Hello, New to the forums and to the track steer community here. I have experience with farm tractors (Fords mostly) and looking to buy my first track steer. Today I'm going to look at a 2006 CAT 247 (not a 247B). The pictures of the machine appear to show that the machine was well taken care of. The paint looks great, undercarriage reportedly 80% (newer tracks some rollers/bearings). The machine has 5686 hours which scares me a bit. What should I be checking when I go to look at this machine? Can anybody chime in with this? I've read online that anything over 2,000 hours you should run. Your thoughts? The engine (Cat 3034) is a common engine as I understand. What can I look for today and when should I run? Looking forward to your help. Thank you
Over 5k hours its hard to know where to start... depends how cheap it is. If you want to use it to make money it's a big risk. Idler bearings in the undercarriage constantly go. Listen for strange noises or squeeling from the hydraulics, does it track fairly straight, do the quick coupler handles move, do all the joystick functions/buttons/thumbwheels work, leaks, strange engine noises, etc. With almost all electrical gremlins you're paying someone to plug in a laptop with Cat ET to diagnose due to lack of display information.
I have a 277 with almost 5,400 hours, I bought it used but knew it’s history. The undercarriage they use on that series does have extra moving parts but man they sure ride nice. They’re a little harder to work on from an access standpoint vs the 259/299 series. Not much to them electrically, not really even sure they they have a spot to plug in a computer. Parts are readily available and it really doesn’t take a Cat tech to wrench on them. The 2,000 hour rule of thumb is generally for a high flow machine running a mulcher. How was it used? Cab machine or open? Based on current values I’d say 15k is top dollar for it. 12-13 is a fair deal and 10 is a safe bet.
This is why later models are better. The diagnostics, or at least the ability to be able to read Diagnostic Codes and Events, is right there on the dash panel on the newer machines. The 1st Gen machines didn't have that. I'm with JY. A machine with that many hours doesn't necessarily mean that it's a problem, you just have to be aware that there will be components on it that will require overhauling probably sooner rather than later.