hdokes
New User
Ok.... we are off to the races. My recently (last Thursday) acquired D6b CAT has revealed it's first cause for concern post purchase. Shame on me for not seeing this before the purchase however it is what it is and I will deal with it.
Generally speaking, the dozer is in great shape and I watched the unit in action prior to the purchase. What I failed to consider is while the owner showed me how well it can push material... he really hadn't done much turning left or right. I know that I should have asked for this but spaced it at the time. After purchase I loaded it on the low boy to transport it to it's new home and found that right turns were ever so slight regardless of how hard I pushed on the brake, which did not stop the track, or how far back I pulled the steering lever. When I brought this to the owners attention he indicated that it was cold and would get better as it warmed up. I accepted this notion as the temps had plummeted to their lowest level of the season this day and believe(d) it was just a matter of an adjustment. At the moment I am hopeful that it still is just that. The left steering works like a champ and has no issues.
I am no stranger to steering systems on heavy equipment as I also own a JD 350b and am in the middle of a steering clutch replacement and brake assembly replacement on both sides. In a previous life I also spent countless hours on a JD2010 crawler with clam shell bucket and rear backhoe who's track would get thrown off about every 15 hours of use. I was just a young buck at the time and while putting a 3/4 mile road in the forest I had the stamina over a 4 hour period and nothing but a pry bar to get the track back on after which I would collapse in complete exhaustion. Ahhhhh... those were the good ol days. I however am not intimately familiar with the D6b (yet) and would like to ask if I am on the right track (no pun intended) given this is considerably larger than the 350. As I indicated, at the moment it does inch to the right.... but ever so slight and usually requiring a release of the brake and lever and reapplication for the next inch. I would have additional information to provide here however today and tomorrow are in the single digits (much worse than Thursday) with an added -20 degree windchill and am all but certain my phalanges will refuse to function as well as any articulating movement on the D6b.
The dozer as a whole seems to be in fine shape and was currently being used for creating ponds so it hasn't been sitting by any means. I would consider my purchasing it to be for medium duty use. I have purchased 25 acres and am gearing up to put in a 75 to 80 home subdivision. My first rodeo doing such. 18 acres is all previous farm land the remainder heavily vegetated (like our current president) at this point. I will be using it to clear this vegetation of 50' and smaller trees (predominately deciduous) and brush along with landscaping for the civil infrastructure side of it... roads and the like as well as retention pond(s) once the platting engineers tell me what those will be. I believe this machine will do the job well and provide all the power necessary to achieve the ends. Engine and transmission along with hydraulics seem to be in very good order. Very little seal leaking.
On a side note... it is missing the protection plates for the track adjusters/rails and the adjusting springs are broke on both sides. This does not hinder it's use and thankfully I was aware of this before purchase and determined I could work with this as no one had actually attempted any 'welding fixes' to the adjusters to overcome the broken springs. Would like to inquire as to desirable sources for used parts to address the plates and springs.
I do intend to produce video content for all the work I do on this and load them up for others to review and learn from. Ironically I can find little out there for steering related issues on this particular machine.
Thank you again for any assistance provided.
Generally speaking, the dozer is in great shape and I watched the unit in action prior to the purchase. What I failed to consider is while the owner showed me how well it can push material... he really hadn't done much turning left or right. I know that I should have asked for this but spaced it at the time. After purchase I loaded it on the low boy to transport it to it's new home and found that right turns were ever so slight regardless of how hard I pushed on the brake, which did not stop the track, or how far back I pulled the steering lever. When I brought this to the owners attention he indicated that it was cold and would get better as it warmed up. I accepted this notion as the temps had plummeted to their lowest level of the season this day and believe(d) it was just a matter of an adjustment. At the moment I am hopeful that it still is just that. The left steering works like a champ and has no issues.
I am no stranger to steering systems on heavy equipment as I also own a JD 350b and am in the middle of a steering clutch replacement and brake assembly replacement on both sides. In a previous life I also spent countless hours on a JD2010 crawler with clam shell bucket and rear backhoe who's track would get thrown off about every 15 hours of use. I was just a young buck at the time and while putting a 3/4 mile road in the forest I had the stamina over a 4 hour period and nothing but a pry bar to get the track back on after which I would collapse in complete exhaustion. Ahhhhh... those were the good ol days. I however am not intimately familiar with the D6b (yet) and would like to ask if I am on the right track (no pun intended) given this is considerably larger than the 350. As I indicated, at the moment it does inch to the right.... but ever so slight and usually requiring a release of the brake and lever and reapplication for the next inch. I would have additional information to provide here however today and tomorrow are in the single digits (much worse than Thursday) with an added -20 degree windchill and am all but certain my phalanges will refuse to function as well as any articulating movement on the D6b.
The dozer as a whole seems to be in fine shape and was currently being used for creating ponds so it hasn't been sitting by any means. I would consider my purchasing it to be for medium duty use. I have purchased 25 acres and am gearing up to put in a 75 to 80 home subdivision. My first rodeo doing such. 18 acres is all previous farm land the remainder heavily vegetated (like our current president) at this point. I will be using it to clear this vegetation of 50' and smaller trees (predominately deciduous) and brush along with landscaping for the civil infrastructure side of it... roads and the like as well as retention pond(s) once the platting engineers tell me what those will be. I believe this machine will do the job well and provide all the power necessary to achieve the ends. Engine and transmission along with hydraulics seem to be in very good order. Very little seal leaking.
On a side note... it is missing the protection plates for the track adjusters/rails and the adjusting springs are broke on both sides. This does not hinder it's use and thankfully I was aware of this before purchase and determined I could work with this as no one had actually attempted any 'welding fixes' to the adjusters to overcome the broken springs. Would like to inquire as to desirable sources for used parts to address the plates and springs.
I do intend to produce video content for all the work I do on this and load them up for others to review and learn from. Ironically I can find little out there for steering related issues on this particular machine.
Thank you again for any assistance provided.
