Newby with CAT 305.5E2 (not CR) -- I think the tracks are toast. Do I need new sprockets?

[Nige]

Hour meters can, and often do, lie. It probably takes 5 minutes to replace a meter with one reading zero. A good way of thinking is to believe what you see in front of you when you look at the physical condition of the machine, not what's registering on the hourmeter.

 

[Baxsie]

Straitening the center plate and cleaning out the undercarriage (lower frame).

So I was poking around in SIS2GO and "discovered" that there is a cleanout plate at the bottom center of the undercarriage:



I thought I should take that plate off and take a look:



Well, I didn't see no nuthing! The undercarriage is completely packed with wet mud. Uggh. I dug out what mud I could with a screwdriver:

 

[Baxsie]

The plate was also quite bent:





Some Quality Time™ in the press and although It is still pretty ugly (a bit like me) it is at least somewhat flat:



Next up is the wet, dirty job of getting in there with the pressure washer. I got what I could with the normal wand and got the drain holes kinda cleared. I need to cobble up something to get the nozzle down into the legs of the undercarriage.

 

[skyking1]

Good to hear you're still fighting the fight, Baxie.
My ex logging ram truck was like that there was 20 lb of dirt sitting on top of the fuel tank after I pulled the bed. Got to do careful digging there because of all the wires!

 

[Nige]

Get the tracks up on some blocks so that you have more space to work under there.? It must be pretty tight under the machine as it is right now.

 

[Baxsie]

Get the tracks up on some blocks . . .

Yes. I have some timbers I perch it on. Took me a while to figure out that trying to drive onto them is pretty useless. Easier to lift a track up and place the timbers under it.

I cobbled up a handheld pressure washer wand so I could spray around inside the chamber. Somehow I was able to clean it without driving a jet of water into my hand or face (!)

The rear "legs" have access holes for the traction motor lines, so I was able to clean those out fairly well.

The front legs can only be accessed through the drain holes, so the best I could do is spray the pressure washer up into the drain holes until the stream was mostly clear.

 

[Baxsie]

Headliner Upgrade CAT 305.5E2

The headliner in this machine was quite grotty. Plus, having spent its formative years in china, it has had its fair share of smokers operating it.

Getting the headliner down is a matter of removing 9 "christmas tree" fasteners with a forked trim tool. Then the middle is held up with 5 strong magnets. Two magnets stayed on the metal roof, so I had to glue them back to the headliner.

I brushed off what dirt I could, then used the air gun to "clean" both sides of the headliner. I had some thin, aluminized foam insulation from another project, so I cut a panel of that to help reduce heat. The magnets poke through holes cut in the insulation. The insulation is glued down with a generous amount of 3M-90. I then taped over the holes with some aluminum tape I had handy.



I was able to get some headliner "fabric" from a local automotive upholstery shop. This is a fabric backed with a thin (~1/8") layer of soft foam



The fabric goes on with more 3M-90:

 

[Baxsie]

Then wrapped the edges and glued that down:



Not going to win any prizes, but should be as good as or better than the original, less smelly, and it should help at least a tiny bit with keeping it cool in the summer sun:

 

[Baxsie]

Let there be light ! Adding more LED lights to CAT 305.5E2.

When I got the digger, it had exactly one aftermarket LED on the boom's left side. It did work - so there is that.

I got two packs of 4 LED lights, to have full coverage all around. The lights I chose were Nilight with 6 LEDs. (I paid $21.89/4 so $5.50 each light, currently $25 for 4).

Unlike a car or off-road vehicle, you do not need to see miles away. What is more important is to be able to see everything around you no matter where you are looking.

The original system was 3x 55w halogen (165 watts total). In theory, these lights are 18W each, times 8 is 144 watts, so power consumption should be OK.

From the left:



Clockwise: Left boom light replacement, cab light replacement, new left side light, new left rear light, new right rear light.

From the right:



Clockwise: new right rear light, new right side light, cab light replacement, new right side boom light, replacement light in the tool box.

