Just the other day I made a comment here that I haven't had the opportunity to see a Volvo close up. Then yesterday I was driving past our State Hiway Maintenance barn and there it was, a fairly new Volvo G946 AWD grader. I had my camera so wheeled in and started taking pictures. Wouldn't ya know it, my battery was almost dead. But I got a few good shots before it quit. The door was locked so couldn't get inside the cab. So, I'll post some pictures for comparison. I couldn't remember the exact angles I had used on the Cat/Deere pics so some don't match exactly but hopefully they'll be beneficial to everyone looking. The system won't let me repost the pictures I used in the 140M vs 770D thread. I even tried renaming them but still no luck. Anyone know how to copy them into this thread so we can see a comparison like we did in the other thread?? Enjoy.
Volvo Here's another batch.
Open them in photoeditor and cut away a smal stripe in one side and save in another name.
pics Darn I never thought of that, if I would have changed the sizes it probably would have allowed them to be reposted. Since I've got you on here, tell us the difference in a G946 and a G976? Also, do you have AWD or have any experience with it to share? The Volvo appears to not have as much ground clearance under the chassis of the machine?? I didn't get technical and measure but it appears less. The cab appears to be bigger than the Deere cab. I didn't see much as far as storage space, etc., but certainly a lot of room. I also think it might have better visibility forward/down with the hydraulic controllers tucked in under the center. That's how Deere used to be until the D model. I was standing on the tandem drive shooting the interior pictures thru the back window so couldn't get the detail shots I wanted. Looks like it has a good set of lights. Also lots of rearview mirrors. Almost looks like the cab is farther rearward in comparison to the blade but can't swear to that, again don't have measurements. Can someone comment on the blade circle and how well it turns using the two cylinders like it does?? Overall quality looked very good. Love those 17.5 tires. Had a pavement grinder attached to the circle with an external power source riding in front of the front axle. No joysticks..... Forgot to mention, a lot of overhang at the rear. Combine that with what appears to be lower clearance and you get a bad departure angle.
Difference from the 46 to the76. Yes there is a lot of difference, most parts is shared, but then the main components is bigger and stronger on the 76. Engine is bigger, axles is different, frame is thicker, moldbords is longer, higher and thicker. I'm not shure about the gearbox, there might be some changes there too. A bit unsurtain about the tandemcases, bet they have some thicker plates and dimensions. Cabin and design in general, is pretty close. We got AWD on all of our 976. I did some testing both with a 946 and a 976 before advising our logistic departement on what we wanted. Tested both the 8 and the 11 gearbox. Our goal was to buy a heavy grader for rough use both domestic and abroad. M's where not available, so there wasn't so many candidates. We've had AWD on our 140G and the Champions, this isn't a choise for us. When u do ice grading u realise that there is a big differnce. But then i also have to say that the AWD has come a long way from both the 140G and the Champion. AWD on the Volvo is so strong that u will spin your frontwheels if u ad a too big cut. Never experiensed that on the Champion/Cat... You realy don't notice the difference before u forget to turn it on... U will be able to take a bigger cut with AWD. Regarding hight under, i am not shure about the exact distance. But you reduse it some by adding that bellypan under the engine. Regarding lights i see that this one is equiped with the standard package. We got even more worklights both front, back and on the right side. Regarding cab plasement u should remember that the Volvo got the gearbox under the cabin, giving more space for placing the cabin to the back. The M and the Deere got the engine turned backwards with the gearbox at the back + the cooling arrangement. So the Volvo got some more room for the cab.(not much, but still) Its then interresting to see how the cooling works in real hot conditions on both the M and the Deere. The Volvo has some real big coolers in the back. Moldboard sylinders is so strong u can use the blade to help u out of stuck situations. Turning the board when grading is no problem even under full load. Departure angle could have been improved easily by a bether designed belly pan. There is some air inside it at the back. Many talk about the big hood at the back. But fact is u got smaler or same turning radius as the others. After a day or two u forget about the enginecompartement. U nearly never look over it by turning your head. There is two roof mirrors and two at each side, so your in controll anyway. We got a camera mounted on top of the cooling hood, and use it when u need to reverse close into something. Cabin space is very good, especialy the two under the roof in front. There is also a storage room on the left of your seat, just inside the left window. If u don't got the GPS preparing kit, i mean u got a room up under the roof in the midle too. Ours is prepared, and got a engine monitor display up there. Haven't been so into posting pics here, ours has so many bells and whistles its not fair to you guys.(your boss would never by all that) Our fenders and stuff distracts/hides a lot of view.
The way that the cylinders work is that there is a gear on the frame that is connected to a spool, so as the circle turns it turns the gear and times the cylinder, but I can tell you from experience that when it gets out of time it is a mess but as MKTEF said they are very strong.
Ahh... **** Ovrszd, you beat me to it!I will get those Volvo pics on tommorrow night for ya!( I took quite a few but have never put pics on here before so hopefully I can figure it out!) roadrunner
Yes they are very strong, I can push myself out just about 90 percent of the time that I am stuck.You can't do that with a Cat.
