Looking to purchase a Cat 305E2…. Reliability?

[weareweird69]

Looking to purchase a cat 305. I know newer models have emissions, but I have a hard time paying more for an older machine with more hours and is generally in worse condition.

Should I stray away from an E or E2 series 305? A friend of mine has a 305C and it’s been good to him with minor issues, but anytime I find one of those, it’s pretty much destroyed or across the country, and priced as much as a 305E/E2. I tried to find information out on them, as far as common issues, but there don’t seem to be any.

The one I’m looking at is listed as a 2015 and currently has 4700 hours and the serial is CAT0305EJH5MO1334. As best I can tell in the photos, it’s hard to see the beginning of it with the paint and glare.

I’d be using this on my personal property, so the hours would likely not add up fast, but I don’t want to buy something that is going to take all of my money in repairs.

 

[weareweird69]

Ended up buying this machine. Can anyone tell me the factory specs for it?

 

[CM1995]

Well I have a 305E2 H5M series and it's been a great machine. It's a 2018 I bought in 2021 with 1100 or so hours on the clock. Bought out of our Cat dealers fleet. It now has close to 3K hours on it. Recently purchased a '24 305 with all the bells and whistles.

Here's the sales spec sheet.

https://s7d2.scene7.com/is/content/Caterpillar/C10349229

Congrats on the purchase love the 305's.

 

[weareweird69]

Appreciate the feedback!

I’m hoping this one is going to serve me well.

What oil weight are you running? This machine didn’t come with the operation manual so I can’t look it up. And Google is quite unhelpful.

 

[CM1995]

You're welcome.

For our weather 15W-40. IIRC it's a Mobil that meets Cat spec. Buy it in 55 gal drums.

 

[weareweird69]

Thanks!

I want to do a full service on it to give it a baseline and I know the emission diesels are picky about oil.


Now to find out it nige will chime in with all the intricate information he is always able to pull up. Haha.

 

[Nige]

You rang.........

This machine didn’t come with the operation manual so I can’t look it up.

You can download one from Cat in 5 minutes or less. Go to the Cat Pubs web site, put SEBU9418 in the box and click Search. The illustration below should pop up.

Alternatively search the usual online marketplaces for SEBU9418, but I don't see anything just at this moment.



regarding engine oil for PA you're probably looking at a 10W-30 or something even lighter.

When I get time a bit later I'll pull up the spec of your particular Serial Number.

 

[weareweird69]

As usual. You’re a Wealth of information.

Thank you! I’ll probably end up buying the paper one so I don’t have to rely on a computer, however, being able to “search” a document has its advantages!

 

[Nige]

I’ll probably end up buying the paper one

Buy a pdf download, then print it. get the best of both workds that way, and for less.

You can also get a genuine OEM paper version for less from HERE

 

[Nige]

Here's the as-built config of the machine.

 

[weareweird69]

Thank you Nige!

I think the camera was wiped off. Since I see it should be on there, and I don’t recall seeing it on the cab. Which doesn’t surprise me. I am going to pick it up here in a day, so it’s going to get a full service and cleaning.

I’m going to get one of those manuals and check out that link you sent me. I’ve been running around like crazy today.

 

[Nige]

I double-checkd the engine oil viscosity recommendation. 10W-30 covers an ambient temperature range from 0 to 120 DegF. I think that sould work.

 

[weareweird69]

Appreciate it. I am going to pick that up tomorrow. I think that’s what’s in my 287 as well

 

[weareweird69]

Got all the parts picked up and got the machine today.

I have ZERO clue when it was last serviced. Nothing in the monitor and nothing on the filters anywhere. The air and oil filters had a date, 7-31-23 and 7-23-23. But they said 36 hours and PM1. Which makes no sense to me since it has 5041 hours on it. ET says it’s got 5051 on it through the computer.

It’s got a HINT of coolant smell from the engine area but nothing is showing up as leaking anywhere, so I topped the coolant off and we will see how it does.

