Hello, I bought a used cat D4h dozer (8pb03476) for my farm about 30 years ago. It is probably 40-50 years old. Recently had leaky cylinders fixed and undercarriage is fair, but to get it running again will need a total rebuild of the radiator and engine which will likely cost me about $30,000. Due to its age, some parts are getting hard to find. Looking for advice on whether it makes sense putting this much money into an older machine or would it be wiser to put the money towards a newer machine.
10000 will buy you a engine whats a rad cost. Im not seeing how thos is a 30000 dollar job 20 would be pushing it. Was that a dealer quote
It's actually 1989 manufacture. Do you have any specific parts you have had difficulty in finding.?
I have a quote of 23k for a 3204 reman 3k to replace the radiator cells plus labor to take apart, reassemble, new hydraulic fluid and oil etc. i took the engine to one diesal shop who said they would rebuild it and they said it needed a new crankshaft but cat didn’t sell them anymore, so they wouldn’t work on it. I’ve heard 1970’s, and 1980’s, 1989 would be 36 years old and newer than expected but still old.
what happened to engine That you need a complete engine. I see folded core modules on amazon for $216 apiece some new seals and a little Murphy oil soap they are not a very hard job.
If the block is good theres cranks to be had. For this job you need to find someone whos not the dealer. The 3204 i did last year bear in mind my crank was good we had 6000 in a rebuild all together in parts and machine work did the work for ourselfs dont know what the labor would be.
Hang on a minuit hear sir. Your D4H is a lot newer than you think and was/is a pretty good machine.I would not be thinking of abandoning it. Replacing it would give you similar issues. If this was any other 35 year old dozer facing your issues, I’d think nowt of scrapping it,but it’s not. It’s a Cat. Every Cat is worth spending $20/30k on as you’ve got something then that you can use and trust. Parts may become slightly harder to get for it,but they will never become obsolete. Keep with the little Cat is my advice.
Five cores and seals, shipping, taxes then double that for labor and profit for the shop = 3000 quote I got. Looks like a simple enough job so I’d probably do it myself. Don’t have the equipment or know how to rebuild engine though.
You mentioned needing a crankshaft. The Cat Part Number is 1W-9771. From what I can see it is not listed as being discontinued by Cat so it ought to be available brand new as a genuine OEM part. Why your engine builder said it was no longer available I have no idea. The other options are a Reman (exchange) crank from Cat, Part Number 0R2546, or a new aftermarket crank under the same 1W-9771 Part Number. I see a few dozen online suppliers offering that number.
Interesting!
Thank you for the advice!
You came to the right place. Get you a engine service manual and we will have you an engine built here.......by YOU, in less than 65 pages.
See the attached. All the information you need in order to R&I the radiator and replace cores/seals.