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D8l

CatSkinner77V

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2007
Messages
228
Location
Sperling, Manitoba, CANADA
Occupation
Earthmoving business owner
Movability and useability are two very different things. I love my old D9G, I would use it on every job if i could, but it just doesn't make sense to move it 50 miles for a 100 hour bush clearing job or garbage dump push. So the 8's usually go and the 9 sits in the yard most of the time, unless we have have a good few weeks or more work for it at one site.
Funny, I have owned numerous D8K's and D8H's and I have had nothing but good luck with the D342 -low RPM high oil pressure engine.But of course, a rebuilt after 18-20 thousand hours is more than expected. Never in a thousand years will you ever find a V-8 diesel in anything I own, they quit putting them in highway tractors years ago for a reason.
 

john1066

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2009
Messages
211
Location
attleboro ma
we haven't had any trouble with the 8l we move it all over it doesn't seem to be rattling apart we rebuilt the engine tranny and tourqe converter at 20,000 hrs and havent had any trouble with it since. the undercarrige doesnt wear any different the the rest of the cat dozers. i think some people just don't like change
 

surfer-joe

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2007
Messages
1,403
Location
Arizona
I hated the early D9L's. Seems like the coal mine in Kentucky I was at did most of the R&D work on the dern things for Cat. Cat made lots of mistakes on them having to do with undersize retainers (bolts) and other things. (I had a bunch of very low serial number units. 14Y100 on down) Lot's of new ideas on them and they sure did have teething problems. 84W D10's were just as bad.

BUT, I learned a lot about D9L's that helped me later on, the most important of which was that you had to look at the entire machine several times a day if you were ever to hold it together. So preshift, lunch, and post shift, my mechanics and I would do walk arounds looking for leaks, loose hardware and anything that just wasn't right. We pried into everything. If it was loose we tightened it. If it leaked we fixed that. All right away. Larger problems we learned to take care of as soon as possible.

We pioneered the use of using larger bolts to hold the fuel tanks, filters, and fenders on. Had to buy the rubber bushings from the manufacturer as Cat didn't have them yet. We tried everything in the book and then some on hardbars, pins and bushings. Cat was still having trouble with that area ten years later. We had a local machine shop re-machine the hard bars if they weren't broke. Hard nose pins and bushings we also swapped for larger items. Had those custom made. I dropped using Cat radiator cores and went to the Mesabi products. Lots less trouble for the same price initially. Repairs were a lot cheaper.

A good running D8L was a pleasure to run doing general dozer work or punching scrapers. I used one behind a D9H pushcat in Maryland shoving 651B's thorough a cut and gosh, that was fun. The 8L would actually out push that 9, but the 9 was a little tired I have to admit. This particular 8 also got a Mesabi core. Cat didn't have a core on the east coast anyway, so it wasn't a hard decision.

I never had a whole lot of trouble with the 3400 V series engines in 8's or 9's. I kept them up to snuff with tune-ups and updates and they were power houses. Both could be tweaked upwards quite a bit, but as the rest of the drivetrain was not up to that, didn't do it much. A good running D348 in a D10 that stayed together was rare and were essentially boat anchors so far as I was concerned. I’ve spent a lot of money keeping 84W’s going……
 

gd10r

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2008
Messages
69
Location
Denver, Colorado
Some of My D8L Photos

I have always liked them. When paying hourly for ripping, it said D8 on the side and was cheaper than the ones that said D9. We see quite a few here in the Denver area, they (As well as 9N's and 9R and 9T) machines can move down the road legal and in "full work clothes". I have some photos, some I took and others were "borrowed" from the internet or here. My apologies if anyone is offendend.
The units with the blue ROPS were working a big rock ex job and were keeping up with two D9R machines pretty well. When the 9R's werent shoving scrapers around. Graham
 

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JTL

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
761
Location
Pacific Nortwest U.S.A.
Occupation
IUOE Local 302
My only experince with a 8L was very disapointing, to say the least. I hadnt been cat-skinning very long, and I got put on an 8L one day, pioneering. It had a full U and that goofy ripper that wouldnt stay in the ground. I dont know what the problem was, but I couldnt carry a flat grade to save my life! I would be easing along, in 1st gear, half throttle, and that blade would dig in like a hoe! Let the fun begin! Stop, back up, start over-same crap. If I was able to get a blade load, it would seem to push more material than it would carry. I was so P.O.ed at quitting time, I asked the boss to give me my scrapper back! The next day, a real awesome skinner got on that thing and was having the same trouble. He fought that thing for 3 weeks, then the job was done, so we all left.
My next experince with a L series was a late 9L. What an awesome Cat! Full U blade, the good ripper. I have nothing bad to say about that one. Run and push like hell all day long.
The last time I ran one, it was a 9L set up as a push cat. Pushin chushin's on both ends. It had been upgraded to a HUEI engine, and when pushing tandem, would out work the two 10N's in the next cut.
Jason
 

fiat41b

Senior Member
Joined
Jul 15, 2008
Messages
352
Location
pawnee il.
hey gd10 thats one of those Freesen tractors from back here where im from it has the hook for pulling scrapers although that one does not have the wide tracks nice pictures.
 

Northart

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
Messages
761
Location
Talkeetna, Alaska
Maintenance ?

Hello Catskinner77V , and Surferjoe,

Maybe I had an exceptional run of luck , after reading your posts, but I run the Cat D8L, D9L, D10-84W for different contractors.

