Cat 777B questions

[Flynpenguin]

I've been asked by some friends to help them evaluate some 777B haul trucks that they are looking to purchase. I am very familiar with loaders, dozers and scrapers however my experience with haul trucks is minimal. I've arranged for the local Cat dealer to inspect and provide a report on their condition. Other than the obvious items such as tyres, bed wear.... etccc... what should I be looking for?

 

[Gavin84w]

Chassis cracks, look for those, all the components, well they just get changed out as necessary. You can get a small tool and measure brake pack heights, this will indicate wear and remaining life, ask the dealer to do that as part of the inspection. 777B is a fine truck overall, maybe check how dented and beat up the body is, this may indicate some of the application and operating practice the truck has seen

 

[Aussie John]

Check the A frame and dog bone bearings & pins too on the back axle frame. If they are flogged out, the mounting eyes may require building up/line boring. A good check is to swing the steering wheel hard with the truck stationary to shake the suspension with the engine running. Any movement can be seen easily while watching the joints. Also check the steering joints at the same time.
Rust in the cab - especially the floor should also be checked.

 

[Nige]

I'm with Gav, everything else bolts on to the chassis. Look for cracks all over the chassis, if it's not cleane nough to inspect then it will need washing or wire brushing until it is. Look especially in the hidden areas behind the fuel tank and hydraulic tank. This will require the use of a mirror. Undetected cracking in the chassis around these mount areas can cause the chassis to fall in half - nasty.

Second the comments about the A-frame and dog bone mounts, also inspect the A-frame itself for cracking. Replacing an A-frame is big dollars.

 

[Flynpenguin]

Thanks for the pointers. Especially about looking in the hidden areas for cracks.
If my friends buy the trucks they will be shipped out if the US. I presume Cat has a manual for dismantling and reassembling which I have no problem.purchasing when thw time comes. However for planning purposes how long does it take to reduce one truck to shipping size? And now many truck/container rack loads?
Thanks.again

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[Nige]

I can probably get hold of the document for assembly. That will give dimensions & weights of all the parts of the truck as they come from the factory. As they say in the best manuals "disassembly is the reverse of assembly" so all you have to figure out is what size and/or weight of pieces your want to reduce it down to. You may not want or need to get all the way back to the component parts. The chassis was originally shipped with the complete rear axle removed but with engine/converter/radiator, steering linkage and RH hydraulic tank all installed, plus the rear suspensions are left hanging off the chassis and secured with ratchet straps.

Basically what goes loose is the complete rear axle (diff housing complete with 2 final drives, diff, transmisssion, & dog bone), 6 wheel rim assemblies, 2 front suspensions, 2 cab supports, cab, steering hydraulic tank, & fuel tank. Then there will be a pallet with all the steps, walkways, & handrails, and a couple of packing cases with stuff like exhaust extensions, hydraulic hoses, mirrors, nuts & bolts, etc.

 

[Flynpenguin]

Thanks for the info Nige, and if you have an electronic copy of the assembly manual that you could send I'd appreciate it. One question about the box. Does it split down the middle like the larger trucks?

 

[Nige]

Sorry, forgot about the dump body ..........

Again, I'll have to take a look. On the larger bodies they come in 4 pieces (centre section, 2 side sections, & canopy) with the pivots on the centre section so that you don't have any alignment/machining work to do after assembling the body.

 

[ben46a]

777 bodies generally come in 3 pieces, the canopy, and left and right sections. The bodies are cut off centre somewhat, should be fairly easy to spot the backing strip where they were joined.