D8R dozer undercarriage replacement

I agree with nicky68a but have to say that Caterpillar "REQUIRES" their dealers to run training programs that all their service staff attends every year. There is apparently a problem there that needs to be illuminated and addressed at mid management level or higher. I would suggest a conversation with the branch service manager and working up until you reach someone who can actually do something about it. Corporate service managers usually do something and if not you can contact that Cat service rep for that dealer area.

Having plenty of experience in these types of issues, problems swept under the rug continue to happen. Most of the time they aren't addressed until either lots of noise is made and/or it costs someone else some money. If it was missed on your machine, it was missed on everybody else's machine as well. Good Luck!

I had a similar experience with our Cat dealer in Latvia Avesco.
Dozer had a problem with power loss and some errors that needed to be read. I contacted the dealer to arrive and make a diagnosis. Arrived, read the errors carelessly, said that the injectors were probably to blame for the loss of power. However, they did not want to check it themselves and gave incorrect instructions on how to do it. In the end, the right information came from this forum- Nige. Then the maintenance information was not accurate either and I did not do some important things during the maintenance. Here, again Nige came to the rescue with instructions.
In the end, I realized that our dealer doesn't care about long-term cooperation, the main thing is to get some money at the end of the day.
I would be willing to entrust all this work to professionals, but they are not, so I am forced to do it myself, although I simply do not have time.

ahart said:

Sounds like we’re gonna be adding another 30K to the price tag if he doesn’t get this 40% fuel dilution figured out. That’s way north of engine damage if it’s had much run time. I can’t imagine it would have any oil pressure if it had that much fuel in it.

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Exactly , motor may not last long enough to wear the paint off a new set of tracks

John C, In my most humbled opinion, dealerships and companies across the board have all fallen to the same problem of what I call “corporatism” meaning that they think every person in their company can be developed and trained if you just give them enough time and classes. Though I have not been in this business as long as many of you all, I have been around long enough to see the problem. The issue is, customer satisfaction with the dealer is steadily going down. As it applies to this thread, when the “big white truck” shows up, they expect the guy to know what he’s doing when his boots hit the ground. When I started in the heavy equipment business, the “old guys” hadn’t yet retired. I worked with them for a couple months in the beginning and saw first hand how they handled it when someone called for assistance without first covering their bases. When I had something I was struggling with (still applies today) I damn sure didn’t call someone for help until I could recite the systems operation and knew every electrical check I should have done and every pressure check that should be done. I would literally drown them with data. Basically, I have the skills, knowledge and ability to develop myself. That’s exactly what it takes in this or any other business. No one can or should rely on a company to “make” them who they are. That’s where companies are missing the boat, all they can do is provide employees with the opportunity to be great. Unfortunately, few have the desire or the skills to take advantage of it. A guy I used to work with, who’s actually younger than me BTW, said “In this business, you can be stupid or you can be lazy, but you can’t be both”
if someone could kindly set this train back on the tracks, we can resume this undercarriage discussion.

ahart said:

John C, In my most humbled opinion, dealerships and companies across the board have all fallen to the same problem of what I call “corporatism” meaning that they think every person in their company can be developed and trained if you just give them enough time and classes. Though I have not been in this business as long as many of you all, I have been around long enough to see the problem. The issue is, customer satisfaction with the dealer is steadily going down. As it applies to this thread, when the “big white truck” shows up, they expect the guy to know what he’s doing when his boots hit the ground. When I started in the heavy equipment business, the “old guys” hadn’t yet retired. I worked with them for a couple months in the beginning and saw first hand how they handled it when someone called for assistance without first covering their bases. When I had something I was struggling with (still applies today) I damn sure didn’t call someone for help until I could recite the systems operation and knew every electrical check I should have done and every pressure check that should be done. I would literally drown them with data. Basically, I have the skills, knowledge and ability to develop myself. That’s exactly what it takes in this or any other business. No one can or should rely on a company to “make” them who they are. That’s where companies are missing the boat, all they can do is provide employees with the opportunity to be great. Unfortunately, few have the desire or the skills to take advantage of it. A guy I used to work with, who’s actually younger than me BTW, said “In this business, you can be stupid or you can be lazy, but you can’t be both”
if someone could kindly set this train back on the tracks, we can resume this undercarriage discussion.

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I don't think the machine is worth putting a cent into the tracks without assessing the whole tractor . The dozer could so easy end up costing well over 100,000 to get it working properly

You all are forgetting the income and replacement values of the machine in your off the cuff considerations. Average retail asking on any D8R right now is $148K and change. Average auction is $67K and change. Rental costs for a D8T are going to be over $10K a month. Just from those three dollar figures it would appear that another tractor of similar age and hours is going to cost at least as much as the repairs needed on this machine, Any of those will likely need similar repairs.

