1972 Caterpillar 950 question

[corneremperor]

Hi Guys,
I am looking to buy an old 1972 Cat 950 and when i inspected the machine i found out that the owner has to top-up the engine oil on a daily basis when he runs the machine for a long period of time. There are no major leaks on the engine so i concluded that the engine needed its rings to be changed. Can anyone please point me in the direction of a reputable company that sells after-market overhaul kits?
Also if anyone has any input on the problem that this machine has i would gladly appreciate it.
Thanks in advance

[JTWAT]

A 1972 machine is bound to use a little oil. This can be from worn rings or worn valve guides. If it does not smoke, has good power and does not leak oil. I would just run it and just keep it topped off. Adding a little oil now and then is a lot cheaper than a engine rebuild. Just something to ponder.

[corneremperor]

Any Help on where to get reliable aftermarket overhaul kits??

[Gavin84w]

Any Help on where to get reliable aftermarket overhaul kits??

Why would you want aftermarket?

[corneremperor]

I was told that they were cheaper and would do the same thing as the ones from Caterpillar

[cdm123]

cat has cat clasic (Jobber) parts too.

[corneremperor]

I tried CAT and they said they don't sell the kits

[DirtHauler]

Also be sure you are not adding oil until it is at or below the add mark. Some CAT engines don't like to at the full mark and will stop using oil before the add mark. Probably not the case here, but just something worth mentioning.

[abba]

Hi,
professional members, I am a new member in this forum and an intending entrant to heavy machine users.
I have been looking for a reliable wheel loader with a loading bucket of at least 3cubic yard preferrably catapiller, the purpose is to lease to other users dealing with sharp sand business.
I surfed the followinf sites www.marketbook.com and http://autoline.info/ I have seen many cat. equipments that suits my budget($20.000).

But I need some guides as to what to avoid and weither to trust traders that advertised equipments as ready to work, verry good and excellent.

I live in Nigeria West Africa and intends to buy online.

Thanking you in anticipation for constructive advice

best regards

Abba

[oarwhat]

Try here http://www.agkits.com/ The sell kits for allot of Cat engines.I rebuilt my 3208's with no problems.

[corneremperor]

Thanks Oarwhat, i will give them a call and see if they have any for the 950

[John C.]

I haven't rebuilt a Cat engine in a long time but have been bit really hard using aftermarket stuff on them when it did. I put a high power D8H together once using aftermarket pistons and rings and had a top ring break at 450 hours of operation. The supplier told me it would not be covered under warranty. So I ordered another liner kit and then refused to pay for it.

At that time the labor to install the thing was far more than the part. I made sure that after that I used the factory stuff on the critical parts. So I might use a head rebuilt by someone else but I would never install rod and main bearings from an aftermarket supplier without a guarantee on paper. I would never use any but the manufacturer's ring sets anymore.

The whole thing depends on your tolerance for risk. If you don't think your time is worth anything and you are cash poor then the risk of a short running failure might be worth it. However Murphy's law applies just as much here as it does anywhere else.

Good Luck!

[corneremperor]

I haven't rebuilt a Cat engine in a long time but have been bit really hard using aftermarket stuff on them when it did. I put a high power D8H together once using aftermarket pistons and rings and had a top ring break at 450 hours of operation. The supplier told me it would not be covered under warranty. So I ordered another liner kit and then refused to pay for it.

At that time the labor to install the thing was far more than the part. I made sure that after that I used the factory stuff on the critical parts. So I might use a head rebuilt by someone else but I would never install rod and main bearings from an aftermarket supplier without a guarantee on paper. I would never use any but the manufacturer's ring sets anymore.

The whole thing depends on your tolerance for risk. If you don't think your time is worth anything and you are cash poor then the risk of a short running failure might be worth it. However Murphy's law applies just as much here as it does anywhere else.

Good Luck!

Thanks for the advice John. As far as the engine overhaul goes can you tell me what parts might be deemed "critical" so i can just get those parts from the Manufacturer?

[corneremperor]

Thanks alex0504, i checked their site but they were unable to confirm that the parts were made in the USA