Anyone else having issues getting parts besides me? Dealer told me that there is no 300HP 3306 camshafts in the country and the vendor is late with the shipment. Who is building their cams? I was told I can get a cam KIT, with bolts, gear, bearings, etc..... but its twice the cost for items I don't need. Luckily I found one myself or this project would be stalled. Its been happening a lot lately.
I was told by CAT we would need to wait 3-6 months for a Huei pump on a c7 motor. Lukily we tested the pump and was ok, but geez if had been failed we would be sitting ducks.
I went to a conference awhile back and heard that parts from all manufacturers was going to be a problem going forward.
I thought you could get them to pull parts of a stock machine if they ran out like this. Why can't they pull the cam out of their kit, send it to you, and put a new one back in the kit whenever they get a shipment?
HAHAHAHA.. Now that's funny BV.. THAT would be called, "Customer Service".. something they are NOT noted for.. {normally}
I guess if they are not willing to play ball, you could order the kit, order the camshaft, install the one from the kit and return the kit complete once the new cam came in.
What's your serial number, I can look it up and verify
Part # 7E-9980. I did find one from another source.
7E9980 - Cat shows one is available in Clayton, (think its OH) for $963.30 new 0R3023 - Remanufactured $949.73 (one each) 3775851 - Classic part $272.05 (one each)
Seeing it with cummins and kenworth here too. Good old wont be able to get parts for common stuff. Forced to buy new S#it...
Will only go new this deep in the engine.
They SURE ARE PROUD of the reman.!!!! Damn..
I have to ask why the $677.68 difference between reman and classic? Is the classic made out of tin?
How about a month to get the pivot pins under the rocker arms on a center lock, current production, bucket couple? Only took two weeks to get a turntable bearing for a 324D...From Australia. Or, Cummins...90 days for a long block ISX600...Spun the #4 bearing from ceramic debris from a failed hpfp...Cummins helped with zero.
My understanding is the classic is bought from the after market area and resold. I got my best deal from CAT on my 955 rails, shoes and segments, but they came from Korea. Only bad thing that happened is there was missing 3 of the large segments and didn't find out till almost a year after I bought them.
Yea, that's what I thought too.. aftermarket or used w/ little or no warranty..??
Don't know for sure about all the part issues, but maybe there are dealers in name only and other dealers which try harder to get the parts. Tip my hat to Wayne Supply in Louisville, been great for many years, but they where sold to another company about a year ago, sure hope things stay they why they have been
Planned obsolescence comes home to roost in everything. They are not here to sell repair parts forever but to sell new machines and they prove it daily.
CAT's closely guarded "proprietary intellectual property" sure make it difficult to manufacture your own parts. With slow support, it may be time to pick a new favorite equipment builder.
They are obviously not here to repair equipment either.
Good luck on another supplier, none of them are in it for the customer anymore, just for sales.
Guess I need to be real happy with Whayne Supply, because the only part I have not been able to get is the tooth edge for my 955, everything else has been there the next day. I'm not in construction so buy buy the parts others do, but my equipment is old and they have the parts. When I had them do some work, it was spot on and timely
The new catch phrase is "Manufacturer on Demand". I've putting up with this BS for over 3 years on a machine thats now 10yrs old. Berco track chains (OEM) 16 weeks to manufacturer, 12 weeks delivery. Planetary gears from Japan the same. I took the gears to a local machine shop and took delivery in 3 weeks of new parts.
Parts are becoming an issue from Cat of late. Waited four months for a hydraulic valve section for a 3 year old rubber tired loader this summer.
Now THATS effing ridiculous!
Wow that is bad. Sounds like all the parts they were getting was for the production line.
How about this..? Not that long ago I needed a complete rear wheel group for a 789D Truck and the nearest available one shown in the parts system was in the Melbourne (Australia) Parts Distribution Centre - I was in the Caribbean at the time ......... eventually we got one from the production line in the US but FFS, how many 789's are there in the world and someone's telling me there are no wheel groups available..?
Komatsu is getting to be the same way. It sure seems like forced new equipment sales........
