hello everyone.new to the site and just bought a d7 cat.mid 6oty i think.pull starts so easy.will a electric start do the job?sorry im a little green when it comes to dozers..i alredy removed the pony as it has a broken rod and a big hole in the block.i hope i didnt buy i can of worms.lolpictures will come soon.love the site.alot of great info
I have no personal experience with these, but do know that many of them were converted to "Direct electric" start. Post your serial number and maybe one or more of the "old guys" will help you out?
I'm sure that Old Magnet aka OM will be around here soon. He has a web page devoted to the subject, but I can't for the life of me remember what it is. If he doesn't respond send him a PM. I am also in the middle of doing a conversion, a #12 8T to electric start.
Finding a starter with the helical pinion can be difficult. If it is indeed a mid 60tys it will be a d7e. Could be a 17a as well if your dates are off. My d7e had a conversion done before I got it. It had a 40mt delco on it. I put a new 50mt on it last year with my old nose cone on it. Cost me 350 dollars. My supplier can get and will sell the helical pinions but does have trouble getting them from time to time. He was out if stock when I got mine that's why I used my old nose cone.
Starter for the 17A, 47/48A ready to go on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-50MT-PO...-D9-/110922514286?hash=item19d37f3f6e&vxp=mtr
There's a video on YouTube starter for dozer converted to hydraulic he started it with a wet line from his farm tractor.
Here is the serial number that was written on the service manual17a12746.Cant seem to locate it on the machine for some reason.Number on the block is 34b1275.Thanks old magnet for the link to the starter.
If the 17A12746 on the Service Manual refers to your actual machine then it is a D7D and dates from mid-1959. 34B1275 is the Engine Serial Number. It's a D334 model.
My pony ran great but the clutch had issues so with the help of OM I just put a MT50 on my 17A. It fires right up, I spin the engine on decompression while giving it a sniff of either then after a few seconds throw the compression lever and it comes right to life. If your interested in my old pony $500. Mike 661-331-2996
Ahhhh, that would be a D339
Hi Mike, need a new picture with the 24v solenoid wiring.
OM, the 17A is already in Santa Margarita. In the picture I wired the solenoid up to 12 volts. The starter chattered and rattled like crazy. After moving the 10 ga. wire to 24 volts at the starter it worked perfect.
If you were close to me i would buy that pony.But im going with the mt50 like you did.Sounds like you have no problem getting youres to start.Thanks for the info i will let you know how i make out when it gets here.Tried to find out the year and my local cat dealer said the serial number is from a john deere.i think they are way off and dont see alot of older machines there.It sure isnt a j.d.
Nige is correct, 17A12746 is a 1959 model. Unless you can find an old gray hair/no hair your kinda on your own. You will find that you pretty much have to come up with your own parts numbers to go shopping as well.
That's how I start my 17a, roll it a few times and throw the compression release. Mine has glow plugs, but it still starts pretty easy even without using them.
Glow plugs on a 17A?..... I don 't ever recall seeing one that way.
They were part of the conversion kit I think, back when CAT supplied the Direct electric conversions... new precups and glow plugs, worked off the starter switch, turn left like the newer machines? Don't quote me that included 17A's...
The 17A can be set up with glow plugs using the pre-combustion chambers and glow plugs from the later 47/48A's No, the 17A's never came that way.
46a chambers with a 3 position switch.
Back in the 70's I converted my ole D7E to 24Volt from the old pony which got weak. The 24 volt starter may be harder to come by with the right gear. Then you need a 24 v alt. I used the big 12 volt batts mounted the box on the fender. If you don't use the dozer a lot and the pony can be fixed some times that is the best, compared to dead batteries and all. Mine eventually burnt up on a land clearing job, the cause was linked back to a 24 volt wiring short!
Just completed the install of the 24v starter.Had to reorder the right gear.It had the left hand gear and it needed the right hand gear.Installed 2 800cca batteries on the fender like you did.Cranked it over with the decompresser on then put it to run.She fired right up.Now i have a big grin on my face.i dont plan on using it much so i am going to charge the batteries with my 24 volt charger before i use it.where did you find the 24 volt alternator?Might go that route eventually
If you can find an old MACK truck mechanic to talk with, you can use a series-parallel switch and a 12V alternator. Switch makes it a 12V system for charging but sends 24V to starter when you hit the starter button.
Occasionally we will have an older tractor come into the shop for work. It can be difficult to find info on such machines since the transition into the digital age. We had a D4D with the 58J serial prefix in the shop a few months ago. I couldn't find any info in SIS on it. Wound up having to use a similar prefix that matched pretty closely to get the parts numbers and such I needed for it.
Yeah, you can do a series parallel, they're not too bad, but you should be able to pick up a 24V single wire Delco alternator in 40 or 70 amps for under a hundred bucks less pulley. http://www.fleetalternatorstarter.com/alternator_10111.aspx http://www.fleetalternatorstarter.com/24_1507.aspx
Glad to hear you got the starter straightened out. Here's a picture of the preferred alternator conversion 24v. Not sure where you'd get one near you. I think Florin Tractor out on the west coast is where the local ones are coming from. Avoid the ones with the Motorola alternator.