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You are going to do something similar to what I plan to do. I bought 10 acres of land that is mostly woods with smaller sized trees (used to be a tobacco field at one time). Things to look for in a dozer are of course the engine but also the undercarriage. Undercarriage parts for these things cost at least as much as the engine and probably more. The engine is something you could probably rebuild in the frame (like I'm doing) for less than $1000. The undercarriage requires more specialized equipment like big (and I mean big) presses. This is usually not something you want to do because of the cost of the tools. The dozer "tracks" are made up of plates called "grouser pads". These pads are bolted onto the the "chain" or "rail". The chain is made up of links held together with "pins". Look at these pins for wear. Some people have the pins "turned" to get more wear out of them but its not particularly cheap. New pins can be had but again they are not cheap. The idea here is not to simply look at the pads for wear, look at the whole thing. Have a look at the rear sprocket for wear. A new chain will get worn down by an worn sproket and a new sproket will get worn down by a worn chain. They are often (but not always) replaced at the same time. Take a good look at the flanges on the guide wheels for wear. These wheels are sometimes oil-filled and sometimes sealed. Likewise have a look at the front "wheel" for wear and signs of oil leakage. Don't get sucked in by a really clean machine. It could be a clean running machine or it could be pretty leaky and just got cleaned up for sale. You want to especially look for oil leaks at the rear sprokets. Don't be afraid to pull dipsticks and look at the hydraulic and transmission oils. Look for dirty oil, white milky oil or oil with a burnt smell to it. Run the machine! If you are not familiar with it, have the seller run it or show you how. Check every function. Does it turn okay? Does the blade (or bucket) lift smoothly without undue pump noise? Any grinding or popping noises from the rear? Gauges working okay? Transmission pressure in the okay or green range? Does the engine hold good oil pressure when warmed up at idle? Brakes work okay? I opted for a loader with a 4 in 1 bucket (commonly called a clamshell loader). It gives me the versitality to pick things up and move them around that is not as easy to do with a dozer. If the dozer has a 6 way blade it does have the advantage of being able to cut a ditch. I'm not familiar with the TD-6 but let me offer this advice in regards to the size of the machine. The bigger machines are sometimes more difficult to work on due to their size and sometimes more expensive. They also will use more fuel per working hour. Weigh this against the kind of work you plan to do. A bigger machine will work faster than a smaller one, but if a smaller one can do the job effectivly then it may make more sense for you. For me, I ended up with a Case 450. The engine is a simple inline 4 cylinder Diesel. A good example is the front engine guard/weight. Its pretty heavy at 1000 lbs but its light enough that I can deal with it when I had to remove it to get to the oil pan. I need to be able to work on the machine using stuff I've got around the farm whenever possible. Think about parts availiblity. There are a lot of resources on the internet these days, but its always a good idea when getting an older machine to see whats available before you buy it. Look around on eBay and see whats for sale in the parts sections. I hope this gets you started. Best of luck,
John
1968 Case 450
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