D4H II newbe questions, questions

[PEVO]

NEWBE here. just bought a 1987 D4H for overgrown pasture cleaning and waterway shaping...only about 15 of so acres... but will want to maintain everchanging waterway. Will be doing at slow pace when I get time and when I feel like playing in the sand box. BUT I'm new dozer ownership and playing catch up on maintaining a dozer. First off I found the owners manual...in a compartment on the seatback and is almost falling apart and unreadable. Where can I find another or download a pdf of one.?

UC is decent. Sprockets look new, grousers are about 2/3 wore down. bushings have been turned...rails don't look too bad. So maybe grouser bar welding may be in the future...but not now.

Tilt cylinder on blade has leak at fitting...hopefully just needs tightening.

Sheet metal on the saddle ( over sprockets) needs straightening up. One door hinge is bad.

Lots of Misc bolts missing that hold sheet metal on around machine.

Muffer is all but fallen off its mounts (broke welds)...QUESTION exhaust pipe from turbo is very loose going into muffler...isn't there a clamp or something supposed to connect and seal this joint?

Muffler also has a large gap in it where it goes up into the exhaust pipe that's attached to the hood and not the muffler itself...is this normal??

Another eyesore is the radiator grill frame. Its been bent up quite a bit and I plan to straighten out what I can and cut out what I cant...and weld like 2x2x.25 angle up the sides and chit can the homemade steel screen grate and replace it with drain bar grating...and hinge it to be able to clean off the radiator.

Fluids need changing. All are way overdue but without a manual I don't have a clue where to start or even the specs of what in need to replace the fluids/fliters.

Air filter is rigged up with baling wire so ill be redoing that too. Precleaner is busted up..so its getting replaced too

seat is good for now but it will get replace eventually too.

I will to eventually repaint and decal it. I do plan on keep it for a number of years so I don't want it looking like a rust bucket. and for the amount of work I intend to do with it...I seriously doubt ill wear out the UC.

Machine has 9000+ hours on it. No blue smoke in blowby. Starts right up. Turns fine right or left and shift thru gears fine. I'm hoping some TLC (lots of labor and moderate cash) ill have a decent dozer that will lasts for years and look good to.

Eventually will add two additional vertical 3x3 risers on the ROPS to help keep from getting impaled by tree limbs. Also adding heavy steel screen panels on back and sides too.

LOTS of work...but like I said its going to be more of a toy instead of a daily money maker. Plus with these improvments I should be able to get my money back out of it should I decide to sell in a few years

And thoughts and suggestions on my questions above will be much appreciated. THANKS AGAIN.

 

[Bluox]

NEWBE here. just bought a 1987 D4H for overgrown pasture cleaning and waterway shaping...only about 15 of so acres... but will want to maintain everchanging waterway. Will be doing at slow pace when I get time and when I feel like playing in the sand box. BUT I'm new dozer ownership and playing catch up on maintaining a dozer. First off I found the owners manual...in a compartment on the seatback and is almost falling apart and unreadable. Where can I find another or download a pdf of one.?

UC is decent. Sprockets look new, grousers are about 2/3 wore down. bushings have been turned...rails don't look too bad. So maybe grouser bar welding may be in the future...but not now.

Tilt cylinder on blade has leak at fitting...hopefully just needs tightening.

Sheet metal on the saddle ( over sprockets) needs straightening up. One door hinge is bad.

Lots of Misc bolts missing that hold sheet metal on around machine.

Muffer is all but fallen off its mounts (broke welds)...QUESTION exhaust pipe from turbo is very loose going into muffler...isn't there a clamp or something supposed to connect and seal this joint?

Muffler also has a large gap in it where it goes up into the exhaust pipe that's attached to the hood and not the muffler itself...is this normal??

Another eyesore is the radiator grill frame. Its been bent up quite a bit and I plan to straighten out what I can and cut out what I cant...and weld like 2x2x.25 angle up the sides and chit can the homemade steel screen grate and replace it with drain bar grating...and hinge it to be able to clean off the radiator.

Fluids need changing. All are way overdue but without a manual I don't have a clue where to start or even the specs of what in need to replace the fluids/fliters.

Air filter is rigged up with baling wire so ill be redoing that too. Precleaner is busted up..so its getting replaced too

seat is good for now but it will get replace eventually too.

I will to eventually repaint and decal it. I do plan on keep it for a number of years so I don't want it looking like a rust bucket. and for the amount of work I intend to do with it...I seriously doubt ill wear out the UC.

Machine has 9000+ hours on it. No blue smoke in blowby. Starts right up. Turns fine right or left and shift thru gears fine. I'm hoping some TLC (lots of labor and moderate cash) ill have a decent dozer that will lasts for years and look good to.

