Happy New 955L Owner With Questions

[kshansen]

When installing the outer double lip wiper seal into the head is there a common alternative to 7M7456 bearing mount compound that I can use? Like green loctite?

I think I would go with Red Loctite, isn't the green the thin stuff that is suppose to "wick" in after you tighten a bolt and nut. It works it's way down the thread and with a press fit like that seal there won't be any room for it to wick in through.

 

[kshansen]

deleted duplicate post, got to stop posting before I get that first cup of coffee in the brain!

 

[Nige]

The official equivalent of 7M-7456 is Loctite 609 Retaining Compound.

 

[leadfarmer]

Yes thats the green I was referring to, the 609. I forgot there was more than one green loctite product.

 

[Nige]

If you Google “Caterpillar Loctite equivalents” there should be a pdf of all the crossovers. Cat got out of the sealants & adhesives market a few years ago.

 

[leadfarmer]

I got it back together two weekends ago. The outer seal at the rod is staying "wet" but I no longer have a excessively dripping leak, so I will call that good enough. Maybe it will be perfectly dry on the next one I do! Maybe the seals need to break in?

Now I just need to get my skid plates and belly pan back on and if I have the time put some teeth on my ugly bucket shanks.

Is there a reason not to use a grade 8 bolt to retain the tooth instead of the special pin?

The previous owner retained the teeth on the worn out shanks by welding the tooth to the shank and welding both ends of a rod he put through the tooth and shank. The welds were not very good and I knocked off half the teeth quickly.

I am confident I can do a better welding job to help hold the teeth on, and I would think a grade 8 bolt would hold those teeth on.

 

[Nige]

You may need to do some weld buildup on the top & bottom of the adapters. The teeth should only have about 1/2” of vertical up & down movement at the point end when the pin is installed if the adapters are not worn.

A better way to secure the teeth is to use the OEM design of pin & spring lock with a thick washer welded on each end of the pin for a bit of extra security.

The teeth need to be able to move a little bit with respect to the adapters in order to prevent excessive loads that might cause adapter breakage.

 

[leadfarmer]

Ok, I was just hoping to get away with putting teeth back on and not giving any more money to the CAT man!

 

[AllDodge]

Agree, the pins just keep the teeth on, they should not be under much load when digging

 

[Nige]

Agree, the pins just keep the teeth on, they should not be under much load when digging

Agreed. The only function the pins serve is so that the teeth don't fall off when you dump the bucket.

 

[Welder Dave]

Better to build up the shanks and get the teeth to fit better than welding the teeth on. On excavators when they lose a tooth and have to use a bolt for a retainer, they use grade 5 bolts because they will bend. Grade 8 will snap and you'll lose the tooth again.

 

[leadfarmer]

True, I'm always torn between using Grade 8 and Grade 5. Too much thinking.

 

[Cat977]

What about using over the counter Cat bolts?

 

[Welder Dave]

Cat are grade 8 plus.

 

[leadfarmer]

Well, new problem. My shanks have no stepped holes for the spring clip for the right pins to be used. Other than bolt, what can I do to attach the tooth? Tomorrow night’s project will be building them up with weld.

 

[Tags]

It looks to me like those teeth use the pins with steel on both sides with rubber in between to create the tension.
Something like this....https://romacparts.com/tf23p-pins/

 

[Nige]

TBH those shanks are fcuked and you would probably find it cheaper to replace them than you would to spend hours of your time and boxes of electrodes in an attempt to build them up so that the teeth stay on.

To give you an idea the "point" on the end of the adapters in your photos should actually be a square end about 1.5-2.0" tall from memory. That's how much meat you've lost from them.

If you do build them up you could simply put a pin through them and weld a washer on each end as suggested ealrier.

 

[leadfarmer]

It really looks like its meant to use that fangg pin or similar. More pics. Shanks are dished top and bottom. Holes seems intentionally oval, and is smooth through it with no tight area in it to pinch a pin or anything. One friend said they look like komatsu shanks.

 

[leadfarmer]

Some of the shanks don't seem to be too worn, I just think it is a miss-match of the shank and tooth. The outside shanks are definitely worn the worst. I'm going to weld blocks on the shanks to cheat and take up the slop faster than building them up with weld, then use bolts with washers welded on the ends.

 

[Cat977]

This machine as I recall is pretty low use? The used teeth laying in the bucket don't look too bad. I've seen some pictures of buckets where the guy must've taken the outer teeth and put them to the inside. Then staged the teeth. Put the most wear to the inside working outward to the corners. Maybe a new one on the outside corner. I think it would work well for pushing over trees or getting a corner under cement or stone. Nige was right on getting excessive movement out of the teeth. The idea of using a pin and extra thick sae washers may workout well. If you use the shank of a bolt don't leave ant threads on it. Those thread notches are what is called a stress riser an after banging around awhile they can crack at the thread. The teeth get their power when pushed back into the abutment of the shank. You want the teeth to hang pretty much in a straight line. When you push up (Nige) about ½” of play.
Best of Luck