So I found a D8K that was in auction... The motor was taken out to be looked at and then was just abandoned. I was told the engine had a bad bearing....Anyway I first bought it for parts for my 8. The rails on the parts machine are about 70 percent... mine are shot... for me that alone is worth the price I paid. Now I was told the rest of the cat is in working order... the motor was the problem. Now Im thinking I should maybe find another engine and put it in....or should I just save myself some headache and just part it out?
I vote Fix. But it's not my bucks going into it. If it's in better nick than your current machine then part out that one. BTW what's the engine problem with the one you're looking at?
Not sure if the engine came with the machine?
The D8K wasn't ever one of Cats finest products. That old D342 engine was first introduced in 1955 in the new D8D, and put out 191HP. By the time the D8K was released in 1975, that highly-stressed engine was putting out 300HP. They're one expensive engine to run, with constant liner movement in the block one of their major problems - thus the introduction of the "spacer plate" D342 engine to try and solve the liner fretting problems. You need to look very carefully at what it would cost to overhaul that engine, and whether the money and effort is worth it, for an engine that is not anywhere near as reliable as a Cat should be.
This post should start once apon a time,as you know some what less than nothing about D 342 engines. Bad Bob
Of course! I forgot I need to genuflect to the fount of all Cat knowledge! - that arrogant sneering ******* from WA state, who knows absolutely everything, while everyone else knows nothing! I guess you missed your appointment with the psych this week, so he could address your major personality deficiencies.
I always thought the D8K was one of the better Cat machines and improved upon the D8H which was one of the highest produced Cat machines.
Kinda went down the same road with my 977s although I bought both at the same time, one had a totally worn undercarriage but ran and worked great, the other one had a great undercarriage but the engine had an obvious problem, smoked heavily and didn’t run on all 6 cylinders. I initially planned on making it an organ donor for the other one and did end up taking the tracks and moving them over to the other one. I just couldn’t bring myself to part it out though so I did some exploratory work on the engine and found it wasn’t too bad. I ended up repairing it and found a good used set of tracks for it. Now I have 2 nice 977H loaders that I wish I had more time to use. So I say if it’s not too bad it could be very well worth fixing.
The 8K machines gave me more problems than any 8H. It was still far less than a TD25 or an AC21. Don't have any idea where you might find a running used or a rebuildable core engine for that machine. When I worked for the dealer some years ago a military surplus unit came out of Alaska. It had been sitting in a warehouse in Anchorage. It was sold long before the transportation delivered it to the Yakima store.
In the real world throwing out opinionated comments without providing some factual data to back up said comments is what we commonly call BS. And to take a personal jibe at a member with said comments (they know nothing), do you really think your comments like this are necessary? I think Bad Bob needs to calm down or he just might find himself Banned Bob.
In my neck of the woods, the D8K's kept a lot of contractors poor, and the greatest source of repair problems was the engine. We couldn't keep the D8K's cool down here, so owners incurred head cracking problems as well as the liner movement problems. They were simply pushed too far in the engineering development. The high serial number D8H's were the best of the D8 tractors. John C is correct though, they were still better than TD-25's. But the A-C HD21 was quite a reasonable performer, they just fell down in the undercarriage dept. I'd take a 21000 series A-C engine over a 300HP D342 any day. As for final drives - well, neither the D8K, nor the A-C HD21 could brag about bullet-proof final drives. Seen the insides of way too many busted D8K final drives, and a bent dead axle was common. The singular beauty of the A-C's was you didn't need any special tooling to get components apart.
I have worked on these motors for 50+ years and I get real tired of the wanabe Cat experts blowing smoke. Ozposer is a junk dealer and has been called out on other sites as a big bull hauler . when Cat came out with spacer plates it was a cost cutting method to eliminate a lot of expensive machining on engine blocks, a spacer plate is cut out with a water jet and the block is machined flat. Almost all of their engines at that time got spacer plates. Besides D8K didn't get spacer plates till 2 or so years into the run. I occasional still cut a spacer plate block for shims. There are a good number of those motors still making a living out there. The 342 motors were as good as anything at the time but the new motors were built lighter and more powerful . If you can't handle the truth do what you have to do. Bad Bob
If the best you can do is resort to abusive name-calling and derisive comments, then it's a measure of your lack of personality stature. I was buying new Cats in 1965, and then fixing them as well from that time. I was an earthmoving contractor in partnership with a brother and his wife for over 30 years. Our mining contracting operation ended up with 55 machines in 1995, all between 50 and 100 tonnes, and employing over 100 employees, before we sold out in late 1995. Then I went on to deal in used equipment and components for many years, before I retired. People still call me daily, wanting me to assess earthmoving equipment for them, and I write up assessments on machines for them, that they pay me good money for. I guess that just makes me a big bull hauler. I still restore old machines today that no-one else wants, so I guess that does make me a junk dealer. I have never once derided Bluox's abilities and Cat knowledge, but he loves to deride others knowledge. I guess it takes all types.
That 21000 AC was a beast of an engine, same with the HD-16 with the 16000. Many early AC machines were Detroit powered, but when AC purchased Buda Engine Co they started producing engines with respectable HP and torque, and just my opinion, but perhaps that engine change made a leap ahead of the drivetrain, hence the ripping of final drives and such. I don't think AC ever matched those two up, and when they were bought out by Fiat, by that time they were pretty much eclipsed by Cat and Kommie in market share.
REGARDING THE CAT FIGHT (no pun intended) GOING ON IN PREVIOUS POSTS, ARE WE DONE WITH THE PISSING MATCH? IF SO, IF WE GOT OUR HUFFING AND PUFFING OUT AND DONE LET'S MOVE ON, OTHERWISE I'M GOING TO TAKE ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION ON THIS. ARE WE CLEAR!
Nothing beats personal experience and it isn't always the same for everyone. It's OK to disagree without all the drama. It distracts from what is a great forum. Nobodies impressed by someone acting like Tarzan beating his chest.
I was told the engine had a bad bearing.... or it was one of the cylinders. The rest of the cat is in great shape really...aside from the pads and rollers... the rails are in great shape... for me they would last for a very long time on my cat...I still might end of doing that... just thought I would get some of your opinions
With enough money, anything can be fixed but a crankshaft or engine block(if they can’t be re-machined) will be pricey. Good used cranks or blocks may be hard to find but with enough patience you should be able to find one if needed. Last year i saw a couple of 8K parts machines go through a Ritchie auction with no engines(missing). I wondered why the engines weren’t included unless they were kept for other machines? But if that was the case why not keep the whole thing for parts?
Tyson, try Allan's welding over by the railroad tracks in HP there, I think he has a parts D8 sitting there... Looks like one from far away anyhow, never actually looked at it. Has a Komatsu crawler loader there I mistook for a 977H until I got close...
I have a D8 engine in the yard ,it had been an auxilary on a ship we cut up. Ill try and get out in a few days and get the serial number. Its a long shot but maybe?
Bidcal Chico Ca Brand new D342 complete $36000.00
Just under 50,000 cdn it’s on Chico Craigslist
Its already a parts machine , no motor and no tracks . If you need a second going machine purchase a sound one with serviceable tracks . Keep the wreck as there are still valuable parts in it .
Yea I think thats what I have decided on now... keep her as parts...unless I luck out and find another doner engine... yea its be pretty pricey. Thanks guys for all the sugestions.
I
I was there yesterday.... They told me the same thing... keep her as parts...haha
Alright! Figured it was worth a shot...