Eventually will add two additional vertical 3x3 risers on the ROPS to help keep from getting impaled by tree limbs. Also adding heavy steel screen panels on back and sides too.

LOTS of work...but like I said its going to be more of a toy instead of a daily money maker. Plus with these improvments I should be able to get my money back out of it should I decide to sell in a few years

And thoughts and suggestions on my questions above will be much appreciated. THANKS AGAIN.
View attachment 182148 View attachment 182149 View attachment 182150 View attachment 182151

Hope you got a kiss with this machine, your undercarriage is basically junk .
Good luck
Bob

 

[Nige]

Your first question regarding the Operation & Maintenance (O&M) Manual. On the link below, click on the "Buy Online Now" button, then click on "Continue as a Guest". Put your Serial Number prefix (or even just "D4H") in the Search Box and hit GO .......... if you have trouble post your Serial Number and someone will help you find what you need.

https://www.cat.com/en_US/support/maintenance/service-manuals.html
In addition to O&M Manuals in pdf format (about $40) you can also find downloadable pdf Parts Manuals (about $80). Together those 2 publications could be your best investment.

One thing you might consider if your environment is very dusty is a turbine precelaner to replace the damaged original one that you said you plan on changing anyway.

 

[PEVO]

can anybody answer my questions about the huge air gaps in the muffler fittings on this dozer? Where the exhaust goes from the turbo into the muffler and then again at the muffler exit to go up the exhaust stack? Ive seen a couple of pix of someone deleting the muffler all together and using chrome 4in? elbows/sections and clamps to route exhaust up the stack?

 

[Nige]

Post a Serial Number and let's see what the Parts Manual shows .............
IIRC there was someone on here a long while ago with (I think) a D4H with a similar quesiton. However there are multiple versions of the D4H so it's nice to know which one you actually have.

 

[PEVO]

thanks for your prompt response. Ser.#8PB01320. I found a pic of the one i was talking about. Looks like they used 2 extended 90 degree elbows and welded a small frame to bolt it to the factory muffler mounts. maybe the lighter weight would aid in keeping in from shaking and busting muffer mounts like mind did? i doubt it was any louder thou than with a muffler.

 

[Nige]

No muffler and you'd better have a good set of ear defenders handy.
Does this help at all .......?

 

[heymccall]

The stack pipe and the muffler outlet do not connect, by design. The muffler outlet extends a little bit into the larger stack and exhaust velocity keeps it going up and out.

As for the air filter, I did the bolt-in to radial seal conversion on ours years ago. Same can & lid, just no more unbolting.

We have a late 8pb d4h ii.
Mine, as it turns out, had a cylinder head w/o bronze valve guides. Sooted the oil so bad that the oil pump pickup screen plugged. The final tell tale was exhaust out the oil filler neck. Had guides installed and she's still running great today.
The other things that had to be removed/ updated were the stupid water separator that never seemed to remove water now that we run ulsd. Replaced with a Stanadyne style separator off a 322b. And, that monster starting motor. Put in a gear reduction unit.

Still mumble every time I have to flip the fan blades.

It was cheaper & easier to buy the lower cushion for the seat from Cat than it was to replace the seat.

Oh, and fuel sender float arm fell off twice now.

 

[PEVO]

thanks for the replies...trying to find out all I can from ppl that already "been there done that" im going to weld up the muffler mounts and get a wide compression coupler to help seal the turbo pipe to the muffler if need be. Ill see if the metal ring seal is still in place when I take the muffler off,,,,THANKS Nige for the diagram! I found complete high rise, high back suspension seats (with arm rests that could be taken off) on amazon for not quite 300 bucks shipped(look like late model cat factory high back seats). Also yes the UC is not in good shape but dozers with way better under carriages are priced $6-10k more...and I seen some in way worse shape for sale too. I doubt that I will wear this one out any time soon. I may not put a 100 hours on it in one year. No rock or sand just black dirt where I live. Please keep the suggestions, tips, and advice coming. THANKS ALL AGAIN

 

[d9gdon]

Howdy from Coryell County.

Ebay is a great place to get original manuals:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr..._osacat=0&_odkw=d4h+series+2+operators+manual

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...tleDesc=0&_osacat=0&_odkw=d4h+series+2+manual

The muffler is a minor deal.

Cat parts are high, but usually only once. Mufflers are one of those Cat parts that actually are built way better than aftermarket. Your part number is 112-1665 and it's $523 at Holt in Waco or an aftermarket from Off Road Equipment parts has that same aftermarket muffler for $105 plus freight(which is probably $75 or so out of Coppell, TX). The Cat muffler will weigh twice as much as the other one.