The OP I'm sure knows the amount of the income he expects to get out of the tractor. He came here looking for background info only. The decision on what to do going forward is his alone.

epirbalex said:

I don't think the machine is worth putting a cent into the tracks without assessing the whole tractor . The dozer could so easy end up costing well over 100,000 to get it working properly

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Every job I do with this machine brings 40-80. I have 7 jobs lined up.

ugis said:

I had a similar experience with our Cat dealer in Latvia Avesco.
Dozer had a problem with power loss and some errors that needed to be read. I contacted the dealer to arrive and make a diagnosis. Arrived, read the errors carelessly, said that the injectors were probably to blame for the loss of power. However, they did not want to check it themselves and gave incorrect instructions on how to do it. In the end, the right information came from this forum- Nige. Then the maintenance information was not accurate either and I did not do some important things during the maintenance. Here, again Nige came to the rescue with instructions.
In the end, I realized that our dealer doesn't care about long-term cooperation, the main thing is to get some money at the end of the day.
I would be willing to entrust all this work to professionals, but they are not, so I am forced to do it myself, although I simply do not have time.

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Yes I have the same experience. Cat doesn't know what the hell they're doing. I couldn't even get the right parts when I ordered the same as I ordered before. Now I gotta show they already charged me because they want to charge again. They sent half the parts to a wrong dealer and couldn't find them.. they said they'd refund all the shipping costs for the mistake.. I just got a call after 3 weeks asking when I'm gonna get my parts I ordered... After reminding them what the situation was and they're supposed to refund, they said oh yeah that part is still lost and that's when they said they want to charge me again.

Nige, unfortunately the days of cat caring about customers or know what they're doing is over.

You are the great hope for so many now. My opinion.

James Sorochan said:

Robert. Is this you with 5 kids and 7 jobs? Maybe Hyperbole, I get it. You need to slow down. This may or may not relate to your situation but I think it might be part of the problem. You mentioned that you forget to eat sometimes. You need to eat to think clearly. Your starving your brain. For many years I was always in a rush to get to the next job, thing, whatever I felt needed to get done without first completing what was right in front of me. Things tended to pile up internally always bugging me without realizing there was anything wrong. Some good friends constantly pointed this out to me but I couldn't grasp it for several years. I'm just starting to get it now. Again.....slow down. Take care to eat properly. If you are not already, start eating organic. Drink clean filtered water. There is lots can be said but I'll stop here for now on the personal stuff.

On the dozer..... You say the salesman who sold you the machine claimed it needed nothing major in regards to repairs? Was anything put down in writing or just verbal. Was the machine a consignment or trade-in. Did it go through the dealer shop at all. Any records of any sort? I have to agree with both Nige and John. They are both right from what I see here. I would take this entire thread and sit down with the Cat salesman and the manager and respectfully ask many of the pertinent questions that have been brought up here at HEF. Humble yourself. At the end of the day you have to take responsibility for this. " Your the man". I would hope the dealer will work with you and help cover some of the cost. It's really up to the Lord either way.

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Thank you for this. Yes, it's difficult to slow down with the mortgage but I agree with you I need to. I was forced to take sat and Sunday off this weekend. It was nice.

I plan to sit with them and see what can be done.

Robert0769 said:

Yes I have the same experience. Cat doesn't know what the hell they're doing. I couldn't even get the right parts when I ordered the same as I ordered before. Now I gotta show they already charged me because they want to charge again. They sent half the parts to a wrong dealer and couldn't find them.. they said they'd refund all the shipping costs for the mistake.. I just got a call after 3 weeks asking when I'm gonna get my parts I ordered... After reminding them what the situation was and they're supposed to refund, they said oh yeah that part is still lost and that's when they said they want to charge me again.

Nige, unfortunately the days of cat caring about customers or know what they're doing is over.

You are the great hope for so many now. My opinion.

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Maybe for Caterpillar , if a Komatsu dealership acted like I've been reading they would lose their dealership . Mistakes happen with any brand or business but their is a pattern with Caterpillar and I know of a few horror stories local .

Robert0769 said:

Every job I do with this machine brings 40-80. I have 7 jobs lined up.

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There is a risk with this tractor that its not going to be able to do them without major issues .

epirbalex said:

There is a risk with this tractor that its not going to be able to do them without major issues .

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I've had it since 2019. Replaced one final drive, implementation pump, patched same left chain twice now. Over time with oil changes the trans has cleaned out from all the rubber and such from first gear wear plates. Doing the mechanic work myself helps a lot with cost. About to do engine exhaust manifold gasket and investigate fuel in engine. Been putting this thing back together again a while. I know her dirty secrets. A new machine will carry unknowns. Now I know about the pivot and others, I kept asking cat because it seemed weird not to have maintenance. Should have checked online book but trusted cat. I should learn by now with other stuff, don't trust. It's a good machine. Next thing that breaks I'll repair. Eventually it will be new.. ha!

epirbalex said:

Maybe for Caterpillar , if a Komatsu dealership acted like I've been reading they would lose their dealership . Mistakes happen with any brand or business but their is a pattern with Caterpillar and I know of a few horror stories local .

