Found a International TD-14 for $2000 and was looking to fix it up enough for working my property. I own about 50 plus acres in hilly terrain and was wondering if this dozer will handle the job and be straight forward dozer to work on. Anyone have history with these and should I save my money for something more new or smaller/larger? From what I see the sprocket teeth look bit sharp in pictures but I think it will be fine. Not trying to run a construction company with it just for property use. Comes with brush hog attachment also.
I love your determination. You are not scared away easily, you dig in and get **** done though sometimes I think you should turn and run. You must really hate yourself to continually inflict such torture BTW I seek out your posts and read with great respect of what your able to accomplish.
You must be following my posts to know of such torture, I just don't know what else to do with life as I would go nuts doing nothing.
14 is a beast. Parts would be a challenge. Personally I would try and find a Cat as they have better support. However the price of the 14 seems right.
I you're familiar with starting and stopping the engine on these tractors. If you don't you may become certifiable
The problem is going to be if you have a bearing go in the rear, and chew up a final drive. I would think even finding a well worn used final, would be difficult. I'm sure the bushings and pins and such are well worn in the blade, but so what? it would likely last for what you want to do. A look at the pins in the tracks, would tell you if there's enough left of the undercarriage that you wouldn't walk the tracks off every time you turn. My uncle had a old cable dozer when I was a kid, he always said it was a workout for your arm running winch up and down. Just replace the cable before it breaks. If you just want to run one to destruction to get done what you need, it isn't a big investment. If you want to fix everything that goes wrong, you would be far better served with a cat simply for parts availability. I think if I was wanting to clear your property and the other things you want to do, I would be much more interested in a track loader than a dozer. I think a track loader would be so much better for pushing brush, digging your earth home, loading and unloading thing/ lifting service. If I was living in the middle of nowhere, and wanted to be able to take care of my own property, I'd be looking for one of the old Deere track loaders with a rear mounted backhoe. It wouldn't do everything as well/fast as a dedicated excavator/dozer/backhoe/CTL, but there's not much of that kind of work, that you couldn't get done with it. Even better if it had a 4 in 1 up front. Dig water lines, push dirt, make your roads. Do it all with one piece of equipment.
If I can find one as pictured I will grab it though seems best to look for a JD, Allis or a Case from what read on the consensus. https://www.machinerytrader.com/listings/construction-equipment/for-sale/198682617/1990-deere-455g
I have a Cat 931B with a 4 in 1 bucket and a backhoe. Other than the hoe using a rotary cylinder for swing it's a very versatile machine. Hoe has good digging power but is best to take it off if doing a lot of loader work. It is very heavy hanging off the back. One thing that I agree with Cat is they have the most reliable transmissions, either 3F/1R or 3F/3R. The 931B backhoes do use the rotary swing cylinder but are better than the older 931 backhoes that used a rack and pinion style swing. I had to get the shaft for the rotary cylinder spray welded because it leaked on the seal surface but the seals and O-rings for the end caps were readily available. The vanes and internal seals they say to contact dealer for availability but they were still in good shape and were reused. I think the later JD's like the 455G CO posted above are very good machines with the twin cylinder swing. I'd worry about parts for older JD's like the C series but there could be some decent older machines out there. It also looks like the G series backhoe is similar to Cat in that it uses the same seat for loader and backhoe. Older JD's had a flip down seat for running the hoe that I think could get a little annoying. My seat back flips from one side to the other. A bit of a pain climbing over the machine instead of getting on and off but certainly doable. It also lets you operate the transmission when using hoe doing a trench or pulling yourself out when stuck. A separate seat you wouldn't be able to reach the transmission control. I keep thinking I should make some kind of extension arms so I could operate the steering pedals when using the hoe.
I have a backhoe already, guess a 4 in 1 crawler loader is what I need instead.
4 in 1 bucket is good for some things but I found it a hazard when clearing brush. Branches and roots tended to get behind the bucket and destroy the steel hyd. lines. Even lumps of dirt will fall over the back of the bucket on the hydraulic hoses which can pull down on the steel lines. Had I known I would have made some kind covers to fully enclose all the steel lines. I think some other machines have the lines better protected.
