290M Clark Michigan scrapers

[Serv]

Anyone here ever run one? They look like they could do some serious work. I like the fact that they are 4 wheel drive and have a dozer blade in front. A friend of mine ran the power unit pulling roller choppers to knock down brush throughout his 5000 acre ranch down here and he said it was the ultimate heavy equipment driving experience of his life. He said that when he got under load with both roller choppers behind him and full of water, all four tires started to spin and the engine didnt even lug down at all. I'm pretty sure this (http://www.clark290m.com/graphics/photos/photo_4.jpg) is the machine he had at his place when I saw it there. He owns 3 oldschool D9's, so he's no stranger to heavy equipment. He told me these were made for the military and are nearly indescructible. I'm looking for a second scraper and found one of these on ebay for 40k. It is a 20 yard machine. Also, there is a site dedicated to these machines called www.clark290m.com They seem to have access to parts and info on these. There's a place down the road from me that has 2 of these machines (just the tractor, no bowl) for dirt cheap. They have cummins engines in them. Any thoughts?





http://cgi.ebay.com/Clark-290M-Tractor-380-hp-with-Hydraulic-Scraper_W0QQitemZ170132298272QQihZ007QQcategoryZ11 7484QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[BrianHay]

Hi Serv, I have have seen a couple of those before but never had the opportunity to try one out myself. Looks like a really interesting machine. I wonder how big of a job it is to unhook the scraper if you wanted to use it for other attachments on a job. looks like it could be a really versatile tool eh. What kinda scraper do you have now? What kind of jobs will you be using it for?

[Serv]

Hi Serv, I have have seen a couple of those before but never had the opportunity to try one out myself. Looks like a really interesting machine. I wonder how big of a job it is to unhook the scraper if you wanted to use it for other attachments on a job. looks like it could be a really versatile tool eh. What kinda scraper do you have now? What kind of jobs will you be using it for?


Hi Bryan,

I run an older Fiat Allis 161 which has a 16 yard bowl when heaped. I haven't had any problems with it, but it does seem a slightly underpowered running a naturally aspirated 903 v8 cummins. I'm using it to reclaim an old 15 acre pit I bought that was previously mined for sand and gravel. So I'm not under that much pressure if the machine decides to be down. I don't do any outside work, but I can see where one of these 290m's might be a nice tool to build stock tanks (lakes) for ranchers. Last time I checked, around 6 years ago, guys were charging around $1.50 per cubic yard to build lakes on ranches in the area. On that site I posted above, you can see that they hook them up to the later model bowls that the John Deere tractors pull. I'm sure they can hook Rome disks or sheeps foot rollers up to them too. The one I saw had a bunch of steel lines in the back that were sealed by oversized quick couplers so they probably aren't too hard to hook and unhook from the attachment.

[surfer-joe]

I never ran one of these machines tho I have seen them around in both civilian and military versions. My understanding is that they were not too dependable with a lot of drivetrain problems. If anyone could screw up a good basic machine, it's the military. But the availability trouble is one of the main reasons the Army switched to the Cat 830M's.

[Serv]

I never ran one of these machines tho I have seen them around in both civilian and military versions. My understanding is that they were not too dependable with a lot of drivetrain problems. If anyone could screw up a good basic machine, it's the military. But the availability trouble is one of the main reasons the Army switched to the Cat 830M's.



thanks for the info. :)

[EARTHWORM]

if you can find a cat 830mb its much better unit I have three of them and are twice the scraper but parts are hight. but you can move alot of dirt with them. I have one with a push pull att on and can load with out push tractor! one more thing the cats are a bitch to work on fyi ew

[Serv]

830mb? I'll keep an eye out for those.



I pursued the 2 clark machines down the road from me and they have one complete machine (scraper and bowl) with a blown engine and an additional parts tractor (also including a good bowl) that they took a good engine out of with intentions of swapping it's engine into the blown engine unit. Well, that engine never made it in there and I think I can buy both machines as is for around the 7500 dollar range. Also, I can get them to deliver these pieces for around 1500 bucks (four loads).


I haven't gone to see the blown engine unit yet, but I snapped some pics of the parts machine and it's bowl. I think might round up the cash to buy these tractors. My two key pieces of equipment at the yard are the scraper and dozer. I use both of them on a daily basis to reclaim my land. I think with one good 290m, it would serve as a spare for both my dozer and scraper. If my 750c is down, use the 290m. If my scraper goes down, use the 290m. :D

The owner of these 290m's is upgrading to all new equipment and wants to get rid of these things bad. He also has a nice D8K out there that he wants to sell cheap. He's one of those guys that hates dozers for some reason. :beatsme

photobucket is down at the moment so I'll follow up with pics when they're back up.

