I need to build a pond. I have a CASE K Backhoe to assist. Of course $$$ are always a major concern. I know of a 1953 Cat D6 cable dozer. Engine has been rebuilt. but the undercarriage shows signs of wear. A djustment is nearly gone. It is around 5 grand. Thoughts?
More pics
Also a silly question. Why don't they make over sized replacement rollers to help take up the slack. Shouldn't that work better than welding them up?
Sometimes for the owners welding rod is cheaper than replacement parts. Also, by the time the chains run out of adjustment, you start to run into alignment issues from the tracks flopping around, so oversize rollers just mask the issue.
As the chains wear in the pins and bushings, the pitch or center distance bush to bush gets longer, and soon your sprockets wear out, when you put new ones on they don't match the tracks at all and if you're lucky enough they don't climb onto a tooth or the teeth start punching through bushings, the sprockets will be very short lived because of the mismatch. I have seen dozers with chains worn enough they simply remove a link so the adjusters will provide some tension, it's sort of like duct taping a tire to make it the last mile. When they're shot, they're shot.
Run Forest run. Bob
Are there any good threads, videos or other instructions on rebuilding tracks, rollers and pins?
Look for used tracks rollers and Sprockets as new may be out of your budget. If the transmission craters after that you dont have a pile of money wasted on tracks if you cant get parts for transmission or in case of a motor problem. If money is no issue buy a newer machine for for 30- $40 thousand and spend less time fixing. Lots of options. Your money in the end. Simon
You also need special tooling to rebuild tracks and only if they are not to worn out. Simon
From what little I could see in the pictures the sprockets are not terrible, nor are the track links, you may just have an issue in your adjusters.
whats the price, for what you are going to do if the price is right buy it, if is simple fix, fix it ,major problem part it out. if you rent you have to do it now , not on your time line , when you get done sell it
If you can afford to buy a new one, it's best to buy one so you don't have to worry about parts wearing out anymore.
I will defer to those who know dozers better than I ever will. My questions would be how big is this pond you need to build? Next, will the machine in it's present condition be able to complete the job? Then, do you have more projects in mind after this pond? I have no idea of how long you would be working this present machine to build the pond or how much it would cost to either rent a newer machine to do the job or just hire it done. As much as I like the idea of keeping a 68 year old machine up and working it may not be worth it if this is a project that you expect to make profit on. Now if this is more or less a hobby thing and you can afford to lose money on it I'd say go for it! I'm sure someone here can post a link to a forum that specializes in antique construction equipment where you might find someone who has the parts you need sitting in the back yard.
Do you really want a cable lift blade ? They put a severe limit on what you can do in the time frame that a hydraulic blade will do.
Welcome to HEF, Louis ! What in the world are the people doing in your avatar picture ? Looks like they all have welding helmets on.
If you ever seen how much work a John Deere 550 LGP with 6 way blade can do with hydrostatic drive in 10 hours you would be amazed with a good operator on it. I seen a job that I thought was worth $6000 Dollars done by a Guy who bid it for $1200 and he was done and gone with it loaded back on his truck in less than 10 Hours and a beautiful job. Unless you plan to do lots of work with that Dozer Later, and plan to put lots of money into it to make it reliable, it might be way easier to find a true professional pay him for 1 day and enjoy the pond. The dozer you are looking to fix will only do less than 1/2 of what a new hydrostatic machine could do with a 30 year operator and maybe broke down after 1 hour. Best to work 2or 3 extra days on a regular job than 1 month on something that you wont get your money back. If you want to tinker around then buy and fix.
Where are you at with track adjuster?
The dam I need to build will be 65' from the highest to the lowest points. Guessing that it would be at least 100' long. I could build a few terraces when I am done. My son in later wants to build a pond on his property right next to mine. So far I have not been able to get anyone out here to quote a firm price on the pond. My wife and father want me to pay someone else to build the pond. I am okay with that, if the money was reasonable. The guy wants $5000 for the Cat. He has all the books. I do have more time than money. I have an old 580K Case backhoe. This is forest ground. I don't think there is anyway a person could make the pond in a day. I also Do NOT have any experience running a dozer. But I have been able to run anything I have tried... But I know there is a learning curve.
Making a dam there is more to it than pushing a pile of dirt also. How will you build an impervious core and from what material. How will you achieve the necessary compaction. Where will the spillway go and how will it be armored to protect the main dam. How will the upstream and downstream faces of the dam be armored.
The bottom is bedrock. The area has plenty of clay. Plenty of area to cut out and use for fill... Biggest problem is all the oak tress....
True. A hydraulic unit may be easier if a newer operator is in a big hurry. The cable blade will soon make him a better operator. They are fast and reliable. No rusted cylinders or leaking pumps. There was a reason they were still being made into the sixties long after hydraulics were available. The 9U series D6 is one of the best mid sized Caterpillars ever made. A 1953 series may still have a dry clutch. The D8 changed in later 1953 to a wet clutch. I would have to do some digging to see at what serial number the 9U D6 changed.
I've heard the cable blades worked well for land clearing because the root rakes would "float" along the ground, which would allow the rake to better follow the contours. That does mean the blade would not have down pressure.
The rakes I have seen and seen had a curve in the teeth with a forward hook on the bottom. They dug in a bit if you let them but were very easy to scrape the surface with just a few inches of penetration.
I had a 1954 D6 and used it a lot and it had lots of power. The hour meter was at the end with 9999 as I recall and the final drive housing outside where the bolts are was eroded down from all those hours of dirt going by it, but it ran perfect. It had a dry clutch and if possible, avoid slipping it as much as possible or starting the dozer with a large load in front of it or you will be adjusting it a lot as the lining will wear faster.
Everyone needs a D6. Cable blade for the win. No hydraulics leaking all over the place. That’s some true, USA, heavy metal madness! No EPA crap, just pure diesel power.
I have a 1961 D6B with cable blade. I haven't operated it enough to say I can operate it. I'm learning though. I paid $4500 for mine in running condition. Everyone around here said I got a good deal.
Just my 2 cents worth. Big $ for new equipment that should be more reliable, or low $ for old that may cause you time and more money. Iv gone both ways. My experience is it depends on you making a living with the equipment or just tinkering around the farm. I had a old D4 cat years ago here on the farm, paid $4500. I used it off and on for about 5 years clearing farm land. It was slow and showed its age but the old girl got the job done. I always figured that even if it blew the engine I could get most of my $ back in just scrape price, so what would be the gamble. Sold it for the same as what I paid for it after using it 5 years. Good deal for me...
If you enjoy messing with old iron, and the novelty of building you pond with a 1953 cable blade dozer go for it, if the tracks will stay on now it will most likely do what you want to do undercarriage wise, if it has a catastrophic failure, you can probably scrap it or part it out to someone who has another one and get most of your money back ......if all you want is a pond do like somebody else said and hire it done, sit back and enjoy your pond