Need advice on purchase CAT 973 or 983?

[bunkclimber]

a serviceable 977K/L and the big brother 983 both are getting harder to find..at least one that will give you good service and not be a total waste due to breakdowns; most are at least 40yrs old and will have some issues with heavy use. My advice is to rent equipment first, get it in there and use it building your track and see what works best for what you want to do..off-camber hilly terrain is NOT the place for a 977 or 983,thats for sure..better off with a mid-range dozer..easily rentable and delivered

 

[Nige]

From what I can see reading through the thread it was nothing more than a d1ck-swinging contest, nowt to do with what type of machine was the best to do the work in question. "I've got a bigger one than yours."

 

[Cat977]

Either one is a used machine so who knows what problems you'll run into. Loaders this size are bought to do heavy hard work and are often abused. If you need to do the undercarriage will cost as much as the machine or more. Crawlers are considered money pits and looking at the biggest track loaders could be considered the Fort Knox of money pits! For what you want to do a dozer might be a better option or possibly a couple different machines like a dozer and a wheel loader. It you want a loader a 977L might be a better choice and much more common than a 983. This could be a big advantage as used and aftermarket parts would be more accessible. Anything with steel tracks would be slow for maintenance and if the course is any length would wear out the undercarriage in a hurry. Maybe even a AG tractor with a box blade or something would be better for maintaining the track and need only basic maintenance like a truck. You'll need a water truck too if the track is dirt and try to incorporate drainage. A road grader might be a good option as well.

Be aware the early 977L had 8" pitch dry rails (cheaper) latter it changed to 81/2" SALT track rails.

 

[Cat977]

a serviceable 977K/L and the big brother 983 both are getting harder to find..at least one that will give you good service and not be a total waste due to breakdowns; most are at least 40yrs old and will have some issues with heavy use. My advice is to rent equipment first, get it in there and use it building your track and see what works best for what you want to do..off-camber hilly terrain is NOT the place for a 977 or 983,thats for sure..better off with a mid-range dozer..easily rentable and delivered

I have one early 977L and two 977k's use same track but different engines. The L's 3306 engine continued till the end of production.

 

[Cat977]

No one here is trying to be negative. These machines you are dreaming or thinking of can be bought cheap because of the market and resale value, repair bills etc. I do alot of land clearing myself. A cat 963 b or c can push way more brush you can think of but they get stuck easily in the woods. Im in central Missouri n lately i been clearing with a CTL n tree shear not wanting to tear ground up. The cat 963 b or c are making a huge mess regarding of operater experience because ground is so soft. They all tell me they gotta be careful n belly out before you know it. A complete undercarriage for a 963 is about $14,000. I wouldn't be surprised a.973 or 983 be around $20,000alone. I was seriously considering getting a 973C to do la d clearing. Having a triple axle lobby and a semi truck with a pusher on it to haul it but it weighs 60,000 lbs. I personally think for land clearing n clean up a track loader is the way to go. Take your time n get all dirt out of roots etc. Small light brush pile push on the long pushes can really save transmission/hydrostatic vs a.dozer transmission can handle long heavy hard pushes. You gotta operate them what they are designed for. You can do.grade with a track loader but it takes skills n i have personally done it but you gotta know the machine. No offense you need to slow down some n run equipment for awhile before buying one n you will get the real idea whats its really like. I had a guy told me this Monday. He bought a deere 555G loader to clean up his 100 acerd farm. He regretted it n was way Cheper to hire someone to do the work in a week in a 963 vs himself in a month time

No one here is trying to be negative. These machines you are dreaming or thinking of can be bought cheap because of the market and resale value, repair bills etc. I do alot of land clearing myself. A cat 963 b or c can push way more brush you can think of but they get stuck easily in the woods. Im in central Missouri n lately i been clearing with a CTL n tree shear not wanting to tear ground up. The cat 963 b or c are making a huge mess regarding of operater experience because ground is so soft. They all tell me they gotta be careful n belly out before you know it. A complete undercarriage for a 963 is about $14,000. I wouldn't be surprised a.973 or 983 be around $20,000alone. I was seriously considering getting a 973C to do la d clearing. Having a triple axle lobby and a semi truck with a pusher on it to haul it but it weighs 60,000 lbs. I personally think for land clearing n clean up a track loader is the way to go. Take your time n get all dirt out of roots etc. Small light brush pile push on the long pushes can really save transmission/hydrostatic vs a.dozer transmission can handle long heavy hard pushes. You gotta operate them what they are designed for. You can do.grade with a track loader but it takes skills n i have personally done it but you gotta know the machine. No offense you need to slow down some n run equipment for awhile before buying one n you will get the real idea whats its really like. I had a guy told me this Monday. He bought a deere 555G loader to clean up his 100 acerd farm. He regretted it n was way Cheper to hire someone to do the work in a week in a 963 vs himself in a month time

I like things done my way. If you learn what good track look like. You can wait for a truly good deal. Have a dealer near you (CAT is the best for old machines IMO) have them check it out. Go there with them and bring your smartest preferably experienced buddy. Then go for it. Loader for everything. Excavator and 6 way bulldozer if your made of money.