I can see an issue here and there where it might tale a day longer to get a part. A lot of this iron anymore has a lot of model specific parts. They are running a close second to vehicles nowadays. I can remember years ago if you needed a boss for a bolt that was welded on the frame and didn't have a number in the parts book. The parts dept at Cat could still get one and have it the next day. In my opinion which is worth very little that is what has made Caterpillar over the years. But, Times are changing.
It seems as though all manufacturers are one big monopoly, or they are all connected at the hip. Not one will step forward and provide a simple machine that lasts and the parts to maintain it. If one did, the rest would lose a lot of business. There is no competition. Isn't that what a monopoly is?
Pretty much dead on, has not been this bad since the days when the first Japanese units arrived competing against JD, Allis and Cat, then the door slipped a little more where Deere and Allis then Cat began using foreign factories churning out rebrands as their own.
I am disappointed from reading all these posts, as others have mentioned , parts availability made Cat who they are today. The owners and contractors are the ones who suffer, seems like Cats attitude has gone from helping the contractor be successful to we don't care about customers anymore. It's probably a dollar driven decision made by todays corporate executives who never had a completion date to satisfy.
Fixed that for you ............
nothing cat is doing these days impresses me much i cant stand there new backhoes and these hydro electric controls suck they have the attitude of "your so fortunate you get to pay premium dollars to run our cat iron" and they have all the dealers thinking the same way. parts are a joke between the people behind the counter and the lack of parts you are SOL to be back running today. this thing of spending 50$ to overnight a part that cost 5$ that they sell three of a month but wont stock is just stupid. but what can you do there is no after market places to go that will get you going any faster. with all the dealers being corporate with multiple stores now the service you get is only as good as your salesman
There is a tremendous amount of changes that have been forced on mfg's by all this emissions BS. Part of that is making sure it can't be disabled or disconnected. That means that you're forced to have connectivity for all components and make them all dependent on each other. Plus we've made stops at Tier 2,3,4i, & 4 final...each having their own issues, requiring their own parts, and changes. It's a cluster F that has also driven up costs on everything and made getting enough testing done almost impossible. On the dealer side it's made parts stocking insanely costly. And worse it's so competitive that the margins in equipment are half of what they were even 10 years ago...under 8% on new...often less. Used isn't much better. I'm out of that world personally...but I can assure you it's not any fun right now.
This is a good post, the emission requirements must certainly have been a major PIA for all manufactures engine wise. However the quest for easy operating controls ( electric everything) joysticks and the like has added to the complexity and reduced reliability. It's true the newer machines are nice to operate but it all comes with a cost. I think back to the 623E I owned the hydraulic scraper controls were long levers directly off the valve spools, no pilot valves or wiring. Was that really all that bad? I never thought it was that demanding to pull the levers and they always worked. That is just one example, it is the case across all of todays equipment, they work with a flick of a wrist when they work.
It wont be long before you sit in a machine and operate it with a Gameboy controller.
The theory behind it is operator comfort and increased cycle times, we end up with machines full of technology and technical problems to go with it. What good are cycle times if the machine is sitting broke down on the job for lack of parts ? How many machines are victims of mice, rats or rabbits chewing thru wire harnesses we never used to have? IMO it's all gone to far.
I don't give any manufacturer a pass on having to put all that stuff in them. They worked right along with the university wonks and government administrators who dreamed all this stuff up. Cat, Cummins and Detroit engineering staff were there all along when the rules were drafted and said they could meet the specs.
My biggest problem is getting little parts for landfill compactors . I have been forced to wait for a bunch off parts as of late 3 weeks or more im assuming im waiting forparts to be built , wastehandling specific parts on the dozers same problem , and most recently triing to fix up our pos 416b backhoe with a 3054 perkins i think that the right engine number had to order a new valve cover had to come from germany and they only showwed 3 in stock i was told
But the dealers benefit from these laws because they sell more throw-away machines. The bankers benefit because they collect more interest on money issued out of thin air. I have found that in many industries, The largest corporations get the regulations written to put the smaller manufacturers out of business.
