D6c cat loss of oil pressure

[John Shipp]

Getting the machine back together and running well is the first thing, as welder Dave says a written date for this would be constructive. If they fail to deliver or jerk Steve around any more, sure he might swap to "eye for an eye" and say to h%ll with it, roll the dice or whatever.

For now, while Zeigler acting in a professional manner, get a date, get a warranty, get machine back running and tested. Pay for the rad if that's what it takes, paid when machine is back up and running of course.

Post long vid here for further happiness.

 

[bam1968]

I have been following this thread but have not read every post. That being said, I sure hope that they provided you with a loaner machine to use at your disposal???

 

[Welder Dave]

No Loaner. Just the run-a-round for eons.

 

[Hobbytime]

I think it would be a little different if the dozer was used as a source of income (owner/operator) and the owner lost work because of the downtime. I don't disagree that Steve shouldn't have to pay anything but I think it would be better if he got an agreement and a specific date that his dozer has to be on his property in perfect running order. Setting a court date will likely be about 3 month's away and even if Steve wins everything the dealer could stall around even longer. In fact winning in court doesn't guarantee you get paid. Sometimes you have to take further steps ($$$) to enforce the judgement. I think it's one of those times you have to pick your battles. If Steve can get the rad done for under 2K, I think is not too bad of a trade off. Also a lawyer will want money up front to go to court and no guarantee on the outcome. He could look into fraudulent actions by the dealer but that wouldn't result in any money in his pocket.

your missing the point that the dealer wanted to steal Steves dozer because they screwed up..they wanted to take the dozer after he paid over $10,000.00 to get it fixed and they screwed that up and then wanted him to pay $4000.00 more to call it even..so your ok with letting the dealer do that??? till Steve fought back and now the ball is in his court...this has gone past civil and is now criminal if he wanted to press charges, ill bet the state district attorney would take to case and that would also get him his dozer and $$ back with no cost to him as the district attorney would be acting on Steves behalf, no private lawyer needed..so yeah I dont think Steve should be made to pay a nickel more to get back a good working dozer...

 

[Welder Dave]

No, I'm not missing the point. I have been strongly encouraging Steve to take the matter to court. I mentioned looking into fraud on the part of the dealer which could possibly result in criminal charges but might not have any money exchanged. Maybe getting a complete new rebuild (less rad) with full warranty is partly because they tried to screw him over? I didn't see the settlement agreement. I don't think Steve should pay anything either but he's already been without his dozer for over a year. Anything can happen in court and if Zeigler had good lawyers could drag it out for a long time even if found 120% at fault. Steve might prefer to have his dozer back in 30-45 days max. and be able to use it rather than gambling he might get more through the justice system but have to wait another 6 month's or more to get his dozer back. I am positive he is sick of the whole long ordeal. I would also hazard a guess that the full rebuild agreement has a clause that it is not an admission of guilt on the part of the dealer. More of a an act of goodwill to the customer. Cat is likely picking up part of the cost as well because it is one of their dealers.

 

[etd66ss]

I wonder, when the time will come that CAT corporate will instruct all their dealerships to no longer support classic machines?

It seems odd in the first place that a dealership will even work on a machine that is ~50 years old. Try going to a New Holland dealership, or any other and getting that kind of work done on a 50+ year old machine, they'll tell you to go away.

 

[Hobbytime]

No, I'm not missing the point. I have been strongly encouraging Steve to take the matter to court. I mentioned looking into fraud on the part of the dealer which could possibly result in criminal charges but might not have any money exchanged. Maybe getting a complete new rebuild (less rad) with full warranty is partly because they tried to screw him over? I didn't see the settlement agreement. I don't think Steve should pay anything either but he's already been without his dozer for over a year. Anything can happen in court and if Zeigler had good lawyers could drag it out for a long time even if found 120% at fault. Steve might prefer to have his dozer back in 30-45 days max. and be able to use it rather than gambling he might get more through the justice system but have to wait another 6 month's or more to get his dozer back. I am positive he is sick of the whole long ordeal. I would also hazard a guess that the full rebuild agreement has a clause that it is not an admission of guilt on the part of the dealer. More of a an act of goodwill to the customer. Cat is likely picking up part of the cost as well because it is one of their dealers.

at this point it looks like its out of the dealerships power for making any further calls and corporate cat is now involved and sees whats going on and is probably instructing the dealership what todo, as this does impact corporate cat..the final decision will be Steves and what he can live with and what he thinks is fair in the end, we are just the cheering squad on the side lines with no skin in the game..

