I have a job coming up where I need a D8 dozer with a ripper. In working through the decision to rent or buy I have noticed that some of the ads refer to spacer plate engines. Would some one educate me as to what this means?
A D-8 with a 342 is something to stay away from.So is a spacer plate engine something to stay away from?
In my opinion, and it is worth every penny you pay for it, I would say no. I would be more interested on how well the machine was taken care of than if it did or did not have a spacer plate engine. It is a newer and in many ways an improved design.So is a spacer plate engine something to stay away from?
do you particularly want a D8H over a K model . As you are wanting the dozer for ripping you may want to consider more than the motor . I know of two H's that had broken the rear housing ripping . One had been traded in to the Caterpillar reps to be sold on that failed after just a few meters of ripping , Cat stood by the machine and repaired it , another locally bought by a farming family to pulled its self to bits . On the other hand I know of no "K" pulling a stunt like it , not saying they don't , just have never heard of it .I have a job coming up where I need a D8 dozer with a ripper. In working through the decision to rent or buy I have noticed that some of the ads refer to spacer plate engines. Would some one educate me as to what this means?
Job value has enough in it to purchase a good D8K or a Komatsu D155 , expecting a D8H to rip for 3 months is pushing luck just too far .We have a very experienced operator. We need the machine for 3-4 months for one for sure job. @ 18-25K per month rental we just might be able to buy a D8 or D9, pay for it on this job and use it on other larger jobs in the future.
I'm sure you do but how much hard rock ripping experience does he have..? I'm assuming that the plan is not to just drop the hook in the ground and stir things around a bit but to actually do some serious ripping of large quantities of good competent rock. I've come across lots of very experienced tractor operators who didn't have a clue about how to rip correctly. Round our way in the times when 8H/8K plus D9G/D9H were king if a customer needed a large amount of rock ripped there were a couple of specialist contractors you'd hire to come in and do it with their tractors rather than f**K your own tractors up. They cost top dollar to rent but their operators were the best in the business and so were their machines.We have a very experienced operator.