I did the wiring in loom, dedicated 12v and ground to each light. The left rear light wiring is typical:



The new left side light mounted on the cab taps into the original cab light run (see why I had the headliner down?). The two rear lights and the right side light tap into the wire that goes to the toolbox light:



That should make things visible after dark.

Hey - if its worth doing, it's worth overdoing!

 

[skyking1]

That's all well and good. But how about the pile of metal? Is it gone yet? How about all the other garbage poke poke!!

 

[Baxsie]

Still quite muddy going up the hill. I got a couple of loads in the winter when it was frozen hard.

I have a couple weeks of desk work I need to put in at my "I was supposed to be retired" job.

I try to work outside when it is sunny, head down on the computer when it is rainy.

 

[jbernielh]

I agree with the need for more lights but I went "go big or go home"

I found plowing snow on my driveway at night in the winter time I put a big LED light bar and a couple smaller ones angled out on the upper front corners of the cab... plus the big LED on the boom..

the boom light I left the original wiring as it drew less power than the original halogen but for the cab lights I ran a larger wire from the battery to the lights and then used a relay controlled by the factory switch to turn them off and on

 

[Nige]

Let there be light ! Adding more LED lights to CAT

Hey - if it’s worth doing, it's worth overdoing!

Not convinced that the butt connectors you used are the optimum. Something with heat-shrink sleeving over the top would likely have been better. Take a look at them in a few months, they will probably be green inside.

 

[Baxsie]

I'll keep an eye on them. They are actually brass (maybe brass plated) bullet connectors that can be disassembled.

In general, it's quite dry here and things usually don't corrode as long as they're not directly in the weather.

The two places I had to tie into existing wires (internal to the machine) I used solder, then wrapped with good 3M tape so that I could keep the original wire uncut. Then a split braid over that.

The only splice that's out in the weather is the one on the boom. For it I did multiple layers of the hot melt lined shrink tubing. First over the individual connections and then a couple of jackets over the whole thing for physical protection / bend relief.

 

[Nige]

In general, it's quite dry here and things usually don't corrode as long as they're not directly in the weather.

You’ve not been around heavy equipment much have you.? Are you not planning on washing the machine from time to time.?

The only connectors worth their salt in regard to preventing water ingress on equipment IMHO are Deutsch DT style.

DEUTSCH DT Connectors

The DEUTSCH DT connector design includes thermoplastic housings to withstand extreme temperatures and moisture, optional flange mounting, and multi-pin arrangements.

www.te.com

 

[Baxsie]

. . . Are you not planning on washing the machine from time to time.? . . .

Washing seems like 90% of what I've done on it ! There are foam sound absorbing matts under most of the covers, so I can't go crazy with the pressure washer any place above the undercarriage.

I have a kit of the sealed connectors (Delphi Weatherpack). They just seemed bulky and overkill.

I'll see how it does -- easy enough to replace them if needed ;-)

 

[Simon C]

Spray the connectors all around with some Lloyds Moovit or Deep Creep penetrating oil and it will take way longer to corrode. Deutsch connectors are better but oil will work till you get there.
Simon C

 

[Baxsie]

Man, you guys are freaking me out about the connectors LOL. I'm not a certified CAT technician, I'm a retired hobby farmer having fun playing with big yeller ride-on Tonkas!

Seriously, though, thanks for the feedback.

. . . Lloyds Moovit or Deep Creep penetrating oil . . .

Hmmm. I have some Super Lube . . . which is supposed to be water resistant, useable as a dielectric grease, and also supposedly it will not attack the rubber. I guess I could easily disassemble the bullets, slide the little insulating covers back, grease them up with Super Lube and reassemble them. It is thick and it would be covered by the little slip on insulation of the bullet connectors -- so it might last a while.

Peace.

 

[Simon C]

I just spray over and the dirt will stick to it in no time but at least the wires exposed will rust slower. It's not a permanent cure just what I have done in the past to prolong the connection from corrosion.
Simon C

 

[jbernielh]

Where I am the winters are pretty wet so my wiring is always soldered with heat shrink and then electrical tape.. so far I’ve never had a connection corrosion issue