Question for someone that is a proficient dozer operator. I have a new to me Komatsu D21 small dozer. It has a fair bit of slop in the blade due to normal ware in the pins, and I have a hard time keeping a smooth grade when finishing. I have had zero experience running a dozer in the past. I do run a mini excavator for my work and it has a lot of slop in the pins and the quick connect bucket ,but I can grade, dig around utilities ect with great accuracy. So for a good operator on a dozer, how important is it to you to have good tight pins in the blade?
It takes time but you’ll get use to it. I’ve found that carrying some extra dirt on the blade when grading help hold things a little tighter.
I found that if I angle the blade some it helps also , like said above some dirt also
Even with 50 hours in the seat of my former D39P-1 I had a very difficult time trying to finish grade with it, also short track length will make it more of a challenge for you. You develop a seat of the pants feel after some period of time which I didn't have when I sold it. Having seat time with my dozer didn't help any with learning to operate my mini-ex and probably the reverse is true as well.
I ran one of those sorry excuses for a dozer several times. A real b###h to finish grade with after running John Deeres and Caterpillars. If I remember correctly the blade control was backwards from all other brands of dozers in the US. Push the blade lever forward and the blade would rise. WTH ???
My 1966 D4D has a ton of slop in the blade. When I grade, I just chain the blade into the position I need.
A lot dozers have shims to take out to tighten the blade up.