Could it be possible that Caterpillar installed an unused hydraulic valve at the factory on some machines? On my 955L track loader the bucket control valve is located inside of the hydraulic tank. That is also where a second valve would be installed for optional equipment such as a ripper or 4-in-1 bucket. My parts manual shows a blind cap to cover the hole where the shaft for the optional valve would come out on the bottom of the tank. The other day from the rear of the machine I was checking out the area under the seat with a flashlight just to see what is in there and I caught a small view of the bottom of my hydraulic tank. Instead of seeing nothing or a cover I saw a shaft coming out of the tank with the piece that the operator control linkage would attach to. There is also a capped off steel hydraulic line in the rear of the machine like it would go to a ripper or maybe hydraulic winch but I couldn’t find a second line. My question is, would this shaft that is coming out of the bottom of the tank be connected to a complete unused valve assembly or is it simply a shaft with nothing connected to it inside the tank. I could take the cover off of the side of the machine and check the shaft movement but I don’t have the time right now and it’s just a curiosity thing. It would be nice to have this expensive second valve if I decided to add a hydraulic option in the future. The serial # is 13X1661 if that helps. Thanks!
They could be ordered with the extra valve from the factory but it looks like your machine was a standard machine so it was probably installed by the dealer. I have put a 3rd valve in a few track loaders for a root rake because it is quicker to get an in stock basic machine than to order a special order one.
Thank you very much Lee. Any ideas on why only one capped steel tube? It ends right beside the water separator.