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New to me 1936 Caterpillar RD4, get it running project

olivia24 said:
That sounds like a big project.
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I believe one has to be a little bit nuts to do this kind of stuff. However, on the other hand, it makes good economic sense.

First it is a lot cheaper method to get the same results. IE equipment that does big stuff with dirt ditches and rock.

Secondly, there is no depreciation of the value of the equipment in your shed.

Third, you know exactly how things function and can make your own repairs.

You will never need a smart assed geek to get your heavy equipment running with laptop.

And then there is the pride of knowing the asset you revived from scrap has purpose. And a new long life

There is something masculine about not throwing away a perfectly good machine because you can fix it with heavy tools instead of a printed circuit board. Sometimes with nothing more that the proper application of kinetic energy to the exact required point. ( that translates to hitting it properly and expertly with a hammer.)

When digging a ditch the dirt doesn't care if it is done with a shovel, an old tractor, or a brand new one with digital read outs on the instruments. Neither does the pipe you buried care to bring water to the cabin. The only thing that matters is to the operator who did it with piles of money for a digital controlled machine, or made it work using the physics and mechanics of basic machine design.

I prefer the latter.

Next time your new Chevy quits, the new age "mechanics" will trade out computer cards until it runs and charge you for the guesswork. Meanwhile, guys like M1west or and Mali2fus will think on the physics, turn a screw or bend a spring to bring the old Malibu back to life.

For the record I drive a 1995 Cummins diesel pickup. Manual transmissions. Or a 2002 Jeep Cherokee in line six. Don't want a new one.

I don't need fancy electronic navigational tools. I'm a Cherokee Indian and can find my way just reading the signs.

You know like "Milwaukie turn right next exit."
 
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There is a certain skill to accomplishing work with a cable dozer. There's no power tilt and no power down so you have to depend on your own ingenuity at times to get the job done.
 
mla2ofus said:
You're coming along nicely, m1, I see we found a zerk on the fan hub. Be interesting to see what the manual says for frequency of greasing it. It's too bad the old ones don't have a reversible fan like the younger ones did. You could reverse it in just a few minutes and it was so nice to have all that hot air blowing out the front in the summer and with curtains on each side of the hood kept you nice and warm in the winter so long as the cat was worked hard enough. If you have to work it much in the winter get some canvas and eyelet install tool and make some curtains for it. If it has a temp gauge just cover part or all of the grill to get more heat out of it. Won't hurt the engine to have a little extra heat in it so long as it isn't getting up close to the red zone. I see one gauge behind the right steering clutch handle. Temp or oil pressure?
When you get her in the dirt/rock feel free to ask questions regarding techniques in use of the dozer.
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The gauges on the firewall are water temperature and oil pressure. Seems like it should have a fuel pressure gauge also. I have been reading the old book on excavating with a dozer, they said in there that there are tasks where a cable cat is better and takes where a hydraulic dozer is better. One example I remember is they said a cable cat is better for cutting and maintaining roads in the mountains due to its quick action of raising and lowering the blade to deal with the uneven surfaces better, also you can raise the blade higher and cut deeper. I also read like you said you want to bump the winch lever not pull or push it. There will be plenty of operational type questions when I get her going.
 
olivia24 said:
My uncle collects various appliances from junk piles, repairs them and resells them.
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I have a garage shelf full of them. But most aren't worth fixin. I just cannot throw them away.

Went to use my cell phone yesterday only to find out it would only emergency numbers. I checked, the bill was paid so what was the problem?

Opening it up revealed nothing to which I could relate the malfunction. So I stopped by AT&T to see what the hell was wrong.

There was nothing "wrong" with my phone. It was them. They switched me to 5G whether I liked it or not and I needed a new phone. The clerk was very polite, nice and helpful. I now have the new model and must learn new icons and function. Fine except all I want from my cell phone is the ability to call and talk to somebody! I don't need text or camera or weather reports, or E-mail.

So, I have this new 5G phone and it works,, but so did the one they took away. Why?

Little Ben alarm clocks still tell the same time as my pocket phone. They were the same design, and almost the same price for over 60 years. (Actually longer) Yes you had to wind them up daily, and even set the alarm pin every night, but they worked like clockwork. (pardon the intentional pun). And a person could take one apart and put it back together, gaining knowledge of it' s function, value and ingenuity.

Try that with your phone.
 
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FrancSevin said:
I have a garage shelf full of them. But most aren't worth fixin. I just cannot throw them away.

Went to use my cell phone yesterday only to find out it would only emergency numbers. I checked, the bill was paid so what was the problem?

Opening it up revealed nothing to which I could relate the malfunction. So I stopped by ATYT to see what the hell was wrong.

There was nothing "wrong" with my phone. It was them. They switched me to 5G whether I liked it or not and I needed a new phone. The clerk was very polite, nice and helpful. I now have the new model and must learn new icons and function. Fine except all I want from my cell phone is the ability to call and talk to somebody! I don't need text or camera or weather reports, or E-mail.

