Is anyone having any problems with the new Cat 285/275 CTLs?

[AMBMike]

The Cat 275 and now the 285 CTLs have been on the market for a little while now and I'm curious if anyone has noticed any problems with them.

I'm thinking specifically of quality control/manufacturing issues but am interested in any issues you've experienced.

Post any good experiences too! I always like to hear those.

 

[Reuben Frazier]

Their great machines but we’ve had a few little minor glitches from being new models but nothing I’ve been concerned up. I know they’ve updated several things since productions started on them addressing little things so I’d say buy one with confidence and don’t look back. The added cab room is absolutely amazing and I’ve really been impressed with them so far..

 

[AMBMike]

Thanks @Reuben Frazier .

We have a 285 and really like it but it came off the dealer's truck with the lift arms racked to the point the left bucket corner was over an inch above ground level when the machine was sitting on level concrete. No fun trying to keep a level grade with it.

I played around with another 285 on the dealer's lot and it's arms were racked the same direction but not as bad as ours.

I'm really curious if these are the only two machines in North America with this issue or if there are others.

Our dealer said they'd take care of it but their actions so far haven't been matching their talk...

Edit: I've tried adding photos but they're not showing up.

 

[Simon C]

Hope it gets resolved. Sounds like the boom is made wrong or the pin location on frame is off.
Simon C

 

[KSSS]

Either the loader arms were not made square or the pin locations of the loader arms are incorrect. Either way, it will be a costly repair on their part. My guess would be the jig they used to make the loader arms is off. So however many they made before they caught it, are on the market. I am guessing CAT is trying everything else first to avoid sending out a complete new set of loader arms.

 

[AMBMike]

You're thinking the same thing we are and the measurements taken by us and the dealer's service tech bear that out.

Their first solution was to shim the arm stop on the machine chassis but we told them that's unacceptable since the bucket would still be over on inch out of level.
Their next solution was line boring the quick coupler pivot bushings to get the bucket level even with the arms racked. We told them that's unacceptable as it would change the bucket cylinder geometry and cause excessive wear.
They finally agreed to swap the loader arms and said they'd pick up the machine when they had them in stock.

They picked up the machine and completely stopped communicating, including not answering or returning phone calls, when it was in their shop.
It just showed up in our yard one morning with no notice.
They have line bored the quick coupler bushings which has caused the geometry issues we were concerned about and shimmed the arm stop.
The repaint at the line bore site is a quickie spray and pray with the ground electrode point not getting painted at all.

We really like the machine otherwise and it's a real horse. Just really unhappy with the dealer's handling of the problem so far.

 

[Simon C]

Need to call Cat head office and explain why the repair is not acceptable. More people that hear about it the better. They will try anything to get away without forking out some big bucks.
Simon C

 

[KSSS]

I would flip out over that, which it sounds like you are as well. When you pay new machine money, you expect it to be built correctly. I get poop happens, especially on a new to the market product. However they (dealer/CAT) have to do their part and stand behind it. That is a half ast repair, that will come back to haunt you after your warranty is up. They should have sent you new loader arms. I am only guessing, but if CAT would have authorized new loader arms, you would have gotten them. I think CAT corporate is pushing back on that. Biach loud enough and I bet you get new loader arms. Put that problem on You Tube and the more clicks you get the more chance you have of new loader arms. Sucks having to go to such extremes, but a lot of machines are bought and not bought by such things. Every OEM is aware of that. I would also mention that all repairs done under warranty are easy to find (such as this). When you go to sell it or trade it, a query into what was done to this will show up and certainly be an issue on resale value.

 

[Ollie]

We have two 265 and the arms need shimming there is a half inch play on main loader pins. cat dealer said they don’t have shims for them. Are old 289d3 with 6300 hr used and abused on seawer crew plus a concrete mixer on it. The arms and pins bushing were better then the new one when it got traded in then the two new replacements. Is cat using **** pins and bushings compared too 5-6 years ago.

 

[MG84]

I'd be taking the machine back and demanding a full refund. I personally would have never accepted delivery in the first place.

 

[AMBMike]

I'd be taking the machine back and demanding a full refund. I personally would have never accepted delivery in the first place.

This is what my direct supervisor has been saying as well...
We'll see where it goes.
Thankfully I'm just the operator when I'm not in a dozer.

 

[RayF]

To find the problem its easy to put a bar through the bores and compare the level to the others. Just an adjustable machine level and a measuring tape to check parallels. The bores on the bucket need to be true to the cutting edge.

 

[AMBMike]

To find the problem its easy to put a bar through the bores and compare the level to the others. Just an adjustable machine level and a measuring tape to check parallels. The bores on the bucket need to be true to the cutting edge.

The problem is definitely in the arms. The bucket and quick coupler measured good.
I dropped the machine off at the dealer again today. They're supposedly taking it to their main shop in Topeka...

 

[KSSS]

The only right way to fix that in my view is to get new loader arms. It will be interesting to see if that happens or not.

 

[RayF]

It would be perfect to get the arm replaced but it certainly can be repaired properly. I did them regularly from small to large.

 

[AMBMike]

They definitely could be repaired. We don't feel a repair like that should be required on a zero hour machine.

I don't know how many others are out there but I played around with an identical machine at the dealer that had the same problem as ours.

 

[CM1995]

I've only had a couple of hours on a 265 and didn't notice this issue but I wasn't on it long enough to put it through it's paces.

Looking at adding a 265 to the field. Got some homework to do first.

 

[AMBMike]

I've only had a couple of hours on a 265 and didn't notice this issue but I wasn't on it long enough to put it through it's paces.

Looking at adding a 265 to the field. Got some homework to do first.

I believe the 255/265 used a different frame and arm size than the 275/285.
The smaller ones still have the torsion suspension while the larger ones have an equalizer bar like a dozer.

 

[CM1995]

I believe the 255/265 used a different frame and arm size than the 275/285.
The smaller ones still have the torsion suspension while the larger ones have an equalizer bar like a dozer.

Gotcha. We've been happy with the torsion suspension on our 279's and do not want a DEF CTL. Don't need a large CTL for what we do since we have dozers and excavators for dirt moving. Our CTL's are utility machines.

 

[AMBMike]

An update to what is turning out to be somewhat of a saga...
First, a correction to post#3. The right side was/is the high side, not the left as I mentioned.

I dropped our 285 off at the Cat dealer on the evening of September 19. It was returned to us yesterday, October 6.
I noticed when I left the machine at the dealer that there was a new set of loader arms sitting on a pallet. No idea if they were intended for our machine or not but it came back to us with the same set of arms.
I also took the opportunity to test drive 4 new 275s that were on the lot. All four had the same problem as our 285 and another new 285 I had tested earlier.

This time they redid the line boring on the pins at the loader arm to quick coupler joints. The bucket cylinder binding is still very noticable. Rolling the bucket all the way back still causes the loader arms to twist due to the geometry change from line boring. These issues came from the line boring and were not a factory issue. On the positive side they repainted everything nicely this time and changed a decal that was scratched.