Tips needed on buying older dozer

Have you considered an excavator? For many applications, they have made dozers and loader-backhoes obsolete. I bought 43 acres several years ago and I have dug a pond, built roads, cleared land, etc., and the excavator has become my machine of choice.

I have a dragline, crawler loader, backhoe, wheel loader, etc., but I am considering selling them all and buying a mid size excavator in the 16,000 lb. class. A friend let me use his Hitachi EX-80 with rubber tracks and front blade and it made a believer out of me. It is extremely fast, powerful and agile. You can dig, load trucks and finish grade all with one machine. You can reach areas that you can't with a dozer or loader backhoe. And the speed and precision is incredible, not to mention comfort.

Initially, the cost will be higher than buying old machines, but resale and uptime must be considered with any equipment purchase. There are quite a few used excavators around now and some are priced reasonably.

Just another opinion. Good luck with your search.

Scott Goff

You have a good point. A friend of the family who has been in the consruction bizz for years recommend an excavator and a d6c/d7. Between the driveway and the road I am looking at 4600'. He was thinking of a 215-235cat. He recommended still buying a dozer to grade and push.

Good idea and thank you.

A 235 Cat is a lot of shovel. It would work well on your ledge, though. Last winter, I borrowed my friends Deere 270LC (a little bigger than a 225) and that too was incredibly fast and agile.

I still have the little Hitachi and by using that and my old R-164 International dump truck, I have moved a lot of material and built a lot of road. I keep telling my wife that it is hard work, but I am having a ball! (she knows anyway)

Another option is rental. When you get into the 225-235 class machines, you are into some big $$$. It may work out better to rent, or borrow what you need from your friend....

Good luck,
Scott

He was saying should be able to find a decent one around $20k. He will go with me when I look. He said pumps and u/c are important and expensive if they need replacing.

Thanks!

Joe

Joe

If the wear lines on the sprocket teeth where they contact the bushes is at or near the top of the tooth, or worse, if the top of the teeth are worn to a point, you are not far away from spending some bulk dollars on the track chains and sprockets.

You can reach in and feel the shape of the bushes where they contact the sprocket teeth. If they feel very worn on the side of the bush nearest the track shoe (the side away from the sprocket), the pins and bushes have been turned and you only have whatever life is left in the side being used now before replacing the pins and bushes. More bulk dollars.

If there are marks on the track pin bosses in each link to indicate the roller flanges have been hitting them, either your track rails or your rollers, or both, are worn to the point of needing more bulk dollars.

Examine rollers and idlers for wear and look at the tracks from the front to see if the idlers are standing vertical.

Track wear guages are a big help here and can often be obtained from dealers but have the disadvantage that most are pretty model-specific.

Do all the normal oil and water checks, including final drives, transmission and, on some earlier Cat dozers (3T - 4T D7's), the steering booster system located under the fuel tank at the rear. Feel the oil on the dipsticks to see if it feels gritty or abrasive and look at the oil on your fingers to see if there are any shiny particles in it that might indicate metal wearing in there somewhere.

If fitted, open the fuel drain cock and see what comes out of the tank. Surprise, surprise, clean diesel fuel is the desired option.

Then take it for a play and see how it drives and operates. If, as you say, you don't have a lot of experience with dozers/tracked machines, the earlier suggestion of paying some-one to go look at 'possibles' with you is a good one.

Happy hunting.

You have a wonderful day. Best wishes. Deas Plant.

Anyway, I might be able to offer a few words of advice based on my experience. If you already have an open road that just needs grading and clearance, a dozer should suit your needs well. But you might want to consider a larger tracked loader with a 4-1 bucket.

I opted for a tracked loader (an IH TD9B Drott 150) which runs about 21,500 lbs, 80 hp diesel. It's got a 4-1 bucket on it and it has been a fantastic machine. Very powerful and extremely versatile. You may want to consider a tracked loader instead of a dozer, you can do a lot more with it, especially if it has a 4-1 bucket. I'm really REALLY glad I got this type of machine instead of a dozer, which I also entertained but after chatting with the folks here, they steered me into a loader (and I'm glad they did).

But really it depends on what you need to do. If you don't have much logging to do, or pit digging, or have another machine (i.e. your backhoe) to assist, then the dozer might suit your needs fine. But I can say that I've saved a bunch of money on road materials by simply digging clay and gravel out of big pits I dig with my loader. Then I scoop the gravel/clay out of the pit and put in the undercut portions of my road. And then put the soft topsoil I undercut (from the roadway) back into the gravel pit when I'm finished with it. I end up with no hole in the ground and with nice solid material on my road bed. And I don't have to pay the local trucker/gravel pit $150 a load.

Plus with my loader I can move topsoil from one area to another easily, scooping it up and transporting around as needed. Plus I can pick up big heavy stumps with my 4-1 and move them around as needed. Plus I can doze and grade with the dozer blade part. Digging basements out, no problem. The 4-1 rocks, I highly recommend it.

The only additional thing I wish I also had is a backhoe. There are times when I could really use a backhoe to perform certain functions. Like grading my culvert areas (sloping, shaping and spreading topsoil). Also, for digging tough to get at drainage ditches to keep water off the road and draining to the culvert pipes. But if you already have a backhoe, you're all set.

As far as the size of machine, I would definitely recommend a machine of my size or larger. My IH 150 loader would work ok for you, it would just take a bit longer to do what you needed to do when compared to a larger machine. The next step up is a 175 loader. I see these models all the time in decent, fully running condition with 4-1 buckets for $10k-$15k. I would say a machine like that would give you plenty of power and still be reasonably inexpensive. I've also seen the even bigger 250's in good shape go for under $15k.

If you prefer Cat machines, consider a 941, 951 or 955 tracked loader with 4-1. (941 is basically equivalent to my 150, 955 equivalent to 175, 250 equivalent to a 963 or so).

But as far as brand name is concerned, it really depends on what is most commonly available in your area. Where I live old IH machines are fairly prevalent, along with JD and Case too. IH machines seem to offer the best value by far from what I've seen (in my area anyway). Old Allis Chalmer (AC) machine are around too, but parts are harder to find for these increasingly rare birds.

As far as what to look for in each machine, that's for another post after you decide what type is right for you.

good luck