Nothing but solid performers ! What can I say ?? :)

My experience with the "N" series, geez I don't prefer not to talk about, just gutless wonders ! Same with that Cat D5 ?? all series, wonder why they even made it ? Just never fit in the scheme of construction.
Maybe for the little guy ,???

Hallelujah when the Cat "R" series showed up. :) Same with the "T" Series. Doing good! :usa
 

JTL

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
761
Location
Pacific Nortwest U.S.A.
Occupation
IUOE Local 302
hey gd10 thats one of those Freesen tractors from back here where im from it has the hook for pulling scrapers although that one does not have the wide tracks nice pictures.
When I was in the 7th or 8th grade, I was with my dad somewhere in South Dakota on I-90. We stopped up on an over-pass to watch some 627's (I think) working on a strech of the freeway. There was one of those wide pad
8L's with a hook on the ripper, pulling the scrappers through this huge mud hole the where trying to muck out. There was also one on the back pushing, but he wouldnt go far, till the front Cat hooked up and finished getting him through.
Just last summer, dad and me were looking through a stack of old Kodak 110 pictures he had, and I remember seeing that. I wish he lived a bit closer to me, so I could go and get them and scan them to my computer.
Jason
 

Northart

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
Messages
761
Location
Talkeetna, Alaska
Blade Pitch ?

Hello JTL,

Are you sure, you did not have the dozer blade pitched too far forward ?? ON the D8L ?

Too far forward on a Full "U" dozer, you will NEVER cut or carry grade, in dirt,gravel,etc. That forward pitch angle is for rock work alone.

Actually a straight dozer is for rock work.

In real life, I had to teach a Stanford ,Purdue, Yale ?? forgot which of them "idiots" LOL :) project managers , how to select equipment for the right application. Straight dozer vs. U dozer for rock work !

Showed another "Star" project manager what an "idiot" he was, also. He fired a few catskinners, for not being able to carry grade with coarse gravels. Rightfully so. These guys never knew how to adjust the pitch angle, or tilt on the dozer.

Took me 15 minutes to figure out what was going wrong, adjusted the pitch and started carrying grade. He thought I was Mananna (Biblical bread ) from heaven. LOL :)

Anyway , :)
 

JTL

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
761
Location
Pacific Nortwest U.S.A.
Occupation
IUOE Local 302
Hello Northart,
If I remember right, the blade pitch adjuster was welded solid. Im sure that had alot to do with it!
I know what you mean about educated idiots. I worked for Kiewit for a year!!
I perfer a SU over a full U for everything, exept when on a fill dozer. An SU in a slot, wheater its rock or dirt, will outperform a U any day. On the fill, its tough to beat a U. Especially when pushing 1 foot lifts dumped from a Payhauler, 773 or 605 Komatsu with a D8N. Gets real fun to build a fill with a new Komatsu 155 with that stupid new 'W' shaped blade they came up with.
Jason
 

Northart

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
Messages
761
Location
Talkeetna, Alaska
Education ?

Hello JTL,

Yep, it was one of the "PK" know it all's. I was just a 30's something catskinner at the time.

Showed him the difference. And a few other thing' s.

Saved him from being an idiot, in the eyes of a few others.

Actually he took a liking to me, for that education. LOL :)

Simple physics of the machines. They never understood till someone got into their face mean. LOL . What can I say.

Later, the guy was acknowledged to be a ??? Star ?? by his peers, but Mother Nature intervened, ?? , died from a brain aneyurism ?? , young guy yet. Hhmmn.

Anyway, ...........
 

Northart

Senior Member
Joined
Dec 2, 2007
Messages
761
Location
Talkeetna, Alaska
Enclosed ROPS ?

Are you talking about an enclosed cab ?

As the cab is seperate from the ROPS .


Or are you talking about the heavy screen guarding on the ROPS as in a Forestry Pkg ? Protection against tree limbs , etc.
 

john1066

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2009
Messages
211
Location
attleboro ma
we found the cab for ours on iron planet and paid 2500 for it it cost more to get the heater for it from cat. if you look around im sure there are a few out there
 

Dug Overburden

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2008
Messages
136
Location
california
Occupation
trucker
D8L rippers

I mentioned in an earlier post in this thread, that some contractors replaced the narrow beam ripper with a D9H ripper. In gd10r's pictures there is a photo.

This photos looks to be from a Max Rouse & Sons borchure?

Dug

This could even be a D8K ripper assembly...
 

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counter

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2007
Messages
138
Location
usa
Occupation
manager
im new!I LOVE ,heavy equipment!my dad ran that stuff, for ever! im 51, and went to work with dad many times
 

gd10r

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 10, 2008
Messages
69
Location
Denver, Colorado
YESSSS that is a Rouse brochure, the company is cherokee from CA, probally long gone now. I have that on the bb in front of my work table (toys). G
 

bigdieselrig

New Member
Joined
Oct 21, 2008
Messages
3
Location
Winnipeg,MB
The Cat D8L is the most powerful D8 at 335HP that Caterpillar ever made, the only other D8 models that were close to the D8L's horsepower rating is the D8R and the new D8T. The new D8T's flywheel horsepower is 310HP and the D8R's horsepower rating is 305HP. I guess when the D8L came out you could make really big horsepower and burn lot's fuel doing it. But now machines have too do more work and burn less fuel doing it and on top of that they have to keep meeting ever stricter emissions standards.
 
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