I recently have bought some land and it has come with 5 very old D8H dozers. one runs great while the rest have sat for a about 5-10 years. from what i understand they all ran fine when they were park but they just weren't used. 4 of them have the hydraulic blade while 1 has the cable lift instead. tracks and undercarriage all look decent actually. all of the dozers look to be of the D8H 46A family. I'm hoping some of you guys know what they are worth. any maybe some pointers on how to get these suckers running again. even i just scrap them, which would kill me to see a machine like this go, but what is the scrap value? are they even worth trying to start. i am a pretty good diesel mechanic but never had to mess with a pony motor before. they were little before my time. if the tags are missing where can i find the numbers stamped? i also have about 5-6 977L or similar to that track loaders. one runs but the rest do not. i haven't had an opportunity to get the number of them but are they worth get running? any hints of where to find the serial numbers? or just scrap them. there is also a d6 on the land but i can't find the number on it anywhere. any hints? i know that this is a long post with a lot of questions but any help is greatly appreciate all the responses. this is my first post on this site.
You bought land with all this equipment? I'd check them over as good as I could and then see which ones are worth trying to get going.
Where are you on the Island? I might have time for a look, I am in NJ
As for the pony motors I'm sure there's you tube videos covering them for checking and starting them. Also for engaging the pinion and clutch to crank the diesel engine. Once you get the basics they're a simple starting system. If the ponies were left w/ gas in the carb and gas tank I'm sure you'll have a lot of varnish to deal with. Seafoam cuts varnish very well. Mike
Relatively easy to convert to direct electric start as an option to fighting pony motors. Starter is available ready to mount for under $500.
Some pics would tell a thousand words. Mike.
I 2nd that. It would be very interesting to see all that old iron & find out how that many machines came to be resting in one spot. Are the 977L's on the same property?
I wish the land I just bought came with 5 dozers! lucky
ya it was owned by an older gentleman that pasted away and the land just sat for about 5 years. the kids didn't want anything to do with the machines or land. so i picked it up. i will get some pictures of everything this weekend. does anyone know where i can get one of these direct electric starter conversions. I'm very interested in that. the land also came with 2 case 1080b that run 988 orignal model from what i can tell with the radiator stolen out of it. 980b 89p prefix that runs and 3 ancient scrappers that are in real bad shape. they are about 75 feet long a piece. ill probably just scrap those unless anyone wants them. two old link belt cranes that are junk. and 3 mark 2 power screens that i will be running myself. with that being said i have some work ahead of me. haha i really wanna get these dozers running and the track loaders running first.
was the property an old sand and gravel pit? is it located on long island? sounds like you have some resto work to do.. you have to cut up all that big stuff into short steel to get anything from the scrap yards...
Don't cut them up. Us antique Cat fans start them old machines all the time after they have been setting for 10 and even 20 or more years. Go to the ACMOC BB site and throw your questions out there. We have some very knowledgable folks in Long Island that I'm guessing would be happy to meet with you, give you some pointers, and probably help start them. I sure would if I were a wee bit closer. Always cool to here a machine start up after a long nap. A couple of weeks ago we started a pony start Model 12 grader in 4 hrs after it sat outside for 18 years. A little knowledge about simple procedural things to check before starting can go a long way. If they ran when parked and never got water in them or froze up they usually are not real tough to fire up. A lot depends on how they were put away. P.S. Feel free to use my name over at ACMOC and mention I sent you over. The serial numbers are on the engine block toward the rear on the left side as sitting on the seat. It is also on the back of the transmission case on the left side about 2/3 of the way up the case. If it has a winch it may be covered. My2U serial is not covered by the CCU double drum unit. If the rear tag is tore off the serial number is also stamped into the casting under it. You can usually find the rivets where it was. The engine and back serial number will match if it has the original engine block. Post the serial numbers when you get a chance and I should be able to tell you the manufacture year.
Alright thanks alot guys. I will get all the serial numbers and some pictures this weekend. Some of them are really grown in with trees let me tell you. I guess i better make an account over at acmoc. Im really excited to see these machines get going and appreciate all the advise i can get
Rbmmccloskey my yard is out on the northfolk in riverhead. Its a bit of hike from jersey but i would sure appreciate any help.
Here is the conversion starter source I was referring to. Be sure to request the RH helical drive pinion not the LH version. http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-50MT-PO...ash=item19d37f3f6e:g:lJEAAOSwvgdW2czY&vxp=mtr
Get good pics of the scrapers, too. Gotta give the old girls a bit of loving as well.
