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50 hour Thiokol 2100 saga.......

redsqwrl

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
So here is a tale of a snow cat project that would be the envy of any (wo)man.

GIVEN: The value of a hobby is worth what ever one is willing to spend on it.

AND: the difference between a hobby and a habit is a 12 step program.

I am going to document the end of life for a cat that likely was the gleam in the eye of some happy groomer operator back when it was new.

When this machine hit the forum we had some things to say about it......

  • They have a very skinny jump seat to the left of the driver. Wonder why it has that high snorkle intake and the even higher exhaust? The air cleaner on my 2100b sits on top of the carb. Maybe it's a mud buggy?

  • Its not a give away...
  • Will take either a lot of money to pay someone, or take a lot of your own time to get that into a proper shape...
  • Of course, it will probably start, run and drive, but you'll never know when it will break a track or pop a seal on the engine due to being abandoned for so long...
  • Longterm project, take it all apart and put it together...
  • Hopefully you can house it at the cabin, since its too wide to tow without oversized signs...

  • I think I read it wrong... its $1500 to the person who picks it up

  • Looks like it would make a nice parts cat for the money though, probably some goodish stuff on there. Lots of steel to scrap out too!


I do not have the ability to dive deep and professionally compose elegant prose.

I do have the ability to fix anything with nothing.

So if you can bear with me I will try to continue to document each area of this fine piece of yard art in the hopes that some future snow cat connoisseur will gain the confidence to avoid a wooden boat of a project, and maybe another find a diamond in the rough.
 

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sno-drifter

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
So the owner gave you $1500 to get it off his place?

Bet you still showed up in the wooden boat show.
 

Pontoon Princess

Cattitute
GOLD Site Supporter
please please please tell us more uncle gizmo squirrel....

I making a big bowl of popcorn, this is going to be epic...
 
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DAVENET

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
The real working cat . . .
 

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wakeupcall

Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Looks like it can be a real work horse of a cat. And the blade would be awesome to groom up some drifts. Im with you a great cat to have where you do not have to haul it!. What engine ,ford 390 or some type of diesel? Looking forward to your new project !!
 

redsqwrl

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Looks like it can be a real work horse of a cat. And the blade would be awesome to groom up some drifts. Im with you a great cat to have where you do not have to haul it!. What engine ,ford 390 or some type of diesel? Looking forward to your new project !!

So what caught my eye on this add when it popped up was the intake or air cleaner assembly. a forum member posted it must have been for fording water... and I quickly dismissed the desire to snag it given its distance to and the returning fuel burn.

It wasn't until later when It dawned on me why an operator might want the exhaust extended up and a larger filter.

TURBO!

That is when I contacted the seller to ask if it was a diesel...... I am seeking diesel 2100's I think I even have a wtb thread I should probably bump.....

Not only was it a diesel, but it was sold......
 

vintagebike

Well-known member
Factory diesel? I have parts books that only show the Ford F350 series 391 V8 and the industrial 300 L6.
 
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Snowtrac Nome

member formerly known as dds
GOLD Site Supporter
the factory diesel was a 380 English built ford in line 6 diesel they were natural aspirated direct injected and right around 100 hp there was an add on turbo for high altitude operation's. the 2704 et mike and I have is a 363 cube ford inline 6 diesel it is still direct injected but the rods are much more robust and so is the crank shaft the turbo is actually a power adder and as a combine engine is rated right around 200 hp. these 2 cats were factory diesel but the 380's were removed and replaced with the 363 turbo engines usually out of a combine
 

redsqwrl

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
So not only was it sold, but the new buyer had not committed, nor paid anything down. Weirdest of all bargaining positions. A seller with integrity will honor that first call so to you new to the snow cat world here is a tricky negotiation dilemma.
It’s cheap.
It’s a diesel.
It’s mostly complete.
It’s in a place you are intending to go any way eventually.
And now because you can’t have it, you want it even more…….
Well this deal was dead. He called the first guy and of course when a second party wants it, it must be good syndrome kicked in, and that was that. The new buyer had paid and was coming that weekend to pick it up.
Fast forward a couple months and the phone rings….. Hey remember that rig you were looking at…. Yeah.
Its for sale if you want it……

So the SAGA continues.


“The tug and chug was an epic adventure, friends new and old, driving 500 miles with one of the trailer jacks down on the trailer, motor bike rides at elevation, discussing the need to ignore the ALL trucks and trailers to the scale sign in ID, WA border, loose lug studs, unique trailer loading exercises… basically the best apprentice experiences ever. To the person lurking around looking for the diamond in the rough don’t underestimate the value of the experience.”

So the machine is home. The number of starting fluid cans speaks to the condition of the motor. I am quickly made aware that fuel is an issue. I had filled up the tank on the snow cat as a reserve for the ride home. The motor is terribly low on Oil, Anti-freeze is very low as well… well shit, this sucks.
I go through systems one at a time, no major deficiencies so I plod on.
Couple you tube videos. Couple phone calls to knowledgeable contacts and I am ready to try AGAIN to fire this dinosaur up. I roll it over, I have good smoke out the tail pipe, ( I am omitting some findings here to protect the innocent.) But the photo shows what is important.

“The 2704ET is a very desirable motor……. In a Boat.
They have cheap parts available…… In Europe and the deep south. Don is right they are in farm machinery as well but the real place to find parts is in the maritime world.”

