My CAT 426 Project

[edgephoto]

The machine's frame is fine with virtually no rust. The rust is confined to the ROPS cabin. it was an old town machine so I am sure it was used to load the sanding trucks for snow storms. CT used to use a 10% salt mixture back when this machine was new. So I bet the salt dragged in the cab did not help matters. Also searching for parts I noticed almost all of the machines I found had similar rust. Mine is much worse.

I hope to have this machine for many years. I will get this one looking good and the rust more or less stopped.

 

[cosmaar1]

The machine's frame is fine with virtually no rust. The rust is confined to the ROPS cabin. it was an old town machine so I am sure it was used to load the sanding trucks for snow storms. CT used to use a 10% salt mixture back when this machine was new. So I bet the salt dragged in the cab did not help matters. Also searching for parts I noticed almost all of the machines I found had similar rust. Mine is much worse.

I hope to have this machine for many years. I will get this one looking good and the rust more or less stopped.

Reading your story I find funny because it’s very similar to mine. My wife and I bought 19 acres of complete woods. I bought a hoe September 2019 and have been doing the exact same thing you plan to do other than restore it. Mine didn’t need near the TLC yours does. I’ve cleared out probably 200+ trees, stumps, and am now trying to get our small pond finished up. Only another 300+ trees to go for the house site, septic, etc.

Good luck!

 

[edgephoto]

Reading your story I find funny because it’s very similar to mine. My wife and I bought 19 acres of complete woods. I bought a hoe September 2019 and have been doing the exact same thing you plan to do other than restore it. Mine didn’t need near the TLC yours does. I’ve cleared out probably 200+ trees, stumps, and am now trying to get our small pond finished up. Only another 300+ trees to go for the house site, septic, etc.

Good luck!

Thanks! Our acreage is so thick with trees and underbrush it is hard to walk it.

I am hoping to stack the trees in log length. I will probably get a portable bandsaw and cut them into lumber to build a shed or perhaps a barn. The trees are mostly maple and hickory with a few oak mixed in.

Lots of rocks and 2 veins of ledge rock. Not the best piece for an easy build but it was a good price and in the right spot.

 

[edgephoto]

Spent most of yesterday and today working on fabricating and welding in patches and the crossmember. I found the throttle linkage was frozen or binding and all the adjustments were not easily adjusted. Since I had to machine new brackets to weld on the new crossmember I took the time today to clean everything up and chase all the threads. Got the throttle working like a champ. Once I put in the floors I can install the rear throttle.

 

[cosmaar1]

Spent most of yesterday and today working on fabricating and welding in patches and the crossmember. I found the throttle linkage was frozen or binding and all the adjustments were not easily adjusted. Since I had to machine new brackets to weld on the new crossmember I took the time today to clean everything up and chase all the threads. Got the throttle working like a champ. Once I put in the floors I can install the rear throttle.

View attachment 245214 View attachment 245215

I might be stating the obvious, but I do not know how the floors are installed in this machine.....

But, if I were you, I WOULD NOT, weld any part of that floor in whatsoever! If you were ever to need to fix something under the floor area, it would be much easier to work on if you had a removable floor.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[edgephoto]

Floors were four removable panels. The panels sit on the edge panels. The edges were originally welded to the inner fenders.

I will make things how they were originally.

 

[edgephoto]

Been working as much as time allows. Trying to get things done before it is too cold to paint. Got the Cab frame repaired. I treated the metal yesterday and today I put two coats of MasterCoat on it. Wednesday I plan to paint the yellow top coat then Saturday I hope to put the clear protective finish on it. Once that is done I can cut out new metal for the floor panels and get them installed.

This is what I started with:


After repairs and primer today:

 

[Rocket Man]

You are doing a good job on this. I would not have the patience to do all that. I agree with cosmarr1 and bolt those floor back. That way you can easily work on item under there from the top.
I am glad you posted these pics because now i can see what mine looks like under the floor boards. I have to remove the part where the boom controls are so i can replace the resolvers.

 

[edgephoto]

Originally I was going to make it "good enough". I am not that kind of person. I know it will bug me until the end of time if I didn't fix it right. I am trying to stop the rust or at least slow it to a crawl. I have some cavity spray by Waxoyl to shoot inside the frame sections. I will be doing that after the silver areas are painted Cat yellow. Yes I know it is under the floor but I am one of those people that does things like that.

I hope to get the floors done in the next couple of weeks. I want to put the interior back together so I can get my garage back.

My winter project will be to repair the doors. I need my garage to be able to work in the heat. The left one is not too bad a couple spots to fix but the right one needs the bottom fabricated and replaced. That one will take some time.

 

[edgephoto]

Got the color painted today. Next will be the epoxy clear coat. After that I will spray inside all the cavities with Waxoyl cavity wax. The paint plus the Waxoyl should stop the rot or at least slow it to a crawl. Next week I will start fabricating the floor panels.

