Old Terex's anyone?

[Paystar]

Just wondering, anyone have any pictures or stories of the old Euclid or Terex front end loaders, like the 72-61 to 72-81 series. I kinda have an interest in them. When I was a kid, my grandfathers friend owned a big quarry and had a bunch of them. Mostly 72-51's and 61's with V6 and V8 Detroits. I still have some old Terex hats put away. They were the biggest loaders around here at the time. They used them in the steel mill too. He bought them from Blackwood Hodge. They were very popular in this area until Terex started with all the name and ownership changes, the Blackwood eventually dropped the brand. I still see lots around, still working, but never hear much about them. Anytime I do a search on the net, all I seem to find is pics of old scrap ones for sale. I even have a book on the history of Euclid and Terex and it doesn't show many loaders. Were the loaders not a big thing for them? Funny cuz like I said they seemed to dominate in this area.:beatsme
I talked to a pit owner that replaced his with new Komatsu WA 500's and he told me the Terex's had all kinds of drive and lifting power (matched the WA's) but said obviously didn't have the comfort, control smoothness, or reliability of the new ones. I've heard the transmissions were the weak points on them?
Anyway, just trying to relive old memories

 

[Lashlander]

Those old Terex Loaders were a tough bunch. I spent many an hour in them. Two different contractors here ran a few of them. During the pipeline Cat was swamped and Terex sold a lot of equipment. One contractor had a 41, 51, two 61s and a 90B. The other contractor had a 31, 41, 51, 70C and 71.I'm having a little trouble finding any good pics. Here a few I did find.Funny, when I go to attach with the paperclip it attaches it up in the brown area at the top of the page.
We'll do it the old fashioned way.
1. 72-71
2. 72-31 forground 72-71 background
3. 72-31
4. 72-31 Can't work all the time!
5. 70C This pic was on a job we had in Portland.

 

[tctractors]

Noise makers

Funny how things work out, I maintain/repair 2 of these old bangers owned by 2 different people, about 500 yds from each other, these are ex military jobs powered by 6 cylinder inline GM,s they both bought them about the same time from different parts of the U.K. the hydraulic cylinder rods look a bit skinny for the size of the bucket, and it seams that 1 seal kit fits all the rods even the steering cylinders, the high level oil tank for the steer pump looks a bit of a lash up, but they do make a racket when you give them "The Boot".

tctractors

 

[southernman13]

72-31 Terex

fixin to look at 72-31, low hr unit any pros cons, what are these 3 yrd? hows the power on these machines, good to strong or what would they compare to if in good running order, thanks

 

[mikef87]

The pro's strong as an ox, unbeatable, could pick up Mount Everest, and simple to work on.

The con's loud as a battleship, slow as molasses

You can always change the motor over to a 6 BT cummins like I did. It took maybe 3 days to switch it over, but for what it cost me and what it makes me a year in the snow it was well worth it.

 

[southernman13]

72-31

when you say slow is that speed or cycle time or booth, what does it weigh, does it have a lot of breakout force? was that a cummins out of a dodge truck, other than the noise reduction what did you gain from that engine swap. i want it for clearing land and most of that is 12 inch pine tree stumps left after clearcutting, i have a w14b case that isnt enough machine, what do you think? thankd for the info

 

[bigblueox]

4. 72-31 Can't work all the time!

yeah you got to watch out for those quarry sharks i hears they can be real agressive towards junky equipment and they get real big.:drinkup:cool2:lmao
that looks like a big one!

 

[mikef87]

when you say slow is that speed or cycle time or booth, what does it weigh, does it have a lot of breakout force? was that a cummins out of a dodge truck, other than the noise reduction what did you gain from that engine swap. i want it for clearing land and most of that is 12 inch pine tree stumps left after clearcutting, i have a w14b case that isnt enough machine, what do you think? thankd for the info

I got more power out of it and I could get someone to stay in it for the duration of the snow storm. These guys are spoiled with all these new loaders. A Terex 71_31 will be more than enough machine to clear the lot, you may be better off with a excavator with thumb. But a Terex will pick up Mount Everest.