From my understanding of pony motors selling them would probably buy the starter cables and batteries to convert if they were in good working condition or are they not worth that much? Hear that parts for them are expensive and hard to get other then normal maintenance items
If you're looking for the starting procedure/sequence I am happy to explain it (at least how I go about it.) I bought a 1969 D8H earlier this year and had never dealt with a pony motor start before but once you do it a few times it is no big deal. With an old machine that has sat around you will probably have a harder time getting the pony motor up and running than the main engine.
Pony motors are kind of a strange market. They don't seem to change hands much until some one actually needs one and prices are all over the map. Yes, they are expensive to rebuild, especially if you have to farm out the work. Parts seem to still be available. Also need to be aware of early and late models with their changes in engagement mechanisms.
Another trick to know about pony motors is: after the main engine is started, shut the pony motor fuel valve off and let the carb run dry or it will wear out the float needle and seat due to the gas sloshing around in the float bowl. Another plus for the pony: in cold weather starts you can crank the main engine long enough to get the oil circulating before starting. Mike
A lot of newbies to the starting engine will crack the throttle first thing even before engaging the bendix, all this does is dump cold fuel into the cylinders. You crack the throttle last after you have run the starting engine engaged with the compression release on run, this gives the cylinders time to warm up and inhale warm air thru the intake manifold as the pony's exhaust runs thru the intake. The colder it is the longer you run it.
According to every Cat manual I have, the procedure is to warm the main engine with the throttle closed. After the main is warm enough to run, (it normally will pop a bit with the throttler closed), pull the throttle all the way open to open the spring loaded rack and then move it back to a fast idle as the main takes off. Shut the pony down to an idle and as said shut the fuel off and let the carb run dry. The shutoff switch should be only used for emergencies. The ponies don't hold much oil, not sure exactly how much on your machine but on a D6 it is barely over a quart. Leaving the gas on quickly dilutes the oil as the needle juggles around, while the machine working, and soon after you will need bearing and perhaps a crank. Take a bit of care with them ponies and they are very reliable. On another note the compression release on the main should be in the decompressed mode until the oil pressure comes up.
I hope to see some follow up and pictures, This sounds like an interesting project.
I'm located in Hicksville and am always willing to lend a hand Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Finally got this project underway and begun firing up all these machines. After making the rounds and collecting 30 or so batteries and trying to get them back to life I've made little progress. so far i have not gotten very far but so far i got a 980B up and running great. along with a komatsu WA300 i also was able to start a case 1080b by jumping the starter but i have no in cab electric in the ignition or less were. also no hydrualic control what so ever. I'm guessing my lack of electric and lack of hydraulics are related. i also have a D6B that should be up and running this weekend just have to throw in a new starter which i have laying around in a parts trailer. my next machines to get going will probably be two d8hs and two 955 track loaders. i think the 955s will be no issue but I'm concerned with dumping too much money in the d8h's my main question is can i drag a D8h on reverse and bump start these things rather then fighting with every single pony motor. i have at least a 500 yard stretch i can drag the machines each way and i can use my running d8h to drag them. Any thoughts on this theory. they should all be power shift i think. also anyone know a good place to get parts for these old machines. some of the machines were vandalized by local kids supposedly. either way I'm missing like 2 d8h radiators and a 988A radiator and one more radiator out of a old caterpillar wheeled tractor that looks to have been use to tow around a scraper. and i also need an oil pan for a perfectly restored D7 but haven't figured out what year that one is.
There's no way I'd buy parts for a machine that might be a parts machine. Either patch the radiators, or take the hoses off and use a piece of rubber and a hose clamp to seal up the engine. Shut it off when the water temp gets to 200 let it cool back to 170, and see if it starts and drives before putting any cash into it.
I know you can't pull start and machine with a torque converter. The D8H has a torque divider though and I've never tried to pull start one of them. My bet is that you still can't.
Yair . . . Apart from Allis 16's and 21's. They used to advertise the feature. Cheers.
On a D8H it depends on whether it's a 36A or 46A series 'cause the 36A had a stick tranny. Mike
I know one thing, if I had them I would never scrap them out. best advice was go to the ACMOC guys and let them know. Those old 8's are very good machines and still quite a few around. For parts they are worth more than scrap prices by far. Get the best ones running if you can. Sounds like enough machines to be able to make a couple good ones at least. You have got a nice little honey hole of machines!!! Lots of old big Cats that have sat for many years that with a little work will fire up and run. No fancy electronics if they get fuel and air, they will run.
may be some pictures of the ol girls