Happy (and apprehensive) new owner of 955L: Questions

A track loader bucket is considerably stronger than a wheel loader bucket of similar or even larger size, especially for something like a 977. Arrow West has a couple 977 buckets listed. I think using line up pins and accurate cutting of ears would be a lot faster and easier than line boring. New buckets would have a jig for alignment. A jig could also be carefully made so line boring wouldn't be required. I can't see Cat or Weldco Beales, etc. line boring every single bucket they build. If you were cutting apart a bucket I think would be similar to how they remove bodies from cars for repairing or customizing. They make sure to tack enough braces on to hold everything in alignment. If a bucket "sprung" when cutting it apart, you'd have to fix that first before you worried about the pins lining up. Having pins lined up but a twisted bucket wouldn't be of much use. I've welded new ears on backhoe buckets using the bucket pins for alignment and they didn't require line boring. One bucket was a big rush job and was sent to a fab shop to finish the welding with flux-core. The ears pulled in slightly but they put a porta-power cylinder between the ears and then finished welding the outside to put the ears/pins in alignment. When I originally welded the top swing post back on my hoe, I had a piece of 2 1/2" DOM tubing turned down .005" to line up the top and bottom pivots. Everything went back together fine and no line boring was required. Careful welding and bracing made the difference. The bottom 1 1/2" thick ear was bent. I had to cut a V in it to straighten it but couldn't brace it in position. I had had it bent down about 30 deg's. to allow for the weld to shrink on cooling and pull it up. Once it got straight I tacked braces on so it wouldn't pull too much. If I had braced it straight and welded it would have way too much internal stress from the welding. It takes a lot of thought and knowing proper techniques but there can be ways to avoid having to line bore.

jacr said:

I need to arrange hauling. Looks like you're from around here - any suggestions?

Click to expand...

Not sure if you got your machine home yet, but here's a suggestion for finding trucking:
www.trusteddispatch.com. They are a service that connects trucks with loads. I got their name from an auction house in Alberta who does a crapload of sales in Ab. I have never used them myself but mostly because all the stuff I've bought from the auction can be trucked on the "less than load" type trucking. An outfit I've used a lot when moving entire sawmills was Q-Line trucking out of Saskatoon. They may not be the cheapest but they are professional. They moved a whole planermill for me from Boyle, Ab. to Arizona. (27 loads- I guess they wanted to plane cactuses down there.)

One thing to check carefully when arranging trucking is how much insurance the trucker has for the cargo. The most common seems to be $2 per pound. But some truck lines have something on the waybill where you can state the value of the equipment they are carrying for you.

It's always been a worry (at least for me) when that load is picked up by someone you don't know and may not have that much experience with your load...You don't want to have to fetch your new jewel out of the bottom of the Kootenay river!!

Photos when you get it!

Jon.

Welder Dave said:

Not sure but this may be a 955 bucket less than an hour away from Edmonton.

84” CAT LOADER BUCKET - perfect to make manure chuck blade!! | Heavy Equipment | St. Albert | Kijiji

Click to expand...

Well I ended up getting this bucket. Unfortunately, it seems like the company selling it are either lacking knowledge or integrity... it's not a CAT bucket as advertised... it's a JD bucket. I got it loaded and then went to WearPro for some teeth and the guy knew instantly that it wasn't for a 955. I've got a call in to the company that sold it. Let's see if they want to help in any way.

Here's a picture of the machine. First job is to rebuild the lift cylinders. Then I'll deal with the bucket(s). You can see that the tilt bucket is in pretty poor shape.

sawmilleng said:

Not sure if you got your machine home yet, but here's a suggestion for finding trucking:
www.trusteddispatch.com. They are a service that connects trucks with loads. I got their name from an auction house in Alberta who does a crapload of sales in Ab. I have never used them myself but mostly because all the stuff I've bought from the auction can be trucked on the "less than load" type trucking. An outfit I've used a lot when moving entire sawmills was Q-Line trucking out of Saskatoon. They may not be the cheapest but they are professional. They moved a whole planermill for me from Boyle, Ab. to Arizona. (27 loads- I guess they wanted to plane cactuses down there.)
Jon.