[Serv]

here's some pics of the parts 290m machine, a 17 yard pan they have for sale and a couple pics of the D8K they want to get rid of.

[Serv]

............

[iowatreefarmer]

I bought a Cat 830MB last weekend. Looks almost identical to the Clark 290M. Haven't had it in the field yet but will tonight! I'd sure like to know the differences between the two machines.

[surfer-joe]

Other than the obvious differences, the Michigan will have a Cummins engine and the 830 a Cat, not sure myself what model. The Michigan will have an Allison tranny, the 830 a Cat. The Michigan will likely have Clark axles tho they may also be Rockwells. The scraper on the Michigan is likely to be a Clark-Michigan, the 830 is all Cat. I believe the tire sizes are the same to both. Both machines have good component manufacturers, the devil is in the details with the Cat coming out far ahead in that regard. Wiring, hydraulics, controls, etc., all much better on the Cat 830.

[Rusted]

The 830 (being basically the same tractor as the 988A wheel loader), should have the D343 engine.

[iowatreefarmer]

Thanks Guys! I tried it out briefly last night. Wasn't able to do much as one tire was low (coudn't tell until we got the bowl about half full). I'm used to a little IH 9-1/2 yard paddle scraper, this thing seems like a mile long in comparison! I'm looking for the history of these machines, if anyone knows of any good websites please let me know. Thanks again!

[alan627b]

http://www.acmoc.org/ACMOC_BB/
http://www.antiquecaterpillar.org/
Ask the Cat guys on one of these BB's, they have been brought up before.
The 830 shares many of it's components with the 824 wheel dozer, and the 825 compactor, as well as the 988A loader.
Cat made these under military contract, but they made only the tractor. The scrapers were made by oughtside contractors, the only one I know by name was Curtiss-Wright, an aircraft manufacturer.
Hope this helps!
The Clark 290M, it's competitor.
http://www.clark290m.com/
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.tractorshed.com/gallery/tphotos/a103249_sml.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.tractorshed.com/cgi-bin/gallery/album_view.cgi%3Fw%3Dtphotos%26mode%3Dcat%26Parame ter%3DCaterpillar&h=90&w=120&sz=4&hl=en&start=1&tbnid=3jDixQdmfX9F7M:&tbnh=66&tbnw=88&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcaterpillar%2B830MB%26gbv%3D2%26svnum %3D10%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX

[Serv]

I ended up buying these two 290m's. Since I'm such a cheap skate, I got both for $4500.00 (half of scrap value). :D

We already moved one pictured above to my yard and we are doing a field engine swap on the other one.

One had a blown engine and they pulled the engine out of the other (perfectly running tractor) to get the blown engine one running. They left the good engine laying in the grass for over a year :confused:

We started on the engine swap this weekend and should be firing her up later on today.


Also, the blown engine one didn't have a blown engine. The flywheel went bad on it hence the knocking noise they had experienced. So I will be replacing the flywheel on that engine one and putting that engine back in the other tractor.

Good thing my mechanic isn't scared to work. :D



here's some pics on the one we're repairing out on the field



http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/080227_142811.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/080227_144252.jpg


http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/080426_140340.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/080426_141146.jpg

[stretch]

Hope those monsters work out good for ya!

[alan627b]

Serv, you seem to be having pretty good luck at building up a good sized dirt fleet....not bad for a guy who's main living is in the tire business! (If I remember right...) Keep us informed!
alan627b

[Serv]

Hope those monsters work out good for ya!