The politicians started this decades ago with parts inventory taxes. Tax it long enough the part is not worth storing and much of NOS went to the shredders in the 90's as I remember. The advantage was inventory roll over, parts that moved were maintained then depleted to a annual inventory date and restocked after that inventory for taxing. Now they don't bother the restock just maintain minimal to negligible inventories as WAY too many varieties to keep in stock due to massive configurations departures. Makes one wonder why with a electronic joystick control does one HAVE TO fit ONLY Excavators and another Strictly Loaders with another for wheeled units etc.
Allis had this issue as they died off, the inability to take a cylinder off a wheeled loader to place on a track or controls specific for single machines where COULD HAVE been re-purposed for many. Still happening as noted joysticks, or engine configurations(none actually 'fitting' the arrangements) seems the inability of one engineer to talk to another or build in interchangeability is destroying the machine lines, as well appears as intended obsolescence. Such a waste of time and effort.
You can see the engineer issue when you look at the different types of machines offered by Cat. Excavators have all the diagnostics in the computer and accessible from the monitor panel. Graders, wheel loaders, and dozers all have different ways of accessing diagnostics and working with the mounted monitor panels. Each type of machine is a reinvention of the wheel. All this changes every three to five years. The C model excavators had an easy access system. The D models made an incremental change and the E models are almost completely different. Komatsu made major changes as well and I've not been able to keep up with the rest of the industry at all. Hitachi/Deere, Kobelco, Link Belt/Case/Sumitomo and on and on change so fast it is nearly impossible to keep up. You get good at the usual issues of any one type of machine and they change it hoping the old machines just fade away. I can't tell you the last time I worked on a Dash 3 or 5 Komatsu, A or B Series Cat, Dash 1 or 3 Hitachi and so one. Seems like the manufacturer's system is working?
I do not see this correcting anytime soon, much of Cat and Deere with the other machine makes come from Asian factories now. They are more prone to full units than parts supplies as well.
To sum up the situation, I call it "muddying the waters". As long as they keep adding complexity, constant change, parts overlap and confusion, they guarantee themselves a job no matter how poorly they last.
It's worse than that. I truely believe they went along thinking it would be a huge boon for them as our used equipment wouldn't handle low quality fuels from places like Mexico, S America, and the ME. They'd be able to force those markets to buy new 'old' equipment as well. I think that was incredibly short sighted as it's leaving a glut of used equipment here and killing resale values. It's driven up new prices and repairs have gotten incredibly expensive as well. I don't know how the industry is going to make this work.
Manufacturers don't care about any used equipment market or resale. Cat is now making equipment a generation behind current US production and sending out to the rest of the world. The export market for used dried up a few years ago anyway. I haven't seen an overseas picker in years.
Manufacturers don't care about any used equipment market or resale. Cat is now making equipment a generation behind current US production and sending out to the rest of the world. The export market for used dried up a few years ago anyway. I haven't seen an overseas picker in years. Same holds true for the over complicated overhead line truck equipment as to NOT going overseas, is a glut of used aerial machines sitting in used lots and NOT moving. The people in offshore markets want simple, easy to diagnose mechanical machines not the state of the art always down, always some glitch and very tender electrically driven machines. Brazil is a haven for OLD IH and FA or even Allis equipment as they are easy to Make parts for or to make adaptations to keep working. Not so much late model anything found overseas where the marketers here are strangling trying to force feed it. Cat/FA/Deere/Dresser Clones of Chinese, SK and other Asian makers, what we consider Grey Market are flooding those markets as they are simple and as they wear out or break they become parts stores for the next group. I suspect Cat will end up drying up overseas, may not survive as Cat if another company buys them out. Already out of truck engine markets, already struggling to maintain parts inventories here, I can see the late 70's Allis Chalmers take over written in Bold CAT colors and lettering these days.
They want the same things we do. Unfortunately we don't have free markets nor representative government.