 

[PhilDirt]

How long will a new undercarriage last on a 983 with average use? I have an early 955L with the small tracks that wore out it's OEM set in about 3000 hours, and we've been patching it together for another 1000 with new rollers, sprocket segments and removing a link. I need a larger machine for what we are going to do, and I see a 983 not too far away, can anyone tell me how long they've seen a 983 undercarriage last? I don't want a hydrostatic machine, it's either a 977L or a 983B and both are hard to find

 

[DMiller]

What kind of sand pile are you in? Do you run the tracks banjo string tight as well? New rails from Cat on a 955k/l should go at least 4000 hours before major issues, a 977 or 983 you will not see better life as weight of machine degrades the rails as fast as anything. Are you travelling a great deal with this machine loaded? Are you pushing speed on the rails? ALL will lead to premature failure. These machines are designed to be in One spot, load haul equipment and then move as cut moves, travelling at higher speeds eats up rails.

Bigger does NOT mean lasts longer, just costs more, like Double the cost for rails 955k/l

 

[PhilDirt]

The soil is not especially abrasive. This machine has traveled and pushed a lot during it's life, it was purchased for landfill operation, pushed trash, dug trenches, hauled and spread cover.
Now we're doing a clean fill site, need to clear trees and handle dump trucks dumping. The 955l is just too small for a triaxle load of rough rock or concrete, it's working way too hard and beating up the undercarriage and bucket, plus the big trees are a challenge to get down then handle once down.
I was afraid a bigger machine would be harder on tracks, if the wear is similar per hour or per bucket full handled that makes the decision easier.
I was thinking a D7 or D8 would be perfect size, then realized a 983 is the size of a D8 plus it will be a lot more multipurpose than a dozer.

 

[CM1995]

Phill I know you said you didn't want a hydro machine but for just sake of conversation my 953C BBX 2004 model has been at our clean fill site since April handling all the dirt, concrete and asphalt from a big arena job we've working on since the end of March.

We've hauled approx. 20,000 CY's of dirt and several 1,000 CY's of concrete and asphalt to our dump with a couple 1,000 more to go. Since I'm the "boss" and flexible my duty was to handle the dump push off. At the height of hauling on the arena project we had 15 trucks running 150-180 loads a day. The 953 handled like a champ however a 15'+ fill depth helped.



Replaced the undercarriage last year at around 5K+ hours with the first 1000 hours being in very abrasive chert. Went with all Cat OEM as we got such great wear out the factory set.

That 953C has handled everything we've thrown at it. I'd love to have a 953K but they are $$$ pricey.

 

[Welder Dave]

I think Cat originally said a hydrostat machine is almost twice as productive as a similar size torque converter machine.

 

[mk1spyder]

When did they switch from power shift to hydrostatic. I feel like the hydro is easier to drive but obviously has more stuff to fail.

 

[CM1995]

When did they switch from power shift to hydrostatic. I feel like the hydro is easier to drive but obviously has more stuff to fail.

Cat shifted to hydro with the rear engine 3 series machines in the early '80's. I don't know the exact year.

Personally I think the hydrostatic loaders are very reliable and the increase in production far outweighs any benefit a powershift loader could offer. Just my $.02

 

[mk1spyder]

So I'm looking at a 963 as a compromise. Any recommendations on the best year or series to get?

 

[DMiller]

First for the Cat branded loaders Hydro drive were ?81? IIRC, Deere had Hydrostats back in the mid 80s.

IF are wanting a strictly Mechanically operated unit, Plain Label 963 or a 'A' or 'B' series will be the only ones. C series is all electro hydraulic controls.

 

[CM1995]

I agree with DMiller if it's going to be an occasional use machine an "A" or B model is the way to go. Lot's of electronics on my 953C. However nothing major has went wrong in 7K hours - knocks on wood..

 

[Welder Dave]

JD had hydrostat loaders in 1976. Cat had the 953 in 1981 to replace the 951C and the 955L was also still available. I've got a brochure somewhere where they compare the 953 to the 951C instead of the 955L. I'd guess to make the 953 look even better even though it was more comparable to the 955L. Cat probably thought some customers would be leery of a hydrostat machine and didn't want to just drop their most popular track loader. The one thing they should have done was put the 3304 from the 955L into the first 953's instead of the 3204.

 

[mk1spyder]

So I saw where the deere 755 is basically just a Liebherr 632 between 2000 and 2010, is that a good alternative to a cat 963?

Also at the end of the day if I have to grade in a road up a steep hill am I better off just using a dozer and excavator combo instead of the track loader? I feel like I'm hoping for too much out of one machin the more I think about how it would get done.

 

[Welder Dave]

Track loader is more versatile for a lot of different jobs. I'd stay away from the Liebherr/JD. Cat is way more popular if you ever need service or repair help and you will.

 

[CM1995]

So I saw where the deere 755 is basically just a Liebherr 632 between 2000 and 2010, is that a good alternative to a cat 963?

Also at the end of the day if I have to grade in a road up a steep hill am I better off just using a dozer and excavator combo instead of the track loader? I feel like I'm hoping for too much out of one machin the more I think about how it would get done.

If I could only have one machine to put food on the table it would be a trackloader..

Ditto on stay away from Liebherr. However I would like to try out the JD built Deere loaders and I'm a Cat guy.

 

[DMiller]

Will say this, a Full set Undercarriage, Rollers, Segments, Idlers and rails/shoes for a 963 just installed at a local grade contractor was $25,500, and THEY installed their own, JUST Parts, 4870 hours on old UC 90% dirt work.

FULL UC for a 973 or 983 regardless will be close to or over $30k, aftermarket will be less but last 1/3 average less time and need a crane to install.