The TD14 engine is basically a TD9 engine with 2 added cylinders. My book says only 399 engines were ever built. Many engine parts were shared with the TD9 but you will probably never find a crank, block or injection pump if you ever hatch them.
Interesting that the 931B seat flips back to use the hoe. My earlier straight 931 with 4N1 and hoe has a seat that spins around. Flip must have been cheaper to make!
I always wondered if there was enough room to actually swivel around sitting in the seat on a 931. Swivel seat would be nicer than climbing over or having to get off and then on again. My wooden seat base rotted out and was no longer available from Cat but I found an upholstery shop that made a new bottom seat complete with base with the insets for the bolts. Cost around $200 but my measurements were off for the bolts because the mounting plates flopped around on the machine. They took measurements from what was left of the old seat base and installed the inserts in both locations. Good thing they did and it bolted right on.
looks like a td18 with the twin exhausts 14 only has one 18 is a six banger 14 is 4.
Looking at the engine it sure does look more of a 6 than a 4 banger.
well, i liked the pictures and the price may be reasonable, but i think its more of a museum piece or an addition to a collector fleet
Or if you already have one and need parts lol. Yeah I'm going different direction of what I need and not want. Thanks for the insight as I get closer to purchase if something I will ask more on the next find.
Spent nearly eight years flopping around on a Orphan Machine, won't do it again.
fortunately its not near me I'd probably go have a look
Did they make a change during the TD14 run. There is a old stretched one that sets in the woods near Duluth with a midship mounted swing crane in the stretched frame. I could not find a serial number due to the winches and modified panels on it so I don't know the year but it has a 6 cylinder gas/fuel engine in it. The information I read was that it was a TD9 engine with 2 added cylinders and only 399 were built. I think this one was a ag Cat as new because it has red and appeared to be painted yellow when new as they added the crane attachment. It does appear that most of them used a TD-18 engine with two cylinders removed. I wonder if I got a bad article although it went into great detail???? Naw. Can't be wrong, its on the internet.
Red power forum is a good place for information on them
Were a number of Side Boom conversion companies back in the day, could just be a Modified 14.
Either a TD18 or TD18A. The 1955 TD18-1 and TD18-2 had the air cleaner moved under the hood. The grousers have had some flatbar welded to them. If the pads needed to be built up, then the pins and bushings are probably worn out. For a farm cat that is just going to do some limited work, it might be okay.
No offense but that machine belongs in a museum.
Old iron habit , Its possible they made 6 cyl versions. The 14 and 18 have the same pistons and rods I believe. The are the gas start switch over to diesel engines. Probably fine for a farm dozer looks taken care of for a machine pushing 70.
I think I would skip that one.
I have skipped it. I will post other machinery as time ticks on.
The swivel seat on my first series 931 does not have enough room to set on the seat and swivel. You stand up and lift the seat about 4 inches to swivel and it stays at the higher setting. I spin it and then spin me around the canopy and back into the seat is what I found works the best. Don't think it has any advantage over your flip seat if yours raises up as it flips. Mine could use more legroom in the hoe position but I have a 35" inseam and size14 shoes.
Here's the best I could find of the 931B backhoe seat. The bottom seat cushion is flat and stays the same height, just the seat back flips to either side. Because my machine came from the factory with the backhoe there are extra hand holds on the ROPS that I use to crawl over the hyd. and fuel tanks. Kind of a pain but way better than a JD that uses a separate flip down seat. There was a Cat competitive bulletin TECB2050 entitled "The improved D3B/931B fixed pivot and sideshift backhoes vs John Deere 450C and 9300 backhoe." I keep thinking about making some kind of quick attach levers to operate the brake pedals from the backhoe position. SEAT GP 5G2334 - Caterpillar | AVSpare.com
I've got an old TD14A that's in pretty good shape undercarriage-wise, but the engine's lacking power and overheating. Its been stood for probably the last 15/20 years or so. I've got a 4cyl Detroit Series 71 out of a compressor that has an issue with the compressor side, so I've taken it out of that and I'm intending on swapping it in to the dozer. I've done the bell housing modification using the bell housing plate off of the original engine. I'll probably be shunting in the engine tomorrow. Does this seem like a good idea, or am I just doing a lot of work for nothing?