Changed the oil today, and going to do the fuel filters and hydraulic filter hopefully in the next day or two. I found the owners manual behind the seat! The wiper motor was with it, and so was the outside mirror. Has newer CAT tracks on it and seems to have been cared for. The company I bought it from only had it for 300 hours, they are a reseller and rented it out for those 300 hours. According to them, they never serviced it?

Does anyone know where the AC ports are? I can only find the one port under the side door down low.

The camera is there, but doesn't show an image on the screen, is there anyway to diagnose that issue?

 

[weareweird69]

I did some research and I saw it was said you couldn’t split the HVAC box inside the machine. Well, you can split it…. Found a mountain of dirt on the evap, which I expected, so I vacuumed it all off then blew a pile of air through it. It looks to be fairly clean now, and some of the fins have rotted due to constant dirt contact. But the cores look okay. Found lots of glass, also no surprise, but hopefully after giving this thing some love, it’ll not give me any issues.

Found the A/C ports, and charged the A/C. It was empty. But had a VERY little amount of pressure in it. I’ll see how long that charge lasts, and if it lasts a long time, I’m not too worried about charging it every few years. If it doesn’t last, that just means it’s easier to find a leak…

Did all the services, and changing the hydraulic filter kind of sucks. Fuel filter hadn’t been changed in a long while either.

Figured that the camera is the issue, since the camera has power and ground, but isn’t showing on the monitor.

The coolant hose on the heater core had a little dampness, so that was as easy as tightening the clamp. Which I’m pretty sure that’s the coolant smell at the engine, is the heater hoses need to be snugged up or cut off and put back on. The radiator needs blown out as well, which also is no surprise. Hopefully I can get most of that done here today or tomorrow so I can put this thing to work.

I also found an old equipment report sheet under the HVAC ducting. For Kelvic Construction Co. Ironically, he has the same name as me. Haha

Overall, I was prepared for all of this, I knew it needed it all going into it. Only thing I missed was a tiny 1” crack on the main boom. I’ll have to keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn’t get bigger. I’ll probably gouge it out and weld it up here in a few months when I’ve got some more time.

 

[Nige]

Only thing I missed was a tiny 1” crack on the main boom. I’ll have to keep an eye on it and make sure it doesn’t get bigger. I’ll probably gouge it out and weld it up here in a few months when I’ve got some more time.

I will link a thread here that is a perfect example of how not to repair a boom crack, although I suspect your crack is of a much more minor variety. You only get one chance to do it right and if you squander that opportunity it could bite you in the rear big style at a later date. What most people don’t do is gouge/grind far enough to guarantee that all traces of the crack are eliminated, or if necessary cut a hole in the structure to allow for access to grind/weld the inside. Applying liberal amounts of “butter” to the outside is not the definition of a successful crack repair.

I would also suggest that you remove the boom for welding. Not hard on a machine the size of your. That allows you to manipulate it so that the welding is always done in the most suitable position which gives you the best chance of success.

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/threads/opinions-on-boom-casting-repairs.112762/

 

[weareweird69]

I can agree. I inspected the rest of the boom, and you can see its been welded on the opposite side as well. The older models had a gusset there, so I assume Cat was cutting costs and removed the gusset...

Most people don't dig enough, thats for sure. Thankfully its low on the boom, and easy to get to from the ground. Ill try and get a photo of it, but its very minor like you said. It isn't one of those huge cracks that is glaring at you from a distance. haha

I glanced at that thread, and he broke the casting?! Welding cast is a nightmare. Thankfully mine is in regular steel.

 

[Nige]

Ill try and get a photo of it, but its very minor like you said. It isn't one of those huge cracks that is glaring at you from a distance.

Please do. Photos are always good. However a word of caution. What seems to be almost insignificant from the outside can be something much larger festering unseen on the inside.

 

[weareweird69]

Also agreed


I’m going to monitor it and see what it does. Seems to be failure during the original welding process, judging by the location and other side of the boom

 

[Junkyard]

One thing often overlooked on those is the oil in the final drives. If they throw up it’s thousands to repair. Wouldn’t hurt a thing to change them every oil change. I care for a couple of those and the only real issue they’ve had is not keeping the final drives happy and the HVAC box clean which you’ve discovered.