I actually think the parts availability for heavy equipment is amazingly good. I work on a lot of old machine tools. I replaced the spindle bearings in a large Springfield grinder. 200mm bore tapered roller bearings, 6 month lead time from Timken. Cost about $4500. Needed a set of gears for a medium size Leblond lathe. They could have them made for $2400 and 10 weeks. I rebuilt a gear box in the smallest model Blanchard grinder. 4 speed gear box the size of a shoe box. I put $10,000 in parts in that thing. Replaced everything but the first shaft because they needed 4 weeks to make one. Sure enough, about a month later that shaft broke and they now wanted 6 weeks to make one. But it only cost $1000.
I know some manufactures reps that would love to use you against the end users of their products. Really though you are comparing machines that were made in the tens or hundreds against heavy equipment that was made in the tens of thousands plus the fact that the manufacturers bragged about how well they could keep you in production.
Correct. I'm just saying that it can be worse. Go buy a $.5 million Makino CNC machining center and ask them for a spindle rebuild manual. They'll laugh in your face.
I think the gripe here is that we are going through routine parts that are not available at the counter when you walk in the door stuff that is on thousands of machines More so is they might be available but the quality of the part is sub standard and is defective upon installation even with premium prices the parts turn out to be junk and no one at the store honestly cares Then you also have the problem of the parts person that can't find anything or doesn't know and is to lazy or clueless to get the right part the first time or they make you wait for a part to come in that is the wrong part when they have the right part the whole time That's my gripe I understand a front Axel for my backhoe is not even in the state but when warranty has replaced 6 exhaust manifolds in the last month on other machines your down for 2 days because they don't stock it
We waited 6 months on an engine enclosure door for a 09 D8T while they found a new vendor, but lately I have also made several cylinder rods and barrels for some Komatsu machines that were 45-60 days out, so sometimes it is a blessing for some of us.
Yeah, sometimes late shipping becomes really annoying especially when we need the shipment product badly.
Well, I just received parts I ordered from CAT 10 days ago. Drum and vibrator bearings for a CB34B roller that's only 3 years old.
We were recently quoted 120 days availability for a new steering pump for a current-production L4E-prefix 740B ADT ........ A Reman pump was somewhat less, 30 days ........
Our Cat dealer started charging $50 for same day delivery of parts that are in the Caterpillar Warehouse which just happens to be 3 miles away. They get deliveries from them twice a day regardless.
A. Steering is over rated. B. If God & Cat wanted you to be able to steer that truck...they'd have stocked parts for it. Who are your to question God & Peoria's will? : ) Maybe if Cat would have a brain and move out of IL they could use some of the savings for parts inventory?
Just another reason not to buy Cat rollers... They're the limp wristed sisters of the compaction world...and yes, the parts availability on them has been poor as well. It's not worth making 3-4 passes to get compaction if you're still having to wait on parts anyway.
I just picked up replacement sensors for the wore out 3406E I drive at our close by Cat Dealer, the Parts Moron told me on the phone all in stock will be on the will call shelf. Get the bag full, was in a nice sealed ziplock with the receipts stapled to it so accepted no conditions as always had good luck with our Cat dealer. Sat in the bosses car for three days where he took them in to be swapped out, no O-rings, one sensor marked as BO, I swear these Morons have no clue. I SPECIFICALLY told him sensors and all the necessary seals, any plug replacement kits and so on and never did he say or notify as to the Cam Position Sensor not being available. Luckily a call to the Pete dealer doing the differential and yes they Had the CPS, the O-rings they generally just kit match and had them NC as well.
Had to wait 3 weeks for a egr cooler for a 349e only for it to arrive and not fit. Cat had changed the coolant hard lines and we had to wait an additional 4 weeks for those. The dealer said that the parts were so uncommon to fail they had to be manufactured for us.and there was an update to the design so the coolant lines were also changed in the update. That's 7 weeks of a machine broke down on a jobsite. I can't leave out that the dealer did provide a 345d free of charge while we waited for the parts
Just last week I needed 2.. .50 parts for a pump. I called EVERY fuel shop in the country..NO GO. Then I called the distributor.. 90 days out.!!! FOR 2>> .50 PARTS.. AND.. I had to buy 10 each.. I ended up buying a "core" pump for $250.00..just to get $1.00 worth of parts.. UNBELIEVABLE.!!!