Thanks Stretch! :drinkup



Serv, you seem to be having pretty good luck at building up a good sized dirt fleet....not bad for a guy who's main living is in the tire business! (If I remember right...) Keep us informed!
alan627b


Hey thanks alan. Yes, I'm still in the tire business. Going on 13 years now. :D


We went ahead and fired her up today and I gave her a test drive and she seems to be doing as advertised. Some time this coming week, I'll be moving this one to my shop now that she runs and drives. The way it's looking as of today, I think we have to do it in two loads since the pull tractor weighs 60k pounds and the bowl weighs 33k for a total of 93k pounds. At least it should roll up the lowboy under its own power.

here's some today pics after getting her running and airing up two tires that were down



http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/080427_150521.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/080427_200641.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/080427_202017.jpg

http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/080427_201858.jpg



here's a vid of the old ntc380 that we swapped in. Excuse all the messiness, but we just want to get the machine to load itself on the trailer and we can work on all the details when it gets to my shop.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nk4RApax9Y

[Serv]

here's a vid of one of the the doomed tractors taking a spin now with the hood on. I say doomed because both were going to be cut up and scrapped if I didn't buy them. The seller told me they were happy I saved them the time and trouble of doing so :D I drove it shortly after I toolk this vid and she has some great dozing power and ability.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dLJOeBdpig

[greenvalleyengg]

Dear Sir,
Good Evening! How are you today? We take pleasure to inform that we got your refernce through internet and, It will be an opportunity to introduce our company and we hereunder providing few information on our product.

<snip>

If you'll take a moment to review our forum rules, you'll find that advertising is allowed only for equipment owned by members--NOT dealers. In light of that, everything that I've edited is in violation of the forum rules. If you would care to become a sponsor of Heavy Equipment Forums, you can click on any of the "rent this space" buttons at the top of the page. We take our obligation to our paying sponsors seriously, and enforce the "no advertising" rule vigorously.

Furthermore, the posting of similar information in a number of different threads does indeed meet our definition of "spam". We have a VERY low tolerance for spam. All the other offending posts will be removed as well.

Certainly, if you have expertise in the field, and a desire to interact with our other members, you are encouraged to do so. However, ANY further promotion of your dealership, without first becoming a sponsor, will result in immediate revocation of your membership privileges.

[euclid]

almost looks like a spammer :beatsme

[greenvalleyengg]

Dear Sir,
I am sorry we are not spammers, please check our website XXXXXXX We are dealers and doing business all over the globe.
Thanks,regards.
Ravinder Singh

[Serv]

well you should just make your own thread greenvalley. You're stealing my thunder here! :D


here's another vid of my mechanic/friend where he was trying to figure out the gears. For some reason the sound didn't come through on this vid, but what can you expect for a phone anyway.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo-UivSHe28



I'm talking to both Fitzley and LoneStar about getting this machine moved as one piece without breaking it down, ASAP. Every single person I've talked to just told me to road it, but if the engine decides to turn off for any reason, you lose all hydraulics and besides, I called the TXDPS and they said that roading it IS NOT permitted. Pics of the move to come soon. The machine is 11'4"wide at the blade, 13 feet tall at the cab, 57 feet long and 93,000 pounds. :eek:

[euclid]

Dear Sir,
I am sorry we are not spammers, please check our website XXXXXXXX We are dealers and doing business all over the globe.
Thanks,regards.
Ravinder Singh


May I make a suggestion that you rewrite some of your products you are trying make available as to look more like a regular poster and not a web poser. You posted the very same message on several over threads and it would tend to look like spam and yes I reviewed your web site and all looks good but as I see it it may be confused with spammer/poser on the site.
Many Thanks.

[alan627b]

Serv, I am posting a link for 290M parts that may be of use to you. Oz dozer provided it over on the ACME Cat board.
Hope you won't need many parts, but if you do....http://www.clark290m.com/

[bear]

nice stuff there serv! You have come out good on this deal looks like. Thanks fer the pics, how bout a few shots when you put them to work? :D

[td14steve]

Hey nice to see my pics made it over here I was thinking of posting them on here but Alan627 you saved me the trouble, thanks. Pics are at Hill AFB Utah in 1979 we were building berms around the bomb storage buildings and was a the first time I ever operated a scraper. by the time we were done the top of the berm was around 16' high and you could just about see where you were going you had to watch the spotter or have ride off the edge. Steve

[AxleSnapper]

Golly Clark made some odd stuff! That freaking scraper looks like it would run through a small town.

[euclid]

good stuff, thanks for sharing.

[Serv]

Thanks a lot for the pics and info guys. :notworthy

I'm sorry I missed your posts but I've been extremely busy with work.

We have almost all the bugs worked out and she's running like a champ. :drinkup

I took some video and snapped a few photos of a scrape test dig area I was using. The test area is turning into a huge lake now. :eek:


Here are some pics of the test area. It's hard to tell how deep it is by the pics but if you look at the last pic where I'm sitting in it (with the trailers up above) you'll get the idea of the depth. On the first pic, natural grade is the green grass around the edge.


