Bought a 1986 953 at auction last week for a farm machine. My boss let me bring it to work and bring it in the shop to work on it IE service it and work out the bugs. Did notice it has a good bit of blow by and some moisture on the dip stick. It’s been sitting with no rain cap on the muffler so it’s no telling how much rain has gone down the exhaust. But the pre cleaner was missing the cover and the bowl was filled clean to the top with water. It did start right up Wednesday morning in 30 degree temps when I went to pick it up. It’s got some oil leaks on the engine, but No unusual noises in the engine. The hydro is full on the stick but is slow to start crawling. There’s a decent amount of delay between forward and reverse. It slow till it warms up. The left steering pedal sticks....... The sight glass on the front doesn’t show any oil in the glass. It does have very good ground work on it. None of the idiot lights work on the console. Matter of fact nothing electrical seems to work other then the master switch, ignition and starter. I’m going to install manual gauges ............so I’ve dropped the belly pans off and plan on steam cleaning everything This weekend. I’m picking up all the Hydro filters tomorrow from cat and got all the engine and fuel filters and engine oil tonight. Going to flush the engine while servicing it. Plans are to drop all the hydro oil and change the filters as well in hopes that clears the movement issues. Ok my issue right off is the machine did not come with service or parts manuals. Can anyone point me in the right area for the filters and drains for the hydro system and hydrostatic trans. Engine is self explanatory. Cat is 7-8 weeks out for manuals. Serial number 20Z0060Z
Welcome to HEF Skyhook ! CAT guys will be along shortly.
You can download pdf Parts and O&M manuals directly from Cat via the web. $135 for the pair. Go to - https://catpublications.com/ When the popup appears click on "Continue as Guest" Put the following references in the box and one at a time and click the Search button. You should see something like the illustrations below. SEBU5758 - Operation & Maintenance SEBP1438 - Parts
I'm sure that HEF's resident track loader guru Mr CMark will be along directly.
Just a quick question. Is that " Z " at the end of S/N suppose to be a " 2 "? And just so you don't get to worried I believe CMark is from the land down under so he might be sleeping right now!
I thought that too, but the S/N breaks for the 20Z-prefix are 1-267 and 268-Up, so the point of the last digit with the machine being 600-something was somewhat moot....
Hydraulic (implement) system is pretty easy. Open the flap near the bottom of the hydraulic tank and there should be a drain hose in there. The valve is straight from the Cat corporate parts bin and needs a 9/16" socket on an extension. Filter is under the cover at the top of the tank. If you have the opportunity, I would suggest removing the sheet metal from around the front and steam cleaning the crud out. The hydrostatic transmission drain is straightforward although it may have an eco-drain. Your filter will be one of two types. It will either look like this; Or like this; If it's the first type you will have to lift the cab to service it. The second type can be done without lifting the cab. Either way, and this is important, you will find a valve at the base of the filter housing which you should open to allow the oil to drain before you remove the filter. This is to prevent oil from the dirty side getting into the clean side.
Yes so sorry it was a 2 and not a Z........QUOTE="kshansen, post: 851821, member: 28629"]Just a quick question. Is that " Z " at the end of S/N suppose to be a " 2 "? And just so you don't get to worried I believe CMark is from the land down under so he might be sleeping right now![/QUOTE]
And I see Cmark is on the job so I'll step back as I have never knowingly even laid hands on a 953! That said I would strongly suggest you heeding Nige's advice and get at least the operation manual and parts manuals coming or downloaded.
Well thank you so much for that info. I’ve got the belly pans off and noticed the covers around the front end. I’m going to pull those Sunday and steam the entire machine. Luckily everything is dry with the exception of maybe a valve cover gasket and something on the turbo(o ring)..... all the hydro cylinders are dry. I planned on jacking the cab to steam in there also. And lube all the linkage. The left steering pedal sticks when you apply pressure to it. Hopefully a good lube and service will help. That delay in the hydrotrans has me a bit worried but everything I’m reading leads to clogged filters. We shall see won’t we.. again thanks for the info. I’ll let everyone know how things go
More than likely on the foot pedal that is sticking your bearings in the pedal are bad. Remove the pedal assembly from the machines floor board. In my case the bolts were rotten and had to be cut out with a torch. Make sure and have a lot of water near by, mine quickly caught on fire when the hot coals hit the oily dirt and junk in the bottom. Dumpped lots and lots of water on it to make sure it did not burn up.. I would never work on these with a welder or a torch if they are oily with out a lot of water on hand, like a couple of 5 gallon bucket fulls already full and ready to go. Take the bolts loose, put it in a vise and take an air hammer and drive the rod out. There is a small 10.00 bearing on each side that goes bad. Carefully clean it all up and grease it up and install new bearings. The foot pedal housing is cast metal crap and will more than likely break if you try to use a hammer and punch. It really needs vibration to come loose. It will drive like a new machine. Mine need to warm up before they move also. I think it is normal for machines that are older and have some wear in the systems. I would not worry to much about it unless it really holds you up to long.. Check your exhaust system out and don't let it have rot and holes in it. The machines will run hot if it leaks into the engine bay. I have 2 20zs like yours still running strong with 14,000 hours on em..
If GI's suggestions for freeing the steering pedal don't fix it you will also find a couple of bell cranks under the floor. They (should) have grease fittings but they rarely receive attention. Yes, correct filter and oil viscosity is an essential first step in troubleshooting the hystat transmissions.
If it has a 3208 engine they only have 2 rings are known to have more blow-by than some other engines. It runs which is good but I'd get the pre-cleaner fixed as a priority. Cat normally has drain holes so water going down the exhaust won't get into the engine. Still good to check the exhaust system as GI said.