So, I have this new 5G phone and it works,, but so did the one they took away. Why?

Little Ben alarm clocks still tell the same time as my pocket phone. They were the same design, and almost the same price for over 60 years. (Actually longer) Yes you had to wind them up daily, and even set the alarm pin every night, but they worked like clockwork. (pardon the intentional pun). And a person could take one apart and put it back together, gaining knowledge of it' s function, value and ingenuity.

Try that with your phone.
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Now that you got the iPhone you will be posting more pictures. I found mine was easier to navigate than the old flipper.
 
m1west said:
Now that you got the iPhone you will be posting more pictures. I found mine was easier to navigate than the old flipper.
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No, I did not get an I phone, The up grade was only to remove that pesky hand crank. Frankly, I liked it! It was much better than the ole steam powered version.

I do post pictures my wife takes and sends to me via E-mail.

However, I do not do E-mail at home only at work. Just like millennials, Work is where I play......; on the internet.
Call me a Renaissance man

BTW, our Tv quit tonite. Only 4 years old and it just quit. I'm betting that 99.9% of the components are fine but no one can decipher what failed for less than the cost of a new one. So it goes to the landfill

I used to go down to the Walgreens and test tubes on a machine to fix the TV.

Yep, I'm that old.
 
olivia24 said:
Oh yes. Im the youngest. 24, 31,34
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And likely the most spoiled. But, You don't sound like it.

Any brothers?

I had five and no sisters,
Me at 74, 72, 69, 68, and 60
One brother died a age 2 months

Also I'm the oldest.
And the best looking.


Just keeping inside the lines of the thread subject....;
All of us like working on old machines. However, the youngest is a tech wizard millionaire in Dallas. He has a stable of old muscle cars. And a boat bigger than my house.
 
mla2ofus said:
There is a certain skill to accomplishing work with a cable dozer. There's no power tilt and no power down so you have to depend on your own ingenuity at times to get the job done.
Click to expand...
There are a host of tools especially adapted to a particular function. Then there are the common tools a practiced hand can cleverly handle to accomplish the same thing.

Three trips with a load of dirt in the 9N ford or one with the JD 310. Same result.
 
FrancSevin said:
And likely the most spoiled. But, You don't sound like it.

Any brothers?

I had five and no sisters,
Me at 74, 72, 69, 68, and 60
One brother died a age 2 months

Also I'm the oldest.
And the best looking.


Just keeping inside the lines of the thread subject....;
All of us like working on old machines. However, the youngest is a tech wizard millionaire in Dallas. He has a stable of old muscle cars. And a boat bigger than my house.
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Very spoiled. As far as machines, I know how to start a car and put gas in, lol
 
m1west said:
The gauges on the firewall are water temperature and oil pressure. Seems like it should have a fuel pressure gauge also. I have been reading the old book on excavating with a dozer, they said in there that there are tasks where a cable cat is better and takes where a hydraulic dozer is better. One example I remember is they said a cable cat is better for cutting and maintaining roads in the mountains due to its quick action of raising and lowering the blade to deal with the uneven surfaces better, also you can raise the blade higher and cut deeper. I also read like you said you want to bump the winch lever not pull or push it. There will be plenty of operational type questions when I get her going.
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When it gets weak and no smoke or very little when lugging, THAT'S your fuel pressure gauge. Don't know if your fuel cap has it but the later ones had "buy clean fuel, keep it clean" cast right into it. They also had a dipstick in the fuel tank.
On the opposite end of that spectrum, we had a 14A D-8 working in a lot of dust and it got weak and smoking a lot. Removed the paper air filter and it weighted about 30 lbs and you couldn't even see the paper.
 
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olivia24 said:
Very spoiled. As far as machines, I know how to start a car and put gas in, lol
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We should probably move this conversation to another thread, but ,,,

We were poor folks and mom was Pentecostal so we weren't spoiled at all. On the one hand it was kinda cruel. On the other hand, we all grew up reasonably good, upstanding, young men. The wildest one of us became a preacher. Two were teachers. Me and one other were paramedics.
 
FrancSevin said:
We should probably move this conversation to another thread, but ,,,

We were poor folks and mom was Pentecostal so we weren't spoiled at all. On the one hand it was kinda cruel. On the other hand, we all grew up reasonably good, upstanding, young men. The wildest one of us became a preacher. Two were teachers. Me and one other were paramedics.
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Yea, we can talk in my Hi thread. I wish i did know more about machines. Would save me a few dollars.
 
FrancSevin said:
We should probably move this conversation to another thread, but ,,,

We were poor folks and mom was Pentecostal so we weren't spoiled at all. On the one hand it was kinda cruel. On the other hand, we all grew up reasonably good, upstanding, young men. The wildest one of us became a preacher. Two were teachers. Me and one other were paramedics.
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No big deal, I have been known to go off subject a time or two.
 
