Hey everyone, Can y’all please help me identify the year of the machine below? Thank you in advance for any help.
I think you have photographed the serial plate for the ROPS canopy... There is usually a SN plate on the left side of the engine but that can be misleading because engines can be changed. You can also look at the rear of the machine- there is usually a SN stamped high on the main casting. Others with more experience will likely chime in to give more detailed location info. Jon.
Post some photos of the complete machine please. Based on those photos it will be easier to give you an idea where to look.
Thanks so much for getting back to me everyone. Here are some more pics of the machine.
I think I found the serial #. It’s 85J329. Does anyone know the year?
Can you post a photo of the Serial Number you found please. 85J329 (or 85J00329 if you go to Cat for parts) is a 1968 machine, one of the earliest in the 85J series. Try looking at the engine. You should find the same Serial Number that you found on the tractor if everything is original & kosher.
Here is a pic sir. Do you have a recommendation for the engine oil and filter sir? I need to change it.
Believe it or not there is no engine oil filter listed for anything with a Serial Number lower than 85J4296. Post a photo of your filter installation. Hopefully someone will be able to recognize it. Also check if you can find a Part Number on either the filter housing or the cover. That might also help to identify it.
Ok thank you sir, I will send a pic this afternoon. Do you have a recommendation on the oil to use? Also, is there a good place to buy a service manual?
You can get manuals HERE . There are a few used ones kicking around on Ebay but they appear to be almost the same price as new ones. I would go with CD personally because they are cheaper, but some people prefer paper versions. NOTE: If you buy a Service Manual it will have a copy of the Operation & Maintenance Manual included in it. For your climate (Birmingham AL, correct.?) I would imagine a good quality 15W/40 diesel engine oil would do the job just fine.
Thank you so much for your help sir. I will be buying a manual today.
That model year didn't use a spin oil filter, canister with cartridge, like the older H model had. I changed mine over to spin on, maybe someone did that to yours too. Send pic of that side of engine. Nick
Still trying to get the 955k going. Hired a friend who is a cat mechanic to fix all the leaking cylinders. He was able to rebuild the top right cylinder, but the top left (driver side on a car) had rust pitting in the cylinder barrel. Does anyone have a lead on where to buy a used cylinder barrel? Also, I read that some people use JB weld in the pitted areas and hone it down. Has anyone had experience with this? Thank you in advance for any help. Hoping to get it working one day!
If you have a Parts Manual then you could search sites such as Machinery Trader for used parts. The search works much better if you plug in a Part Number. Try calling Offroad Equipment in Alcoa TN but if you do call them you’ll need a Part Number first. No, but I wouldn’t recommend it for the simple reason that if any of the JB weld ever comes loose it could bugger if some extremely expensive hydraulic parts.
Hey Nige, I do have a parts manual. I think I found the right number. Which cylinder is the tilt and which is the lift cylinder sir?
Tilt cylinders are the ones you use to dump the material out of the bucket. Lift cylinders are the ones that raise and lower the bucket.
Are these the lift cylinders?
No
Ok so the circled one is the tilt cylinder?
Baseball, do a search for "repairing pitted hydraulic cylinder barrels" on google. There's a ton of info out there.... But differing solutions depending on the amount of pitting and just how deep the pits are. And how much life you want out of the cylinder. A bit of a summary for you: Solutions to repair the pitting: 1. Epoxy filling and re-honing the barrel. For epoxy to work properly, the cylinder must be ABSOLUTELY clean, as the epoxy will not stick to oily steel. There is an industrial product called Belzona 1151 that might do the job for you. The Belzona line of epoxy products is heavily supported by technical people who will help you with details of doing the job properly and, more importantly, tell you if their product is routinely used for this kind of repair. For the re-honing of the barrel after the epoxy repair, I would be inclined to go to a shop that has a proper cylinder hone that can be set to a size. However, I have seen people post that they just used a spring type hone to get the epoxy back down to the barrel size without trouble. You may have a nearby hydraulics shop that would do this type of job for you for a reasonable cost. They probably have done the procedure in the past so they will know what works and what doesn't. 2. Some people have talked about TIG or MIG welding up the pits in the bore, then cleaning it up by grinding the high spots back out and finishing up with a precision hone. Lots of work. Good for the guys who are making a living with the cylinder. 3. Get a new piece of cylinder barrel and have a shop re-barrel the cylinder. Involves lathe work and lots of shop time but may be less costly than a replacement part. Non-repair solutions: 4. Find a good used barrel. 5. New part, brand name or aftermarket. Further to fixing with epoxy material: The concern about an epoxy repair failing and sending crap down the line is real but can be offset by using "compact pressure filters" in line with both end of the cylinders. These are small filters about the size of a pop can that contain a metal filter like sintered bronze and filter down to about 25 micron. They are available for the pressure ratings necessary....3000psi or therabouts? YMMV. Jon.
Correct.
Hey Jon, Thank you so much for the info sir. With Nige’s help I found a used cylinder barrel with Off-road Equipment in Alcoa, TN. I’m going to order it Monday and continue trying to get the machine ready to work. Thanks so much again for your time Jon.
We got the machine up and running, and I’ve done a little work with it. Seems to be running well so far. I’m starting to get the hang of the controls. Can y’all help me with what this wire is on the top of the engine? It is broken, and I can’t find what it goes to in the manual.
Hey Nige, Can you help me with the post above sir? Any idea what that wire is sir? Enjoying the machine so far. Thanks so much for the help.
The photos are not very clear, and neither is the service information I can find. All they show is a wire somewhere close to the exhaust manifold. Can you trace where the wire goes, or what colour it is, anything that might help identify what it is.? Could it be part of the wiring for the glow plugs.? Do they work.? Attached is what's listed for wiring but I don't think it's going to help you much. The electrical schematics won't load up for some reason.
That looks like a wire going to the glow plug, to me. If the wire is broken, that particular glow plug won't heat up when you hit "Heat" on the Start switch, but all the rest of the glow plugs will still work.
A thought to try: Oz's suggestion that it could be for a glow plug could be checked by getting a multi meter and checking for power in the wire (with the other meter lead clipped to ground--somewhere on the engine block) Once this is set up, try turning on the glow plugs and see if you get power in the wire. If so, it is probably a glow plug wire. If not, well, you have eliminated one possibility. It seems to me that glow plugs are generally hooked up "daisy chain" style so I'm not so hopeful that this wire is for them. Jon.
Hey Nige, The 955k is up and running, and I have been able to get some work done with it. Thank you so much for the help so far. Can you answer a question for me sir? Can you please look at the pictures I’ve attached? What is the crow bar looking thing in the picture? This compartment on the other side of the machine is bolted down flush.
Absolutely no idea I'm afraid. Try removing all that wire and get the cover further open so that you can have a good look inside the compartment is all I can suggest.
Looks to me like the biggest hick, on-the-fly repair, that you could ever find. Jam a wrecking bar in under the track guard, and wire the access flap to it, to stop the access flap flopping around - instead of just welding a new nut to the guard, and installing a new bolt to hold the flap closed.
Thanks so much for getting back to me. I will take a better look tomorrow.