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Yes the first machine I wanted to buy was cat excavator. They pushed me away from that by not knowing their product and also being non responsive. I contacted komatsu and got the smart excavator with auto assist. Thank you cat for that one.

Some companies get so big they forget how or why they got there. Cat is no different. Once the customer service goes downhill opens the door for the competition. Lincoln Electric has always had a kind of arrogance towards other brands, they instill it in their sales reps. They generally make a good product but opened the door wide open for Miller to be right up there maybe even bigger. Lincoln was very reluctant to get into Mig welders and were very late to the party. They lost countless sales because of it. They pretty much had to get with the program. Reading about all the problems with a new Cat 150 grader should be enough to convince most customers to at least consider other brands. It was in N America not somewhere in the middle of nowhere with very few dealers.

I see that you are in Oceanside. Is your dealer Johnson, Quinn, Hawthorne or other? It's been a while since I've lived/done work in SoCal and I know that there have been some changes and acquisitions since I left there over 20 years ago. That being said, Quinn was my dealer back in those days and they set the bar pretty high back then. Even still, there were some instances when I had to "call them on their sh!t", and when I did, they responded and made things right.
Certainly you should go higher up the chain to discuss your issues. You might be surprised at what may come of this before you just write them off as not giving a poop. I have also seen the personnel, and corporate issues that are being mentioned here. That being said I still believe that if you go up the chain high enough you will get some assistance.
Furthermore, we all ultimately have to take responsibility for our own situation/s. Per what he is saying the OP has likely bit off more than he can chew (as it relates to the machine, and his workload) and this is something that many of us (especially those of us who own our own businesses) have to learn about....Sometimes the hard way. Many of us have done so and, thankfully, many of us have learned immensely from this. That being said I feel that both parties (the OP and the dealership) have some responsibility here if the scenario is being told accurately. As you are now attending the school of hard knocks, you have seen the value of good support. If you can't find the support you need from CAT (which in my experience with more than one dealer, in more than one state, and also experiencing a decline as has been mentioned here, still feel they are top of the class) then maybe unloading this particular D8, and switching brands might be the way to go.
As it relates to spending the money on this machine, I think that there is wisdom in seeing this one through the repair (as John C, and the OP have eluded to). At least it will then be a mostly known commodity.
To the OP: I feel you and all your struggles. I am routing for you. I hope that the engine does not become another trouble spot for you and that you can get the fuel leakage issue taken care of, inexpensively and with out finding any further damage.
As it relates to the original query this thread has gone a little bit off the rails (pun intended). Is there anything else the OP needs to know about which way to go with regard to purchasing aftermarket or OEM?
I think it was Nick that suggested that CAT U/C was the highest cost per hour. Is this true? If so, which is the least cost per hour?
In my experience I have found that the CAT parts usually cost more but work out to be a lesser cost per hour due to the extended life span. I don't have any dozer U/C replacement experience so I would love to see where a discussion about this would go.

You shouldn't have to go up the chain to get proper service. A good dealer should do it for you if need be. It makes me think of the dreaded D6C thread where Cat actually did make it right but was a long painfully slow process to get there. The dealer made a lot of mistakes and wasn't taking any responsibility for them. The owner made mistakes too but was relying on the dealer. If the dealers don't know the machines they sell perhaps they should spend the required time learning them inside out, especially maintainence wise.

Welder Dave said:

You shouldn't have to go up the chain to get proper service. A good dealer should do it for you if need be. It makes me think of the dreaded D6C thread where Cat actually did make it right but was a long painfully slow process to get there. The dealer made a lot of mistakes and wasn't taking any responsibility for them. The owner made mistakes too but was relying on the dealer. If the dealers don't know the machines they sell perhaps they should spend the required time learning them inside out, especially maintainence wise.

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I fully agree with you...And if one is not getting those results, going up the chain is the next course of action, and certainly better than just resigning to the situation.

DGODGR said:

As it relates to the original query this thread has gone a little bit off the rails (pun intended). Is there anything else the OP needs to know about which way to go with regard to purchasing aftermarket or OEM?
I think it was Nick that suggested that CAT U/C was the highest cost per hour. Is this true? If so, which is the least cost per hour?
In my experience I have found that the CAT parts usually cost more but work out to be a lesser cost per hour due to the extended life span. I don't have any dozer U/C replacement experience so I would love to see where a discussion about this would go.

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What about these questions? I think they would go a long way in serving the OP and HEF in general.