I wanted a grapple but bought a dozer

This International TD6-62 crawler dozer with a Drott skid shovel 4n1 bucket loader followed me home two weeks ago. It sure works a lot better than the grapple I was going to buy for the Kubota.

The fellow in the picture was the former owner demonstrating the dozer's capabilities.

Here is another picture after I got it a little dirty playing in the soft stuff after the week long rain we had.

Hey, nice buy, a cool machine for sure!
I'm looking forward to the pics of the destruction

Dont spose you could take some close up pics of the tracks could you, I'm wanting to build some metal tracks soon and pics would be greatly appreciated
Thanks

PS, welcome!

Here are a few pics of the treads after I cleaned everything up.

I love track machines. I don't know why. One of these days I'll stumble over an Oliver HG or an old Cletrac. Until then, I'll just drool over your photos.

What are your plans for this thing? What is its age? It appears in pretty decent condition.

Nice looking machine. I am certain that you will enjoy it, even if you don't have a lot of work for it.....

I had an Oliver OC-3 and it was the most miserable machine in the world to keep tracks on. The bearings were always wearing out since the oil seals wouldn't keep the oil in. I talked to old time mechanics and they said that the only thing to do was to keep pouring oil into the gear units and hope for the best. He told me that they were problems from day one. I still have a new bull gear that I should list on eBay. Who knows.... it might sell for a lot of money since they wear out so quickly. Track machines are nice when they are working properly, but a pain to repair when something breaks. The tracks are a lot heavier than they look.

The dozer is a 6 cylinder 55 hp diesel with glow plugs and electric start. It has 4 speeds forward and 2 in reverse. It was made in the fall of 1963 and Drott added the loader in early 1964.

I have plenty of land clearing to do since my wife wants a 2 acre garden. I will probably spend most of the spring and summer at it. Plenty of seat time.

Here is what I am up against.

A 2 acre garden. Well from the looks of the land you'll have a lot of work but I think the dozer will be a heck of a lot better choice than a tractor with a grapple.

Actually, looking at the photo, I wouldn't even want to try to clear that with a CUT. I think the dozer will be up to the task and far better suited for clearing.

B_Skurka said:

Actually, looking at the photo, I wouldn't even want to try to clear that with a CUT.

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Neither would I but a good rosebud torch and the right time of year could probably clear that pretty quickly.

MR,

Since we haven't bumped paths at FF yet, welcome to the forum.
Nice looking rig you got there. I still scratch my head looking at the size of the bucket compared to the machine (especially when fully elevated). It just looks like it would tip forward with a full load.

Brian

From the look of the one place that you scratched the surface, it looks like you might need a wet lands permit. It looks like good soil, so you should be good to go for a 2 acre garden. What is she going to grow????

Ref,
the pics are perfect, thanks mucho
Looks like you got the perfect tool for the job but judging by the look of the bit that you just cleared I hope youre a good swimmer

The wife is looking at having me plant corn and tons of veggies.

I had that part of my land logged off about 5 years ago and the brush is 5-6 ft high. I have plenty of pine stumps to rip out. The water table is quite high right now after almost 2 weeks of rainy days and just off to the left is an overflow creek from the fire pond up the street. Just to the right of the digging it is high and dry. I popped a stump out in the digging picture and it filled with water overnight.

I have the original Drott manual and the specs are not as complete as those for a CUT but here is what is available:

breakout force = 18,550 lbs

hydraulic oil capacity = 13.5 gals
operating pressure = 1000 psi
relief valve setting = 1750 psi

bucket volume = 1 1/8 cu yds
bucket width = 71"
bucket weight = 1345 lbs

counterweight = 500 lbs

weight of tractor/loader with fluids = 15,000 lbs

fuel capacity = 33 gals

These TD6 series 62 dozers were made from 1959 thru 1969 and IH made thousands many of which had the Drott loader. These were the workhorses of the 60's. International eventually sold the crawler division to Dresser/Dresta who were then absorbed by Komatsu. The similarities in design are quite evident.

MadReferee said:

specs are not as complete as those for a CUT but here is what is available: . . .

weight of tractor/loader with fluids = 15,000 lbs

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Pretty darn impressive numbers but it is way too heavy to mow a lawn with.
Think it might actually be a Kioti?

B_Skurka said:

Pretty darn impressive numbers but it is way too heavy to mow a lawn with.
Think it might actually be a Kioti?

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Yeah, you'd get more bang for your buck.

Actually, since I've owned several dozers and backhoes over the years, I did want to comment that the little dozer looks pretty darn dry (oil and grease leakage wise) for it's age. Someone has obviously stayed after it.

Dargo said:

Actually, since I've owned several dozers and backhoes over the years, I did want to comment that the little dozer looks pretty darn dry (oil and grease leakage wise) for it's age. Someone has obviously stayed after it.

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The last owner had it for 22 years and before that is was owned by an excavation company and before that by a local town. I have all the previous maintenance records and receipts. Engine has been rebuilt, and most if not all of the undercarriage has been replaced (it's now at about 80%).

I did replace a couple of hydraulic hoses that had the rubber peeling down to the wire braid. They were original to the tractor. Nothing is leaking except for the oil pan drain bolt and that's because it has a cracked fiber washer which should have been metal.

Not bad for $4500.

WOW! Nice find. What breakout force. ...and a GREAT price!!!!! I haven't priced them but that sounds like the find of the decade. Congrats! and welcome to FF. Glad to see you posting here!

After doing much research, the price I paid is on the high end of what those machines go for. It is over 40 years old but it's in great shape for an old gal with about 3000-3500 hours.

MR,

I think it's a requirement that you paint or decals the Tonka logo on the sides of the engine hood. I've also heard that it helps resale value.

Brian

Have you looked at the pins and roller on the inside of the tracks. That is what usually wears out first on a dozer. However it is a nice find.

Deerlope said:

Have you looked at the pins and roller on the inside of the tracks. That is what usually wears out first on a dozer. However it is a nice find.

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The sprockets, idlers, rollers and most of everything else on the undercarriage has between 500 and 1000 hours of usage. All are in excellent condition. The only real problem left is one of the pins for the clamshell. It is worn more than the other, mostly due to a broken zerk which means it couldn't be greased. I am planning on fixing the zerk and re-evaluating the problem.

I still have to fab a side cover plate to cover the spool valve and hose connections. A good winter project for my shop.