 

[edgephoto]

Well I spent the last few weekends fabricating pieces to repair the floor and inner fenders. Got most of the welding done. One more day to attach mounting brackets, mounts to hold boots and one small patch panel. Then I can smooth the visible welds to try and blend them so you would not realize I welded in new sections unless you look real close.

Unfortunately I think I lost the weather and will not be able to get things painted until spring now. Oh well, not like I have a deadline. The primer I am using is good to 45 deg. so I can at least get the primer on. If we get an Indian summer day or two after that maybe I can get a color coat painted.

This is from last weekend.

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[edgephoto]

Some shots from today.

 

[DMiller]

Ah yes, dealing with Salt Cancer and Dirt induced water supporting corrosion, fond memories!! Looking well done, should be good and dry tight and maybe even warm inside when complete.

 

[aighead]

Looks great edgephoto! It doesn't look like it's a fun place to weld though!

 

[56wrench]

Good progress! When i run flux-core wire i leave the gas nozzle on the gun though to help with shielding the puddle outdoors but even using spatter-release, it still has to be cleaned every few minutes on horizontal, vertical or especially overhead. Just my 2 cents but overall, good job

 

[edgephoto]

Good progress! When i run flux-core wire i leave the gas nozzle on the gun though to help with shielding the puddle outdoors but even using spatter-release, it still has to be cleaned every few minutes on horizontal, vertical or especially overhead. Just my 2 cents but overall, good job

I appreciate the tips. I am far from a good welder. It is obvious. I don’t do it enough. I am getting better.

I will try using gas nozzle. Great info, thanks.

 

[Rocket Man]

Today I tackled the uel feed issue. When I bought it the guy selling the machine had a hose stuck in the filler neck acting as the fuel pickup. Machine ran fine this way. So today I decided to find out what he lean't by "a bad fuel line".

I removed the tank to diagnose what was wrong. The issue seems to be that the pickup tube in the tank was clogged. I am sure it was clogged with rust or debris. I poked it out with a wire and blew it clear. The fuel I siphoned out of the tank was clear but if you look in with a flashlight there is rust in the tank.

I am going to bring my borescope next time I go to work on her and look in the tank and see what the pick up looks like.

I will try to flush out whatever I can by draining the tank and filling it a few times.

I know it has a fuel filter but I am thinking maybe a screen to catch and rust particles. Do you guys think it would be wise to add a fuel filter screen inline to catch any possible debris?

I have the exact problem on my 426 and was wondering if maybe you can provide a little more detail on how you fixed yours? As you know i have done a complete overhaul on mine including all new fuel lines (up to the tank) , new fuel lift pump, newly rebuilt injector pump etc. Problem is and at random times the engine just quits running. Each time i have to bleed the air from the system and injectors and it will run fine until that awful moment when it just stops running. Sometimes it runs for 5 to 10 minutes and quits. Sometimes it will run all day without stopping.
So my question is: if you went into the tank, what did you find? Is there a filter or screen on the pickup tube? What was wrong with the tube, did it have holes in it?
Also, how hard was it to get the tank off and how did you get all the rust out? Thanks for help on this.

 

[edgephoto]

I have the exact problem on my 426 and was wondering if maybe you can provide a little more detail on how you fixed yours? As you know i have done a complete overhaul on mine including all new fuel lines (up to the tank) , new fuel lift pump, newly rebuilt injector pump etc. Problem is and at random times the engine just quits running. Each time i have to bleed the air from the system and injectors and it will run fine until that awful moment when it just stops running. Sometimes it runs for 5 to 10 minutes and quits. Sometimes it will run all day without stopping.
So my question is: if you went into the tank, what did you find? Is there a filter or screen on the pickup tube? What was wrong with the tube, did it have holes in it?
Also, how hard was it to get the tank off and how did you get all the rust out? Thanks for help on this.

Mine was the return line was plugged solid. I use mechanics wire and compressed air to clear it out. I would jam the mechanics wire in the tube and would chip at the restriction then pull out the wire and hit it with compressed air. Then repeated many times. Eventually it was clear. Yes I know I blew the debris into the tank. Really had no choice. Then I drained the little bit of fuel that was in the tank and put it in the waste oil tank. I filled it with fresh diesel and reconnected the return line and she ran.

 

[edgephoto]

Well I worked on my floor/cabin project again this weekend. Fabricating and welding is complete. Welds are ground down and blended. Have to wipe everything down and sand the old paint where I will paint over with primer. We have a couple days that look warm enough. I really hope I can get the painting completed. If not, I hope to get the primer on at least. The primer needs two coats to be effective. The yellow paint is just cosmetic.

@56wrench Thanks for the tip to use the gas nozzle for flux core. I had better looking welds. That plus I am getting used to my welder and learning how to adjust. I never did much welding so I am learning.

 

[edgephoto]

Last weekend I finished the welding and fabricating on the cab. Today I was able to get two coats of Mastercoat primer put on. If all goes well, tomorrow will be 67 deg. and I can get the color paint done. This way over the winter I can reassemble the cabin and get moving on other stuff I want to do.