815B Transmission Gaurding

[631G]

Has anyone had any experience building after market guarding for their 815B? I have an 815B (SN:17Z01344) that caught a rock Tuesday and cracked the bottom of the drop box. We just a year ago replaced the transmission housing because it got smacked by the drive line after the U joint failed. That was a $25K repair all in and now this happens. Feels like with equipment failures I cannot win for losing....

It looks to me like I could weld on some studs to the frame and suspend a plate the cover the bottom of the transmission to protect it from being struck by anything.

Speaking of the old failure last year, has anyone seen a driveshaft safety loop/hoop install on an 815 to protect the transmission in the event of a U joint failure? They're all over the place for tractor pull and racing rigs. It would seem to me like Cat would have come up with something to protect the housing from getting beat to death when something comes apart.

 

[Nige]

Has anyone had any experience building after market guarding for their 815B?

What happened to the original OEM transmission guard.? It's the same as a 966D amongst others.

It would seem to me like Cat would have come up with something to protect the housing from getting beat to death when something comes apart.

IMHO the reply would be somewhat similar to what it was when a customer one time insisted that Cat should provide a reinforced cab floor on a 793 truck so that if a front LH tyre exploded it would not kill the operator...... I was sitting on the other side of the table and it was extremely hard to keep a straight face when they came out with that one.

 

[John C.]

Left off after changing the transmission oil because it was too heavy to put back up?

 

[631G]

Left off after changing the transmission oil because it was too heavy to put back up?

we bought the machine used and there was no plate there. When it was in the shop having the transmission removed and replaced it was not suggested that a plate was missing so I didn't know to look further into it at the time.

 

[631G]

What happened to the original OEM transmission guard.? It's the same as a 966D amongst others.
IMHO the reply would be somewhat similar to what it was when a customer one time insisted that Cat should provide a reinforced cab floor on a 793 truck so that if a front LH tyre exploded it would not kill the operator...... I was sitting on the other side of the table and it was extremely hard to keep a straight face when they came out with that one.

I was not aware that the machine had shipped with a transmission guard. We bought used and there was no plate present. I will start searching SIS for something.

I definitely understand the point you're making about the tire and that's a fair comparison to make. I suppose that when looking around the yard nearly all of the equipment out here doesn't have any guard or loop to hold the drive line from flopping beating on anything within the swing radius if a U joint lets go. For example, I imagine if the U joint between the front and rear drive axles on the road tractor were to fail, we'd have a similar mess on our hands. In other words, point well taken...

 

[John C.]

We had some of the first Cat 550B articulated trucks in the US where I worked years ago. They used to snap the input gears out of the front of the transmissions when the lock up clutches engaged. Drive lines plus the front of the transmissions with the input gears would turn into a flail and take out everything between the engine and transmission plus leave huge battle scars on the side of the cabs and rip up all the sheet metal in range. After it happened on the third truck, I disconnected the boxes that controlled the lock up clutches to solve the problem. Twenty to thirty thousand dollar repair per truck that was thankfully under warranty all three times. Cat never made any changes to solve the issue or limit any damages. Dealer service manager said we shouldn't have shut off the lock ups as it would cause over heating of the transmission. I asked if he would pay the damages when the trucks went out of warranty? A stunned silence was all I got.

 

[631G]

Best I can tell this is the plate I am looking for. I need to go back to the site to look at what's on the machine for bolt up to make sure this would fit up before I start looking for one new or used somewhere. if I can find it. SIS shows that they no longer have the type 1 but do have the type 2. Based on serial number breaks, I might be able to get one that will fit.

 

[Nige]

The unfortunate part of my story was that the meeting between the customer and Cat (I was there representing the dealer) took place AFTER there had been a fatality caused by a LH front tyre explosion. IMHO the customer was looking for a cop-out in an attempt to minimmize their financial liabilities to the family of the deceased operator.

I was not aware that the machine had shipped with a transmission guard. We bought used and there was no plate present. I will start searching SIS for something.

Look for 9V-1465 or 2V-4243 Guard Gp, Power Train. As I said above it's used on a total of 22 different wheel loader/dozer/compactor models. You might be lucky and pick one up from a 966D in a breaker's yard.
EDIT: 9V-1465 Type 2 dates from 1984, your machine is 1991 so it ought to fit.

we bought the machine used and there was no plate there. When it was in the shop having the transmission removed and replaced it was not suggested that a plate was missing so I didn't know to look further into it at the time.

Sorry to be blunt but any half-decent mechanic ought to know that there should be a guard under the transmission. Neither should they have to look very far to find the four threaded holes that the bolts that hold the guard up screw into.

 

[John C.]

I'm trying to recall some things that are different between a landfill compactor and a basic pad foot compactor used for roads and construction compaction. According to my performance handbook, the 814 is a wheel dozer, the 815 is a soil compactor and the 816 is a landfill compactor. As I recall the guards on the wheel loaders of that time frame were an option and most that I've looked at never had them. I suspect that same might hold true of a soil compactor.

 

[Nige]

From SIS machine S/N 17Z01344 was originally built with the 2V-4243 Guard Gp for the transmission.
It's included along with a list of other guards in the 2V-7801 Chassis Arrgt.

 

[631G]

The unfortunate part of my story was that the meeting between the customer and Cat (I was there representing the dealer) took place AFTER there had been a fatality caused by a LH front tyre explosion. IMHO the customer was looking for a cop-out in an attempt to minimmize their financial liabilities to the family of the deceased operator.
Look for 9V-1465 or 2V-4243 Guard Gp, Power Train. As I said above it's used on a total of 22 different wheel loader/dozer/compactor models. You might be lucky and pick one up from a 966D in a breaker's yard.
EDIT: 9V-1465 Type 2 dates from 1984, your machine is 1991 so it ought to fit.

View attachment 268648
Sorry to be blunt but any half-decent mechanic ought to know that there should be a guard under the transmission. Neither should they have to look very far to find the four threaded holes that the bolts that hold the guard up screw into.

Nige,
Thats unfortunate about the operator. I can only imagine the energy that a tire that size has stored in it when under a load. Very violent. Given the nature of today's world I am sure the assessment you made of the customers intent is correct unfortunately.

I have started calling around using these part numbers to the scrap yards to see what I can locate. So far, the three I've called have not had anything, or at least no longer have the part on what is left of the machine. The search will continue..

Regarding the mechanics at the shop that helped us out with the first failure and them not pointing me in the right direction, it seems there is a true shortage of experienced mechanics here in general with the broad depth of experience to know there should be something there to start with. The shop we sent the machine to was actually a Komatsu dealer we buy from and the guys that were working on the disassembly and reassembly were all fairly young. Full transparency, I fit into this category myself having largely worked on the management side of things at a very large contractor up until 2018 and now I am working for a smaller company back home where I am wearing many more hats, trying to bridge knowledge gaps that were running into on maintenance and repairs. We had managed to hire a great mechanic earlier this year that knew so much about these older machines that we run on our earth moving spread, but he suffered a stroke and has been out since July with no real return date on the horizon. What was so crazy about the stroke hitting him is that he's only in his late 40's. Until his return collectively we're all trying to do the best we can. I frequently look to this site and its members post's for help to understand better what is going on with the machines and hopefully glean enough information to not get taken advantage of on a repair or at least not come off to the contract mechanics we use at times as a complete moron... Doesn't always work out that way though. Case in point, see my first post here on this topic....

 

[heymccall]

#5 in drawing, 8V-2846, fits