alan627b
Senior Member
Damn rain. These 22 hour work weeks are killers. LOL! Maybe cat will lend us one of those new submersible scrapers..... Rain for the next 2-3 days, 2-6" expected. oh joy.
Later, folks!
Later, folks!
I'm just across the river from you so I feel your pain!!! Most of my work comes from local area farmers so I have to wait for the crops to come out first. So another 2"-6" of rain is not going to help matters any!!! LOLDamn rain. These 22 hour work weeks are killers. LOL! Maybe cat will lend us one of those new submersible scrapers..... Rain for the next 2-3 days, 2-6" expected. oh joy.
Later, folks!
Yes lots of 39s down here Stan,most over here in the west.The rails on machines are common practice now,few people have gone over the side while doing prestarts so if it saves lives and stops injuries its a good thing.Hardly notice it anymore when ur operating its part of it.Ha, all the safety bars on those Dmodels; look like rolling jails.
39s work okay in sandy soils. Not any 39s in Calif or probably the US, most are down under.
Safety nazis get carried away, IMOThe rails on machines are common practice now,few people have gone over the side while doing prestarts so if it saves lives and stops injuries its a good thing
This company im working for have the biggest scraper fleet in the country,about 80 or so 57s 37s 39s 33s 51s etc but there all working so theres no spares and we needed another at least 4 33s so the boss has gone down the back to the graveyard a couple of months ago and picked out the 4 best looking condition wise 33s and their in the shop striped to the chassis being completely rebuilt so i cant wait to see what their like.Knowing this company they will probably be like new.They dont muck around with their gear its usually top notch and you can bet they will have some new 3408s to go in them too.Safety nazis get carried away, IMO
On D,E,Gs prestarts; checking engine oil level and coolant level! Trans-diff levels via sight glass are checked from the ground. NO reason to be on top of the hood or right side hydraulic tank-fender. Easier servicing was a big upgrade compared to C models that requires climbing around the hitch to check trans-diff levels.
With the safety rails servicing air cleaner and fuel filters restricts the mechanics access! Typically standing on a stool working from ground level. I angle the service truck so the bumper-workbench allows stepping back and forth onto the scraper tractor; try to never step off while doing engine (or relate component) work.
One modification we do in this area; replace the right rear motor mount with a aluminum bushing-pad. OEM rubber mounts don't hold up. Saves labor to strip off the exhaust box-muffler to gain access to R&I.
Stan ive heard conflicting stories on how many 639s were built.Ive heard around 50 up to 500.I reckon if anyone could find out theres a good chance you could.If Placentini is close to Perth, Hofmann sell lots of parts; like hitch pins and bearings. They also rebuild pins and probably have exchanges. Cat was sourcing pins (mid 90s early 2000s) from Capstone, so freight charges from Australia were in the prices.
D-Model parts that are interchangeable with E or Gs won't have a obsolescent price premium; Cat does mark up prices for out-of-production goodies. Our local Cat dealers have to pay inventory tax; so a D-mod trans cover gasket is no longer in stock and has to come out of the warehouse. That means tomorrow morning, LOL.
I needed new radiator frames for a D8L (2010), one came from Australia and the other from Belgium two day air freight.
D-Model Hitches are beefed up compared to Cs; longer service hours to repairs.
C-Model inline 6 engine is easier to work on. You can in-frame overhaul if the main bearing caps' interference fit into the block saddle is still alright. C-model hydraulic pumps are harder to work on, driven off the rear of the engine: 1 @ rear left side and 2 bell housing mounted underneath. D-model pumps are simple trans driven.
Cool Placentini takes pride in their equipment. Post up a few photos of the 33 rebuilds.
What happened to ABI group? They used have a large scraper fleet in Australia.
squid,Stan ive heard conflicting stories on how many 639s were built.Ive heard around 50 up to 500.I reckon if anyone could find out theres a good chance you could.
Like the old 37s Stan good clip.So i seen that Newzealand contractors mag article according to a few people over here who have had a bit to do with them some are saying around 50 or so admitting they dont know for sure but none reckon 300 were made.I googled and just got rubbish.See if there is some info segment you can get into on a Cat site that might be able to tell me something.squid,
No google search? Production 1979 to 1984, total manufactured under 300.
Reference source: https://contractormag.co.nz/classic-machines/caterpillar-639d/
Roading 637Cs Jpaydirt
IMO, good video. Using 2nd gear loading (torque convertor) with hitch locked down (if you don't you can't put down pressure on the cutting edges), diff-lock and shift-hold pedals. Look like NO seat-belt, big fine in Calif...Flat land Big Sky Country
88X is a scraper prefix and 99X is a wheel tractor prefix so a 639D would be have both a 88X and 99X serial number.According to my serial number book it shows to prefixes 88X and 99X both starting at Sn. 674 and ending at 711. First year is 1980 and last year is 1985. That would indicate a total of 74 but Cat skips serial numbers all the time so the actual total is most likely less. My book also states the serial numbers with 75 following the three digit prefix is a Cat certified rebuild. For example a serial of 88X75000 would be a rebuild.
Counting 639s on HEF88X is a scraper prefix and 99X is a wheel tractor prefix so a 639D would be have both a 88X and 99X serial number.
So your numbers show 37 units
Bob
Contacted NZ mag with the correct numbers manufactured @ 39Im in touch with Gavin 84W who works for Cat in Sydney.He looked up the prefix list and came up with 39 639s built and at least 20 or so are in western australia and Piacentinis have 11 of them.