New 988H Its here!

[MrElectric03]

Looks good, yea the driver never would have felt that but if that bridge were an inch lower he would have...haha

nice machine Im working on a crudher for a stint and would like to see this machine compared to the WA500 they have.

It would move alot more than a WA500 because its quite a bit bigger, a WA600 or WA700 is much closer in size

 

[JCBiron]

I wonder where the bridge was....I am in the St. Louis area and we just had someone hit a bridge a couple of months ago.... Although from looking at the pics, and seeing the bridge, I would have thought whoever hit this one did more damage than what you had on your loader!!

 

[YELLOMTLMILITIA]

As far as the lack of escort, that is a state by state thing. A 988 is under 12' wide and you can haul it without a pilot here in CA. Each state is different though.

The driver should have known if it was overheight though. Then again, some bridges have mismarked clearance due to ac overlays and such. You never know for sure.

Nice loader though. Hope you have better luck than the 350.

I like alco will be waiting for the 350 story when you can share it.

The joystick on the left controls steering by moving it sideways. There are buttons on the joystick to shift gears and a yellow rocker switch on the front of the joystick to select F-N-R. There are accelerator and brake pedals on the floor like in all loaders. Two electro-hydraulic finger levers on the right side of the cab control the boom and bucket. These levers are very easy to manipulate using just two fingers, one on each lever. Combined functions are very easy with these electro-hydraulic controls but they lack 'feel' in the controls so they take a bit of getting used to.

The electrohydraulic controls for the implement hydraulics can be adjusted. The 834 with the 33cy coal scoop Western farmers bought in Hugo, OK was in need of adjustment when it was delivered.

 

[cps]

Hey coalburner, hows the cat holding up? Hope its going well!:drinkup

 

[r00t]

Hey coalburner, hows the cat holding up? Hope its going well!:drinkup

Sure would be nice to get an update in this thread!
opcorn

 

[BillyP]

The 988 has been running fine and we just got our new 15 yd bucket installed. The weld-on shanks we ask for weren’t the ones I thought we were getting. These shanks fit over both sides of the cutting edge instead of just on top. This leaves grooves in the pad the truck drivers have to drive over if you keep the pad clean. The bottoms of the shanks will wear down eventually.

The machine started having an issue (once in awhile and now more often) when going to reverse. The machine has to be shut down and restarted to get it to go. Tonight it feels like it’s trying to catch and then letting go. I did notice if you let it idle in gear sometimes it will catch. The Volvo also had a problem close to the same. I pulled some codes tonight as follows: E0049.3, E0155.0, 0673.02, 0585.02 and 0562.09. Don't have a clue what they are but we'll call Cat in the morning.

IMHO the 88 doesn’t have the wheel power the 350 did when pushing loads but I'd still rather have the 88. When the machine is pushing real hard in 1st you can hear and feel the power being reduced (by the computer I'm guessing) (maybe to reduce wheel slip?). The 88 is a little harder for an old fart like me to get in because the arm rest/steering controls don't move very far. The cab is quiet enough and comfortable. The mirror on the left side should have been mounted in another place because it the door is opened too far it hits the mirror you'll have to get back out and readjust it. < is about the only complaint other than the shifting problem which I'm 100% sure Cat will cure.

 

[NL1CAT]

If you pull a bucket full of "heavy coal" (fines) can you pull it on it front tires or do the lift rams give way like it is in ride comfort mode?
And do you use accelerator pedal or do you set it on full rev mode?

 

[BillyP]

If you pull a bucket full of "heavy coal" (fines) can you pull it on it front tires or do the lift rams give way like it is in ride comfort mode?
And do you use accelerator pedal or do you set it on full rev mode?

The machine handles the new bucket loaded with wet, washed, fine coal very well. You can pull the rear whells up with most machines depending on the height of the bucket when you lift and curle. But no I can fill the bucket until it runs over the back and the machine stays planted. This was the first thing I tested soon as I got on it, went right for the highwall So it looks like shes got plenty of ass.
The ride control is not installed yet. The parts are here were just waiting on a cat bolt twister. Maybe sometime this week. I use the pedal and full rimpull. I really don't dont care for the throttle lock. After 20 years of pedal it may be hard learning curve for me besides our hauls are many and very short.

I was going to get some pictures of her working tonight but left my cam at home.

 

[Tigerotor77W]

Looking forward to it -- keep us posted!

 

[NL1CAT]

The machine handles the new bucket loaded with wet, washed, fine coal very well. You can pull the rear whells up with most machines depending on the height of the bucket when you lift and curle. But no I can fill the bucket until it runs over the back and the machine stays planted. This was the first thing I tested soon as I got on it, went right for the highwall So it looks like shes got plenty of ass.
The ride control is not installed yet. The parts are here were just waiting on a cat bolt twister. Maybe sometime this week. I use the pedal and full rimpull. I really don't dont care for the throttle lock. After 20 years of pedal it may be hard learning curve for me besides our hauls are many and very short.

I was going to get some pictures of her working tonight but left my cam at home.

Full rev mode isn't hard to get used 2.
And the engine a low rev hasn't got much torque , if the machine got a bucket full and lifting and pulling away the engine stays on lets say 1000 rpm with the pedal to the floor.
Short work is perfect for full rev mode.. ideal for loading trucks...

 

[NL1CAT]

Perfect Machine Fabric products have a strong presence and proven utility in manufacturing, mining, processing, engineering and rubber industry. The company has a modern production unit equipped with high-tech machinery and a pool of domain professionals from different fields.

Go and do ur spamming somewhere else dude..

 

[NL1CAT]

Hey and don't forget to check and re-torque the oil-pan bolts.
They are prone to leak..

 

[BillyP]

Hey and don't forget to check and re-torque the oil-pan bolts.
They are prone to leak..

I made a note. I have some more pictures and video I'll put up when I have time. Still having trans problems the kickdown now. When the kickdown is used the machine shows 1st put wont move. The ignition switch has to be cycled t6hen it goes again. Very unhappy with the local dealer getting things fixed.

had a bad coolant sample waiting on a level 2 results

 

[BillyP]

Caterpillar was on site today to install the ride control. They say it will take about a week.

 

[1mancompany]

nice, Never drove one that large.

 

[Tigerotor77W]

How's she doing?

 

[D10N]

The machine started having an issue (once in awhile and now more often) when going to reverse. The machine has to be shut down and restarted to get it to go. Tonight it feels like it’s trying to catch and then letting go. I did notice if you let it idle in gear sometimes it will catch.

We've got six 824H's, a 988G and 2 988H's that all do the same thing. It's a sensor issue, they replace it and a few hundred hours later it starts again. The 992D also does it once in a while, but all you have to do is stomp the declutch a few times to get it to clear up.

 

[Magnum]

The machine is lookin good!! But can you honestly say that the 988 is better to operate than the L350? I had the opportunity to try both the 988 and the L350 the same day and I felt that the 988 had very low lifting force compared to the L350 and it was also 15 seconds slower climbing up the same 250 meter long hill with load. The fuelconsumption was 20% higher on the 988 and by the end of the day had felt pain in my left hand by using the steering joystick. The only thing that I liked about the machine was climbing out of it and into the L350 again.

 

[alco]

But can you honestly say that the 988 is better to operate than the L350?

You're new here, but if you back and read the horror stories they had to tell about the L350, you'd probably agree that yeah, they can say the Cat is better.

 

[DirtHauler]

You're new here, but if you back and read the horror stories they had to tell about the L350, you'd probably agree that yeah, they can say the Cat is better.

https://www.heavyequipmentforums.com/showthread.php?t=11180
L350 thread