It should work. Allis Chalmers used a 4-71 in one of their crawlers before they went to 4 cycle engines in the mid 1950's. I think it was an HD-9. SDWF
I just thought of the air compressor. It's made to run at one speed so the engine may need some type of governor for it to work properly. DWF
Should be similar things to solve as the poster putting a different 6-71 in his Terex loader.
Thanks guys. I'll post on here once I'm done and I've tested it.
Detroit's do not have a great deal of torque, your TD 14 should be a torque converter trans set up but stall out will come on swiftly with a two stroke.
Well basically what I've done is coupled the original flywheel off the IH onto the Detroit, and maintained the dry clutch system. Of course the flywheel weighs as much as a small car so I was quite worried about the crankshaft, but I've done a bearing housed in the bell housing plate to support the new flywheel and the coupler between the two flywheels is the flange and end shaft bit cut off an old IH crankshaft I had lying around. I'll try and post some pics of what I've done so it makes more sense.
For me, it was love at first sight with a TD9, I'd say similar vintage. I tried to bargain for a better price, the elderly seller gave it away instead. It has a Drott hydraulic blade. You seem not afraid of work, you'll handle it. There are sources for parts. You might have as much invested as a new dozer would cost, but think of the memories! By the way, are you still married?
So finally managed to get the engine in. It was quite involving, had to do a new front cross member to mount the engine, new pto drive from front pulley, extend the chassis to accept the radiator and new exhaust and air cleaner. Started it up, and it didn't shake itself to bits, which is what I was most concerned about. Ran it for about an hour, but it didn't have much power, and very thick black smoke. Cleaned out the little sieves in the fuel pipes leading up to the nozzles, and there was some improvement, but not much. Then I opened up the blower cover, and found the issue: a rat's nest packed solid against the blower screen, basically blocking off all air into the engine. Cleared that out, and now it runs like a dream. Thinking of fabbing up and mounting a ripper on the back next hopefully.
Mice had built a nest inside the expansion chamber on my dirt bike. It was packed so tight it wouldn't let the exhaust escape and wouldn't rev up. Luckily you could see a little exhaust coming out where the pipe fit to the engine. They had to have somehow jumped off the seat and down through the silencer to get inside the pipe. We managed to blow some of it out and put the pipe back on. Started the bike and when I revved it up shot a good portion of the nest out the exhaust. Very Bizarre.
When we were first married forty years ago we did not have a garage. Mrs B had a new Chevy Cavalier wagon. At one point she went off with her mother for a week. On return her car wouldn't run. Backfire, no power, I was at a loss! Checked everything I could think of. Called the dealer & made an appointment. Then I noticed a charred acorn on the driveway. The muffler proved to be packed full of acorns by chipmunks.
Had the exact same thing with a snowmobile muffler. We were wondering why we saw a field mouse running around the truck box as we brought it home! We cooked the nest out with a acetylene torch before repainting it and putting it back.
We had this Home Spun Hunting Cabin so could run it back and forth, well BIL bought it away from me and allowed it to sit one summer, tried to start it to bring back for work it needed and would not run. Mice had gnawed EVERY gas line to shreds, nibbled at ALL the wiring in the engine compartment and then packed every flat spot or box with Acorns and stick nests. it became permanently situated, this was a few years later.
I liked it. Shiny blade says it all. It has been working recently. Easy tractor to work on. For $2000 what more could you ask for. Take it easy and it might go a while.
Local here used a D8 cable dozer with a OLD cable pan and a open station 953 to build a pond for a neighbor. His father bought the 8 used in '64, still working for a living.