Buying a 1977 D9H

[Honky Cat]

Been reading posts here that came up on Google. Registered today and new to this forum. I have a ranch and have a gov contract to take out my overgrowth of Cedar trees. I bought a Link Belt 240 XL excavator, too slow to cover the 1500 acres of cedars. So, i am taking on a D9H 1977 with a cab and ripper which will help ripping shale to pile up in my shale pit. It (Dozer) has a big 15 foot blade. Dozer is in need of paint but mechanically sound. If anyone wants to reply to my D9H purchase please do so. I live and operate in far Western Oklahoma near the “Antelope Hills.” This is a very knowledgeable forum.

 

[Welder Dave]

If you're going to be ripping you need to do a really good inspection of the machine. There are some very knowledgeable members on here on big older machines like D9H's.

 

[Nige]

First thing you probably need is a full set of three manuals, Operation, Parts, & Service. Do you have any yet.?

 

[Honky Cat]

Nige
I have checked my online sources and have found where they can be bought. I want to make 100% sure the one i am looking at turns out to be OK before i buy the manuels. Understand the risk involved with these machines. And i am not an expert on them by any means. Kinda Scary to say the least but the big girls have my attention knowing the smaller dozers have less Risk overall.

 

[Nige]

Start with a Serial Number. That should guarantee being able to identify the appropriate manuals for that particular tractor.

There are a number of manuals sold online (often from Eastern Europe) that are supplied as Adobe pdf files on a memory stick. Often they are not what they claim to be but simply a mish-mash of documents culled from Cat's online system. Additionally some of the paper aftermarket manuals sold in the US are also not too clever either.

Genuine manuals are usually NOT cheap but unfortunately they are the only ones you can really rely on.

 

[Honky Cat]

Yes Sir:
I agree on that for sure. I am looking at the Original Manuals and have seen real cheap manuals that threw a flag at me for being so cheap and not looking like the originals. Yes sir i have noticed the serial numbers on the front of each manual and have a pretty clear assessment of the manual needed and they match the serial number also.

Thanks for the tips Nige!
Keep em coming!

Jbm

 

[Junkyard]

Nothing gets my allergies wound up like cedar does. Maybe ragweed.

Welcome to the forum, where’s your prospective dozer located? Maybe somebody on here is close and can take a look with you or for you.

 

[OzDozer]

Welcome Honky Cat - First thing you find with BIG dozers, is repairs normally cost BIG money! So you'd better be making MAKING Big money with it!

Second, you'll find that new parts for 1977 model Cats - and especially the big old Cats, are getting rarer and rarer.

Third, you better make sure those final drives are in EXCELLENT condition, before you lash out and start doing heavy ripping and dozing big trees.
The big tractors such as the D9H always have a history of being bought to put into the hard, heavy work! - and a result, they nearly all have had a long hard life.

The final drives in the D9H are a planetary-style reduction gear setup, and they are BIG dollars when they blow!

 

[Nige]

First thing you find with BIG dozers, is repairs normally cost BIG money!

And need BIG tools. I hope your toolbox is up to snuff.

 

[Honky Cat]

Nothing gets my allergies wound up like cedar does. Maybe ragweed.

Welcome to the forum, where’s your prospective dozer located? Maybe somebody on here is close and can take a look with you or for you.

Thanks for the Flowers!!
I appreciate your friendliness!
Altogether we can survive this Unknown World we are not familiar with!

Respectfully
Jbm

 

[Honky Cat]

And need BIG tools. I hope your toolbox is up to snuff.

Thanks Nige!!
My lovely wife say i have the toolbox.

Respectfully

Jbm

 

[.RC.]

I would hate to see the fuel bill clearing 1500 acres with only the blade of a D9H. It would not be cost effective. Now 2X D9H with some decent chain between the two. Get it done in a couple of big days most likely.

 

[Honky Cat]

Yes Sir I agree! I bought a Link-Belt 240 Lx Excavator 1 year ago and have knocked out a big area with it. My thinking is that with this Big Girl (D9H) and the excavator we can gain alot better kill than with just the excavator(It moves alot slower than the D9H). The D9H has a 15 foot blade on it. I want to put a big 15 foot rake on it to keep from tearing up as much earth.

Heck i have a gov contract and it pays $150,000 when completed. The money keeps me motivated more than ever. I hope to be done around December31.

Thanks for the interest!
Keep them coming.

Jbm

 

[Honky Cat]

Here are some pics of my excavator getting som big ones. I like tge excavator because i can go with bucket in behind them and completely uproot them for 100% kill. Cedars are taking Oklahoma by storm and they suck up to 50 gallon of water per day taking mousture away from the grass and aquifers. This is a simple gig. Just stay after them every day possible.

 

[Welder Dave]

If you had a big chain you could drive in an arc up to maybe 270 deg's. with 1 end hooked to the stationary excavator.

 

[GODSDOZER]

D9H with V shear blade would be the fastest.

 

[Welder Dave]

Finding one for for a D9H might be a challenge. I think he'd prefer to up root them than shear them off. The long chain would be probably be the fastest unless the tree's were too big and too dense to rip up several at a time.

 

[Honky Cat]

If you had a big chain you could drive in an arc up to maybe 270 deg's. with 1 end hooked to the stationary excavator.

Never thought of that? I wonder whether this style would just cut them off or uproot them? I have to get the root ball out and layed on the ground or it still sucks water everyday. I proved this by ripping out old stumps that werent ripped out, just sawed off and believe it or not those big roots were full of water. Thats why i have to get them uprooted.

Thanks for the idea! Wish i had 2 Big Girls now instead of the excavator. However i have cleared over 600 acres with the excavator. Just need more help is why the D9H is hopefully coming to help. I also know that the D9H is overkill for this project, but i have always looked gor an excuse to own the Dozer that built the U.S.A.

Thanks again!

 

[Honky Cat]

Plus if i find a big rake to go on the D9H i can travel right through the thickest growths (They are thick in places) and not tear up as much ground. Its sandy loam, pretty good soil and they will pop right out if done right. Plus i have to gather and stack piles of them and wait for the first snow then burn them all up. These cedars are not good for posts or i would salvage the big ones. They are not like the red cedars in Texas that make great corner posts.

 

[Welder Dave]

You could look at D8's too. A guy with a big ranch up here was almost jumping out of his pants when he bought a 1980 Terex 82-50 (D9 size) in surprising good condition for $16,500cad. at RB's. It was the first machine loaded on one of the haulers (advertising at the auction) big trailers after the auction for that day ended. Someone else mentioned he had 1500 acres or something like that. When they were driving the dozer up to the ramp he was asking if the steering worked good and it did. Apparently it's normal for Detroit 2 strokes to not show much oil pressure at idle. It was a nice looking dozer. Only apparent issues were a chunk broke out of 1 track pad and the lift cylinder creeped. The undercarriage looked pretty recent like less than 25% worn.