Today, seeing I'm not getting a new cap, rotor, points or condenser for the pony mag ( all back ordered ) I cleaned the points and re set the gap, when the wires and plugs show up I will put it back on. Today I put the belt driven governor back on and the carburetor is ready also. I will wait to put the Carburetor on until after I put the Mag on as it blocks the bolts. I have another week or so for the Molasses mix to finish the gas tank de rusting. Im thinking the pony motor should be ready to start in another 2 weeks. By then I should be able to rebuild the water pump, make gaskets, clean the radiator and put it all back together. Im thinking another 3 weeks to 6 weeks depending on real work and I should be ready to start the Pony and the Main.
 
m1west said:
No big deal, I have been known to go off subject a time or two.
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Thanks
A momentary post off subject is okay. But it is disrespectful to go on for too long.

This Olivia has my interest,,,; What an unusual find and a special young woman. But my attention to her doesn't belong here.

Six weeks you say... Kind of a surprise given the progress so far.
That said, I would be taking 6 months to do it.
 
m1west said:
Today, seeing I'm not getting a new cap, rotor, points or condenser for the pony mag ( all back ordered ) I cleaned the points and re set the gap, when the wires and plugs show up I will put it back on. Today I put the belt driven governor back on and the carburetor is ready also. I will wait to put the Carburetor on until after I put the Mag on as it blocks the bolts. I have another week or so for the Molasses mix to finish the gas tank de rusting. Im thinking the pony motor should be ready to start in another 2 weeks. By then I should be able to rebuild the water pump, make gaskets, clean the radiator and put it all back together. Im thinking another 3 weeks to 6 weeks depending on real work and I should be ready to start the Pony and the Main.
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Don't get in a hurry to replace the points in the Mag, and if you do save them. I have a Winco magneto on a Wisconsin engine that had no issues. But the points being from the 1980's so I thought I should change them out. Big mistake to throw out the old. The new Eklund chinesium ( I think, and have been told ) points oxidize if the sit for any length of time and require me to dress them with a point file or 1,000 grit emery paper. real PITA
I need to go on the hunt for that set of points, NOS, that have been on a shelf for longer than China has been selling us junk....
 
FrancSevin said:
Thanks
A momentary post off subject is okay. But it is disrespectful to go on for too long.

This Olivia has my interest,,,; What an unusual find and a special young woman. But my attention to her doesn't belong here.

Six weeks you say... Kind of a surprise given the progress so far.
That said, I would be taking 6 months to do it.
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Nowdays you have to give extra time, the parts waiting game has increased, and this time of year is normally slow with work but one phone call can and has changed all that.
 
Today I inspected the undercarriage better and started checking fluids, the steering clutch housing plugs were already removed?? When I pulled the fill plugs in the rear they were full of what appeared to be grease, is this something done for hot climates or some BS going on. The other thing I found is a neat 4 of the 8 track rollers on the bottom are warn down to the point that the track chain rail is clipping the flanges on the rollers, The rails are not warn too much its all in the rollers, reaserched the subject and seems the popular fix is to build them back up with weld then turn them in a lathe. I will address that issue after I get it running. The worst ones all seem to be on the right side as sitting in the seat.
 
The removed drain plugs MAY be for the brake housing to drain water or leaking oil out. Post a pic of the fill plugs as I'm guessing they are for final drives. Again, find in the manual as I THINK the steering clutches and brakes are dry. The manual will set you straight. I'm pretty sure the finals are supposed to run in 85 w90 gear oil. I hope this grease isn't someone's fix for leaking seals.
 
I had to make a wrench out of a big nut with an old socket welded in so I could use a ratchet to get them out. You are correct, the clutches are run dry, but there is a procedure in the book that tells you to wash the clutches with karosene every 900 hours by filling the clutch compartment then first run it for 5 minutes without pulling the steering clutch handles, then drain and refill with clean kerosene and run it 5 minutes in gear with the clutch handles tied back, then drain and put the plugs back. So I need the plugs for this process and to keep crap out. There is also a procedure for washing the main clutch and the final drives. So I will pull the plug on the final drive tomorrow and see what comes out.
 
I'm pretty sure those are pipe thread. Try to find the pipe plug with the recessed square hole to reduce the chance of a big rock breaking out the bottom of the housing. And again, remember the antiseize. As you can tell I'm a firm believer in the stuff especially on iron bolts threading into aluminum which won't be the case with you.
 
This morning I pulled the plug on the final drive, I was happy to see several gallons of gear oil drain out without water, grit or chunks. I don't know why there is grease in the fill plugs unless they were trying token water out or?? I went to Holt Caterpillar in Stockton this afternoon ( the home of caterpillar ) and picked up the 2 bearings and seal to rebuild the water pump. Tomorrow I will install the bearings and seal, then go get some gasket material and make the water pump gaskets I need to put it back on.
 
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