Click to expand...

Thanks. I submitted a bid on uship.ca
I ended up choosing a great guy (Barry) that is semi-retired. Fantastic service - he even unloaded it for me!
uship took quite a cut but the quotes were generally cheaper than the ones I found by calling around to bigger companies.

jacr said:

Here's a picture of the machine. First job is to rebuild the lift cylinders. Then I'll deal with the bucket(s). You can see that the tilt bucket is in pretty poor shape.

Click to expand...

The bucket is the least of problems on that machine, the under carriage is worn completely out.
Bob

Hi, Bluox,
How can you tell if the tracks are worn out? I don't think we've seen any photos where we could see the tracks....?

Jon.

sawmilleng said:

Hi, Bluox,
How can you tell if the tracks are worn out? I don't think we've seen any photos where we could see the tracks....?

Jon.

Click to expand...

Post 24.
Bob

Bluox said:

Post 24.
Bob

Click to expand...

Please tell me more... what are you seeing from the photo that is concerning?
Thanks

I can't see any post numbers but I assume you are referring to the latest photo that jacr posted.
It looks like the pins and bushes have worn enough to allow the pads to separate farther than normal when stretched around the front idler.
You need to measure across something like 5 track pitches, with the track stretched to get the average worn pitch-compare this to the unworn track pitch. I think Cat has information on how to do this, and doing it their way will give you a "percentage worn" number.

Jon.

Track adjuster is at the end of the track frame indicated not much adjustment left or already at the end. Top carrier roller is way past gone. Not a clear enough pic. even when blown up to tell what the rest is like. Rails look to still have some meat on them but pins and bushings could be shot. Sprocket looks like the teeth could be pointed. Pads look OK. I'm not sure if triple grouser tracks overlap as much as double grouser pads. Visually not a bad looking machine overall.
The bucket was listed as an 84" bucket. It didn't say what is was off. I haven't looked at enough buckets to know what might or might not be a 955 bucket. I just knew it seemed about the right width for a 955. If they specifically told you it was for a 955 then they should take it back and return your money. If they purposely mislead you to get a sale is a very poor business practice. If they tell you you are out of luck, you may have to consult a lawyer. It all depends on what was said prior to the sale. Might not be too huge of a job to adapt to your machine but would cost some. Have to talk to a fabrication shop or welder that works on heavy equipment.

Welder Dave said:

Track adjuster is at the end of the track frame indicated not much adjustment left or already at the end. Top carrier roller is way past gone. Not a clear enough pic. even when blown up to tell what the rest is like. Rails look to still have some meat on them but pins and bushings could be shot. Sprocket looks like the teeth could be pointed. Pads look OK. I'm not sure if triple grouser tracks overlap as much as double grouser pads. Visually not a bad looking machine overall.
The bucket was listed as an 84" bucket. It didn't say what is was off. I haven't looked at enough buckets to know what might or might not be a 955 bucket. I just knew it seemed about the right width for a 955. If they specifically told you it was for a 955 then they should take it back and return your money. If they purposely mislead you to get a sale is a very poor business practice. If they tell you you are out of luck, you may have to consult a lawyer. It all depends on what was said prior to the sale. Might not be too huge of a job to adapt to your machine but would cost some. Have to talk to a fabrication shop or welder that works on heavy equipment.

Click to expand...

Thanks Dave. I'll work through those things and try and figure out what to start with. I knew about the top roller. How can I tell if the sprocket teeth are gone? Is there a measurement? They look fairly pointed and they are not semi-circular - more like a stretched out U. I'll post some close up pictures.

Re Bucket - they said it was a CAT bucket and likely off a 955. Even if they want to take it back I'm a good 10 hour drive away - that's a fair cost in diesel!

sawmilleng said:

I can't see any post numbers but I assume you are referring to the latest photo that jacr posted.
It looks like the pins and bushes have worn enough to allow the pads to separate farther than normal when stretched around the front idler.
You need to measure across something like 5 track pitches, with the track stretched to get the average worn pitch-compare this to the unworn track pitch. I think Cat has information on how to do this, and doing it their way will give you a "percentage worn" number.

