trans filter, clean the trans magnetic screen (under the floor plates), and clean the torque converter screen (in bottom of torque conv. housing....You have to drop one belly pan to do that so it can probably wait a bit.) Check coolant for level and freeze protection & look to see if there is any oil film on top of the coolant. (possible indication of oil cooler failure). At some point you might want to adjust the valves since it may not have been done for years. You might adjust the brakes if the pedals if they seem out of adjustment or uneven. Look it over, top & bottom, for any major oil or water leaks. Watch engine & torque converter temps while you're working. That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. I seem to spend as many hours, or more, working on my 6c than I do running it. Enjoy.
While you are at it check the oil level in your final drives.
Thanks for the help. Mine is a D6C 10K. Looks like I have a few zerks to track down and more projects to add to the list.........................
How and where do I check the hydraulic fluid level for the cylinders?
This maintenance stuff is kind of takin' the fun out of pushing dirt................
Yair . . . tenpointr1. Best of luck with your new tractor. Seeing as you will be working for yourself you need work as efficiently as possible. Before digging a pond or doing any bulk pushing I would suggest you browse these forums and the net for information on "front to back" dozing. Any one can climb onto a Cat. and wear it out and burn fuel . . . in my experience relatively few can do it efficiently. Cheers.
Hydraulic tank is just in front of the dash....There is a check/fill cap on the left....larger cap on the right is hydraulic filters (two stacked end to end) ....don't open the hydraulic tank with the engine running or you might get a bath. BTW, engine & trans/bevel gear case oil are both checked with the engine running....sitting on level ground.
Thanks for all of the help!
Welcome to the forum tenpointr1. I would strongly suggest you buy a set of manuals for your D6C and read them throughly. They can often be found on eBay reasonably. Guaranteed to pay for themselves many times by saving on expensive repairs over by informing you of the correct preventative maintainence. When you do need repairs it will help you with the proper procedures and help you do it right to prevent chasing dead rabbits and ending up having to do expensive rework. There should be a minimum of three books, Parts, Operators and Maintainance Manual, and Servicemans Reference Manual. You may need an additional Manual for the engine but not certain on a C.
Agreed....I bought a full set for my 10K from cat. It included: Maintenance, Parts, Disassembly/Assembly of all major components, etc. Not cheap at about $400 but has been very useful as I've worked on almost every part of the tractor. At the very least I'd get a maintenance manual which should be fairly inexpensive. As suggested, you can probably find a set on ebay, but you have to be sure you're getting manuals to match your specific tractor s/n prefix and s/n range. You asked earlier about checking oils....be aware that the trans & bevel gear case share oil but it's not engine oil. (although Iv'e heard of some using it) The trans oil is a Cat TO-4 "Transmission Drive Trail Oil" Most commonly 30 wt in temperate climates. The final drive oil is the same TO-4 but in 50w.....but very common to use 90w gear lube.
That is a nice looking old machine!!!
Looks like someone has taken pretty good care of it. Wish my sprockets were that good. I need to build a blade top extension something like that to protect the radiator a little better. Could you post a closer pic of how that one's made?
Will Do D6c10k but I started my pond yesterday and it will take a day or two before I can get some pictures. It doesn't seem to want to dig very well, I plan on tilting the blade forward if possible in order to dig a little better. Just want to make sure it is a straight forward adjustment by just unscrewing the adjusters on each side. Cat says max 5" adjustment but 5" from where to where?
5" is what the adjusters will move. Turn them each a inch and try again. Unless they are way back it should not take much. They should be a simple screw adjustment.
Tilt the blade back to dig more and tilt the blade forward to dig less.
I think tilting the blade forward makes it dig more. It's a lot more aggressive on the blade I have my loader and a box blade cuts more tilted forward as well.
How is the cutting edge on the D6? Note with my D6C the blade is straight up & down & it cuts just fine. The cutting edge should extend below the moldboard somewhat to enable optimum cutting.
Yair . . . I just can't help myself fellers, I have to say it again . . . bulldozer blades are built to push dirt not dig it. Cheers.
blades are made to cut and roll up a load, the tractor pushes it. trying to cut hard ground with the blade tilted forward will hinder cutting, but will make it easier to spread without washboarding. I have mine layed back as far as it will go and it will cut a load very quickly, but you can't go to sleep on the wobble stick.
Yair . . . oldirt That's what most people think. (grins)
double post
I'll second this. Here is a link to an excellent post by JDOFMEMI (second post in the thread) HeavyEquipmentForums . I haven't run a dozer in a lot of years, but the theory works for smaller machines as well. The first time I tried it I was amazed at how much dirt could be moved in a day with a little ctl.
Yair . . . Thanks for comment and link to that thread JNB. I had forgotten it existed. I know I do go on about front to back pushing but I constantly see competent operators costing someone money with poor technique. It is not possible to effectively push dirt unless the blade can be buried in (say) the length of the track frame. Generally speaking, if the dirt is boiling and rolling up the blade for any distance it is costing money in fuel and wear. Cheers.
Thanks for the help gents! Forgot my camera for pictures last night. When I went to adjust the tilt of the blade I didn't find any screw adjusters! The blade in my manual in different from the blade on my dozer! Mine has a hydraulic cylinder to tilt right or left? I scraped all the trees and small brush off in order to dry it out a bit more as this is wet river bottom but it seemed to be working well. It will dig the first few feet and then just pushes. I have been on a couple places that show technique and will check out the link to see what I can do better. Pictures to follow..............
hey, yair.. ltry welding a flat slab of iron on the face of your fav dozer and see how much dirt you can "boil". they don't call it a moldboard for no reason..