Cat 951-C in my sights

Here’s my bet. The hose shop were going to make the replacement hose using crimped (as opposed to reusable) ends, and quoted it that way. Cat reusable fittings only work with Cat hose AFAIK, and today even a lot of Cat dealers only use crimped ends. Right there IMHO is the difference between $150 & $500.

Some places are ridiculous with their hose prices especially on larger size hoses. I had heard that with all the extra steps and labour required for Cat reusable fittings it didn't save anything over crimp fittings like Cat used to claim in their marketing. May be why for the most part they don't do reusable fittings anymore.

Co-Op has off road diesel at $1.40 gal. I had about twenty gal in the transfer tank in the back of the F250 and decided to take advantage of the price and fill the transfer tank for work this spring. I got the fuel and started the twenty five mile drive back home. I got about three miles and the old 7.3 diesel engine quit, just like you had cut the switch off. No amount of roadside bleeding of the fuel lines produced fuel when cracking injector lines.

After a long while, and now low batteries, I called a rollback and had it towed. The $250.00 tow bill was covered by my insurance. The truck spent the night in the shop, charging both batteries. I went out this morning and bled the fuel lines and it fired right up. Process of elimination points to the fuel shut off solenoid not working properly. I think that the, "normally closed" solenoid must stop working when the engine heats up. As it is working now, it ts hard to prove that it is malfunctioning, but for the thirty bucks for a replacement, and a three bolt job, I see a new solenoid as a real good investment.

Nige and Dave, I think that you are right on with the reason for the high cost of the hose. I replaced the same hose on my 951C last year. It was $103.00 at Thompson Cat, with new ends, but was quoted a little less to re use my old ends, and that would have been plus tax.

Thanks for the help guys!

Nitelite said:

Co-Op has off road diesel at $1.40 gal. I had about twenty gal in the transfer tank in the back of the F250 and decided to take advantage of the price and fill the transfer tank for work this spring. I got the fuel and started the twenty five mile drive back home. I got about three miles and the old 7.3 diesel engine quit, just like you had cut the switch off. No amount of roadside bleeding of the fuel lines produced fuel when cracking injector lines.

After a long while, and now low batteries, I called a rollback and had it towed. The $250.00 tow bill was covered by my insurance. The truck spent the night in the shop, charging both batteries. I went out this morning and bled the fuel lines and it fired right up. Process of elimination points to the fuel shut off solenoid not working properly. I think that the, "normally closed" solenoid must stop working when the engine heats up. As it is working now, it ts hard to prove that it is malfunctioning, but for the thirty bucks for a replacement, and a three bolt job, I see a new solenoid as a real good investment.

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I would also look at the cam sensor, they were known as the weak link it the 7.3's and simple to replace. I'd keep one handy and a 10mm wrench in case it happens again.

Thanks for the reply Peej. I bought the F250 new in 1989. It is thirty three years old and the 7.3 is not a power stroke, but is a naturally aspirated engine. It now has 77,000 miles on it. Always garage kept and looks/drives like new. Not sure, but I doubt that it has a cam sensor. Once the starter does its job, the only electrical component involved in the running of that engine is the fuel cut off solenoid. That solenoid was shipped today and due to arrive on May 6.

Old Powerstroke Manual pump!! Roosa Master and simple.

Thanks for the help guys! CAT came through.
Brakes are adjusted, new hose is on... Next is bucket repair and bucket cylinder rebuilt.
Any suggestions on the bucket

It looks like you have the piece that broke out. I would grind bevels on the piece and the bucket at fit it back together. You might want to tack in place first and then grind from the other side. Depends how it fits. Then preheat it to about 400 deg's. and weld it with 7018 or maybe 8018(C3). Most 8018 is 8018C3 (1% nickel for extra toughness). You could use specialty high tensile electrodes but I think an XX18 would be fine. Tack it in place and weld the bottom first. Then grind into the bottom weld from the top for 100% penetration. You could do the top first but grinding on the bottom would be harder. If you took the next tooth over off you could clamp a piece of flat bar or channel iron to hold the piece flat for tacking it place. Grind/clean out the side and fill it with weld for 100% penetration. You could put a reinforcing plate on the outside of the bucket going up the side (leave it up about 3/8" from the bottom to get a good weld on the piece you're welding back in). You could possibly put a piece on the inside too if the tooth is far enough away to have space. Peen the welds while hot between passes with a dull chipping hammer. Cat or aftermarket may have a new tooth adaptor to bolt on.