Ok GI .... I hit all pivot points with Kroll. Everything loosened right up and works good.
So a update from this morning. I added a quart of fuel oil to the engine this morning and let her run for about 20 minutes to help clean up in there. Dropped the oil and filter and let the engine drip for about a hour while I removed the rest of the hydraulic tank and fuel tank covers off the front. Changed the fuel filter and cleaned the metal strainer in the primer. (Boy that hadn’t been touched in a long time) half fuel of ice and water and sediment. I pulled the drain valve off the bottom of fuel tank and put a new drain assemble on it. Drained off the garbage in the bottom of tank. So buttoned up the engine service backed it outside and steamed cleaned the ole gal. After the bath I fired her up and ran her around the lower yard a bit. Spun it in circles, forward ,backwards, zigzag etc..... brought it back up to shop to spray off the crap that fell down on the engine and what not from tracking around. I shut her down and cleaned up my mess in and out side. I rechecked the oil level and dang if she ain’t nasty looking. It’s getting coolant in it. So looks like I’m doing a head gasket atleast now. However she does run good. And it appears it has had a head job at some point(no paint on it). It’s got a cat reman starter as well. It was in the low 20’s this morning and she fired right up. Guess I’m still ahead of the game. Gave $11250 plus auction fees for it. Engine service was $130. , gave $100 to the shop mechanic to come in and help. Ordered 6 -5 gallon buckets of hydraulic oil from our supplier (shell) that was $300. Cat filters for the hydrostatic trans and implement system. That was $92. I’ll get that done after Christmas.......... Now to look into a head gasket replacement kit at minimum. Probably a water pump and belts as well.
Before I left for the day I tried to get some engine numbers. I found this plate on the engine and it has the serial number of machine, machine model and engine model it also has a date stamped in it. Would this date be a engine swap? The date is 4/9/90. Cat told me my machine was built March 1986
You may want to check bottom end bearings if got antifreeze in oil. That is likely a rebuild tag for the engine.
Leaks in the engine oil cooler can also cause coolant in the oil.
It would certainly appear so. Unfortunately the plate in your photo does not actually give an engine number so it's impossible to compare information between "as built" and what is in it now. To add insult to injury the Cat system does not give the serial Number of engine that was originally installed in your machine when it was built. I notice the plate in your photo is a dealer one rather than a Cat one. Also, apart from the tractor Serial Number, the rest of it seems like it's written in some sort of Code. What might be underneath that plate in the way of numbers stamped into the block I wonder..? Comparing data from machines built just before and just after yours, the original engine should have been a 45V-prefix with a Number somewhere around the 51700-mark.
Ah that’s right. But I’m not getting oil in the cooling system. I ran into a oil Cooler issue in a old f350 with the IDI 7.3.
Check that the drain hole in the water pump is clear and not blocked with mud or wasp nests
So I’m racking my brain here! Well today was the company Christmas luncheon so I wound up at the shop where I have my loader. Pull the dip stick and the oil is just as clean as a new penny. I checked it 10 times cause I couldn’t believe it. So I fired the gal up and let her run for 30 minutes at 1/4 throttle. Shut her down and pulled the stick. Again clean oil! I’m baffled. Now last Sunday morning I serviced it. Pulled the loader outside and steamed cleaned it. Just before I left I Pulled the dip stick and it had a slight milky-ness to it. Back to today.... around 1pm after the luncheon at the office I swung back by the shop to cover the intake and exhaust with buckets(haven’t gotten a rain cap or precleaner cap yet). I decide to take her for a spin around the yard. Tracked down to the lower yard and dug around in the millings pile for about 10 minutes. Tracked back up to the shop to park it and check the oil again. Well still clean as a new penny.... So I’m going to service the hydrostatic trans and implement system this coming weekend. Also Put a set of manual gauges on it and the belly pans. Hopefully I can get her to the farm by New Years. And start digging See what happens from there.
Found this painted over inside the door.
All the numbers you will ever need, including the transmission. Original engine was 45V50970. It would be interesting to find some numbers on the engine that's in it right now, with that dealer plate being on the engine.
Hope to find some more info this coming weekend. Does this help?
Sorry, no. It's the Part Number of the cylinder block casting - 7N8600. You need to be looking for hand/machine-stamped numbers. The location of the S/No plate may give you some guidance as to where to look. If that's the same place where the Alban Tractor plate is located then you need to be looking behind it for stamped numbers on the cylinder block.
Ok if I can get in there and pull the machine screw off one side and maybe spin the plate to see what it’s hiding
Ok got to the shop today and serviced the hystat system and implement system on the ole girl. Installed 3 gaskets and O ring on the turbo supply and return lines. Tighten up the valve cover bolts. She is officially leak free! Except for the dam exhaust leak I found. It’s the elbow coming out from the turbo and going into the portion of flex pipe under the muffler. It’s got some pits in it and a few holes you could stick a 1/4 socket into. Anyone have leads on after market parts. I’ve got some emails out to a few machine breakers for some parts and waiting to hear back.
This is what I sourced from my bosses fluid supplier for the hystat and implement systems. 6 - 5 gallon pails for $300. For some reason only 5 pails were dropped off.
I'd be finding out where the missing pail is. If it's back ordered should say on the shipping receipt.
Our shop mechanic called me yesterday evening as they got dropped off and told me I was short a pail. I called the supply house and spoke to the salesman. He said my order was filled in house from bulk. He’s trying to get to the bottom of it. Good thing is I haven’t paid them for it yet.