No doubt about you ovrszd, we will have to appoint you Chief grader consultant. Good Pics.:thumbsup Volvo obviously continued this system from the Champion graders and although our Champion is getting older (late eighty's early ninety's) we have had no problem whatsoever with the circle turn. It is simple and strong and you really can't hurt much if you hit a stump or whatever with the end of the blade. I often wondered what would happen if the rams got out of time but ours never have. With the teeth on the outside of the circle this also gives the mechanism more purchase when turning the blade. Rn'R.
pics To load pics, start your post whether it's a reply or original post, scroll down the screen to the "manage attachments" icon, click it, then click one of the "browse" icons, a search screen will appear, find your picture in your computer, double click it which will put the address in the browse line, after you have added three, or however many you are loading, you must click on the "upload" icon. This will take a few seconds depending on how fast your computer is and how big the pictures are (I use 1000x800 or less). After the first three upload you can then click on "manage attachments" again and it will let you load two more. I haven't found a way to load more than five in a single post.
Regarding hitting something with your blade Rn'R: We bought a option where it is mounted two acumulators on the sideshift sylinder. One for each side of the piston. If u hit something the blade is giving way to the side. Which side is desided by the way u have your blade. And its not so that u notice this option when doing normal grading. U got to hit something hard before it gives way. Realy nice when u hook into mother earth. Acumulators is mounted lying on the top of the moldboard frame.(A frame) I'll se if i can find a pic of them..
Here is a 946 with the acumulators. They are lying parallell to the A frame, at the end of the red line and back.
Here is a couple of pics of a Norwegian 946 AWD. A typical Norwegian front blade without quickcoupler. No pitch or sideadjustement either. I would say that for us who use a frontblade, the sloping frame is a must. It could even been cleaner up front to get a bether view. Vammas/Veekmas has a even bether view up front.
fenders Someone mentioned fenders?? Can you run chains with fenders?? Maybe removeable fenders when chained?? I like the idea of fenders to keep road splatter off the grader but not sure about using them with chains. I just drove to a project, just got started and then the rains came. Had to drive home on wet pavement. Left the grader parked outside hoping it will continue to rain long enough to remove all the road splatter. Fenders would have helped that a lot.
Sandvic Are those Sandvic cutting edges on this blade?? They sure look a lot like my Sandvic that are about ten years old. I use mine to reclaim gravel once or twice a year.
dimensions Regarding the dimension of the powertrain on the Volvo as mentioned above, it appears that Volvo's design creates a longer powertrain that might be contributing to the bulkiness under the cab and the extended overhang at the rear. I'm not critisizing, just pointing out differences in design as indicated in these pictures. Sorry they aren't equal shots but I think you can see what I'm talking about
Regarding fenders its possible to run chains with them. The front ones we got there is no problem at all. The steel ones at the back is a little tight.(bad design on the inside) They can be demounted in an hour, but we have a demand for the graders to be possible to use with fenders on. Volvo is working on that problem...new fenders or new rims... We demounted a couple and just mounted the bolts right into the tamdems.. Not so smart....they where just a little bit to long... The cutting edge on the 946 is a Sandvik type. I've posted some pics of ours too here on HEF. U can see our front fenders and chains too. Some users here use them all year round. Regarding overhang youre absolutely right. And u see the differense on the M: It got the tank under the cab and the trans at the back. Oposite of the Volvo. The Volvo solution is also giving u a more "advanced" construction with two drive axels trough the articulation. Where is the fuel tank on the Deere?
Last time I saw a Volvo grader was at the annual construction equipment expo here in Sweden and the Volvo guy was pointing out that the engine was installed in a way that allowed for an easy and quick exchange to a new engine. He claimed that that had landed Volvo several military contracts for exemple I think it was the UK that had bought big load of Volvo graders, also Norway was mentioned maybe MKTEF can say something about that .... Either way ... Supposely the engine in the Volvo is installed so it is easy to exchange/service maybe that is something that contributes to the size of it? Volvos grader salesmen also had a thing or two to say about how Caterpillar managed to get their grader approved for driving on public roads without a wheel by the way.
You are completely right Tegian! Volvo has landed a big contract for graders to the UK army. Modularity was one of the demands in the contract. And when i take a quick search in my PC i found a picture of it I've heard that Norways departement didn't accept that Cats system was acording to the standard. Speed limitations where ordered, but i have not heard anything about it since. And i hear more and more rumors about a stearing wheel kit..
Is the 946 not a bit of an over kill for a sweeper
All those in favour of Deere say 'I'... I! The other two look very dolled up in comparison with the Deere:idontgetit
pavement grinder The attachment on the Volvo G946 pics is a pavement grinder and not a sweeper. If you look closely, there's a big diesel powerplant hanging off the front to hydraulicly drive the grinder. They've been using it in my area to grind pavement seams that have heaved. Probably need the weight of the 946 more than anything else.
fuel tank The fuel tank and hydraulic fluid tank share space between the engine and radiators. The fill caps for both are on top of the hood just rearward from the muffler. The most aggravating part is if you fuel with the engine running the exhaust wants to blow in your face. You can see both fill caps in this pic. The red one is fuel. The slope of the exhaust discharge makes it tend to blow toward you when standing on the rear tire. A little hassle to crawl up on top to fuel but the trade off is the tank is hidden and protected.
I wondered what that was. It works well. Yes?
Hi there Ovrszd, i see what you mean, looks abit like a sweeper until you look closer, i bet that makes light work of the job, i've heard the Volvo graders have a good down force, maybe that was part of the reason for chosing Volvo?
hello everyone on this interesting forum! I"discovered"this forum accidently searching for nice pics and info about motor graders. operating a volvo g726b in the netherlands(very rare over here).
Welcome to the forum willemdegrader :drinkup