Jon.

Click to expand...

Thanks Jon. I found the measurement spec for 4 track pitches in my newly arrived manual. I assume there must be a way to stretch the track when the adjustment is already at the end.

Your sprocket is not worn out yet it has worn to match the track pitch.
You will have to short track ,remove one track link to continue using those tracks.
Check the leaking cylinder rod gland for a cap bolted to the gland,if there is and it has shims left pull one shim and that might slow the leak down.
Bob

jacr said:

Thanks Dave. I'll work through those things and try and figure out what to start with. I knew about the top roller. How can I tell if the sprocket teeth are gone? Is there a measurement? They look fairly pointed and they are not semi-circular - more like a stretched out U. I'll post some close up pictures.

Re Bucket - they said it was a CAT bucket and likely off a 955. Even if they want to take it back I'm a good 10 hour drive away - that's a fair cost in diesel!

Click to expand...

Did you mention you were looking for a 955 bucket first or ask them what the bucket was off without mentioning 955? If the former, I'd bet they told you what you wanted to hear in order to sell it. If they said LIKELY should have raised some red flags if it was for a 955 or not. If they said it WAS off a 955 they probably purposely mislead you. If that's the case they should pay some of your fuel costs to return it. Always good to look at your existing bucket/machine and take some measurements so you can be sure attachments will fit. It can be made to fit but will cost some to do. Maybe you could cut the ears off your existing side dump bucket and adapt them to the new bucket??? This would save some money and the side dump isn't really desirable for anyone.

jacr said:

Thanks Jon. I found the measurement spec for 4 track pitches in my newly arrived manual. I assume there must be a way to stretch the track when the adjustment is already at the end.

Click to expand...

Just run the machine up against something that won't move and push a little, then lock the brakes and measure between pitches on the bottom side of the track. It should be tight if you spun the track a little. The hanging track on the topside between the carrier rolls and the front idler can usually be considered tight as well, although it isn't exactly straight it is prob'ly "close 'nuff".
Jon.

man you guys have really diagnosed this from one weak photo? That's impressive!!

Well it took me ages to get the seals done on the lift cylinders - mostly because I got distracted by too many other projects over the summer. I'm glad to say that they are finally done and no leaks. I had to get the nut removed (and retightened) at a machine shop. I tried the methods shown in previous posts but it wouldn't budge. They needed a torque multiplier to get it off.

The snow started pretty early this year and I got to try out the machine to clear our driveway a couple of times. I haven't driven the machine before so not really sure what to expect. The control lever for the lift is much stiffer than the tilt - is this an adjustment?

We had another dump of snow last night. It started up fine with the new battery that I'd just installed. The bucket lifts and tilts BUT the machine won't move. Arghh. I didn't notice anything strange when I last used it.

I looked in the manual and it said to check transmission oil. Under the floor pan in front of the seat there are 2 filler caps with dipsticks. It looks slightly different in the manual that I have. The back one is full but looks milky (water in the oil?). The front one is empty. I think this one is the transmission. Could it being empty cause the lack of movement? I believe I need 10W oil (potentially quite a lot of it). Before I make the trip into town (90 min drive) I thought I'd check for advice in case I should check anything else.

Thank you

jacr said:

I looked in the manual and it said to check transmission oil. Under the floor pan in front of the seat there are 2 filler caps with dipsticks. It looks slightly different in the manual that I have.

Click to expand...

I suppose the first question is do you have the correct manual corresponding to your machine Serial Number.?
You should have Publication Reference SEBU6520 which covers machines in the Serial Number range 85J3651-10128.

If you want to get hold of a copy it can be downloaded from https://catpublications.com/ for $30. Just search for SEBU6520.

Nige said:

I suppose the first question is do you have the correct manual corresponding to your machine Serial Number.?
You should have Publication Reference SEBU6520 which covers machines in the Serial Number range 85J3651-10128.

If you want to get hold of a copy it can be downloaded from https://catpublications.com/ for $30. Just search for SEBU6520.

Click to expand...

Yes, I purchased that one already.