• Thank you for visiting HeavyEquipmentForums.com! Our objective is to provide industry professionals a place to gather to exchange questions, answers and ideas. We welcome you to register using the "Register" icon at the top of the page. We'd appreciate any help you can offer in spreading the word of our new site. The more members that join, the bigger resource for all to enjoy. Thank you!

Recent content by os4ivmb

  1. O

    Bought a used 303.5 - Scammed or just Stupid? Or both?

    Finally found the time to finish the machine. I don't have before pictures of everything but it was fairly beat up. Now looks like new-ish and feels great. As tight as it was from the factory - the only thing I didn't end up working on was the slew ring. The pinion gear had maybe 1/32 of wear on...
  2. O

    Can someone explain why Cat minis configure their swing bushings/pins this way?

    Not an issue - more a curiosity I hope someone can explain I'd swapped out the swing pins/bushes on my 303.5ecr, but I'm racking my brain to figure out how they are supposed to work. Every other bushing/pin setup makes sense -- There is usually a moving/rotating part where the pin is captive...
  3. O

    Bought a used 303.5 - Scammed or just Stupid? Or both?

    Well it ain't all perfect, but it'll get the job done. Everything is put together and is as tight as it probably was from the factory. Whether the whole sleeve strategy will last the long haul is anyone's guess. Though the sleeves and bearings are in there... Enough to snap 3/4" allthread when I...
  4. O

    Bought a used 303.5 - Scammed or just Stupid? Or both?

    Just an update on a similar note - I have likely the world's most mentally unstable line bore setup. As someone guessed above, yeah it's a little bit too quick, but it's doing the job thus far. I figure if my plan here doesn't work, that I'll just do it again and learn more. For some dumb reason...
  5. O

    Cat Mini - Hydraulic quick coupler cylinder removal

    Disregard - figured it out. Using 1" square stock and a prybar, got another 1/8" or so of retraction in the ram, which was barely enough to wiggle the cylinder up and out. Turns out it wasn't as "tight" of a fit as there was concrete between the cylinder and wedge that needed to be chipped out..
  6. O

    Cat Mini - Hydraulic quick coupler cylinder removal

    On a cat 303.5 - The dual lock hydraulic pin grabber. The thing is leaking like a sieve, so I need to get the actual cylinder out to work on it, as well as do some machining on the frame itself. I've looked at this just about every way and, aside from disassembling the cylinder in-place, have...
  7. O

    Bought a used 303.5 - Scammed or just Stupid? Or both?

    I've got two stock bushings -- they are the same OD as that black plastic piece and there's an awfully large amount of daylight around them. I'm getting more okay with the idea of welding buildup and boring it down versus an oversize bore with a sleeve... the latter as you've said is another...
  8. O

    Bought a used 303.5 - Scammed or just Stupid? Or both?

    The seller finally returned my calls... when he mistakenly called back thinking I was his mechanic! Anyway, as expected, I was told to pound sand, noting it was my responsibility and all that.. Though he really stuck on that it was a 2016.... Even though I'd noted Cat had even said it was a...
  9. O

    Bought a used 303.5 - Scammed or just Stupid? Or both?

    My plan at this point is to bore it out another 10mm, see where that's at, then if that's not enough, do another 10mm. From there it'll be either a 5mm or 10mm wall sleeve with mostly an interference fit with maybe a tack or two just to make sure. I'll try and case harden the inside of the...
  10. O

    Bought a used 303.5 - Scammed or just Stupid? Or both?

    I have these, though - that photo of the pin through the stick is how it was running - no bushings left.. bone dry... All things considered, the rest of the stick/boom is as expected for the hours and the turntable is surprisingly tight... But that bucket end... Yeah it's a mess.
  11. O

    Bought a used 303.5 - Scammed or just Stupid? Or both?

    I can take photos later. Professionally am a mech/electrical engineer working on design/manufacture of telecom satellites. Background in a whole lot of different types of manufacture/fab. Knowledge of heavy equipment is obviously limited, apart from a handful of months looking for this guy. Thus...
  12. O

    Bought a used 303.5 - Scammed or just Stupid? Or both?

    I've tried to reach out a couple times, he'd noted that he would send all of his maint docs my way, but he's yet to return a call and no docs in hand... While I'm not sure if this is fraud, I do know for a fact that punching him in the face is 1st degree aggravated assault and will forever make...
  13. O

    Bought a used 303.5 - Scammed or just Stupid? Or both?

    For the actual condition of the machine, sure. I'm sure there are many tradesman where "it digs" means "it's in great shape". But calling it out as a 2016 when it was a 2013 when he was the one who bought it in 2013 (Cat verified this) makes me doubt that a bit.
  14. O

    Bought a used 303.5 - Scammed or just Stupid? Or both?

    My wife has always had issues dispatching our chickens.. so maybe doing so while beating me with them over this kills two birds with one stone, figuratively and literally speaking. Still blows my mind though that normal folk will knowingly burn people like that. Guy had his grandkids with him...
  15. O

    Bought a used 303.5 - Scammed or just Stupid? Or both?

    First off, I under-did the due diligence here. I asked most of the important questions over phone calls and come the day to look at/grab the machine, between pouring rain and just being an idiot, I left with the machine. Saw it start, really only looked at the slew/turntable critically to check...
See more
Top