 

[southernman13]

thanks againfor the info, i will look into it further, i rented a 650J and it worked fine but i would like to end up with a loader to keep around its more versatile than the dozer, if i put a rake on the terex it should do fine from the sound of it (no pun intended)

 

[Dominion 410]

Sure remember those loaders well.Had five of them over the years,all purchased new or nearly new from Blackwood Hodge.A 72-20,a pair of 72-31's,a 72-40 and a 72-31B.Also rented a 72-61B and 72-71.Tough as nails and right about lifting Mount Everest.The 20 was my favorite one to operate especially after we put in the orbital valve steering.The one 73-31 had a factory no-spin differential in the rear,and made a big difference in soft ground .Had to keep an eye on the bell-housing bolts as they tended to loosen and break.The 72-40 had a 6v53 in it and was a real pusher.Peel off the front drive-shaft if not careful.The 31B was a good loader with a strong 4-71T engine.Longer wheelbase,better steering and improved hydraulics.Quieter cab(?),and better visibility also.Saw that loader lift a nine ton valve chamber section and carry it over two kilometers to where it had to be installed.That was handled with a Poclain HC-300.

 

[Terexer]

I have two old 72-31:s, used to run them both, but nowadays I use only one of them as the other one had to donate some parts. The one I use got a fully overhauled 4-71 Detroit that runs like a dream. New brakes. I use it every winter for plowing snow, and in the summer for all kind of things.

 

[zlssefi]

terexes

How costly was the 4-71 rebuild to do? and how much time did it take to remove and re install the engine? I bought a 72-31 BA which from my understanding is the first one they put disc brakes on all the way around. The engine was swapped in out of a chipper and was never adjusted right, but now it has good power but the oil pressure is iffy and burns tons of oil. during a 10 hour storm it will burn a gallon to a gallon and a half. Ive already talked to my diesel mechanic and were gonna rebuild it, but im just trying to figure out how much of a job it is....

 

[Terexer]

The cost of rebuilding my engine was totally, $2040.00, but then it was a rebuilt cylinder head and all filters new too. Just the rebuild kit was $650.00. Don´t remenber how many hours I spent taking the engine out, maybe one day out, and one day in. I bought all parts from Diesel Specialists LLC in Baton Rouge Louisiana, very nice people with high knowledge. I still buy all my Detroit parts from them. www.dslspec.com

 

[Terexer]

Was thinking about another thing, when a Detroit is burning alot of oil, it can be bad oil seals in the blower. It was so on my machine, remember I bought a blower gasket and seal kit, don´t remenber the exact cost, think it was under $100.00....

 

[Cumminstech]

Terex Loader

We had an old 72-31 get brought in for scrap. It was clean and still ran. The ended up taking our CAT shear to it and it was gone in ten minutes. It was a sad sight to see that old terex torn apart.

 

[Cat-Peter]

My toy

Here is an pic of my 72-51.
Bought it as an trip down memory lane, started my career as an operator in one just like the one i have now.

 

[Dominion 410]

Terex

Nice pic of the 72-51.Can almost hear that 6-71 all the way over here... Good to see some of those old loaders saved from the scrap yard.The first one I ran was a Euclid 72-40.They had some weak points,but would really take a flogging.

 

[Cat-Peter]

Nice pic of the 72-51.Can almost hear that 6-71 all the way over here... Good to see some of those old loaders saved from the scrap yard.The first one I ran was a Euclid 72-40.They had some weak points,but would really take a flogging.

I will post more pic's in the future as I get it back in it's former glory.
It will get an new coat of Highlite green and that ugly muffler on the hood is going away.
I have some hope to find some better tires for it,new one's arnt an option.
Way to expencive for an toy.
Otherwise the mechanical is in good order.
Hopefully I will show it at an construction equipment show here in Stockholm in may next year.
Spread some nice sound ower Stockholm!

 

[alan627b]

Some Terex/Euclid pics I found....

 

[alan627b]

Wait! There's more....