This machine is a monster. We're experimenting with loading it (self and pushing with a deere dozer) and we're just starting to get the hang of it. It moves way more dirt than my fiat allis 161, but then again it burns way more fuel as well. :Pointhead

I'm uploading some video to youtube right now so I'll post a link of the 290m working in a bit.





http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/IMAGE_055.jpg



http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/IMAGE_0571.jpg



http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/IMAGE_0561.jpg


http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/IMAGE_061.jpg

[Serv]

below is the link to a video of the machine actually moving some dirt 2 days ago. It's easy to tell by the video that we don't really know what we're doing yet.

here's a list of what I've done so far to get this thing running. I know I'm missing some stuff, but I hope you get the idea.

so far, we've swapped the engine, rebuilt 5 leaky cylinders, 3 of the five cylinders had the pins frozen in place so we cut the 3 1/2" pins out and fabbed up new ones with grease channels, zerk fittings and all. replaced the hydraulic reservoir (from spare tractor), filter and oil changes throughout. Cleaned out the fuel tank. Replaced all three hydraulic pumps with the ones from my spare machine. Ordered new vane cartridges to rebuild the old vickers pumps. Fabbed 12 brackets to hold the bowl hydraulic lines in place. Repaired over ten air leaks to get the brakes working and fixed countless hydraulic leaks (o-rings). fixed head lights and rear lights. Wow, what a last couple of months I've had with this thing, but it's doing its job so far.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bh3cSpJpJIU

[Serv]

here's some pics I took of my 290m working today. All the hard work we did on it is definitely paying off. I want another one. :D


http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/IMAGE_106.jpg




http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/IMAGE_107.jpg




http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/IMAGE_108.jpg




http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/IMAGE_110.jpg




http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/IMAGE_104.jpg




http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/IMAGE_103.jpg




http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o22/sy733/290M/IMAGE_102.jpg

[Jim Irwin]

Great Stuff Serv,
Jim

[Serv]

Great Stuff Serv,
Jim



Thanks man. :drinkup



While chasing down a dead lead on an abandoned clark 290m last week, I found another one of these but it's the caterpillar 830MB version. I know I can buy it really cheap. Only 965 original hours on the tractor. Check it out. :Pointhead

[Serv]

here's some pics I took of mine yesterday. We've already moved ~10k yards with this thing. :eek:

[hoeman600]

that is awesome who says old iron should be put to pasture. :usa i wana try it . the city of north wildwood nj. has one they use on the beach to pull stuck vehicles out with ill try to fond picts

[Serv]

that is awesome who says old iron should be put to pasture. :usa i wana try it . the city of north wildwood nj. has one they use on the beach to pull stuck vehicles out with ill try to fond picts


I would say that's a little overkill for pulling stuck vehicles, but I see nothing wrong with that. :D Bring on the pics. :drinkup


check out this cat 830 in a tractor pull contest. :eek:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PywtNk1VGHM

[hoeman600]

serv still lookin caint seem to find em ill keep lookin. they often have trucks and crane's go across the beach to work in the carnivel rides. and they often get stuck VERY stuck and their loaders just dont have the grunt to get them out. I think they got it cheap at an auction years ago. they only have the tractor. no wagon.

[BigK600]

Serv, theres a contractor out of Fargo, North Dakota that has a fleet of about 20 of these, give or take a couple. Some pull two pans. Some are out fitted with sheepsfoot wheels, some are just used for disking. I wish I had some pictures. They were used this summer to build up approchs for a 6 lane over pass, 750,000 yards . Had a 400,000 or more yard borrow pit. Wish I had pics they were quite impressive when they all got going. Took them about from April to August to build it up.

[Serv]

Serv, theres a contractor out of Fargo, North Dakota that has a fleet of about 20 of these, give or take a couple. Some pull two pans. Some are out fitted with sheepsfoot wheels, some are just used for disking. I wish I had some pictures. They were used this summer to build up approchs for a 6 lane over pass, 750,000 yards . Had a 400,000 or more yard borrow pit. Wish I had pics they were quite impressive when they all got going. Took them about from April to August to build it up.


Yea, Lloyd Ritchie, the owner of www.clark290m.com, told me about a guy that runs only these. He said the guy has over 40 of them. I wonder if it's the same guy?