So the second time I roll it over the motor catches and goes straight to the governor and beyond. Well this explains the conversation way back at the beginning, right before the Experimental aircraft part. The seller stated there is a sweat shirt stuck in the intake. NOW I KNOW WHY, except I don’t have a sweat shirt……… I choked the air off with a board across the intake pipe.
I dug into the fuel pump and injector pump to find corrosion had held number 3 and six plungers in their full open position. This is normal as when you stop a mechanically injected motor the governor moves the rack to try to increase engine speed mean while you the operator are cutting fuel…. The pump sits in full throttle, waiting for the next chance to run at which point the fly weights shift the rack back to what ever speed you desire. I was estatic that I not only had a tag, but a local diesel shop that was able to walk to a shelf and bring me a barrel and plunger. $60 later the rack moved as it should (photo 2 shows plunger six in its stuck position) I was able to get 3 to move on its own.

IN and around this engine work I had sourced a couple boggie wheels and replaced a sun fatigued drive sprocket and a handful of other deficiencies on the rig that required attention.


So to recap. the machine was found, loaded out and hauled home, engine assessed and injection serviced it is now a running snow cat sitting on its bogie wheels with sprockets that move and react to the steering controls... oddly I can't seem to find reverse........

the saga continues, so does the track work.
 

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mikemikelle

Active member
You mentioned Youtube videos in the last post, and I think I've found a niche that has yet to be filled...

Runaway Diesel Overwidth Snowcat Roadside Mailbox Guillotine

It will go viral, and I'm sure worth the drive
 

nikos

Active member
THE PHOTOS
 

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redsqwrl

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
WArning, I did not turn the photos this week to mess with the codec. they may be correct.... here goes:

In the true spirit of public microblogging I will continue in a reality show type style
Runaway Diesel, Overwidth, Snowcat, and Roadside Mailbox Guillotine. Is remarkably accurate. Mikemiklle would support the possibility that, I had to remove an entire tree, root ball and all off the cat from the drivers side and a possible federal offense from the passenger side upon hitting a secondary paved road.

In and around this engine work I had sourced a couple boggie wheels and replaced a sun fatigued drive sprocket and a handful of other deficiencies on the rig that required attention. So to recap. the machine was found, loaded out and hauled home, engine assessed and injection serviced it is now a running snow cat sitting on its bogie wheels with sprockets that move and react to the steering controls... oddly I can't seem to find reverse........the saga continues, so does the track work.
In these photos you can see the condition of the belting and backing plates. The idler wheels in the non-critical areas are in acceptable condition, the critical wheels are repacked new seals and bearings and in excellent condition. Lacing up the 2100 is about as easy as they get as the access is spectacular. I use track jacks on the inner or pulling belts. Put the pins in the working belts and then relieve the tension a bit and install the outer pins. Tension the tracks with a grease gun to a point that it takes equal amounts of force to get the grousers to just kiss the bottom of the cab on each side is what a Thiokol 2100 likes
With all the excitement of a fat puppy and bowl of food I fire the 2100 up and put it in gear.. it moves ! under its own power for the first time in a long time.. There is a sticker on the back of this puppy that makes me laugh everytime I read it. ( off the couch to go get a photo, you wait right here )



This was my version of a commercial,
attend the cross roads cat crossing event near you, make reservations today….
And now back to our regularly scheduled program..


Run
&
DRIVE



I am sure that is some auctioneers sticker from the sale back when it ran and drove. I am impressed with the quality of the logo and the corresponding adhesive coating its backside. The graphic is my cheer leader taunting me as I work towards a fruitless goal. So it is idling, bit lope-y, likely from a compromised injector but idling just the same. It moves all sloth-like forward as something that is as round as it is tall should ( im thinking sumo wrestler, but you do you with that image) I catch second and third, fourth and the governor bounces a reassuring nudge. I smile. I might have even been a wee-bit verklempt with pride with the response from my adversary under the hood.

Little tug on the left stick, right stick, left stick and the pride bubble burst. The K part of Knowledge skill and ability is in the bull pen perpetually warming up for just such and occasion. K shouts from the bull pen, pull harder. (S) And (A) speak up sternly [pluck ewe] and I go check the hydraulic fluid, again. It is low but not empty….. I will explain my disdain for engineers another day, but they got this situation correct.
“ The 2100 relies on hydraulic pressure to steer and stop. Snub the engine and an electric pump is there to save your bacon. (gravity being both friend and foe, between dropping the blade or tiller as a anchor and also equally pull you down the incline)”
The feed line to the steering pump is higher than its sibling feeding the accessories. You lose ability to steer long before your brakes and attachments cease operation. (brilliant) Little splash of juice and (S and A) now agree with (K) and I pull harder on the pilots. I hear a whoosh of fluid and alas we are able to steer. We-bit Verklempt again.

A quick check of reverse and we can stage for paint like a proper reality show.
Nope. The gods of simple fixes says it is time to tip the cab. I am proud that all the work to date did not require putting the cab into service position. The dream is over. The IH scout II has a winch. A high-lift jack confirms the rust free cab is just that. “last time I tipped a rust free 2100 cab the floor stayed put” I winch the cab over and pull the top of the T-18. I am relieved to find the transmission intact and to a proper level of excellent quality gear lube. The photos reveal either an Oh snap moment or inept operator moment, neither matter, the pin for the reverse shaft needs repair and gets it.

The “Runaway Diesel, Overwidth, Snowcat, and Roadside Mailbox Guillotine” (RDOSMG) Starts runs moves and steers of its own free will. Next stop is the accessories. They are needed and if this rig is serve out its 50 hour retirement with me it will need to serve a purpose….
 
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redsqwrl

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
Photos from a spectrum internet sufferer
 

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redsqwrl

Bronze Member
GOLD Site Supporter
experiment #2

turned left

last week I turned right

Previous photos unturned
 

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