Chrome is for chicken trucks, not bulldozers. Whatever works though.

That grill is not original I don't think. Part number 8g-5285.

Call Corley's Parts in Mansfield for a used grill. I've bought from him and he's a straight up guy to deal with.

https://www.machinerytrader.com/lis...uipment/manufacturer/caterpillar/model/d4h-ii

You can buy your muffler stuff of that one too. Sure is a lot cheaper than new.

 

[bam1968]

Bluox must be able to zoom in on the pictures better than I can. From what I can see I wouldn't consider your undercarriage junk. You obviously have some well worn parts but to say it's junk is a bit of an overstatement from what i can see. Just my $.02

 

[Nige]

An opinion regarding manuals from auction sites. It seems to me that there must be a price premium for greasy marks because usually new manuals ordered online are at worst the same price and usually cheaper than what you find on eBay and similar sites. As the OP was asking for downloadable pdf manuals I directed him to the link above. Lastly you can guarantee that if you buy a new manual it has all the latest updates in it.

With a Serial Number (8PB01320) what shows up on a search is below. $46 for a pdf O&M Manual, $89 for a Parts Manual. One of the Ebay sellers was looking for $89 for a paper O&M Manual that you can buy new for $55 from the OEM.




Don’t try to clamp the axhaust pipe to the muffler. The idea is that the pipe has provision for movement due to expansion and vibration. Stop that movement and things will start breaking. If necessary replace both thespring steel rings. You will probably find that they are either seized in the grooves in the pipe, probably well worn, and/or the spring has gone out of them. That's what’s causing your exhaust leaks. Make sure to clean the carbon out of the grooves before installing new rings, they should spin freely in the grooves before the pipe is installed.

 

[Nige]

Apologies, I did a cut & paste of the German O&M by mistake instead of the English one. The correct one is below..... same price though.

 

[Bluox]

Bluox must be able to zoom in on the pictures better than I can. From what I can see I wouldn't consider your undercarriage junk. You obviously have some well worn parts but to say it's junk is a bit of an overstatement from what i can see. Just my $.02

If you know any thing at all about under carriage you will see both idlers are worn off the chart the track rails are thin but the biggest clue is the track adjusters are all the way in which means those tracks have had a link removed. That means if you have to replace the idlers the tracks wont fit. The pads are actually not that bad .
Bob

 

[Bluox]

thanks for the replies...trying to find out all I can from ppl that already "been there done that" im going to weld up the muffler mounts and get a wide compression coupler to help seal the turbo pipe to the muffler if need be. Ill see if the metal ring seal is still in place when I take the muffler off,,,,THANKS Nige for the diagram! I found complete high rise, high back suspension seats (with arm rests that could be taken off) on amazon for not quite 300 bucks shipped(look like late model cat factory high back seats). Also yes the UC is not in good shape but dozers with way better under carriages are priced $6-10k more...and I seen some in way worse shape for sale too. I doubt that I will wear this one out any time soon. I may not put a 100 hours on it in one year. No rock or sand just black dirt where I live. Please keep the suggestions, tips, and advice coming. THANKS ALL AGAIN

you might want to replace cutting edges and corner bits before you do any dozing. It almost looks like they have been run up in the frog. The skin on the blade is thin and will need a liner at some point.
Good luck
Bob

 

[d9gdon]

I agree. The manuals on Ebay are sometimes priced higher than you can get them from Cat.

 

[PEVO]

well hell...I think im seeing bigger problems. firstly... i pushed a few mesquites last sat to get a feel for the dozer. Had to fix a tilt cylinder leak at a hose connection before doing this. Tranny shifts fine, motor fires right up plenty o power. Parked it closer to shop to add/weld on some additional sweeps and heavy screen additions so i dont get impaled pushing brush/small trees. ANYWAYS i now see a angle cylinder leaking, that i didnt notice before. Worse yet looks like i may have left side Pivot point issues (whole bottom left roller frame seems to be canted in somewhat) Have yet to check oil level...however theres no oil leaking from the inside of the pivot. After i get the angle cylinder fixed, ill raise it with the blade and rippers to see what happens. if it cants outward(droops)
when weight is taken off it then im screwed. I guess ill cross that bridge when i come to it.

 

[CatToy]

IIRC there was someone on here a long while ago with (I think) a D4H with a similar quesiton..

Here is the post Nige is referring.
https://www.heavyequipmentforums.co...oad-blows-light-grey-smoke.54715/#post-592103

 

[Nige]

Thank you sir. Good to know my memory hasn't totally failed me.