[980C]

Serv, theres a contractor out of Fargo, North Dakota that has a fleet of about 20 of these, give or take a couple. Some pull two pans. Some are out fitted with sheepsfoot wheels, some are just used for disking. I wish I had some pictures. They were used this summer to build up approchs for a 6 lane over pass, 750,000 yards . Had a 400,000 or more yard borrow pit. Wish I had pics they were quite impressive when they all got going. Took them about from April to August to build it up.


I was just going to post about this, but you beat me to it! You're right, they are a quite impressive operation to watch.

[Tractor5010]

Serv, You had mentioned someone using these 290M tractors for brush rolling near Laredo, TX. I think Lloyd Ritchie had mentioned this application when I had visited with him last summer and I was wondering if it was still being used for that. Also was wondering if any changes had been made to the torque converter. I purchased a 290M a couple of years ago and am looking to expand it's applications. I am well pleased with it so far, works great for taking out trees and digging ponds. Sometimes I wonder if I'll need a lock-up converter for brush rolling or root ripping.

[surfer-joe]

Be a more comfortable ride without a lockup clutch. Less lurching and being tossed about. The MRS 110's had lockup convertors and I used to run with them locked out. Cat 600's were the same way, locked in they were a rough ride, especially with the 9-speed tranny.

[Tractor5010]

Thanks Surfer-Joe. I do like the smooth power transfer of the torque converter, and as of now, no matter how hard I work it, overheating has not been an issue.

[surfer-joe]

The 290 shouldn't have much trouble overheating nor would a 280 Cat. The 110's overheated all the time. Course, we used to pull the rocker covers and tweak the injectors on them so that instead of about 200 horsepower they put out about 300. Smoked like crazy. The bigest problem I ever had with Clark transmissions was the tiny little clutch packs they installed. No life to them at all.

[Tractor5010]

I'm not familiar with the 110's but the Clark 8000 tranny in the 290m is rated, according to Clark, up to 550hp. I've turned up my Cummins from 350 to 420hp so I'll see how it holds up. The guys I talked to before buying mine called them "bulletproof". Thanks for info. Something to think about.

[Someguy]

I'm not familiar with the 110's but the Clark 8000 tranny in the 290m is rated, according to Clark, up to 550hp. I've turned up my Cummins from 350 to 420hp so I'll see how it holds up. The guys I talked to before buying mine called them "bulletproof". Thanks for info. Something to think about.

Torque kills transmissions more than power. How much torque does your Cummins put out ?

Does the Clark tractor have any suspension ?

[Tractor5010]

As far as I know the factory rating for the small cam Cummins is about 1000 ft/lbs. My best guess for mine now is 1200. Not as much as new engines advertise. As far as suspension, there is none. The operator station isn't isolated either. If it's cold the ride is really rough until the tires warm up.

[alan627b]

Serv, since you are in the tire business, I have a question. Do you know if anybody still makes a 21.00-25 tire?
More to the point, is there a modern size that crosses to this?
I may have asked you before, if so, pardon.
I got my DW10 close to home and it set me to thinking about the poor rear tires again.
If anybody knows of a tire vs rim sizing chart, please let me know.
Alan627b AT hotmail.com

[Serv]

Serv, You had mentioned someone using these 290M tractors for brush rolling near Laredo, TX. I think Lloyd Ritchie had mentioned this application when I had visited with him last summer and I was wondering if it was still being used for that. Also was wondering if any changes had been made to the torque converter. I purchased a 290M a couple of years ago and am looking to expand it's applications. I am well pleased with it so far, works great for taking out trees and digging ponds. Sometimes I wonder if I'll need a lock-up converter for brush rolling or root ripping.



Yes, Ray Parton owns the brush rolling setup in Encinal, TX. Here are some pics of the setup from clark290m.com

http://www.clark290m.com/graphics/photos/photo_4.jpg
http://www.clark290m.com/graphics/photos/photo_5.jpg
http://www.clark290m.com/graphics/photos/photo_6.jpg

[Serv]

Serv, since you are in the tire business, I have a question. Do you know if anybody still makes a 21.00-25 tire?
More to the point, is there a modern size that crosses to this?
I may have asked you before, if so, pardon.
I got my DW10 close to home and it set me to thinking about the poor rear tires again.
If anybody knows of a tire vs rim sizing chart, please let me know.
Alan627b AT hotmail.com



I'm not familiar with that size being there aren't any end users of that size in my area. I only pick up scrap tires that are generated in my territory. There are many tires with a 25" wheel size though. Some general dimensions (hight x width) will help find a close modern size.