Judging appearance had been cracked long before came out, just by lack of shine in that break area. Follow WDs instructions will get the bucket back. Maybe invest in some AR plate and reinforce across the weld and between the teeth so less apt to flex while working so can get you by for awhile. Just a opinion, if is that thin as noted by the adaptor chunk the old bucket may be due for a refloor/cutting edge and tools lip as well side edges. Good winter project.

Well, actually being able to turn that 955K without begging and praying that it will turn will be a treat. The hose saga also came out well. The broke bucket corner is not as bad as it could have been. In general, that is one tough, good old machine.

The best repair would be to cut out the entire cutting edge and weld a new one in but that's a lot more work. You might be able to also add a bolt on cutting edge or even weld another edge on the bottom of the existing one after the corner is repaired. The only thing is you'd have to get new teeth adaptors and weld them on.

I am sure that Jim will contact a local welder to assess the damage. He will also consider the opinions expressed here on HEF. Sounds like there are several options. Keeping in mind that this is a farm machine used for occasional maintenance work on a five acre tract, I doubt that it will see a lot of abuse once the new house is completed and grade work is done.

You are right about the crack Miller, Jim said there was rust inside the broken place that made it apparent that there was a previous crack..

On a farm machine that isn't getting heavily hammered on a regular basis I'd just grind it all clean, bevel it all and build up plenty of weld thickness with 7018. Put a bit of reinforcement at the corner where it needs to be strong, there's not much room with the tooth being there but any metal you add will help.
A half decent welder will do a good enough job that it should never break there again, it's not a challenging job.

Thanks for the reply Bill. I think the biggest challenge will be to locate a local welder that has mobile self contained welding service.

I came down with Fournier's Gangrene due to the medication, Jardiance, that was prescribed for my heart disease and diabetes. Turns out that the Chloracne that I got in the service, due to Agent Orange exposure in 1967 created the perfect storm for the Gangrene. It is hard to believe that 54 years later it came around again to bite me in the butt.

I was in the VA hospital, unconscious, from July 1st, until July 31st. The doctor cut out forty one pounds of rotten flesh from my scrotum to three inches above my navel. It is expected that it will take a year or more for me to get over it. My entire lower abdomen has been reconstructed by plastic surgery. I was given a 4.7% chance to survive the surgery, a 12% chance to make it sixty days, and a 17% chance to make it 180 days. The 180 days will be up on December 3rd. I have big future plans.

All well wishes to you and your family in this trying times.

Nitelite said:

I came down with Fournier's Gangrene due to the medication, Jardiance, that was prescribed for my heart disease and diabetes. Turns out that the Chloracne that I got in the service, due to Agent Orange exposure in 1967 created the perfect storm for the Gangrene. It is hard to believe that 54 years later it came around again to bite me in the butt.

I was in the VA hospital, unconscious, from July 1st, until July 31st. The doctor cut out forty one pounds of rotten flesh from my scrotum to three inches above my navel. It is expected that it will take a year or more for me to get over it. My entire lower abdomen has been reconstructed by plastic surgery. I was given a 4.7% chance to survive the surgery, a 12% chance to make it sixty days, and a 17% chance to make it 180 days. The 180 days will be up on December 3rd. I have big future plans.

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I had the 1999 GMC Top Kick dump truck with the ten speed transmission. That transmission requires double clutching. I can't do that much clutching anymore so I sold it three weeks after getting out of the hospital. I replaced it with a very nice Sterling with cold air and a Allison automatic transmission, and a Cat engine. The truck has 84,000 miles on it.

I needed a reason to get out of bed, and the truck needed better brakes. I replaced the two rear automatic brake adjusters and adjusted the front brakes. Now she will stop on a dime.

There was also a notable, " catch", or hard spot, in the steering when coming off of center. I was guessing a tight kingpin and I greased every fitting from front to rear. That problem turned out to be stripped splines in the Pittman arm where it fits to the steering box shaft. The shaft splines were in good shape. This truck has two steering boxes. The left one is the primary while the right one is a slave, and works opposite the primary, much like the way you swing your arms when you walk. The right arm was the culprit.
With my sore condition, changing the right side Pittman arm was a chore indeed. I had a puller to separate the pittman from the shaft., no big deal. but swinging a ten pound sledge to get the tie rod loose put me back to bed. I had a ball joint separator on a air hammer, but it ruins the rubber on the tie rod end.

All that the truck needs now is a tail light lense and a turn signal flasher, and she will be ready to work.
When the new pittman arrived, it was no trouble to install.

Very nasty, good luck with the recovery