 

[Tones]

I wonder, when the time will come that CAT corporate will instruct all their dealerships to no longer support classic machines?

It seems odd in the first place that a dealership will even work on a machine that is ~50 years old. Try going to a New Holland dealership, or any other and getting that kind of work done on a 50+ year old machine, they'll tell you to go away.

Mate, I can still buy new parts for my 89 Ford Versatile which was made before New Holland took over and ceased production in 1990.

 

[Welder Dave]

One of the advantages Cat has over most other makes is they have parts for old machines and there's a lot of old cats still operating because of it.

 

[Steve.ahlgren85]

She's an older machine but she sure is attractive!

 

[Steve.ahlgren85]

Kinda like my wife!!

 

[Wes J]

I wonder, when the time will come that CAT corporate will instruct all their dealerships to no longer support classic machines?

It seems odd in the first place that a dealership will even work on a machine that is ~50 years old. Try going to a New Holland dealership, or any other and getting that kind of work done on a 50+ year old machine, they'll tell you to go away.

I think that in many cases they have accomplished this by charging so much for service that it costs more to fix an older machine than it does to just buy another old machine that works a little better.

This kind of attitude keeps a lot of independent shops busy. A lot.

 

[td25c]

We have the old saying ......." Fix it rite but don't spend any money on it ".

 

[Junkyard]

I think that in many cases they have accomplished this by charging so much for service that it costs more to fix an older machine than it does to just buy another old machine that works a little better.

This kind of attitude keeps a lot of independent shops busy. A lot.

It sure gets me plenty of side work. I could stay covered up on older iron. Even dealing with people who want to patch things up.

 

[etd66ss]

Mate, I can still buy new parts for my 89 Ford Versatile which was made before New Holland took over and ceased production in 1990.

Parts is one thing, but getting a dealer other than CAT to take on a job like Steve's is much harder, from my experience anyways. They want to sell you a new machine well before they will do any work on a 50 year old unit.

 

[Mother Deuce]

at this point it looks like its out of the dealerships power for making any further calls and corporate cat is now involved and sees whats going on and is probably instructing the dealership what todo, as this does impact corporate cat..the final decision will be Steves and what he can live with and what he thinks is fair in the end, we are just the cheering squad on the side lines with no skin in the game..

CAT builds it's entire business on solid machines built to last, product support and customer satisfaction. Their parts supply chain almost has no peers. I ordered a steering clutch for a 47 D2 at a particular NW dealer and thought I would have to wait for a month or two... had the clutch the following day. I would think that if CAT has a dealer that is not performing to their level of expectation... some serious fecal matter may hit the oscillating, rotating air mover on a corporate level. Especially if the entire entity starts to suffer from warts due to one or two.

 

[Welder Dave]

What is a now a large independent repair and parts shop that started in 1927, used to be the Cat dealership back in the 50's maybe into the 60's. Don't know what happened but Cat can take dealerships away.

 

[Wes J]

Yeah, you can lose your dealership. John Deere is pretty bad about that. They more or less phased out all the small dealers and gave the big ones a bigger piece of the pie.

But, things are a lot different now. The dealer model is more or less obsolete. In the internet age, an independent shop can access all of the parts, information, and special tools that a dealer can. Companies like Deere fight tooth and nail to keep independent shops from fixing their computer controlled equipment, but it's not sustainable. Right to repair will eventually prevail.

Today, the dealership exists to sell equipment, parts, and do warranty repairs for the big spenders who buy new fleets of new equipment.

If you took an old 2 cylinder or even something like a 4020 to the local JD dealer, you'd have a hard time find an old grey beard to work on it.

 

[DMiller]

Have been seeing the issues with dealers near here. Farm tractor shops are closing pretty often, being bought out by the Corporate boys that have leverage and $$$ to set new machine inventories and discounts to move them. Just lost Larson Eq. Jefferson City.

 

[Birken Vogt]

Corporate takes out little guys, refuses to hire anybody that knows what they are doing. Good time to be an independent repair shop.