Cat questions.

[Jeff D. N.E. Wis.]

I called an older gentleman tonight that has a D4 Cat for sale. He says that it hasn't run in 7 years. He bought it to power his sawmill with the pulley but has since bought a GM diesel to power it.

He stated that he filled the crankcase up with oil so it wouldn't seize up while it was sitting (for what that is worth). Also the pony engine does not run and needs to be gone through. He also stated that the tracks are in excellent shape. It does need new hydraulic hoses and it has he thought a 9' blade.

He is asking $2000.00 for it. Do any of you know the good, bad or the ugly of a D4? Is this a good asking price for it? I have not seen it yet. I wanted to get some info from the board here before going to look at it. All I would be using it for would be to push some stumps out and clean up our line fence areas. Thanks for any info you could give me.

Jeff

[gitractorman]

The old D4s were built like tanks, literally. I would bet that it is nearly as heavy as a present day D6.

Sounds like the old guy knew what he was doing when he shut her down. I would think that filling the crank case up is a pretty good idea. My bet is if he was smart enough to cover the exhaust, and keep water out of the head, it will fire up with a little TLC.

I have seen several old D4s on e-bay over the years, and they all seem to go in that general price range. Running ones go for more, and rust buckets go for less. I think it will end up being your call on the price based on the condition when you see it. If the tracks, pins, rollers, and sprockets all look good, that is a big bonus. You can spend lots of money just doing the undercarriage. The clutches could need work, but if everthing else is good, it will be worth it.

[john2189]

be carefull , if the transmission or final drives are bad, they are big bucks to fix...

[Virginia Mike]

The starting engines are very expensive to repair. However, you can buy a conversion kit for direct electric start.
Best,
Mike

[cowboy]

Cat equipment is about 3-4 times the price of similar equ form other companys. I would say it is a good price. But it has to be started up and ran. I belive that age tractor will have a clutch rather than a torque drive. But it needs to be driven and steering clutche checked to see if they work and are not stuck same for listening for bearing noises. reparing steering clutches and final drives is a big job and big money. Same with the tracks and under carrage.

We just bought a JD 450G which is half or less the size of a D4 we were looking to spend about $10,000 and got one from a friend for $20,000 and felt we got a great deal becouse it was well taken care of the blade was tight and recentaly re bushinged new tracks last year. I know you can quickly spend $10,000 on a new under carrage for it and other proplems can add up fast. I know a new under carrage for a D7 is about $30,000

Good luck

Billy

[Festus]

Jeff, I have been looking at a D4 myself - a 1953 model. It runs good but needs tracks. One word of caution - if you are cleaning line fences, be careful of any wire that could wrap in the undercarriage and destroy an axle seal. I know first hand!

Festus

[LiL' Red]

Used to have a 55 D4 nice little tractor, a fun toy! digging stumps and pushing them will give you a real workout. Remember 2 steering clutches, ,2 steering brakes, hydraulic lever, engine clutch, and a throttle. The work you are describing would be done much easier with a backhoe. If you decide to buy this 4 I would suggest converting it to electric start. Pony parts and expertise are hard to find and expensive, when we rebuilt the pony on our 4 several years ago it cost right at 3000.00, then you have the clutches that engage the pony, another costly repair.

[LiL' Red]

The old D4s were built like tanks, literally. I would bet that it is nearly as heavy as a present day D6.

Sounds like the old guy knew what he was doing when he shut her down. I would think that filling the crank case up is a pretty good idea. My bet is if he was smart enough to cover the exhaust, and keep water out of the head, it will fire up with a little TLC.

I have seen several old D4s on e-bay over the years, and they all seem to go in that general price range. Running ones go for more, and rust buckets go for less. I think it will end up being your call on the price based on the condition when you see it. If the tracks, pins, rollers, and sprockets all look good, that is a big bonus. You can spend lots of money just doing the undercarriage. The clutches could need work, but if everthing else is good, it will be worth it.

Actualy, the D4 he is looking at if memory serves me weighs about 20,000, a new 6R with cab, air and sweeps weighs about 45,000.